Tony Starks, HANDS OFF MY BUSINESS
Posted on 05/10/2010 7:05:41 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Little did Aaron Sorkin suspect, when he wrote the lefty drama "A Few Good Men," that the only thing anyone would ever remember about it was Jack Nicholson’s Col. Jessep speech, which Sorkin accidentally made more convincing than any liberal argument he ever offered: "Son, we live in a world that has walls and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. You want me on that wall — you need me on that wall. My existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives."
Col. Jessup, shake hands with your 21st-century equivalent: Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark.
In "Iron Man 2," not only is Stark’s existence grotesque to a prosecutorial senator in Washington even as he protects American lives, but the movie shows how much we need Tony Stark on another crucial wall — the wall between private industry and statism. The movie is written by Justin Theroux, but ideologically it brings to mind a slightly older screenwriter — Ayn Rand.
"Iron Man" shows its mettle early on when Tony is hauled before Congress to face down a snotty senator (Garry Shandling) who demands that he surrender his rights to Iron Man technology. Tony jokes that he isn’t interested in "indentured servitude or prostitution," echoes Col. Jessup when he notes, "I’d love to leave my door open, but this ain’t Canada" and sternly informs the senator, "You want my private property. You can’t have it." He adds, "I’ve successfully privatized world peace ... what’s wrong with these assclowns?"
Stark is threatened by the only force on earth comparable to his — what Rand’s John Galt called "the unpredictable power of the arbitrary whims of hidden, ugly little bureaucrats."
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Tony Starks, HANDS OFF MY BUSINESS
The amazing thing is that liberals will cheer this because they think they are in rebellion against the government when they support big government.
“I’m tired of the liberal agenda”
I'm not sure when the last time conservative beliefs were championed outside of an action-adventure movie. Of course, I don't watch as many movies as I used to.
Iron Man ping
Yep it’s in there. He rattles off a list of lefty crap his company is researching for tax breaks and then says it. The full movie theater I was in starting laughing, and hootin’ and hollerin’ when he said it.
Jon Favreau is the director. He’s fairly conservative from what I’ve heard and he sets tone and pacing. Perhaps he had some input. On a big film like this he may not be able to alter the screenplay much but he can cut out the liberal jabs and keep the conservative tweaks in.
The Republican Party needs to pay attention. There's more to be said in this one incident than in a whole filing cabinet full of David Frum and Kathleen Parker op-eds.
As a surprise on our anniversary (12 years with my beautiful bride), we went to see ‘IM2’. I do not recall that he said anything about a liberal agenda. I DO know that he made the Senator look look like a complete fool.
In a (conservative’s) perfect world, the Senator would have tucked tail between his legs and never said a dang thing again. That wasn’t what happened in the movie. I won’t get into it for those FReepers who plan to see it.
Suffice it to say, the Senators last words to Mr. Stark in the Senate hearing scene are likely what most, if not all on the Senate wish to say to the American people.
“... what’s wrong with these assclowns?”
I’ve been asking the same question for years.
bfl
Sounds like it is worth going to see because I refuse to watch 99% of Hollywood crap. RObert Downey Jr supposedly found conservatism after his life fell apart.
Mickey Rourke, also in the movie, found his faith and his dogs when his life fell aprt. Mickey blamed himself for screwing up his own life (personal responsibility). ROurke also rails against Hollywood and always tries to find work for his freind Eric Roberts.
It appears that tough times made both men, better people.
Downey is pretty smart. I think he is positioning himself in Hollywood as more of a thinking man’s Johnny Depp. Smart move.
Maybe Aaron Sorkin is a closet conservative. LOL
He said it when he was looking for a plac eto hang the iron man poster.
This may explain why they are mega-hits. Personally, I love ‘em!
That's because it's the One True Thing in an otherwise crappy movie.
You’re right! I remember now! I was thinking of the wrong scene. Thank you!
In the movie he also states that he has donated his 100 million dollar art collection to the Boy Scouts. Claiming their isn’t a more worthwhile organization.
Is your complaint really that more people are being exposed to Conservative principles through a movie based on a comic book.
How many people will see Iron Man 2? How many people would see a movie based on a dry discourse of conservative principles?
Culture is shaped in many ways by mass entertainment.
There was that wonderful scene in the movie about Howard Hughes being grilled by the Senate. And...That was taken from a true event.
Maybe not the good guy, either, but certainly not the bad guy. Libs don't like it when reality (we need good troops) intrudes on their fantasy (military = evil).
And Cruise, Moore, etc ... the "protagonists" ... weren't much to talk about, either. "GI Jane" notwithstanding, I don't see any of them standing a post on the DMZ in Korea, or keeping some remote - but critical - radar station going north of the Artic circle.
Perhaps when "Atlas Shrugged" makes it to the big screen without being butchered, I will be more hopeful. Then again, some of Rand's tech is comic-book as well...
Is Tony Stark’s Iron Man suit made out of Rearden Metal?
bfl
“
The full movie theater I was in starting laughing, and
hootin’ and hollerin’ when he said it.
“
Reminds me of when I saw “The Aviator” in Santa Monica.
When DiCaprio (as Howard Hughes) gets into a discussion with Hepburn’s family
at their nice home...and “Hughes” says “You never have to worry about
money because you have plenty” (or something like that)...
even in liberal Santa Monica, the audience responded with applause and
laughter.
Pleased me, but freaked me out for a moment!
well Robert Downey Jr appears to be one one of the few Hollywood “conservatives”
Downey has indicated that his time in prison changed his political point of view somewhat, saying: “I have a really interesting political point of view, and it’s not always something I say too loud at dinner tables here, but you can’t go from a $2,000-a-night suite at La Mirage to a penitentiary and really understand it and come out a liberal. You can’t. I wouldn’t wish that experience on anyone else, but it was very, very, very educational for me and has informed my proclivities and politics ever since.”[92] In a 2007 interview with W magazine Downey showed the journalist a photograph of himself and his wife with then President George W. Bush.[91] Downey also attended the 2008 Republican National Convention, at which John McCain was nominated as the presidential candidate and Sarah Palin as the vice-presidential candidate. [93]
It’s a good movie. Robt Downey was solid, if a little more scatter-brained than usual. The Hammer guy was a two-dimensional buffoon. Mickey Rourke was a satisfyingly twisted villain. Didn’t care much for the feminazi PC SHIELD girl (Scarlett Johannson) and Gwyneth’s doe-eyed smugness is getting old. But all in all, a low-cerebral-demand way to spend a couple of hours.
I saw it yesterday, and I don’t remember that being said by any character.
Who thinks like that? Who thinks deeply about what they have seen and whether or not it relates to the world around them?
When someone sees an entertaining movie they either like it or don't like it. If they like it, then the messages within will resonate.
In real life, I would imagine that Stark would be raided by the ATF, who would classify t5he suit's armament as "destructive devices" and Stark's only way out of jail would be to turn it all over.
I made the comment after the movie about how funny Hollywood is...even the trailers all contained violence as a means of controlling evil - peace through strength.
In Iron Man 2, they steal Tony’s suit. So he has to make a better suit to stay ahead of the new competition. As long as the hero remains technologically ahead of the competition, there’s peace.
When he leaps on the counter to replace the artwork with the Obama-inspired “Iron Man” poster, he says it in response to Pepper Potts, who was worrying about the impact he was having on the organizations to which they give.
Obviously, if I think like that, someone does. Let's remember this is Hollywood. They are in the business of projecting images (pun intended). If the image is that conservative ideas only show up in comic-book style movies, they subtly brand conservative ideas as fantasy. Also, they remove the intellectual component from conservatism.
I don't think there needs to be a conservative "Dinner with Andre"-type movie, but it need to be more than a John McClain-style blow-em-up action adventure.
It will be, I’m sure.
“There was that wonderful scene in the movie about Howard Hughes being grilled by the Senate. And...That was taken from a true event.”
“The Aviator” ... great movie :-)!
I also loved the scene at Kathern Hepburn’s family dinner.
You mean like “The Blind Side”? Nominated for Best Picture.
You mean like “Passion of the Christ”? It was the 5th highest grossing movie of 2004.
You mean like almost all the Pixar movies?
Conservative messages are out there if you look for them. But when the number 1 movie for the weekend has bold conservative messages, is it really wise to complain about how it’s “a comic book movie”.
Johannson’s character (Black Widow/ Natalia Romonov) has been in the Marvel Universe almost as long as Iron Man. Though for this movie they “skipped ahead” to her being a good guy in skin tight clothes working for SHIELD. She started as a Soviet spy trying to steal the Iron Man tech.
A film you can take the kids to? Amazing. Sounds good. LOL! The ATF would be looking around and would grab everything. It would be on the news. Gun owners has a weapons stockpile of 25 bullets.
Ah. I really want to see it again. It was fun.
I had forgotten about the "Blind Side", as I had not seen it yet, but have heard good things about it.
“Passion of the Christ”. You are right, I had forgotten about it as well, having not seen it either (the wife didn't want to see the gore).
However, Pixar films proves my point.
Also, I am not "complaining", I was merely pointing out something that I noticed, and was unsure about it. I'm sorry if I hit a "hot button" topic with you.
The Aviator with DiCaprio and Martin Scrosese. It was about Howard Hughes. DiCaprio is a lefty but not that bad. Just enviro stuff and Scorsese is a bit too.
The scene where Hughes visits Catherine Hepburn’s family in CT. They are rich WASP marxists. They make fun of Huges because he is an engineer who builds things. The scene made Hughes (obviously) as the good guy and Hepburn’s liberal family as insane marxists.
I saw it on TV and loved that scene. Hepburn’s family were wealthy CT WASP marxists. I would suspect today she would be a part time lesbian because it would be considered fashionable like marxism at the time.
Hughes actually would build things and create value to society. He was no angel but what his companies did in aviation, science and especially medicine has been staggering.
I knew there was a reason I liked him.
I just don’t understand your concern.
Just saying the word “movie” would seem to me to be saying “fiction”. So regardless of what genre of “fiction”, it is still open to the charges of what you are concerned about.
The subtly of messages being inserted into film is decried when it comes from the left because it is so effective, and yet when it comes from the right it seems counterproductive? I’m not buying that argument.
Overt and preachy films and documenteries speak to the true believers but have minimal impact on the culture.
I dare say that Iron Man 2’s speech concerning his private property and the Government’s attempt to take it influenced more people in it’s first weekend than Ayn Rand’s entire library of writings and her career of speeches.
That was great as well. They were such sniveling puny snobs in the presence of a man of enormous talent.
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