okieinexile
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Your friendly neighborhood Spiderman
By Bobby Neal Winters
Heroes that can't be hurt are boring. While we know rationally that the hero is not going to be killed in the first three quarters of the movie, it must at least be plausible that he can be hurt for us to care about him emotionally. Spiderman, as played by Toby Maguire in the currently running Spiderman II, has that sort of vulnerability, and we do care about him.
It is not only that he can be hurt physically, but he also cares about people, and this opens him to being hurt in ways that can be more painful than mere wounds of the flesh. In the first part of the movie, he is like one who has taken priestly vows. His vocation consumes him, taking time from school, work, and the company of his friends.
His vocation is lonely, and he has burdens he cannot share. The love of his life is Mary Jane, the girl next door. He was never able to approach her before his metamorphosis into Spiderman because of a geekish lack of confidence, and since his taking on his web-covered mantle, he is afraid she would be put in danger by his enemies. Though the subtle performances of Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, who portrays Mary Jane, leave the door open to believe that perhaps there are more human, less noble reasons also at work. Is it that easy for a science geek to gain confidence with women just because his body has changed? The ads in the back of the comic books always implied that it was, but maybe the spirit takes longer to change.
For her part, Kristen Dunst is not only a beautiful and gifted as an actress, she does have that girl-next-door quality that we Americans love. It is difficult to find another actress to compare to her in this regard, as she has a sensuality that is uniquely her own.
Just as invulnerable heroes are boring, villains who are totally evil are also boring. Even Satan, as portrayed by Milton in Paradise Lost, could garner some feeling of sympathy now and then. Spiderman II is bless with a pair of complex villains, Dr. Ock, played by Alfred Molina, and Harry Osborne, played by James Franco. Neither of these characters is entirely evil, and each has intriguing similarities to the hero.
Dr. Octavius, who goes mad and becomes Dr. Ock, shares with Peter Parker, Spiderman's alter-ego, the belief that people of intelligence and ability should put themselves at the service of mankind. In his case, it is not selfish motives, but a descent into insanity that makes him into a villain.
Harry Osborn, Peter Parker's best friend, lives his life hoping to please his dead father though he was not able to please his live one. Harry's father was the Green Goblin, the villain of the first movie of this series, and Harry holds Spiderman responsible for his father's death. It is Harry's hatred that drives him into villainy and perhaps insanity. For his part, Peter Parker is driven by the desire to live up to the expectations of his beloved dead uncle, who was a father figure to him. Though this drives Peter into heroism rather than villainy, the movie puts states that one should not live one's life entirely based upon the wishes of another. The decision to follow your calling is yours alone. You can't let anyone else make it for you.
Ultimately villains either descend further into depravity or are redeemed. Heroes, if they are to be interesting, must grow in ways beyond their special abilities. Spiderman II rewards us will all of this.
In addition, Spiderman II also eloquently describes an ambiguous view of science that is as old as the genre itself. This is manifested in the villain's being a mad scientist. In Frankenstein, for example, a mad scientist was delving into the very mysteries of life. Even before science fiction, cautionary tales of men seeking knowledge of things men aren't meant to know go back to the beginning of literature. These cautionary tales are often dismissed as superstition since the modern view seems to be we are meant to know everything. However, the persistent theme of the mad scientist as villain reveals that, whether or not there are things we are not meant to know, perhaps there are things we are not ready to know, just as a two-year-old is not ready to know how to shoot a gun.
Spiderman owes his transformation to being bitten by a mutant spider. Dr. Ock's madness is caused by technology. Are we afraid the science and technology we've created to be our savior will be our destroyer instead?
For all in the movie to make you think, there is also plenty of action just in case you aren't in the mood to think. I would recommend getting the small coke, because you won't want to miss a minute of it.
By Bobby Neal Winters
Heroes that can't be hurt are boring. While we know rationally that the hero is not going to be killed in the first three quarters of the movie, it must at least be plausible that he can be hurt for us to care about him emotionally. Spiderman, as played by Toby Maguire in the currently running Spiderman II, has that sort of vulnerability, and we do care about him.
It is not only that he can be hurt physically, but he also cares about people, and this opens him to being hurt in ways that can be more painful than mere wounds of the flesh. In the first part of the movie, he is like one who has taken priestly vows. His vocation consumes him, taking time from school, work, and the company of his friends.
His vocation is lonely, and he has burdens he cannot share. The love of his life is Mary Jane, the girl next door. He was never able to approach her before his metamorphosis into Spiderman because of a geekish lack of confidence, and since his taking on his web-covered mantle, he is afraid she would be put in danger by his enemies. Though the subtle performances of Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, who portrays Mary Jane, leave the door open to believe that perhaps there are more human, less noble reasons also at work. Is it that easy for a science geek to gain confidence with women just because his body has changed? The ads in the back of the comic books always implied that it was, but maybe the spirit takes longer to change.
For her part, Kristen Dunst is not only a beautiful and gifted as an actress, she does have that girl-next-door quality that we Americans love. It is difficult to find another actress to compare to her in this regard, as she has a sensuality that is uniquely her own.
Just as invulnerable heroes are boring, villains who are totally evil are also boring. Even Satan, as portrayed by Milton in Paradise Lost, could garner some feeling of sympathy now and then. Spiderman II is bless with a pair of complex villains, Dr. Ock, played by Alfred Molina, and Harry Osborne, played by James Franco. Neither of these characters is entirely evil, and each has intriguing similarities to the hero.
Dr. Octavius, who goes mad and becomes Dr. Ock, shares with Peter Parker, Spiderman's alter-ego, the belief that people of intelligence and ability should put themselves at the service of mankind. In his case, it is not selfish motives, but a descent into insanity that makes him into a villain.
Harry Osborn, Peter Parker's best friend, lives his life hoping to please his dead father though he was not able to please his live one. Harry's father was the Green Goblin, the villain of the first movie of this series, and Harry holds Spiderman responsible for his father's death. It is Harry's hatred that drives him into villainy and perhaps insanity. For his part, Peter Parker is driven by the desire to live up to the expectations of his beloved dead uncle, who was a father figure to him. Though this drives Peter into heroism rather than villainy, the movie puts states that one should not live one's life entirely based upon the wishes of another. The decision to follow your calling is yours alone. You can't let anyone else make it for you.
Ultimately villains either descend further into depravity or are redeemed. Heroes, if they are to be interesting, must grow in ways beyond their special abilities. Spiderman II rewards us will all of this.
In addition, Spiderman II also eloquently describes an ambiguous view of science that is as old as the genre itself. This is manifested in the villain's being a mad scientist. In Frankenstein, for example, a mad scientist was delving into the very mysteries of life. Even before science fiction, cautionary tales of men seeking knowledge of things men aren't meant to know go back to the beginning of literature. These cautionary tales are often dismissed as superstition since the modern view seems to be we are meant to know everything. However, the persistent theme of the mad scientist as villain reveals that, whether or not there are things we are not meant to know, perhaps there are things we are not ready to know, just as a two-year-old is not ready to know how to shoot a gun.
Spiderman owes his transformation to being bitten by a mutant spider. Dr. Ock's madness is caused by technology. Are we afraid the science and technology we've created to be our savior will be our destroyer instead?
For all in the movie to make you think, there is also plenty of action just in case you aren't in the mood to think. I would recommend getting the small coke, because you won't want to miss a minute of it.
