I read a few blogs, here and there, and I am noticing a disturbing trend. We seem to be concentrating a wee bit too much on some very bizarre entertainment.
I am noticing a bear morbid obsession with the return of Twin Peaks. Folks, let me tell you, the show is drivel. Lynch is throwing out blobs of dream sequences and they are the dreams of a deranged mind. I dream a lot and very vividly, but my dreams are not filled with murder and occult madness. Lynch is dangerous, either totally and near psychopathically insane or he is engaging in some sort of black magic ritual to seriously damage the minds of Americans. Or he could just be a conman, laughing all the way to the bank at the idiots paying him a big bunch of money to make this crap Ir, maybe, all 3; they're not mutually exclusive. It is disturbing to see intelligent Americans examining every scene in each episode, determined to find great meaning where there is none..
In addition, we have a plethora of movies coming out based on comic books. How many movoes can we make about Batman, Spiderman and Superman. Do we really need a movie about Thor fighting the battle of Ragnarok (its been done, see World War 2 for the reality version_ And must we see the Hulk, again
All of this violent mythology is dangerous, The conjuring of archetypes is .is not healthy. Ask Carl Jung, who if alive, would tell you that these mythic images are to be overcome in the process of becoming an authentic human being. Stop bringing up the images of violent, damaged, somewhat crazed superheroes. They are damaging.
We used to make movies about real people; heroes, yes, but just humans who rose to the occasion.
Personally, for entertainment, I watched The Open this weekend, For drama, ytension and heroism, on a human level the battle between Kuchar and Speith beat all the superhero movies by a wide margin, and it was real,
Showing posts with label superheroes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label superheroes. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Monday, June 6, 2016
The Watchmen and Dune
Saturday night, I saw The Watchmen. It was the third time I saw the movie and I am sure most of you have seen it. If not, give it a look. It is a long movie and can be a nit confusing, with its flashbacks and flash forwards, but it is worth the effort.
Years before, I read Alan Moore's brilliant graphic novel and really didn't think it could be made into a movie, but they did a very good job of it. The acting is just fine and the special effects work well, impressive and surprisingly restrained. But, that is not the important thing, the message is.
Without giving away too much of the plot, all I can say is that Moore seemed to set out to destroy the 'superhero' myth. The superhero is one of humanity's constant archetypes, usually taking the form of a religious figure, a redeemer, messiah or world teacher, who leads mankind from the dark of their current era into an new age, a golden age. It is easy to forget that when Jung wrote about archetypes, he was stressing the dangers of identifying with them. Turning to a superhero, in whatever form the present themselves is dangerous and The Watchmen makes that danger very clear.
This brings to mind another film, Dune, a much better film than many originally thought it to be. In that film there is a superhero, Paul Atreides, who finds super powers through a psychedelic experience and then leads a revolt against evil, ruling powers. The movie is based on Frank Herbert's incredible novel and stops where the novel does. At that point, Paul is a great hero. However, Herbert wrote a series of sequels and, as things turn out, Paul's seemingly heroic actions turn into a disaster of monumental proportions.
I find The Watchmen to be a disturbing movie because we are currently in a time of global turmoil. Many of the plot lines that have been woven for long, long years seem to be on the edge of either fruition or of unravelling. The time is ripe for a demagogue, a seeming superman, Hitler's Ubermensch, to make an appearance. So far, would be pretenders to this position, such as Donald Trump, are showing themselves to be sorely lacking but, somewhere, soon, someone will raise their head and begin shouting 'follow me.' Don't do it.
Years before, I read Alan Moore's brilliant graphic novel and really didn't think it could be made into a movie, but they did a very good job of it. The acting is just fine and the special effects work well, impressive and surprisingly restrained. But, that is not the important thing, the message is.
Without giving away too much of the plot, all I can say is that Moore seemed to set out to destroy the 'superhero' myth. The superhero is one of humanity's constant archetypes, usually taking the form of a religious figure, a redeemer, messiah or world teacher, who leads mankind from the dark of their current era into an new age, a golden age. It is easy to forget that when Jung wrote about archetypes, he was stressing the dangers of identifying with them. Turning to a superhero, in whatever form the present themselves is dangerous and The Watchmen makes that danger very clear.
This brings to mind another film, Dune, a much better film than many originally thought it to be. In that film there is a superhero, Paul Atreides, who finds super powers through a psychedelic experience and then leads a revolt against evil, ruling powers. The movie is based on Frank Herbert's incredible novel and stops where the novel does. At that point, Paul is a great hero. However, Herbert wrote a series of sequels and, as things turn out, Paul's seemingly heroic actions turn into a disaster of monumental proportions.
I find The Watchmen to be a disturbing movie because we are currently in a time of global turmoil. Many of the plot lines that have been woven for long, long years seem to be on the edge of either fruition or of unravelling. The time is ripe for a demagogue, a seeming superman, Hitler's Ubermensch, to make an appearance. So far, would be pretenders to this position, such as Donald Trump, are showing themselves to be sorely lacking but, somewhere, soon, someone will raise their head and begin shouting 'follow me.' Don't do it.
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