The
Hero-Hate Continues
There is nothing more infuriating for me, as a long time comic book fan and as a self-published comic book creator,
than to hear people trash heroes. Two
years ago, I
spoke out in defense of comic book movies, which were getting mercilessly
trashed by the Hollywood elite even though they were bringing in billions to
the studios.
Sadly, the hypocrisy continues to this day, and, if anything, the
hero-hate is getting nastier and more despicable.
It should be noted that this column is being published just two days following
the
death of Adam West; an actor that was forever known for playing the
family-friendly campy-serious Batman.
Even though he would play several roles through his long career (including one after-midnight production for the grown-ups),
he was always remembered as Batman. Even
up to his last roles, both on-screen
and off,
he embraced his connection to the superhero that was forged more than fifty years
ago.
While Adam West entertained generations with his strong connection to
Batman, both liberals and conservatives have been busy slamming superheroes.
HBO comedian Bill Maher whined about superheroes supposedly causing
people to embrace Donald Trump as their president. He even went so far as to declare Trump to be
a superhero called “Orange
Sphincter”. I’m sorry, but for this
comic book fan and comic book creator, for him to claim that Trump is a
superhero is
*my* “n-word”. And, unlike Ice Cube,
I can’t go on Maher’s show to school him about how abso-*bleeping*-loutely
wrong he was about that.
On the conservative side, the shameless propaganda mill known as Fox News
actually questioned whether
or not Wonder Woman, an ambassador from another country, was “American enough”
in the recently-released and very successful Warner Brothers movie. Yes, they
actually went there! The movie takes
place in Europe during World War I, which America was not as invested in as it
would be for its sequel, and at no point did Wonder Woman visit America during
the movie, so to have a propaganda mill owned by an Australian and run through
Great Britain decide to question whether or not the character was “American
enough” is nothing short of sheer jingoistic lunacy.
Meanwhile, the “elite” are back to bashing hero movies in general. When the DC-hating Rotten Tomatoes refused to
torch “Wonder Woman” in favor of Marvel movies, other critics
stepped up their own hate simply because this was a DC character. Someone questioned whether director Patty
Jenkins should have even had the job, given how her previous work was the
Oscar-winning drama “Monster”. Wonder Woman’s attire was a frequent target
of hate, especially the supposed skimpiness of it. I mean, my god, you could actually see her
bare shoulders and parts of the thighs!
The horrors!
Seriously, people, what is your damage about superheroes and superhero
movies?
I understand why some of you would think that superheroes are “childish”
and naïve. It’s simplistic to think that
someone can just step in with a catchy name and save the day, never mind doing
so in a symbolic outfit, be it a female Grecian warrior or a cape-and-cowl
vigilante. We have problems that we
simply can’t “punch” our way out of. In
fact, doing so would only make things worse.
And I also understand that many a film critic is obligated to review a
kind of movie they don’t really like.
That’s how they get paid. Not
every film they can go to is a tear-jerking “chick flick” or juvenile comedy
romp or a dramatic tour-de-force that screams “Best Picture”. As a movie-goer, I have the pleasure of
saying “no”. The critic cannot, because
that is their job. But that still doesn’t
justify or validate the biased hatred of the genre.
Let’s get brutally honest here... the true power of the hero, especially
in the context of a superhero movie, isn’t what they can do but what they can inspire. For all my complaints about the “Because
Batman” meme and the glorification of Batman into being something more than
what he really is, which is a crime victim with a control fetish, the idea
of Batman is more than just a rich man in a costume. It’s an idea that people should not cower to
criminals. Superman inspires hope; the
idea that everyone has the potential to be something better than they currently
are. Wonder Woman shows that everyone,
men and women alike, can be better than our base instincts. Spider-Man shows that having power comes with
responsibility. Captain America... well,
let’s
just stop there.
And with all of the things going on in the world today, between
terrorists and narcissistic leaders throwing temper tantrums and big
corporations actively screwing over the masses and the continued economic
decline, we need a little bit of hope and inspiration in our lives. We need some reassurance that things are
going to be okay, even if that reassurance is through a fictional representation.
So when you are bashing hero movies in general in your selfish attempt to
“purify” the movie industry of a genre that you consider to be “beneath you”,
you are really bashing hope. You’re
bashing the idea that we are better than our brutal natures and our base
instincts and the crime and misery going on today. You’re saying that we’re not better than all
this, that we can’t rise above it, and that we can’t be better people. This is it.
This is what we’re stuck with.
Speaking for myself, I refuse to accept that kind of condemnation.
Stories of heroes, from the gods and demigods of Greece, to the Norse
Gods of Asgard, to the Arabian adventurers, to the warrior monks in Asia, and
even the heroes of South America, were more than just fairy tales told to
children. They were ways to express the
idea that humanity is more than what it is at the time. That there will always be champions, and
those champions transcend the limitations of time. I know this because we still remember those
old stories from centuries ago and comic creators like myself and movie
companies like Warner Brothers and Marvel Studios still bring them back to life
for a new generation to be inspired.
Adam West may have never won an Oscar for his works, but he did something
that would have a far-lasting impact on society. He helped tell a modern-day story of heroism
for a generation that was hungry for hope and a better tomorrow. And that’s something that will outlast any
snooty critic or Fox News propagandist.
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