Thread by @JoshuaCypess

1/ I muscled thru the first episodes of #WandaVison & I'm in ep.5. I have notes.

Look: a problem w/a 'realistic' rendition of superheroes is that the entire superhero concept is inherently fascistic so 'realism' will often end up as creepy apologetics
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_a_Very…...

2/ Moreover: the only real difference between a superhero and supervillain is a mood change. Lex Luthor is a genius & often has powered armor. That's Iron Man, no? Same guy, different moods.

The MCU knows about this problem but IMO handles it badly.
dc.fandom.com/wiki/Lex_Lutho…

3/ I hated "Civil War" because it recognized the issue but IMO gave multiple characters 'idiot balls' - or decided to make the bad behavior inherent in the characters, which made it a full-fledged Ebert "Idiot Plot"
tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.…
tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.…

4/ Like I alluded to in my "High Noon" thread, I don't watch fiction to see people act terribly b/c I see that all the time in real life. It's especially galling in superhero movies b/c they're depicted as having unaccountable power. That's abuse, y'all.

https://twitter.com/JoshuaCypess/status/1368647166290497539?s=20

5/ [Spoilers]

Wanda is torturing a town b/c, evidently, she's in grief. IMO that makes her a supervillain.

Hollywood often depicts "love" for a relative as more important than everything, including mass destruction.

IMO, love of self that damages others is the core of evil.

6/ Heck, who knows, maybe that's what this TV show is trying to explore. But seeing some overpowered person use their resources to please their own fantasies at the expense of their neighbors - and use a 'higher ideal' as an excuse - is commonplace, grubby & contemptable.

7/ I just can't expect WandaVision to do a better job than "Infinity War" in showing sympathetic or just coherent character motivation. IW was unwatchable for me b/c it had the same Idiot Ball/Plot elements. And Stark's demand of the five-year blip in "Endgame" was enraging!

8/ I guess, ultimately, my problem is that I hate needing to see wanton misery and destruction on screen. Because, again, I see that everywhere. Do these writers & viewers not know real misery? Is it cathartic to them to watch horror, injustice, mutilation, child death on screen?

9/ It's fiction. You can do anything. So it's an actual choice to set up a story that requires an unjust solution that tortures the innocents on screen. This is especially true in a comic book universe where the rules of science don't apply.

10/ The infinity stones are literally a device to let anything happen. So what kind of stunted mind depicts half the universe destroyed and, when possessing the same power stones, the heroes incapable of reversing it completely?

I think it's a bad artist's idea of 'serious'

11/ I don't understand the mentality that feels a movie's 'serious' b/c innocent people die on screen. Gevalt: just look out your window for that!

Note, this is why I utterly detested "Revenge of the Sith" & "The Dark Knight": shallow tragedy & philosophy that dresses up misery

12/ Again, as I said with "High Noon" - my tastes are uncommon and to an extent "De gustibus non est disputandum" (aka "tastes differ"). Ethically, though, I have a problem with glorifying cruelty and these movies IMO run afoul of that.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_gustib…

13/ I don't watch horror movies for the same reason. There's a nihilism in them & a weird joy in hurting people & showing their misery for my entertainment. I don't get it.

I like superhero films, but they need to be simple: Good vs evil & Good wins. Why? B/c they are fantasies.

14/ Fiction for me should be different from the world I see as a social scientist, a historian, a philosopher, and especially as a rabbi. I've held dying people's hands; I've seen poverty, misery, illness, death. I see bad guys win often. Why do I need more?

15/ Now, to apply my duty of charity: despite describing why I don't like certain art, this cannot be a condemnation of the art or those who like it b/c, ultimately, my tastes come from my personality & history.

That's the wisdom of this phrase:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_gustib…

16/ Some people watch these movies & enjoy the depiction b/c - I suspect - maybe they can't see, or haven't seen, what I have. They need things to be exaggerated & overt for them to recognize the emotion. What emotion I get from just a hint, they need in an epic. And vice-versa.

17/ It's a long battle, and I think my position is strong when it comes to superhero movies because they're power fantasies and often the writing doesn't accomplish what they claim they want. But I can criticize the writing w/o condemning those who enjoy the final product.

18/ This gets into a larger discussion about modes of thought & fictional narratives (e.g. how physicists can't suspend disbelief for movies that I am able to; or how seeing a palm tree in the background of "NYC" ruins a movie for someone while I don't notice) which I'll do later

19/ For now, I'll end.

@threadreaderapp please unroll.

@threader_app please compile.