I was watching the new Spider-Man incarnation, The Amazing Spider-Man<\/strong>, the other day and I realized I have a difficult time getting into contemporary American cinema. \u00a0Maybe I\u2019m getting old, but I can\u2019t relate to the characters (who are, admittedly, younger than myself a lot of the time) or get into the drama of these stories. \u00a0I think it might be because the stories and characters take turns because they are expected, rather than earned.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n I\u2019ve come to notice a particular trend towards zero consequence in modern movies, and perhaps even more frequently in a lot of these Super Hero films. \u00a0Characters behave without recourse, and it ends up making these adventures ring false, and the deeds hollow.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n The Peter Parker of The Amazing Spider-Man<\/strong> (not to be confused with the Peter Parker of the comic books of the same name) is the latest descendant of the Harry Potter-type. A your-parents-were-awesome-so-you-were-born-to-be-special wish fulfillment disguised as a character. \u00a0If it sounds like I don\u2019t care for this modern iteration of a \u201chero\u201d, it\u2019s because I don\u2019t. \u00a0He\u2019s a whiny, needy, nothing and everything who is continually rewarded for his idiotic decisions and non-decisions alike.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n Just your average (super good-looking, muscular, athletic, skateboarding, popular) nerd<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n He attacks police officers, afflicted scientists, and gets people he knows hurt and killed with such stunning frequency, you think he\u2019d start to notice and straighten up. \u00a0But is he blamed or punished for this? \u00a0Not really. \u00a0The sole person who considers this emotionally unbalanced teen masquerading as a hero a true menace is treated as a villain. \u00a0No wonder kids want to be super heroes.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Notions of choice and accountability are rare in American cinema today. \u00a0I mean, the Ridley Scott-directed <\/span>The Counselor<\/span> was heavily about consequence, but it was also a convoluted mess almost no one saw. \u00a0Are audiences so desperate for escapism they\u2019ll only watch movies with miniature drama, whose heroes all seem to represent the fulfillment of vague \u201cchosen one\u201d prophecies or children of greatness who can do no wrong?<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n Films seem to have long-since dropped the \u201cwill-they-or-won\u2019t-they-survive\u201d sort of drama, especially in today\u2019s franchise-building efforts. \u00a0Was there anyone seriously concerned they would kill off Iron Man at the end of <\/span>The Avengers<\/span>? \u00a0No. \u00a0They had to invent an entirely original character, because they won\u2019t even allow the movie\u2019s antagonist a just demise.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n “We’ll let you go if you promise<\/span> not to do it again.”<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n I\u2019ll give <\/span>The Avengers<\/span> credit in that you actually see people on the streets reacting to the carnage occurring around them. \u00a0Sure, it\u2019s basically just a couple dozen or so people, but at least it doesn\u2019t give the impression this is some vacated cityscape as in <\/span>Man Of Steel<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Why are these movies so afraid of collateral damage? \u00a0It\u2019s of thematic importance our heroes have something to fight for, and yet we rarely see it. \u00a0Without showing us the danger these scenarios ring completely hollow. \u00a0Do studios think we\u2019re too squeamish to imagine our heroes might fail and our world will be dominated by these aliens? \u00a0Or do they think such thinking will eliminate the \u201cfun factor\u201d if we know innocent civilians are out amongst the chaos?<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n I once watched a film where a demigod opened up an interdimensional portal over New York, let loose a colossal monster which then began stomping cars and crushing buildings, and only a small mismatched band of heroes could hope to save everyone. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n It also had a decent run time<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n It was called <\/span>Ghostbusters<\/span>, and I would argue not too many people \u00a0would accuse it of being a dour or unfun movie. \u00a0In fact, not only is <\/span>Ghostbusters<\/span> widely considered \u00a0a classic genre film, it does so entirely without avoiding the subjects of consequence and collateral damage. \u00a0One could even say some of the movie\u2019s best bits are derived \u00a0from these very themes.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ve noticed modern films have a surprising lack of violence, or rather, the lack of <\/span>consequence<\/span> to the violence. \u00a0When I was a child, we had <\/span>G.I. Joe<\/span> and the <\/span>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles<\/span>. \u00a0These shows, respectively, were about a paramilitary force loaded to the teeth with the most advanced weaponry, and set of bipedal reptiles trained in the ancient and deadly art of <\/span>ninjistu<\/span>, the martial art of ninja assassins.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n These are shows whose very concepts are unavoidably linked to violence. \u00a0But each one found a way around using what, in most circumstances, would be lethal force to defeat their adversaries (always bent on world domination). \u00a0The favorite fix-it for these shows was the change from weapons utilizing bullets to those of lasers.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n To be fair, the whole show is incredibly weird <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n The change in weaponry has a dual effect: firstly in that the weapon can pretty much magically change its use and level of damage and effect; and secondly that impressionable children may feel less apt to dig out their father\u2019s laser gun and unwittingly zap someone to death. \u00a0Mostly, it\u2019s for the latter. \u00a0In accordance with our culture\u2019s strange rules, violence must be, in all its forms, shielded from the eyes of the youth. \u00a0This is why these television shows, and the many that preceded them and those that followed, used the same device to bring violent concepts safely into the hearts and minds of the youth.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Yeah, this is real<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n And how a comic book about lethal mutant ninja monsters who <\/span>kill people<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n became a kid\u2019s t-shirt and a catchphrase.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n How does this relate to consequence? \u00a0I\u2019m getting there. \u00a0See, the other thing shows about violent confrontation need is some level of of consequence. \u00a0Having heroes who can perform all manner of martial art gymnastics is good and well, but they\u2019ll probably need to hit something if you want to keep kids watching. \u00a0But if our heroes are beating people mercilessly, won\u2019t that encourage violent behavior in children? Enter the robots.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n A robot feels nothing. \u00a0You can chop it apart, beat it, shoot it (with lasers), blow it up, mangle its innards, and it can still be shown on Saturday morning television to kids of all ages. \u00a0Loop hole granted.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n When we\u2019re talking about live-action films, we\u2019re in the same boat. \u00a0But here, we\u2019re also talking about a lot more money at stake. \u00a0Films are more commerce than art anymore, and anyone who disagrees can look at the sudden prevalence of PG-13 action films for proof.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n Movies rarely receive the PG-13 rating by chance. \u00a0Much planning, editing, and giving up of artistic ground takes place before finally being granted this rating instead of a dreaded R rating. \u00a0Film studios recognize that kids under 17 will be turned away from R-rated films, and thus pressure filmmakers into making PG-13 movies and even frequently take finished films away from said filmmakers and edit them down.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n Take the new RoboCop<\/strong>, a remake of one of the most famously violent movies ever made. \u00a0Iconic sequences from the original mostly involve vast amounts of blood and gore as the titled protagonist blasts round after round into corporate and streets scum, shredding their flesh apart in an amazing and also disgusting display of red violence. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n Probably not lasers doing that<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n In one particular sequence, a corporate upstart is horrifically killed when a test of one of the corporation\u2019s new products goes wrong. \u00a0The big machine pumps hundreds of rounds into the poor man\u2019s already dead and mutilated body, implicating not only the companies shocked executives as spectators, but also us, the audience at home. \u00a0We\u2019re meant to be completely taken aback by what we\u2019ve witnessed, similar to the titular character\u2019s human demise early in the film. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Not quite the same, ahem, impact <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n The remake completely sanitizes these moments by removing the gore, changing RoboCop\u2019s \u201cdeath\u201d to a blocked out but colorful CGI explosion, and removing the violence of the original film\u2019s lethal bullets by giving our hero a taser gun and making his enemies robots instead of humans. \u00a0Seeing a human body torn to shreds by an array of bullets is affecting. \u00a0Seeing non-blinking cyborgs with sparks bouncing off of them is quite a bit less so. \u00a0It may open the movie up to a broader audience, but it\u2019s also a loss for the film\u2019s integrity. \u00a0But worse, while we might suddenly be treated to a litany of ways to dispatch robots, and thus technically more violence, we are not shown or feeling the consequences of such violence. \u00a0We, the audience, are not asked to think about these acts, which may have a far more damnable effect.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n If there is no consequence to violence, than what\u2019s to stop an impressionable mind from committing it on another? \u00a0If all of the adversaries of one\u2019s heroes are unfeeling combatants, why not begin assuming everyone who stands against you is equally unfeeling and undeserving of remorse?<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n Continuing on, the lack of consequence in choice in these more modern films may also have a damning effect in itself. \u00a0I return to the character of Peter Parker. \u00a0He causes his uncle to die. \u00a0He reveals his secret identity to his love interest. He reveals his secret identity to his love interest\u2019s father. \u00a0He basically gets that guy killed. \u00a0What recourse does he suffer for these acts? Nothing. \u00a0He ends the film on good terms with his love interest, who\u2019s father he had promised he\u2019d leave her alone in a last dying wish scenario. \u00a0His bad behavior is rewarded throughout the entire film, while his primary antagonist, Dr. Connors (Lizard) is a man trying desperately to save lives and his own career but is treated as a vile enemy. \u00a0Something is off here.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n Yet he still gets the girl <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n I feel like I\u2019m not being particularly constructive here. \u00a0I really could go on and on about other movies which deal with choice, consequence, and violence incredibly well. \u00a0But let me try and end this on a more conciliatory note. \u00a0I believe this new iteration can be turned around. \u00a0They can make it all built toward something so character-shaping and interesting it would make for a very good turnaround. \u00a0Something even Sam Raimi\u2019s much better Spider-Man movies messed up.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I recently wrote a piece on some Action movie related things for a friend of mine’s blog.\u00a0 I am reprinting the whole thing in its entirety here: I was watching the new Spider-Man incarnation, The Amazing Spider-Man, the other day and I realized I have a difficult time getting into contemporary American cinema. \u00a0Maybe I\u2019m … Read moreSpider-Cents and PG-13 Pains<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/allouttabubblegum.com\/new-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/allouttabubblegum.com\/new-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/allouttabubblegum.com\/new-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allouttabubblegum.com\/new-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allouttabubblegum.com\/new-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/allouttabubblegum.com\/new-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16239\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/allouttabubblegum.com\/new-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allouttabubblegum.com\/new-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allouttabubblegum.com\/new-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-cQdNIVq0AjI\/UxljZVhixNI\/AAAAAAAAAFo\/OWvyq7wJ0t8\/s1600\/Andrewspider.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/span> Fans of the comics know exactly what I\u2019m talking about.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"