The film, as a film, is a hot mess clusterfuck that truly has to be seen to be believed. It’s so awful in that way only bloated Hollywood corporate cinema can be. The plot makes little sense, the overtly wrought melodrama is boring and the tedious pauses that are supposed to derive some type of meaning and symbolism just look silly.
As a film, it’s shit. Appalling, ill directed crap that ends up looking like Transformers in spandex. As a documentary about American Capitalism however, it’s 5 stars.
Superman symbolises the God given Manifest Destiny bullshit that convinces America that whatever helps them also personally helps Jesus Christ himself. The power of the Devine that Superman embodies allows the troubled rebel God narrative of American Capitalism and creates the pretence that America itself has some deep reflective soul searching power despite dropping nuclear bombs on civilian cities and using slavery as an economic base.
Batman symbolises the Military Industrial Complex. You can’t have a Superman syndrome without the rampant death industry of the private military who can project foreign affairs muscle like a God throwing lightening bolts. Some one has to build those lightening bolts with a lot of state tax breaks, and Bruce Wayne Industries will.
Then there is Wonder Woman who represents Israel (actually played by an actress who served in the IDF). She’s there to manipulate the combined efforts of the Manifest Destiny and Military Industrial Complex for her own ends and Lex Luther represents the new disruptive technologies economy that ultimately get beaten down by the status quo.
As a movie this is shit, as a symbolic examination of American Capitalism impacting foreign policy it is a masterpiece.
Go for a walk.
Go cycling.
Dance.
Play music.
Play cards.
Paint or draw.
Write or read.
Have a conversation.
Martyn, the problem with the “left”, particularly the identity politics stuff, is barking at every passing car. If the “left” want to take down the National government, then recognise that the housing issue is their Achilles heel (also Labour’s Achilles heel, given that Labour is not really on the “left”). National is weak as F^%k on housing. Just make everything about it until they fall (and they will). Are there other issues? Sure. But if the “left” was more like a dog with a bone, this National government would be “gone by lunchtime”. Who REALLY wants to take them down on housing? Not Labour. Barking at every passing car is losing support for the “left”. Hammer the housing issue like a dog with a bone (i.e. yes, ONLY this issue, 24/7) and National will be gone.
Typical Bradbury comment, he can’t help himself always displaying his anti-Jewish views
Please enlighten me … anti Jewish views? Where?
Sorry Martyn, but this is a rant. Whatever the failings of the film, this diatribe fails to pass muster as film criticism.
If you are interested, there is a much older critical body of thought that has Superman as a Messiah-figure. But this film does not even respect that. It is a bad superhero mash-up, written seemingly by a focus-group, created with the primary purpose of moving the Justice League franchise onto the big screen. That’s pretty much it.
If the film has any other deeper political significance at all, its that the studios are bereft of ideas. Underestimating the intelligence of their audience, and genuinely averse to using film to grapple with the serious societal issues that ordinary working class film-goers face, they are forced to drive as many fantasy and escapist vehicles through the system as they possibly can, quality be damned.
Meanwhile, in the real world, those who ARE able to separate reality from fantasy are organising in America…
#BernieSanders #BlackLivesMatter #FightFor15 #PoliticalRevolution
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