The Four Color Media Monitor

The Webster College Journal publishes an article about comics-to-film, and the problem I find here is that it seems, at least in the first part, to make a lot of fuss about Batman, both comics and movies, more so than it does about something like Superman:

According to Weathers, comic books are also a misunderstood genre, presented through "bastardized films that miss the point."

Movies based on comic books tend to water down content for mass appeal, Weathers said. The Batman movies with Val Kilmer and George Clooney in the '90s were just marketing tools. He said too often filmmakers try to condense complex stories that shouldn't be made into movies. Two hours is not always long enough to do such stories justice.

Now that's certainly saying something. Trouble is, what comes next undermines the above, courtesy of what some might call the overlapping of "media bias":

The new Batman movie, "Batman Begins," released this past summer, is different than its predecessors. Directed by Chris Nolan, "Batman Begins" is not Weathers' favorite Batman film, but he said that movie got the gist of the comic.

"It seemed more dedicated to relaying the DNA of the character rather than the facade," Weathers said.

Although Weathers is not a particularly avid fan of superheroes, he enjoys Batman comics.

"He's one of the more balanced characters in comic books and well rounded," Weathers said, adding Batman is not necessarily good or bad but somewhere in between.

Others agree that darkness can set the mood for a movie and appeals to different audiences.

That implication again?! And not very clearly either. Just what do they mean by "different audiences"? The problem for me is that it sounds almost like a generalization of the audience at that.

Oh, and what have we here, to compound the above misleadings:

"The first Batman movie was great," said Michael Steinberg, director of the Webster Film Series. "It was a wonderful retelling of the original Batman stories and captured the same darkness and look of the comics."

This summer's "Batman Begins" also included a dark, mature atmosphere, Steinberg said. When filmmakers want to target younger viewers, they change the mood to lighter and friendlier.

"Comics get cute for the sake of the audience," Steinberg said.

Steinberg does not stand alone with his opinion.

Young people are drawn to this cuteness, but end up getting a different message than they expected, said Kathy Corley, chair of the electronic and photographic media department and film professor.

Corley cited "The Incredibles" as a model. Despite the cute characters, Corley said the film was actually a critique of American values. In the flick, Mr. Incredible was sued and forced into a protection program. When he said, "They keep finding ways to celebrate mediocrity," the movie suggested the American standard of education is too low, Corley said.

Now I'm not blind to even what the Disney company does, and believe me, if you know where to look, you'll find that they're not so clean themselves either (and goodness knows what problems I happen to have with their business dealings with foreign "investors"). But even so, what this member of the college staff is doing here is taking everything out of context by implying that the public itself actually wants to "celebrate mediocrity". No, Mrs. Corley, it's the mainstream media(MSM for short) that does. For years, they've been telling us what to think or believe, and this certainly isn't getting much better.

Technological advances also make superhero stories more realistic.

"Superheroes can do more now," said Art Silverblatt, a Webster media communications professor. "You go to see the special effects of a film."

When George Reeves played Superman, the audience could see the strings used to give him the appearance of flight, Silverblatt said. The Christopher Reeve films were exciting for their time, but the special effects are now thought to be poor.

Oh, for heaven's sake! Once again, special effects are more important than good storytelling and scriptwriting. And don't tell me that superheroes can do more now without telling me where they can. In the comics, maybe, but in the movies, can we be clear here that I don't just simply go to see special effects in motion? Please.

"Comic books have evolved and changed with the times to stay relevant," Weathers said. "It's amazing how they have kept their appeal through change."

Others are not surprised by the continued success of heroes and comics.

If only they'd take a closer look at things, even at the comics blogosphere...

"There are always new examples of what is considered good verses what is considered evil," Corley said, adding that comic books provide a social consciousness about issues like war.

They do? But in what perspective? Good or bad? Just look at what happened to Capt. America and even other Marvel books in the last few years, or what's happened to even the DCU in the last year or so.

With movie titles like "Spiderman 3," "X-Men 3" and "Superman Returns" scheduled to be released in the near future, the superhero trend in film will most likely continue.

"The only way it seems for a comic book to stay relevant is to have a movie made about it," Weathers said.

Which is almost like implying that they know things are bad for comics in sales and recognition, but at the same time, is still kept very dismayingly shrouded. Or are they implying that comics have to take their cue from the movies? Sorry, but with the dreadful track record movies seem to have this year, and the diminishing returns at the box office indicating that, I'm not impressed.

College coverage of comics just isn't what it could be either. Sigh.

Labels: msm propaganda