I'm here, in the middle of exam season, to clear some stuff up. There have been some very serious allegations going around about an issue that has been around for years. Now these allegations aren't new, but now that they have been voiced by some very powerful people the issue is finally truly coming into the spotlight. The media is slowly catching on, and while a large portion of the public has been aware for years, those not attuned to the issue are finally hearing about it as well. Before this truly becomes an issue that is fully debated and protested by the masses, I wanted to get my two cents in. The issue at hand? Superhero movies.
You read that correctly. Superhero movies. No one can argue that they haven't been the latest trend since Jon Favreau and RDJ came out with Iron Man in 2008. Or maybe before. I don't know and honestly don't care. The movie business has gone through certain trends, such as aliens, zombies, dystopian future, and magic, but I'm not sure any have been as truly big as the superhero craze. With movies about the Avengers, the Justice League, the Joker, superheroes have undoubtedly been at the forefront of the entertainment industry.
This isn't to say that there haven't been other spectacular non-superhero movies during this time; we have had movies like Get Out, Moonlight, Whiplash, Her, etc. etc. But superhero movies have dominated the silver screen for quite some time now, which leads us to the central issue.
Are they cinema? Martin Scorsese recently came out and claimed that superhero movies "aren't cinema" and then Francis Ford Coppola went ahead and called them "despicable". In case you aren't familiar with either of them, these are the guys who directed movies like Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, and The Godfather. But does that mean they're automatically right? Absolutely not.
See, when someone hears cinema they first think, "Oh you mean a movie you pretentious...". But in all seriousness, when people like Coppola and Scorsese say cinema they probably mean movies with a captivating plot, interesting characters, and gripping themes. And if you act like superhero movies don't have all that, you are wildly INCORRECT. Just think about all of them. Don't act like The Joker didn't have a captivating plot. And the journey that Tony Stark, RDJ's character went through since 2008 was more than interesting; it was downright beautiful. Superhero movies allow the audience to see gripping themes like betrayal, depression, friendship, annihilation, all that good stuff in a larger than life world! Yeah we don't know what it feels like to be the God of Thunder like Thor, but each of us can relate at least a little bit to the journey of self discovery, depression, and the complicated quest for redemption.
The thing I get angry act is when people act like superhero movies aren't real movies because they're larger than life, big budget, "unrealistic" films. What people forget is that the only unrealistic plots are the overarching story line and plots. The small things, like the anxiety that Tony Stark had to overcome in Iron Man 3 are very realistic. The pain that Clint Barton felt at seeing his friend, his partner, die for humanity was realistic. The journey we see Killmonger go on in Black Panther those feelings of racism and prejudice are very realistic. Just because super heroes like the Avengers don't actually exist doesn't mean what the audience saw in them isn't real.
Those movies invoke emotions from the audience. When people see superhero movies, they can feel what the characters feel. I really hope that my point is getting across here. It's okay to not like super hero movies, but it's not okay to act like they aren't real movies or "cinema". They do something that the "cinema" Scorsese and Coppola could never really do; they make people really feel something. People who watch Scorsese and Coppola films may enjoy them and even love them, but anything they think the truly feel, and emotions they think are invoked aren't real. Most people nowadays just act like their favorite film is The Godfather or something just for the clout they think they'll get for being "cultured". But I don't want to get to off topic here, so more on that another time. All I'm saying is, okay boomer. You go watch "cinema" and I'll watch something that makes me care about what's going on on the screen.
You read that correctly. Superhero movies. No one can argue that they haven't been the latest trend since Jon Favreau and RDJ came out with Iron Man in 2008. Or maybe before. I don't know and honestly don't care. The movie business has gone through certain trends, such as aliens, zombies, dystopian future, and magic, but I'm not sure any have been as truly big as the superhero craze. With movies about the Avengers, the Justice League, the Joker, superheroes have undoubtedly been at the forefront of the entertainment industry.
This isn't to say that there haven't been other spectacular non-superhero movies during this time; we have had movies like Get Out, Moonlight, Whiplash, Her, etc. etc. But superhero movies have dominated the silver screen for quite some time now, which leads us to the central issue.
Are they cinema? Martin Scorsese recently came out and claimed that superhero movies "aren't cinema" and then Francis Ford Coppola went ahead and called them "despicable". In case you aren't familiar with either of them, these are the guys who directed movies like Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, and The Godfather. But does that mean they're automatically right? Absolutely not.
See, when someone hears cinema they first think, "Oh you mean a movie you pretentious...". But in all seriousness, when people like Coppola and Scorsese say cinema they probably mean movies with a captivating plot, interesting characters, and gripping themes. And if you act like superhero movies don't have all that, you are wildly INCORRECT. Just think about all of them. Don't act like The Joker didn't have a captivating plot. And the journey that Tony Stark, RDJ's character went through since 2008 was more than interesting; it was downright beautiful. Superhero movies allow the audience to see gripping themes like betrayal, depression, friendship, annihilation, all that good stuff in a larger than life world! Yeah we don't know what it feels like to be the God of Thunder like Thor, but each of us can relate at least a little bit to the journey of self discovery, depression, and the complicated quest for redemption.
The thing I get angry act is when people act like superhero movies aren't real movies because they're larger than life, big budget, "unrealistic" films. What people forget is that the only unrealistic plots are the overarching story line and plots. The small things, like the anxiety that Tony Stark had to overcome in Iron Man 3 are very realistic. The pain that Clint Barton felt at seeing his friend, his partner, die for humanity was realistic. The journey we see Killmonger go on in Black Panther those feelings of racism and prejudice are very realistic. Just because super heroes like the Avengers don't actually exist doesn't mean what the audience saw in them isn't real.
Those movies invoke emotions from the audience. When people see superhero movies, they can feel what the characters feel. I really hope that my point is getting across here. It's okay to not like super hero movies, but it's not okay to act like they aren't real movies or "cinema". They do something that the "cinema" Scorsese and Coppola could never really do; they make people really feel something. People who watch Scorsese and Coppola films may enjoy them and even love them, but anything they think the truly feel, and emotions they think are invoked aren't real. Most people nowadays just act like their favorite film is The Godfather or something just for the clout they think they'll get for being "cultured". But I don't want to get to off topic here, so more on that another time. All I'm saying is, okay boomer. You go watch "cinema" and I'll watch something that makes me care about what's going on on the screen.
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