Assignment 1-4-6: Fade to Black

Viewing The Avengers initially in the theaters was a wonderful time. The screen was filled with great special effects and fast action. Since analyzing the movie in the many ways shown in this blog, I have found the movie to be the same as many others seen before. The Avengers is filled with stereotypes, and showcases myths and formulas that can be found in numerous other movies.

The monomyth cycle and adventure formula is the outline of The Avengers. The most interesting finding that I found while analyzing the film was how often this specific myth and formula are found in movies. Replace Iron Man with Luke Skywalker. Replace Captain America with Vin Diesel’s Riddick. Plots in action movies follow this myth extremely close. This is why many of us can guess what happens next in a movie. We can guess who will unveil themselves to be the villain, or which character will die so that the hero will overcome his fears. These formulas can be seen throughout film history, and yet we still use them. These myths and formulas are comfortable to the movie viewer, and work. Simple tweaks in the basic outline are enough to keep the viewer on their toes.

Sadly, after viewing the movie as many times as I did for this class, I shall never view it again. Any further viewings would only bring pain, as each character will be dissected in my mind. What ritual did Thor pass through? What stereotype does the Hulk represent? What truly does Iron Man want with his celebrity status? As time passes, and memories fade, The Avengers might become that popcorn movie full of great special effects and fast action once again. Until that time though, like the tragic heroes shown in the movie itself, The Avengers has sacrificed itself for the greater good.  

Journal Analysis

Assignment 1-3-2: Journal Article Analysis

Alexander Raoul LeVasseur

HUMN240

Jenifer Garey

March 24, 2013

Arthur T. Broe’s Dick Tracy: The Early Years is a recount of creator Chester Gould’s early years with his creation and the changes the character went through. Broe points out that many of Dick Tracy’s cases and villains closely resemble current events seen at the time or in film. Many of the crimes shown in the comics of Dick Tracy also resembled real life crimes being committed during the times, such as white slavery and murder. Broe’s main points are that what made Dick Tracy popular was its on-going supporting characters, its villains, and its borrowed events from the lives of gangsters and gangster films (p.1, para 1).

Crime during the late 1920s and early 1930s was out of control. Gangsters ran the cities. Gould saw this and created a detective to deal with this crime. Gould established early that his strips were going to be more than a Sunday funny. Since the times were riddled with crime, much of the crime was put into Gould’s strips. A murder was shown in Dick Tracy’s very first strip. Gould’s strip featured many recurring characters. Dick Tracy’s love interest Tess Trueheart, his foster child Dick Tracy Jr, partner Pat Patton were all strong characters that evolved and stayed in the strip. Pat Patton would eventually become chief of police.  While Broe makes the claim that the supporting characters were one of the reasons for Dick Tracy’s popularity, little is established for the claim. Broe makes more of a point highlighting the way that Gould utilizes newspaper headlines, and gangster films, to showcase what made Dick Tracy as popular as it was.

Broe established that many of Dick Tracy’s villains and characters resembled real life celebrities or criminals. The character Big Boy, is based on Al Capone (p. 6, para. 3), while one time love interest for Tess Trueheart, Stooge Viller, resembles Hollywood actor Edward G. Robinson (p.4, para. 2). Many set pieces and plots that Gould used mirrored real world cases such as the Lindbergh baby case. Gould creates the story of the abduction of Buddy Waldorf; little over a month after the Lindbergh case went public (p. 6, para. 3). Broe points out that while the world was dealing with the realities of this horrible crime, in the comic Dick Tracy beats Big Boy brutally for the kidnapping of Buddy Waldorf. This beating brings a satisfaction to the comic reader, allowing them to live a better outcome through the comic, than the reality of the Lindbergh case (p. 21, para. 2). I believe that this is one of the stronger points that Broe makes for the popularity of Dick Tracy. The comic not only transports the reader into the life of Dick Tracy, but by utilizing events or movie references such as Gould does, this makes it easier for the reader to relate and become invested.          

While many of the villains resemble real world criminals or celebrities, the uniqueness of the villains is what makes Gould’s Dick Tracy most memorable and popular. Villains such as the Brow, Pruneface, Little Face and Blankface have traits making them all hard to forget. Gould exaggerated these villains in extreme ways, taking the concept of a gangster to new levels. The Brow has numerous folds in his forehead, while Blankface has no face at all. These exaggerated features create strong visuals, easily separating the hero from the villain. Broe points out the more grotesque the villain; the more the readers became interested. One such villain highlighted was Flattop. Flattop was a villain with a comically flat head. After his death, many readers “sent flowers to the Chicago Tribune-New York Daily New Syndicate, while a wake was held for him at a bar in Connecticut” (p. 18, par.1). Like in most comics, the rogue gallery of a hero is what made and still make the readers come back, again and again. Alfred Hitchcock once said, “The more successful the villain, the more successful the picture.” I believe this to be the same with Gould’s strip.

Arthur Broe’s article has importance for fans of Chester Gould’s life work on Dick Tracy. Broe breaks down the individual story lines, while highlighting where Gould would have received the inspiration for the characters or plot. Broe is clearly a fan and has created a detailed Dick Tracy comic. While I feel much of Broe’s main points take a backseat to his very descriptive explanation of plot lines, it is great snapshot of early Chicago crime, and a thorough breakdown of the early years of Dick Tracy.   

Reference

Alfred Hitchcock (n.d). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved March 24, 2013 from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alfredhitc391985.html

Broes, A. (1992). Dick Tracy: The Early Years. The Journal of Popular Culture, 25(4), 97-122. Retrieved February 2013.

Assignment 1-4-5: Formulas

Hollywood is running out of ideas; it becomes more and more obvious, as every television show, or movie, gets a nostalgic remake. Transformers, Red Dawn, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and even the Shaggy Dog have a remake. The occasional remake would not be so bad if all the other movies were original ideas. Sadly, a majority of movies follow formulas. The film’s premise matters little, because the formula will stay the same. A movie could star two talking horses in love during the 1800’s summer solstice, fighting off man-eating lemurs, and one could still guess what would happen next. If the movie is deemed a romance, it will follow the typical romantic formula. Chances are the horses will come into a conflict, separating, only to embrace in the end under the backdrop of those maniacal lemurs. We have seen this story a million times, and The Avengers too follows a simple formula. 

Would be a great story....if not for those lemurs

The Avengers is a stereotypical military movie along the lines of The Dirty Dozen or Uncommon Valor. While The Avengers is a story involving flying superheroes, demi-gods, aliens, and laser blasts, it still involves a formulaic plot. There is a team in conflict that faces a loss, which brings them together, and then united together as a team to overcome the mission.  These types of movies create a perfect formula, or arch, for the viewer to follow. Initially, we are presented these characters individually. We slowly learn who they are on their own. When they come together after their loss and conflict, we begin to get more involved with these characters, and to care about their loss. The movie moves towards the final mission or battle, and this is when we are fully invested in the characters and wait for the mission’s success. While seen in many movies, this formula is tried and true. This formula builds a reaction and journey for the viewer, pulling them into the film. Some might call this a roller coaster effect, having your emotions go up and down. 

Nope....nothing like Dirty Dozen at all...

The insights I gathered from applying this theory to The Avengers is that this is a formula that I enjoy, and plan to see in the future. Going into a movie involving many characters and personalities, the formula will stay the same. This is not necessarily a bad thing. As the formula proves itself over and over again with the release of similar blockbuster movies, backdrops will change while the formula stays the same. We viewers would not have it any other way, either.

Assignment 1-4-4: Cult of Celebrity and Heroes

In The Avengers, the cult of celebrity and heroes is at the movie’s core. Saving the world brings a level of celebrity and notoriety. Saving a child from crushing debris could bring good attention, while destroying the building in the first place could bring the unwanted attention. In The Avengers, some of these superheroes love being a celebrity, while others try to stay out of the limelight. 

Tony Stark loves the limelight, both in his personal life and as Iron Man. As a billionaire inventor he loves the fast cars, fast women, and being a media darling. He flaunts his brilliance and his wealth in the public eye. His ego drives him, and the media helps his ego flourish. Another hero is in the public eye, but does not understand it. Captain America is an American hero, but after waking up from his frozen slumber, does not quite understand the concept of celebrity. He is a soldier whose goal is keeping America safe. This of course makes him a bit uncomfortable when he finds out that there were collectable cards made of him.

On the opposite side of the celebrity spectrum is Bruce Banner. He lives in the shadows of poor countries helping those in need, all the while hiding from the government. He has no ego, due to the danger and destruction that his alter ego, the Hulk, can potentially bring. He shies away from celebrity and prefers to be left alone. Each of these individuals put aside their differences and egos to become true heroes and save the world. 

The members of the Avengers are each gifted in their own way. They all fight to save those that cannot fight for themselves. They fight for the greater good. Each of these members have special abilities, to fight beings of incredible strength. Another level of heroes in the movie, however, are the members of Shield, such as Agent Coulson. He has training that goes along with being a special agent, but lacks the superpowers or agility that these mini gods possess. This makes him no less of a hero though. He stands up to Loki, an actual Norse god, attempting to recapture him and dies in the process. This bravery in the face of unbeatable odds, makes him just as powerful and brave as each member of the Avengers.   

Assignment 1-4-3: Rituals

Being a superhero and constantly saving the world from destruction, requires a ritual or two.  One is the need to be in shape. Many moments of The Avengers show these characters in a ritual of being in top form. In one scene Captain America is hitting the heavy bag to maintain his fitness. In another Tony Stark and Bruce Banner are working their minds in the lab, staying in peak mental condition. Bruce Banner is also seen throughout the movie, simply having a moment of slow breathing. This is his ritual needed to control the rampaging Hulk within him. These heroes are working constantly to stay one step above the villains, in both ritualistic preparation of their body and mind.  

One other ritual that each hero has is getting their uniforms and costumes on. Like a football player, or figure skater with all the spandex, these heroes suit up when ready for action. Tony Stark’s Iron Man, with his shiny metallic suit, is one example of a ritual involving a superheroes uniform. When Iron Man lands at Stark Tower, his suit is methodically taken off by a robot. While this might frighten you or me, his calm demeanor shows that this robotic removal is a regular occurrence when he lands.  While not shown in the film, looking at the level of shininess from the suit, I am sure Tony Stark has a ritual of sitting around his mansion going through bottles of turtle wax. Another ritual was with Hawkeye and his arrows. As a former member of the military, he is seen throughout the movie making sure those arrows are with him, in good shape and his gear is working.

Some say four coats is overkill, but look at that sheen.

Being a superhero movie, there are just a few stereotypes in The Avengers. One is with the Shield agents. These FBI/CIA style individuals are the normal good soldiers. These nameless, faceless troops are used as fodder for large explosions and adding to a death tally. Another stereotype is simply the basis of good versus evil. Comic book movies use the myth of good versus evil at its core. The evil individual wants to take over the world, while the good heroes do all that is needed to defeat them and save the world. This stereotype is shown towards the second half of the film, but The Avengers does a good job going against type by having these heroes not want to join together. Their self-interests are at first more important than saving the world. 

The insight I gained from applying these theories is that many times there are rituals that even heroes follow. While these individuals can fly while shooting lasers from their hands, or do front flips over skyscrapers, they too have daily routines needed to get them through the day. These rituals, while small, help us relate to these super humans that we watch on the screen. Even if not all of us are able to shoot lasers out of our hands.