It was bound to happen sooner or later; might as well get it over with now. Allow me to wax social and political for a moment: The revisionist revolution has reached its slimy tentacles far and wide to reform the planet (well, mostly here in the culturally crippled U.S.) into its idea of the new normal, erasing established tradition in its path (if you haven't noticed this, I've got a bagful of nouns adjectives to use, but won't) and leaving scorched earth in its wake. This is no more apparent than in education, entertainment and literature. Let's just stick with movies for now.
A glaring example is superhero movies that have been fodder for gender-bending and social flip-flopping because they have been under the influence of filmmakers who assume this will appeal to the wider viewing audience and screw the rest of us that grew up with these beloved characters. Another twisted viewpoint is the self-proclaimed anarchist and occultist masquerading as a comic book writer, Alan Moore, who has recently declared that adults who get immersed in comic book culture are "infantile" and this trend will "lead to fascism". Sounds really profound, Alan, but the truth is, your hypocrisy is showing -- in case you haven't noticed you're an adult writing comic books and guess what -- you're stories are not usually aimed at -- nor should be read by -- kids these days. Sanctimonious and subversive stances like these permeate the entertainment industry like so many poisonous mushrooms in a dank forest, but hey, don't worry, the media's got your back.
And now to today's topic: I heard that -- wait for it -- a new Tarzan movie is under development. I briefly thought, Cool!, and then my senses returned a moment later. Based on what has gone before, I shuddered to think what they might end up doing to Edgar Rice Burroughs' jungle lord. Of course, it will be just another great opportunity to "re-imagine" another male-centric, white-privileged, world famous character written by a misogynistic, bigoted and xenophobic white man, so have at him, guys.
The particular studio in question is Sony Pictures, whose only major successes for a number of years have been superhero movies. They not only plan to re-imagine the character, but create a "total reinvention" of him. This quote from ActionNewz.com pitifully sums it up:
"Throw in the fact that recent years have seen Burroughs' books come under scrutiny for their ideas of colonialism, white saviour, and racial and gender stereotypes that are no longer acceptable today, and it's easy to see why Sony is looking to completely overhaul the classic character and property.It will be no easy task, that's for sure, and Sony has something of a spotty track record, so only time will tell how this new take pans out."
I, for one, am not looking forward to this and personally, I hope it stays forever in the flames of development Hell.
7 comments:
I'm genuinely confused as to which superhero movie you're referring to. I'm unaware of any superhero character who has switched genders which hadn't already done so in the comics. But I'm don't stay up on these things really. If the critique is that comics do this and then that's reflected in the movies, I guess I follow you.
As for Tarzan, that's a tough one indeed. I'm one hundred percent behind showing any movie or reading any book and forcing an audience to deal with its social anomalies as they see fit. But if you are making a new movie I can understand why you might not want to reinforce outdated attitudes about race in particular. I quit teaching Tarzan of the Apes in class because I didn't think the necessary discussions of race were worth the effort for a pop culture hero they already had a sense of.
But on the other hand I tried to show Birth of a Nation to showcase to a class how times and attitudes have changed. This would have been done with great care and parental consent, but I felt in that instance the work was worth the effort given the tenor of the times. My principal at the time refused me permission and I understand his position.
Rip
And let me add, I agree with you about Alan Moore's recent pronouncements. I'm getting ready to read a bunch of Moore's stuff, and I've been reading up on him. He's sort of always been this high-handed about his material.
Rip
Appreciate you taking the time for your comment, Rip. For me, “modernizing” superheroes doesn’t make them any better than their earlier counterparts. Call me a fuddy-duddy, but growing up reading the comics that Kirby, Diko, Infantino, et al. created, there is a legacy that instead of being preserved has been reconstructed in ways that are not favorable to my liking. As for ERB, I don’t believe that any form of literature should be shunned or erased from history because of its content, whether deemed acceptable or not by today’s social standards. I agree, though, it’s probably difficult to explain these things to (especially younger) students. It’s too early to tell, but I’m certain that someday some of the books of today will be unacceptable in a future society. I am reminded of the title of a popular Beatle’s song that was later made into a documentary.
"Reimagined for modern audiences" is like a death sentence for any entertainment franchise (movies, series, comics, videogames, etc). Every new iteration of a reboot, prequel, sequel or whatever way they choose to portray their repugnant depictions in the supposed name of equality, rights or opressed minorities just conceives a soulless husk of the source material, sometimes even with disrespect or hate towards the original oeuvre.
Why choose characters, stories and lore out of phase and touch with the super modern world better than all previous ages in every facet instead of creating new ones? Because what they really want is to usurp the place of "old and barbaric" versions so when you look it up on the internet and even more dangerous, when newer generations search for it, they will find the stuff they have made. And if you dare point out that something is wrong or boring in this hideous new versions, well you are a bigot, a racist or a nazi.
Politics is tiresome and do not belong in all things, but this is exactly what these people are doing. They are shaping the world to be something as soulles as their creations while controlling every little thing you do without any escape, not even in a simple movie
"I'm unaware of any superhero character who has switched genders which hadn't already done so in the comics."
I'm not sure if the comic had changed things before the 2021 film was made, but THE ETERNALS changed genders (Salma Hayek's, Lia McHugh's and Lauren Ridloff's characters were originally male or "male-presenting") and ethnicities (Kingo Sunen goes from Japanese/Samurai/Japanese action star to Indian/Bollywood musical star) of most of the main characters-- even though as created, Jack Kirby's original line-up was already fairly diverse.
The thing that amazes me is that they're trying another Tarzan film only six years after THE LEGEND OF TARZAN, starring Alexander Skarsgard's six-pack, reviewed badly (35% on Rotten Tomatoes) and either barely broke even or lost $40M for Warners, depending on who you listen to.
And they already "went there" with the focus of that one, based on the Wikipedia synopsis: "The story follows John Clayton (Tarzan), who, after moving to London, is convinced by George Washington Williams ['an American entrepreneur and veteran of the Indian Wars' played by Samuel L. Jackson] to return to his former home in the jungles of Africa, to investigate claims of slavery."
And all this said, I can see how Burroughs' original writings are nearly impossible to present faithfully over a century later.
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And I don't believe I've commented on your site before, so let me thank you for a GREAT job! I check it regularly and always enjoy your finds!
Anonymous: Your comment encapsulates what I'm sure is shared by more than a few and in the current climate are hesitant to speak up about for a multitude of reasons.
hsc: Well, thanks for finally commenting! Of course, you are welcome to do so anytime. And you're right, Kirby did introduce a number of diverse characters. I think Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams' Green Lantern/Green Arrow drug issues, while provocative, heralded the end of innocence in comic books.
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