Part of why I can't get into superhero shit beyond that 50s pulp goofiness
It's grown men dressing up in spandex plotting to take over/blow up the world, human life is cheap, everything is character-driven by the personal quibbles of spandex fetishists
Trying to engage the complexity and real suffering of the real world with mindless stuff meant for children is fucking dumb
There was a blog post a while ago about how superhero shit isn't "dumbing down" American culture, it's that people are "dumbing up" their superheroes to be 'gritty' and 'realistic' so they don't have to grapple with the reality that they're taking their toys too fucking seriously
Good observation. I remember for a while a few years back people loved making fun of the 60s Batman TV show (the one with Adam West). Yeah it was bad and corny to an adult but the show was meant for kids. If you tried to make a modern "gritty" superhero movie in the 60s your movie would have gotten laughed out of the theater. Like if someone made a gritty live action version of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood today...
That's exactly my problem with any "realistic" superhero movie. Batman is inherently not realistic or serious because, and I cannot stress this enough, He Is A Man Dressed Like A Bat. That's it, full stop, there is no way I can take him seriously. People are like this with every comic book property, it's insane. I'm not pretending I don't like comics or fantastic stories, but I am certainly not watching them for their realness.
Part of why I can't get into superhero shit beyond that 50s pulp goofiness
It's grown men dressing up in spandex plotting to take over/blow up the world, human life is cheap, everything is character-driven by the personal quibbles of spandex fetishists
Trying to engage the complexity and real suffering of the real world with mindless stuff meant for children is fucking dumb
There was a blog post a while ago about how superhero shit isn't "dumbing down" American culture, it's that people are "dumbing up" their superheroes to be 'gritty' and 'realistic' so they don't have to grapple with the reality that they're taking their toys too fucking seriously
Good observation. I remember for a while a few years back people loved making fun of the 60s Batman TV show (the one with Adam West). Yeah it was bad and corny to an adult but the show was meant for kids. If you tried to make a modern "gritty" superhero movie in the 60s your movie would have gotten laughed out of the theater. Like if someone made a gritty live action version of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood today...
Honestly, it was really funny to an adult, at least ones who don't take superheroes deathly seriously
I just watched the ‘60s Batman movie and it was honestly the most fun I’ve ever had watching a Batman movie. It’s goddamn art.
That's exactly my problem with any "realistic" superhero movie. Batman is inherently not realistic or serious because, and I cannot stress this enough, He Is A Man Dressed Like A Bat. That's it, full stop, there is no way I can take him seriously. People are like this with every comic book property, it's insane. I'm not pretending I don't like comics or fantastic stories, but I am certainly not watching them for their realness.