WARNING: If you haven't seen the three movies I name as examples, you might not want to read all of this post. There are a few big spoilers.
Lo, all. I'm making this thread to discuss a phenomenon I've noticed in movies as of late. It would seem that in some movies, namely Avatar, The Surrogates, and Repo Men in particular, I find myself agreeing with and supporting the "bad guys" of the hour. I believe the most expeditious (ha!) way of explaining this would be to elaborate on my examples.
Avatar: Yes, I supported the "evil mercenary guys," mostly because I hate hippies. God, how I hate hippies, especially since the depiction of Na'vi's (literal) communion with nature is just so damned saccharine that I wanted them all to die even more. I've also never been one for that whole "white guilt" thing, because I'm part Cherokee (and it shows in my dad and grampa) and I've never seen the logic in feeling guilty for something you had nothing to do with and happened well before you were born. Not to mention that the "villains" were, to me, far more memorable and likeable, particularly the eldery general-guy with the scar on his head (I suck at names; the only names I remember from that movie are Jake Sulley and Tsu'tey, for some reason). He's like a cross between Chuck Norris, R. Lee Ermy, and everyone's favorite grampa. How could you NOT like him? All these factors led up to one of the most dissapointing moments in film I've ever experienced. I really wanted them to kill Eywa (ooh, there's another name!).
The Surrogates: So check this, a movie featuring a detective played by BRUCE WILLIS hunting down a hippy terrorist cult in a world where everyone's a robot. I had such great hopes for this one. Bruce Willis is dead to me now, for in that movie he not only sided with the hippy terrorists for no apparent reason, he permanently destroyed all of the robot surrogates. What the hell's wrong with surrogates? Why is it necessary to destroy them all? Why, Bruce, why couldn't you just kill those hippies like we were all hoping for?
Repo Men: Really, this one's rediculous. So in the future, the artifical organ business is booming, and people are buying "autiforgs" left and right. The downside? They're super expensive, and if you can't keep up with the payments they'll send the "repo men" to subdue you and cut out your organ, leaving you to bleed to death. There are quite a few preposterous things about this movie, like how British-sounding repo man's wife (I can't remember anyone's name from this film) was so offended by her husband's line of work. It's a little grisly, granted, but it's honest work for honest pay. This brings me to the most absurd aspect of this movie: it's central message. "If you can't pay for something, you should just get to keep it anyway." What kind of Aesop is that? These aren't random victims of depraved madmen, they're people who knew what they were getting themselves into, signed a contract, couldn't hold up their end, and had to pay for it.
Given these three examples, I ask you, my fellow Escapists: Have you ever found yourself rooting for the "bad guys" and why? Why is it all the bad guys today have to be "big evil corporations," like we've all forgotten about the terrorists and North Korea? Please, I urge you to discuss and list examples.
Lo, all. I'm making this thread to discuss a phenomenon I've noticed in movies as of late. It would seem that in some movies, namely Avatar, The Surrogates, and Repo Men in particular, I find myself agreeing with and supporting the "bad guys" of the hour. I believe the most expeditious (ha!) way of explaining this would be to elaborate on my examples.
Avatar: Yes, I supported the "evil mercenary guys," mostly because I hate hippies. God, how I hate hippies, especially since the depiction of Na'vi's (literal) communion with nature is just so damned saccharine that I wanted them all to die even more. I've also never been one for that whole "white guilt" thing, because I'm part Cherokee (and it shows in my dad and grampa) and I've never seen the logic in feeling guilty for something you had nothing to do with and happened well before you were born. Not to mention that the "villains" were, to me, far more memorable and likeable, particularly the eldery general-guy with the scar on his head (I suck at names; the only names I remember from that movie are Jake Sulley and Tsu'tey, for some reason). He's like a cross between Chuck Norris, R. Lee Ermy, and everyone's favorite grampa. How could you NOT like him? All these factors led up to one of the most dissapointing moments in film I've ever experienced. I really wanted them to kill Eywa (ooh, there's another name!).
The Surrogates: So check this, a movie featuring a detective played by BRUCE WILLIS hunting down a hippy terrorist cult in a world where everyone's a robot. I had such great hopes for this one. Bruce Willis is dead to me now, for in that movie he not only sided with the hippy terrorists for no apparent reason, he permanently destroyed all of the robot surrogates. What the hell's wrong with surrogates? Why is it necessary to destroy them all? Why, Bruce, why couldn't you just kill those hippies like we were all hoping for?
Repo Men: Really, this one's rediculous. So in the future, the artifical organ business is booming, and people are buying "autiforgs" left and right. The downside? They're super expensive, and if you can't keep up with the payments they'll send the "repo men" to subdue you and cut out your organ, leaving you to bleed to death. There are quite a few preposterous things about this movie, like how British-sounding repo man's wife (I can't remember anyone's name from this film) was so offended by her husband's line of work. It's a little grisly, granted, but it's honest work for honest pay. This brings me to the most absurd aspect of this movie: it's central message. "If you can't pay for something, you should just get to keep it anyway." What kind of Aesop is that? These aren't random victims of depraved madmen, they're people who knew what they were getting themselves into, signed a contract, couldn't hold up their end, and had to pay for it.
Given these three examples, I ask you, my fellow Escapists: Have you ever found yourself rooting for the "bad guys" and why? Why is it all the bad guys today have to be "big evil corporations," like we've all forgotten about the terrorists and North Korea? Please, I urge you to discuss and list examples.
