Very fun read to start off the week! Via Nell Minow @ BNet.
Business is a logical target when so many Americans are frustrated with the economy and with income disparity. But it’s also a convenient alternative when so many other options are worn out, obsolete, or a political minefield. When it comes to unalloyed menace, the number one choice is still Nazis. They’re like dinosaurs — scarily dangerous but safely in the past. And no one is going to object that even the most exaggerated portrayal of Nazis is insensitive or culturally offensive. The Soviet Union, South American drug lords, and terrorists have also been regular targets in recent years, defeated by a series of square-jawed movie heroes (and a few women). And a megalomaniac seeking that old reliable “total world domination” (TWD) is always a good foil for a James Bond. Superheroes generally come with equally vivid super-villains.
But if you want to set a movie in real life and the present day, it is hard to find maleficent ones who are uncomplicated enough to make a popcorn-eating audience settle back and root for the good guy. Movies do not have time to waste with subtle details; the problem facing the protagonist has to be quickly sketched and instantly recognizable. And the theme of most movies is the individual against some large, powerful, bureaucratic organization, because that is a story everyone in the audience can identify with easily. Corporations are conveniently big, powerful, and faceless.
No comments:
Post a Comment