The Big Picture: Done With Dark

[ironlordthemad]

Has anyone else noticed that the Space Viking with a Magical Hammer, is YOUR space viking with a magical hammer, not today's 7 year old's Space Viking with a Magical Hammer?
Just like the guy in a bat themed suit was your guy in a bat themed suit, not today's youth's guy in a bat themed suit. Although we all love him now.
Just like the guy in a robot themed suit was your guy in a robot themed suit, not today's youth's guy in a robot themed suit. Although we all love him now.
Or is it just me?
I think this is as close to an apology as we will ever get from movie bob as he actually says that the comic book industry was revitalised by people like him supporting the "gritty and dark" era of comics that brought them back to life. But then he has to go and ruin it by trying to moan and ***** about a situation that he and thousands of others like him set into motion.
Kind of makes this whole video pointless...

 

[moosek]

I take my coffee any shade I want. If my dark stories are dark, and my light stories and light, and some light stories have dark tones, and some... whatever. The middle ground can between dark/serious and lighthearted can get a little disturbing; mainly because many people don't understand that the lighter side isn't exclusive to kids.

I liked Tron: Legacy, and it subverted many actual acts of violence to get a PG rating. But in some ways the faux violence inflicted on the programs in Tron is more off putting than actual violence. The argument could be made that even in the context of its own story, the programs are just lines of code, but the Grid makes them sentient beings who ultimately fear being reduced to a pile of legos. That point is reinforced when we see a woman(program) weeping with a handful of legos that used to be her companion(program).

This is just an interesting debate me and my friends had about the darker element of Tron.

 

[EchetusXe]

Now I want to see Thor lol.

 

[John the Gamer]

I watched Watchmen, and it was deep indeed. Also it was awesome. I liked all the ... stuff that was in it. Yeah... Thor seems awesome.

 

[Luthir Fontaine]

I dont know bob...Batman and Robin didnt take it self serious and it sucked

 

[Littaly]

Well, everything can stand being a little less all-consuming ^^

Stagnation is never good, regardless of what it is the industry obsesses over. And that was a much less whiny episode than I thought it would be..

 

[RJ Dalton]

I totally agree with Bob here. I mean, a gritty reboot of Batman worked because that was the kind of story that set itself for gritty well, but that doesn't mean making everything dark makes them better. Take a look at Episode 3 for example. George Lucas went well out of his way to make it dark, but that's so fucking out of tone with the rest of the series that it stands out as an eyesore (and pointless fights that go on for 45 minutes don't help it's case in the slightest, but I digress).
The gritty reboot of James Bond is an abomination and yet people who praise it, praise it only because it's gritty. That doesn't actually improve the quality of the story. James Bond was never about gritty realism. It's a boys adventure story and Bond didn't start to truly suck until we tried to pretend it was otherwise.
Gritty Realism is a tone and it doesn't always mesh with some material. I, for one, will be glad when the "gritty realism" fad finally dies and we can get back to having characters who don't speak like they've got throats full of gravel all the time and who occasionally enjoy life.

 

[darthotaku]

I think every single My Little Pony thread on this website has conclusively proven that grown men can enjoy "kids" shows and not be weird.

 

[wolfchylde]

Wait... Thor might not be all that 'gritty' and 'dark'?

Sign me the fuck up!

 

[twm1709]

I've always equalled the g&g era of comics as a sign of the early teenage years of the genre, when they're trying to start acting like grownups all of a sudden without really understanding what being a grownup means.
Does this mean we're in our early adulthood now? after all, writers these days seem to be going out of their way to reboot, retcon and resurrect characters out of nostalgia for the "childhood" years (Barry Allen, anyone?) just like many gamers now cling to old TV shows and games from a more innocent time.

 

[Dastardly]

Done With Dark

MovieBob's had just about enough of superheroes for grownups.

Watch Video

I'm inclined to agree with you... though this irrational hatred of Transformers is really starting to show. Seek help, Bob.

What's at issue here is far deeper than just a trend in movies. It's a societal trend as old as society, and it comes in three parts:

1. Playing is for children.
2. Imagination is for children.
3. Adults are not allowed to play or use their imaginations.

We've been down this road before in your comments section, even. Man plays golf on the weekends, and he's perfectly normal. Man plays with action figures on the weekends, and he's a weirdo irrespective of anything else. He could be the world's best dad, husband, employee, employer, Pope, it doesn't matter. He's playing with toys. He's using his imagination. Two strikes and he's out.

That's why all the "gritty reboots" are mostly about "real-ifying" the hero and his/her powers. Explaining the deeper nature of the science of how this or that works, even if it's just a vague "Probably it's a quantum... something... wormhole tachyon. Higgs-boson!" Because if you ask your audience to just go with you on this, they feel treated like kids. Not because they really feel that way personally, but because they feel like others will see them that way if they enjoy it sans explanation.

(Hell, I even feel the need to say, "I don't play with action figures or anything," so as to distance myself from "that guy." Even while I wrestle with why I think he's a weirdo. It's an all-pervading societal norm with no basis in logic or reality.)

How much time does The Incredibles spend explaining where people got their powers? Next to none, unless you count the psycho-ginger kid. It's fun without reason, but it still has deeper themes for those so inclined. It's imagination without apology. Which is good, because imagination isn't some childhood luxury--it's a critical thinking skill that we are tragically losing.

We'd all be better off if adults all played and imagined a little more.

 

[Skyy High]

Anyone else feel like they were watching an episode of Linkara?

Whenever Moviebob starts talking about comics, I can't help but think about Linkara. Very similar in content, though Linkara rages a whole lot more.

"I dont know bob...Batman and Robin didnt take it self serious and it sucked."
The pendulum doth swing.

 

[Cosplay Horatio]

I'm actually very happy that Thor will appeal to children more than adults because that's what we've been missing with all these classic comic book heroes coming to life. Every time I sat with my nieces and nephews while watching Superman, Iron Man, Spiderman, or Batman they just have this look of boredom on their faces till the movies get to the parts they want to see...the superheroes beating up bad guys and/or super villains. Just because it's not gonna have adult issues it's still gonna appeal to us because we've been waiting for Thor to get a theatrical release.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

I'm still waiting for a Hewligan's Haircut movie.

 

[RTR]

Nice

I knew the early buzz from Thor was gonna be brought up as soon as I red the video's premise.

 

[Philip Petrunak]

Wait, are you seriously bitching about how all the good comic-book movies have depth to them? WHY? Yea, Iron Man 2 dealt with issues of depression and dying, and The Incredible Hulk dealt with issues of rage. So what? Not only do these themes give the characters depth, they add to the entertainment value by giving us something to think about.

Its not like were ruining these films for kids. Yea, the issues are little complex for children, that's a good thing. It means a kid went to a movie and actually used his brain. Plus, so what if he didn't understand it, forcing kids to think makes them smarter, and because they're having fun they'll want to think about what they see. Who knows, maybe they won't think about it, maybe they'll just enjoy the movie for all the action, they'll still have fun.

Think about pixar's films, they're all clearly aimed at children, but would removing the adult undertones make them better? Would Toy Story 3 be better if it were just about toys coming to life, and didn't metaphorically explore the afterlife? Would Wall-e have been better if it didn't deal with mature themes such as romance, intimacy, and the environment? Would A Bugs Life been better if it didn't deal with themes of totalitarians, revolution and the value of Innovation? Of course not. Removing mature themes from kids movies won't make them better. Making films less entertaining for adults doesn't inherently make them more entertaining for kids.

If you think I'm wrong, just look at difference between the last two Hulk movies.

 

[Skarecrow13]

Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes. One of your best episodes yet.

I remember being a kid and wondering why all the wrestlers were suddenly all wearing black and being bad guys instead of wearing bright colors and just being awesome. Even the good guys were wearing black! Give me 100% more Ultimate Warrior!

Point is, there is nothing wrong with color, and not everything has to be dark. I love a good gritty tale just as much as the next guy, but I like things that are colorful, uplifting and just there to be fun as well. After all, it's entertainment.

 

[Unnamedenemy]

To be honest, anybody who thinks that the movie about the Norse god of GODAMNED THUNDER as a SUPERHERO being geared more towards classic comic silliness has something wrong with them. Hell, add to that the fact that the THOR comic is what introduce Beta Ray Bill, THE most absurd superhero ever, I mean, he's a horse-faced alien with a Thor costume and the powers of the god of thunder (look it up)!
I think the reason Thor (and hopefully any other comic movie -- here's to hoping for an "Infinity Gauntlet" movie!) is lightening up is because marvel at least is realizing that people feel the same way Bob and I do. We don't need everything to be dark and gritty, dammit! Plus, I would point out that this is the first marvel movie that is being released during their new "Heroic Age," which is all about getting back to where comics used to be before the 90s, the Avengers Disassembled, the Civil War, the Secret Invasion, and the Dark Reign, and I am glad for it. I liked all of those things (except the 90s comics, mostly) but one can only handle so much soul-crushing darkness before they crack and can't enjoy the comics any more

 

[LogicNProportion]

Can someone please explain to me how Thor is doing anything different than most of the recent Marvel Comic Book Movies, and why it is getting praise for doing so? (By simply being about the comic.)

Seriously, Iron Man was ALWAYS about two things:

-Cold War Arms Race Metaphors
-Dealing with your inner demons and be responsible

As a young man with the first 300 issues of Iron Man and then some (As in, going back to Tales of Suspense.), trust me, this is my thing. Iron Man is my guy.

The movies were about these things the whole time, with Iron Man 2 adding a sort of 'legacy' theme as well.

While craptacular, the third Spiderman movie held onto the main themes as the last two, which have always been present in the Web Slinger's comics back down to when Aunt May had more winkles than a dehydrated desert-Yoda.

Thor is doing nothing new. I plan on seeing it, but from what I have seen thus far, it looks horribly inferior to the other movies Marvel has put out.

...All in all, meh vid as usual for these segments, Bob.

 

[PhiMed]

Hey Bob, do you know why "our" childhood entertainment subjects were subjected to this while others weren't? No, it's not Seth MacFarlane, and no, it's not Alan Moore.

It's because we're the first generation since the onset of broadcast media to insist that our childhood entertainment subjects persist. Comic books aren't an evolving medium. They're not an emergent medium. They're an obsolete one. People aren't trying to make their kids listen to radio dramas. Why do we insist on attempting to make new generations of children read comic books?

Comic books didn't darken because older generations of readers needed it to be compatible with their adulthood. It didn't die because writers neglected younger readers.

It died because younger readers didn't have any interest. Not because there wasn't anything for them to read, but because there's nothing that could make them read comics. There is absolutely nothing to bring children to that dead medium.

There's an odd nostalgia in our culture that I don't understand, and it's very selective. People didn't try to perpetuate Howdy Doody or the Lone Ranger. They didn't try to bring Little Orphan Annie along to the future. They served their purpose while they held the interest of children of the day, and then they faded into oblivion. Comic books heroes were written for the audiences who lived in the day in which they were written. With the exception of one or two timeless heroes (Batman and MAYBE Superman), the rest will disappear. And that's okay. That's the way things have worked since time began.

I would've held my tongue, but you continue to harp on the subject that these outdated characters need to be marketed to children. That'd be fine, if it was a consistently held viewpoint. If children's characters need to be marketed to children, then why all the love for the recent Red Riding Hood?