| HOLLYWOOD JESUS
NEWSLETTER #85
Pop Culture From A Spiritual Point of View
July 20, 2004
Greetings from David Bruce, Web Master
Main Topic:
Why the Success of Spider-Man 2 and the Failure of King Aurthur?
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1. A SHIFT IN THE CULTURE
We now want our truth served up in myth and legends
--By David Bruce
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The world has changed.
I see it in the water.
I feel it in the Earth.
I smell it in the air.
Much that once was is lost,
For none now live who remember it.
--J. R. R. Tolkien
In just 3 weeks Spider Man 2 has grossed over 500 million dollars world wide, holding the number one position for 2 weeks. However, when King Arthur opened it crashed, big time. The big question is: Why?
It was the master story tellers CS Lewis and JRR Tolkin who somehow knew that the best way to present profound truth was through fantasy --and not through "historical facts." These writers tapped into the direction of popular story telling long before it happened. They were the pioneers.
Jerry Bruckheimer’s Pirates of the Caribbean did mega box office business ($653M). The public loved its mystical, magical and mythological approach to story telling. But, when Jerry Bruckheimer released King Arthur it failed. His production stripped King Arthur of all of its legendary mystical and magical elements and attempted
to couch it as an historical event.
The trailer for King Arthur proclaimed: “For centuries, countless tales have been told of the legend of King Arthur. But the only story you've never heard ... is the true story that inspired the legend.” And so the movie presents just the “facts” of King Arthur!
Salon.com reviewer Stephanie Zacharek observes, “But it's hard to care about a valiant groping for accuracy when …sometimes legends resonate for good reason.”
Reel Reviews James Berardinelli is right, “The concept of taking the Arthurian legends and deleting all of the fantasy elements makes no sense whatsoever, especially in light of the rousing success of The Lord of the Rings.”
The recent failures of historical dramas such as The Alamo and Gods and Generals, seem to underscore a famous line from John Ford’s classic Western, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” And while King Arthur
may be closer to fact, today’s culture still prefers the legend.
The top twenty grossing movies are mostly fantasy and myth: Spider-Man 2, the Star War episodes, Harry Potter, ET, Lion King, Finding
Nemo, Shrek 2, the Lord of the Ring series, etc. Only Titanic and The Passion of the Christ have historical substance.
The mythic Spider-Man 2 is popular because it hits on important life changing truth that is so powerful it could not be told in any other way.
I think Melinda Ledman has unmasked some of that truth for us. I present to you her review of Spider-Man 2:
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1. Spider-Man 2 and the IH Syndrome
(IH =Isolated Hero)
by Melinda Ledman:
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Despite the truly terrible stunt doubles (who actually got full-face shots even though they looked nothing like the main actors) and the sometimes overdone computer animation, this movie won my heart because it didn’t pin its hero into eternal isolation.
After three seasons of Smallville, I can hardly bear to watch poor Clark Kent suffering from the IH (Isolated Hero) Syndrome anymore. Why do all the comic book heroes have to suffer from love lost, secret lives, and tragic existences as lonely purveyors of good deeds? Well…other than the fact that it is the fundamental comic book hero prescription. Superman,
Daredevil, X-Men, Batman, The Punisher (didn’t see The Hulk or Hellboy, but I assume it’s the same) and the first Spider-Man all suffered the hero’s self-sacrificial fate, losing important people for the sake of anonymous heroism.
Spider-Man 2 asks, “What’s the point? If you can’t commune with your fellow man, whose life you are incidentally saving, why bother being a hero at all?” Peter Parker’s struggle with his superpowers begins with this question of value: What gives my life meaning and value? After hitting bottom, he realizes that integrity, reliability, excellence in education, and above all, relationships
make the difference in his life. His struggle then becomes finding the balance between the responsibility of helping people and the joy of connecting with them. The life of either extreme is a life half-lived.
**SPOILER WARNING**
Two things made this movie more realistic for me, and certainly made for a better spiritual application:
1. Spider-Man exposes his identity on several occasions – In fact, he is exposed to almost every important person in the movie – MJ, Harry, Doc Oct, Aunt May (by implication) and a train full of helpless locals. The masked hero has a real face! Refreshing, very refreshing! We deeply desire that people who do good deeds receive recognition for the good that they do. We also desire that heroes
not have to hide their love for friends, their intentions from enemies, and their identities forever – just because they choose a life of heroism. Lastly, we desire that our own curiosity to be sated. We want to know WHO the great hero is.
Think of the spiritual application here. Christ is the unmasked face of God! We have a savior, a hero if you will, who acknowledges his own miraculous works as acts of love, who allowed himself to become vulnerable for our cause, who does not hide his love from his friends nor his intentions from his enemies, and who shows us WHO he is. Colossians 1:19, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness
dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
2. Spider-Man gets it all - Walking out of the theater, my husband asked if I liked the movie. I said yes, but followed it up with, “Can they do that? I didn’t think the hero could ever get the girl in comics…or maybe he just can’t have her for long. I guess we’ll see in the next movie.” Keep in mind that I don’t follow the actual comic books, so I’m completely
in the dark about what happens next. Nevertheless, I was very pleased to see the hero rewarded with the relationship that he most desired.
Did you ever consider that in the spiritual scheme of things, we are the girl? Yes, we are the prize. The hero (Christ) suffers and sacrifices to save us, to protect us, and to love us (even if that love must be hidden for a time). And again, back to Peter Parker’s dilemma, what value is all of that work if there is no relationship? In the same way that Spider-Man feels elation from Mary Jane’s profession of
love, I believe God delights in our love of him.
**END SPOILER WARNING**
I suppose my frustration with the IH Syndrome is that heroes have feelings too. That sounds so cheesy, I can hardly stand to include it here, but it is true. No one sacrifices so much for others, only to have those relationships lost. Generically saving someone from peril amounts to very little if the Savior is not allowed to enjoy honest interaction with the person he has saved.
How would the story have been different if Spider-Man had been ultimately cut off from all those he loved and admired? MJ, Aunt May, Harry and Doc Ock? Reconciliation and relationship are the very spice of life. I am honored to call Christ my hero and to engage in a daily relationship that brings him joy, regardless of whether I’m singing his praises or he’s rescuing my sorry butt from peril.
Reconciliation and relationship are the very spice of life!
LINKS FOR SPIDERMAN 2
—Overview
—Review by Melinda Ledman
—Review by Benn Becker
—Review by Mike Furches
—Best Posters
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections
—Forum |
