www.theotherpress.ca

OPINIONS.

 

Superhero movie consistency

The quest for peace

Cazzy
Lewchuk
Staff Writer

    
 

ack when I was a kid, we

didn’t have good superhero
movies; we certainly didn’t have
mega-blockbuster franchises
featuring every mainstream
superhero. When we were lucky,
we got a bad Spider-Man sequel
or something like Daredewil,
featuring Ben Affleck as a blind
lawyer/ vigilante. The movies
were rare, the special effects
were small, and whatever the
adaption was, it had little to do
with the comic.

Around the end of the
2000s, superhero movies started
getting better. We got classics
like The Dark Knight and Iron
Man, and the sequels and
spin-offs that followed. Now
Marvel continues to dominate
the superhero movie business
with a huge Avengers franchise.
Whatever your opinion is on
the quality of such films, the
fact remains: kids today have
more Halloween costume picks,
action figures, and explosions on
screens than ever. The same goes
for the Transformers franchise.

Action sci-fi blockbusters are
raking in the dough.

It sometimes seems like
nothing will stop comic book
movies from dominating the box
office for years to come—but
that simply isn’t true. The latest
superhero movies’ characters,
settings, and continuity are
causing confusion. In addition,
studio rights ensure that movies
will remain separate for years to
come.

Take, for example, the
Fantastic Four movies. The
original came out in 2005. It
was Okay, and another mediocre
sequel was spawned in 2007.
The next year, fron Man came
out—a separate universe from
Fantastic Four, even though
they fight the same villains in
the comics. A reboot / remake
of Fantastic Four is now in
the works—but it will be in a
separate universe again from
the beloved Avengers’ world.
Confused yet? Most moviegoers
are.

This is just one example.
Most major superhero movies
take place in separate universes
because different studios own
property for both the Marvel
and DC worlds. This wouldn’t
be so bad if it didn’t mean
having to reboot the series every

Cleavage for a cause?

#Mamming, pinRwashing
and the cancer industry

Sharon Miki, Columnist

Ce is an asshole.

The Canadian Cancer
Society estimates that 200
Canadians die from cancer
every day. Every day! As we
transition from October’s
breast cancer awareness
month and into November’s
prostate cancer and men’s
health awareness month (i.e.
Movember), we’re undeniably
inundated with pink ribbons,
moustaches, and other
awareness campaigns to the
point of awareness gluttony.
With one particularly faddy
new initiative, #Mamming,
going viral, the question must
be raised: are these so-called
awareness campaigns actually
doing any good?

#Mamming is a breast
cancer awareness campaign
cooked up by a team of New

York-based ad executives to
coincide with October’s breast
cancer awareness month.
According to the initiative’s
website, #Mamming is the

act of laying your (clothed)
boobs on a flat surface—like

a counter, or a bench—or

the body of a person who is
“planking,” to mimic the action
of getting a mammogram.

couple of movies. It usually
means we have to experience
completely different actors,
villains, and general plots every
time a new Superman or Spider-
Man flick comes out. Sometimes
it’s a sequel, sometimes it’s
a kind of sequel that ignores
previous film developments,
and sometimes it’s a complete
remake. Why can’t we just have
consistent movie experiences?
We know Superman’s origin
story. We know Wolverine is a
badass. Do we really need four
movies to repeat that fact?

Can’t we have Spider-
Man and Iron Man in the same
movie? Hell, I just want to see a
Wonder Woman movie—or any
movie with a female superhero
as the lead. I want to see less
confusing plot. I want more
heroes to team up together.
If the studios don’t get their
shit together, soon there will
be 10 universes across eight
franchises and we'll be too
confused to spend anymore
money. They just need to learn
that we demand something we
can understand—and nothing
starring Ben Affleck.

Or perhaps we can see
a dystopian war sci-fi—that
Ender’s Game could be the start
of many copycats.

actually prevent or combat the
disease?

This is the issue with
cancer marketing programs:
campaigns like #Mamming,
Movember, and pinkwashing
(i.e. slapping a pink colour
or ribbon on a product and
branding it as a cancer-
awareness product) are
indeed great opportunities

 

a complicated cause like
cancer up in a pink bow can
make people feel like they’ve
checked “worry about cancer”
off their to-do list... without
actually having really done
anything.

Posting a picture of my
breasts online may make me
feel like I’ve done something
to prevent or help treat cancer,

Posting a picture of my breasts online may make me feel like lve done
something to prevent or help treat cancer, but all ve really done is reminded
my triends and followers of my cup size.

The idea is cute and smart in
that it pretty much guarantees
widespread exposure: who
doesn’t enjoy pictures of
breasts? In a selfie-obsessed
world, encouraging people to
take cleavage-licious pictures
of themselves and post them
on Instagram is a slam dunk—
if exposure is your goal. But
what good does posting a
picture of your boobs do to

to remind the public of
cancer’s pervasiveness, but
they can also create a false
and dangerous sense of
accomplishment.

Sure, if these campaigns
inform and remind individuals
of the need to be vigilant in
their own preventative health
with screenings and check-
ups, then they do serve a
purpose. However, wrapping

but all I’ve really done is
reminded my friends and
followers of my cup size.
#Mamming doesn’t even
guarantee that I’ve done
anything to help myself. I
could see myself posting a
picture of #Mamming on
something hilarious (say, a
Ronald McDonald statue),
laughing at my own ingenuity,
and then forgetting completely

Photo courtesy of www.manic-expression.com

about actually getting a
mammogram. Similarly, I’m
sure I'll see 100 guys growing
moustaches for the cause this
month, and all of them will
feel they’ve done something—
but how many will actually
raise money for men’s health
research and treatment? How
many will actually walk their
moustachioed faces to the
doctor for a prostate exam?
Cancer creeps up out of
nowhere, it destroys its prey
from the inside out, and it
leaves its victims and the
people who love them feeling
helpless. It’s this feeling of
helplessness and the innate
human urge to do something
to stop cancer that has spurred
countless cancer-based
campaigns to raise awareness
and money for research in
the name of doing something.
If participating in cancer
awareness campaigns makes
you feel like you’re spreading
the word, great; but be aware
that the fight doesn’t end with
your tits on the dinner table.

1/7