It's Canada Day and I sit with strep throat for the 2nd time in the last 8 months. Yeesh. No fireworks for me.
I saw Superman Returns last night. I shall try not to have any spoilers in this. It was cheesy in parts and hugely optimistic and Superman sure is strong, but did I buy it? Lock, stock and barrel.
Singer just knows how to get the comic book heroes on screen (I could go into an X-Men love song here, but let's not even talk about what that fucker Ratner did to Singer's legacy in X-3). Short note on acting: Superman was good, liked his take on Clark. Spacey is of course amazing - is he ever not? James Marsden is slightly less of a personality-free zombie than usual. But can I ask if Parker Posey can ever play a character that isn't some deviation of the ditzy bitch? Not that I don't like her, but it's getting a little old.
Singer and the writers very nicely bring up a lot of the interesting parts of the Superman verse, which I often find to be one of the most boring comic books. It has some very nice moments of non-super heroism, just regular folk trying to do what they can, and finally some moments of non-super female heroism and female perspective. But I think the biggest question it asks (not for the first time), and asks well, is whether or not the world needs a saviour.
I think the movie comes down on the side of "hey, it would be nice if we could fix these messes we've made ourselves, but it's looking like we could use a little help." The Christ metaphore is played up quite a bit and so you would think that the movie comes down pro-saviour, but actually I think it leaves room for other conclusions. It lets regular men and women have their moments of saving themselves.
I believe we can do anything we want, overcome anything we want to, change the world etc. We shouldn't need a saviour. But underneath it all, maybe we do. This need would certainly explain all the religious beliefs across the globe. The saviour helps us, and really I'm not sure why that thought has become so threatening to me. All Superman really does is help us, and help is good, and yet when they start bringing in the question of "need," my first reaction is to get all defensive and independent. Why have that reaction to someone trying to help? Perhaps because I have some itsy-bitsy issues with controlling people, who often come under the guise of helpful people.
Where I believe that the movie leaves a small opening for discussion on needing a saviour is in the question asked "does Lois need a saviour?" The whole saviour thing is interesting for me personally because I've always been a reluctant fantasizer about the romantic saviour. The guy who sweeps in and saves me, not from a top a white horse while I lay screaming in front of a dragon, but someone who, simply by being himself, makes me into a better person. I try to be very aware of this as I've watched my mom be a quick-fix woman to not very good effect her whole life. You know, the kind of person who says "if I could just have this one thing, my whole life would change." Load of poop as no one thing is ever going to fix everything. But somehow, despite being a self-aware chick, I still do this "one thing" thing with the boys. Needless to say, I'm often disappointed and that's a whole lot of pressure to put on a guy.
In this movie, Lois is in a relationship with a normal good guy (hollywood normal = really sexy, successful guy who can fly a plane). And I wanted to think that she should stay with the normal, non-fantastical guy, but really as soon as Superman showed up and you could just tell her heart was speeding up and I wanted her to ditch normal and go for paranormal.
SPOILER:
The movie never really resolves either romantic relationship, and so in regard to Lois needing a saviour we are left without an answer. Surprisingly, I think we want her to need the saviour at the end, but maybe that's just me. But because I think the question of whether Lois needs a saviour and whether the world needs one are interrelated, I think the movie allows some play in the answer to the latter question by not resolving the first one.
That probably made no sense. Need some tea.
Oh, and GO ITALY!!!!
I saw Superman Returns last night. I shall try not to have any spoilers in this. It was cheesy in parts and hugely optimistic and Superman sure is strong, but did I buy it? Lock, stock and barrel.
Singer just knows how to get the comic book heroes on screen (I could go into an X-Men love song here, but let's not even talk about what that fucker Ratner did to Singer's legacy in X-3). Short note on acting: Superman was good, liked his take on Clark. Spacey is of course amazing - is he ever not? James Marsden is slightly less of a personality-free zombie than usual. But can I ask if Parker Posey can ever play a character that isn't some deviation of the ditzy bitch? Not that I don't like her, but it's getting a little old.
Singer and the writers very nicely bring up a lot of the interesting parts of the Superman verse, which I often find to be one of the most boring comic books. It has some very nice moments of non-super heroism, just regular folk trying to do what they can, and finally some moments of non-super female heroism and female perspective. But I think the biggest question it asks (not for the first time), and asks well, is whether or not the world needs a saviour.
I think the movie comes down on the side of "hey, it would be nice if we could fix these messes we've made ourselves, but it's looking like we could use a little help." The Christ metaphore is played up quite a bit and so you would think that the movie comes down pro-saviour, but actually I think it leaves room for other conclusions. It lets regular men and women have their moments of saving themselves.
I believe we can do anything we want, overcome anything we want to, change the world etc. We shouldn't need a saviour. But underneath it all, maybe we do. This need would certainly explain all the religious beliefs across the globe. The saviour helps us, and really I'm not sure why that thought has become so threatening to me. All Superman really does is help us, and help is good, and yet when they start bringing in the question of "need," my first reaction is to get all defensive and independent. Why have that reaction to someone trying to help? Perhaps because I have some itsy-bitsy issues with controlling people, who often come under the guise of helpful people.
Where I believe that the movie leaves a small opening for discussion on needing a saviour is in the question asked "does Lois need a saviour?" The whole saviour thing is interesting for me personally because I've always been a reluctant fantasizer about the romantic saviour. The guy who sweeps in and saves me, not from a top a white horse while I lay screaming in front of a dragon, but someone who, simply by being himself, makes me into a better person. I try to be very aware of this as I've watched my mom be a quick-fix woman to not very good effect her whole life. You know, the kind of person who says "if I could just have this one thing, my whole life would change." Load of poop as no one thing is ever going to fix everything. But somehow, despite being a self-aware chick, I still do this "one thing" thing with the boys. Needless to say, I'm often disappointed and that's a whole lot of pressure to put on a guy.
In this movie, Lois is in a relationship with a normal good guy (hollywood normal = really sexy, successful guy who can fly a plane). And I wanted to think that she should stay with the normal, non-fantastical guy, but really as soon as Superman showed up and you could just tell her heart was speeding up and I wanted her to ditch normal and go for paranormal.
SPOILER:
The movie never really resolves either romantic relationship, and so in regard to Lois needing a saviour we are left without an answer. Surprisingly, I think we want her to need the saviour at the end, but maybe that's just me. But because I think the question of whether Lois needs a saviour and whether the world needs one are interrelated, I think the movie allows some play in the answer to the latter question by not resolving the first one.
That probably made no sense. Need some tea.
Oh, and GO ITALY!!!!
4 Comments:
GO GERMANY!!!!!
hey! what happened to being supportive ex-boyfriend? jerk.
There are times when the theme song to Smallville (something along the lines of "Somebody save me!") makes me cry. It is a phenomena. Jaded, atheistic, yet I'm still hoping for some avatar to make things right somehow. It's the same reaction to the Buffy episode, "The Gift", where she throws herself into the maelstrom to save the frickin' world. A selfless act for the good of humanity, but not with the futility of most mortal gestures. The real cue to prime the waterworks (and now it is worse because I know what is coming) is Giles' lines to Ben: "She's a hero, you see. She's not like you and me."
Saviors touch us where we need it. It's a wonderful idea, and we lack any 'real' examples. I'm not sure that it's a "gendered" thing. I have no "white knight" fantasies. I am a male person. But a 5'2" blonde girl tears me up as much as a 6'2" son of Krypton. I think that says something about what we're craving.
glad to know it's not just me then :)
plus, just goes to show you how impressive BtVS is when even the lines that rhyme can make you tear up.
oh, who are you? is this kirtles?
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