Why Aesthetics Matter

Looking Good Friends and Neighbors!

     Once again this summer we have a bounty of new movies to watch.  Iron Man 3, Man of Steel, Star Trek and a Wolverine movie are all among the geektastic films submitted for your approval.   Now I am certain that these films will all do well make quite a bit of money, however there are some discussions around the ol' camp fire that should be addressed. 

     Story is the most important part.  Of course it is.  Without a good story the rest falls apart.  When it comes to comic book movies, we have a wealth of great stories to tell.  Still one must tell the story in a unique way.  Each generation wants to put their own mark on it.  Tell theirversion.  This is good, but remember that the characters are part of the imagined community of "geekdom" and they belong to all of us.  

     In short, enough with the origin stories.   Re-imagining and re-booting is a cheap shortcut to telling a good story.   If you are to tell a Spiderman story, don't waste time re-hashing the same material.  Just re-cap the basics in the title sequence and get to your story.  The Incredible Hulkdid a fantastic job of this, not only eliminating the unneeded origin story act, but also establishing a re-boot (and eschewing that AngLee atrocity) with a subtle wave of the hand.  

     This brings me to the core subject at hand.  Aesthetics.  Why should it matter what a character looks like if the story is good?  Because that character's look ties in to the cultural consensus that ties us all together.  That imagined community I spoke of earlier - it is integral to the culture.  James Bond may have changed actors over the years, but the aesthetic of who he is remains the same.   Certainly you would never cast Danny DeVito in denim overalls as James Bond - because the community knows what James Bond looks like. 

     They say Electro wouldn't be scary in green spandex with yellow bolts on him.  I say bollox to that, he is scary because he can shoot lightning at you.  So you might say that it does not matter then, the actions make the monster not the costume.  This is true enough, but when making a film to cater to the masses, one should make the most accurate representation of the most classic and indicative version of any character.  Sure, there are hundreds of Green Lanterns, but the first film needs to be Hal Jordan because he is the quintesential GL.   

     Children who have never even seen Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street know what Jason and Freddy look like.  They know the stories because they have heard the tales passed down from others.  Sure, their ideas may vary but the core look is the same.  To change these things affects us deeply as it messes with our preconceived ideas.  Generally, we don't like that and it shows.  In Batman and Robin, Schumacher decided to pay homage to the 60's era Batman and include campy dialogue mixed with neo-campy aesthetics.  When looked upon as coming from the vein of the '66 Batman it makes some sense as to why there are such over-the-top visuals and dialogue (rubber bat lips to protect from Poison Ivy's kiss vs Bat-Shark Repellent).   However, the imagined community of Batman was used to the equally bizarre but more grounded Dark Knight featured in the Tim Burton movies. 

      So the question about the new Superman movie must be... Why does Superman need armor?  Why is electro blue?  Proponents of the new changes like to quote Cyclops from the first X-Men movie.  "What do you want, blue and gold spandex?" 

The answer is yes. 

     Why? Because that is what the X-Men wear.  Wolverine can't wear his gold and brown or blue suit because it would not make him realistic?  He is a comic book hero.  What is real is what appears in the comic.  That is the reality in which one making the movie must adhere to.  

To sum up:

The argument that these costumes are too unrealistic is invalid - reality is the world in which the comic is set. 

The argument that they are impossible to make is invalid - cosplayers all around the world with less budget than the lowliest film studios do it all the time. 

Fans and newcomers alike deserve to see the most widely accepted ... classic... look for all of the characters in any adaptation that is not specifically different.  The back story and imagery in our heads is as important as the new continutity the film will produce. 

That is our imagined community.  We all know Superman wears blue with red accents (even the 'underwear'), we know Galactus is not a space cloud... and we know what Iron Man's suit looks like... and hat's off to Marvel - they did it right. 

Others need take note. 

Be Excellent to Each Other,

~BAT