Monday, February 19, 2007
So Whats With Teenaged Violence Escalating to Adult Level Violence?
It dumbfounds me how comics I read as a kid, teen and even young adult are now making it to the big screen after years of taunting me about casting rumours, and producers coming out of the wood work to make my heroes in fiction heroes on the big screen. As a teen I remember seeing Batman (1989) for the first time and AWED by the mysterious darkness of Michael Keaton as Batman and the larger than lifeness of Superman when I saw Christopher Reeve play him in 1981.
Looking back I'm really disappointed with the 1989 Batman series as with the Punisher that came out during the 90's. The saving came in 2000 when X-Men broke into the market and shortly after Spiderman in 2002 and Hell Boy in 2004. DC got back on the map in 2005 with Batman Begins competing (and surpassing) Fantastic 4.
The comments I need to talk about start in 2004 with Punisher and this year with Ghost Rider (Both of them rated as R rated films). With the MPAA changing its rating system in the late 90's and movies like Star Wars beging downgraded from a PG to a G, I find it frightening that a movie, especially a comic movie, can get UPRATED to an R/PG14. Mind you these are some of the darker characters, yet Hellboy and Batman Begins were able to keep a PG 13 and they can carry some darker themes. I'm very confused as to why movie producers/directors would take teenaged themes and turn them into adult themes?
Unless they are trying to add to the weight of issues teens already have to deal with there is no rational explanation for it. I am undecided as to whether the movies are finally reaching the level of violence that already existed in the magazines I read as a kid or are the overall societal violence levels being more tollerated? I'm in mass turmoil right now, so all I can say is I couldn't bring myself to see Ghost Rider and Punisher, and there are parts of me that regret I went to see Constantine. In the same breath I'm glad I saw Constantine because I exposed myself (while educating myself in this gerational message) and made my decisions not to see Punisher and Ghost Rider stronger.
(Shrug) Who knows MPAA ratings, messages and such - I don't get them. I do know there is a trend to make the movies more violent through the argument of realism. I don't buy that as much as to match the violence levels that already exist in the comics. Thats my ramble for now.... Probably talking to you after Spidy 3 and Transformers for sure. Me out.........
Looking back I'm really disappointed with the 1989 Batman series as with the Punisher that came out during the 90's. The saving came in 2000 when X-Men broke into the market and shortly after Spiderman in 2002 and Hell Boy in 2004. DC got back on the map in 2005 with Batman Begins competing (and surpassing) Fantastic 4.
The comments I need to talk about start in 2004 with Punisher and this year with Ghost Rider (Both of them rated as R rated films). With the MPAA changing its rating system in the late 90's and movies like Star Wars beging downgraded from a PG to a G, I find it frightening that a movie, especially a comic movie, can get UPRATED to an R/PG14. Mind you these are some of the darker characters, yet Hellboy and Batman Begins were able to keep a PG 13 and they can carry some darker themes. I'm very confused as to why movie producers/directors would take teenaged themes and turn them into adult themes?
Unless they are trying to add to the weight of issues teens already have to deal with there is no rational explanation for it. I am undecided as to whether the movies are finally reaching the level of violence that already existed in the magazines I read as a kid or are the overall societal violence levels being more tollerated? I'm in mass turmoil right now, so all I can say is I couldn't bring myself to see Ghost Rider and Punisher, and there are parts of me that regret I went to see Constantine. In the same breath I'm glad I saw Constantine because I exposed myself (while educating myself in this gerational message) and made my decisions not to see Punisher and Ghost Rider stronger.
(Shrug) Who knows MPAA ratings, messages and such - I don't get them. I do know there is a trend to make the movies more violent through the argument of realism. I don't buy that as much as to match the violence levels that already exist in the comics. Thats my ramble for now.... Probably talking to you after Spidy 3 and Transformers for sure. Me out.........
