The Big Picture: Who's Afraid of Captain America?
- Thread starter MovieBob
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You talk all around it but what is needed in the Cap movie is balance. Balance between being a patriot and fighting evil where ever it grows. That means fighting just as many bad "Americans" as anything else. If he stands as a pillar for values rather then country, then it will be a more balanced view.
Not a bad job, but I think you lost your focus about half-way through.
I like Captain America (I was one of those guys who though he was the "love it or leave it" types, until I actually read over his books), so I'm really looking forward to the movie.
I like Captain America (I was one of those guys who though he was the "love it or leave it" types, until I actually read over his books), so I'm really looking forward to the movie.
I love moviebob's movie reviews but so far this big picture thing isn't working for me. I feel like I'm missing a joke with the repetitive face clipart and this Captain America video lacked focus. For my tastes, you can be insightful or funny to have a successful video and this lacked both.
And Cap was never 'Anti-American' he was just pretty liberal, you had the perfect symbol for the critics with Stan from American Dad, Cap is all about America's principles, he was just rarely big with the governments politics/actions, and there is a big difference.
Wow, I sound like a proper American patriot... But no I'm afraid I'm just a cynical brit unable to find his place in the world because he doesn't like tea.
Wow, I sound like a proper American patriot... But no I'm afraid I'm just a cynical brit unable to find his place in the world because he doesn't like tea.
I feel like you got a little scared of going in-depth here, Bob. Captain America's a complicated question, and trying to balance an appropriate amount of patriotism with not being propaganda is a difficult balance. I'm not sure why you did three minutes of actually talking about Captain America and then another minute and a half or so of Street Fighter jokes. I mean, I guess do whatever you want, since it's your show and all, but I feel like you could have actually addressed the issue with any depth at all, and it would have been a more worthwhile video.
I don't always agree with your thoughts on topics by any means, but you usually write interesting things, so I was excited to hear what you'd have to say about Cap... and I'd still like to hear what you think about him at some point.
I don't always agree with your thoughts on topics by any means, but you usually write interesting things, so I was excited to hear what you'd have to say about Cap... and I'd still like to hear what you think about him at some point.
Like the two shows of this we have so far. Though, yeah, this one sidetracked a bit but that's Bob's right. It is his show after all.
Two things, though:
#1: Superheroes are almost solely an American thing. The national/cultural identity of most other, particularly European countries, has been well established through, often, thousands of years of habitation and folklore. Our "superheroes" generally do not wear spandex as they come myth or history, Thor, Herakles, Alexander the Great, Caesar, Arthur and so on. I guess we could do those... but wait, Hollywood has already claimed them as their own. I'd love to see the Nordic countries unite to make a Thirteenth Warrior-esque movie out of Norse myth, though.
#2: Since the Second World War European countries, and Germany and Austria in particular, have frowned upon ideas of "my country is the best" as being too close for comfort to Nazi ideas and by extension as being a path to a new war. Talk of what Americans call "patriotism" is practically (or actually) illegal in many European countries... except for when it comes to football, as you rightly point out.
So chances of anyone but the US making a "patriotic superhero" movie? Practically nil.
Two things, though:
#1: Superheroes are almost solely an American thing. The national/cultural identity of most other, particularly European countries, has been well established through, often, thousands of years of habitation and folklore. Our "superheroes" generally do not wear spandex as they come myth or history, Thor, Herakles, Alexander the Great, Caesar, Arthur and so on. I guess we could do those... but wait, Hollywood has already claimed them as their own. I'd love to see the Nordic countries unite to make a Thirteenth Warrior-esque movie out of Norse myth, though.
#2: Since the Second World War European countries, and Germany and Austria in particular, have frowned upon ideas of "my country is the best" as being too close for comfort to Nazi ideas and by extension as being a path to a new war. Talk of what Americans call "patriotism" is practically (or actually) illegal in many European countries... except for when it comes to football, as you rightly point out.
So chances of anyone but the US making a "patriotic superhero" movie? Practically nil.
bob if two country's wanted to beat the crap out of each other i don't thing Street Fighter would help. i thing i would be more along the lines of MORTAL COMBAT!
Exactly. That's what I always got from the character. One who loved the principles of his country and when they were enacted, could not be prouder. When they were corrupted, could not fight harder.jspheonix said:
I did read a Judge Dredd comic years ago where it established national conflicts were resolved by each country sending five guys to a ruined city on the moon to hunt down and shoot each other in an Unreal Tournament-style team deathmatch scenario. The Soviets were cutting down the Americans with their particle beam that could shoot through walls, until Dredd sussed out the weapon's limitation.
As for other countries' nationalism:
(Edit)--I had a four-paragraph explanation about this, but Afterglow said pretty much the exact same thing in two sentences, so read that instead:
As for other countries' nationalism:
(Edit)--I had a four-paragraph explanation about this, but Afterglow said pretty much the exact same thing in two sentences, so read that instead:
Afterglow said: