Has TRANSFORMERS sold out to liberalism?

Dave's World Blog ^ | 6/10/2006 | SouthJrzReaganite18

[SouthJrzReaganite18]

As I do everyday, I checked the headlines of BWTF.com to find the most recent news conscerning one of my favorite childhood franchises - Transformers. I was elated to find a link to the new website going up for the live-action movie coming up in 2007. As dramatic music played on the web page, the flash animation had the Earth zoom into view and behind it a large robotic eye staring back at me. Excitedly, I awaited one of the typical Transformers tag lines (expecting either, “More than meets the eye,” or “Robots in disguise”). Then the slogan for what I hope will be a huge summer blockbuster came into view, “Our world. Their war.” Suddenly, I sank my head and looked in disbelief like that child who looked under the tree on Christmas morning seeing Santa Clause had not brought him what he had asked for all year.

I must make a few claims before I go on: 1) I know I am jumping to conclusions, 2) Steven Spielberg is the executive producer of this film, 3) The only cast anyone knows about is what appears to be the large and still growing human cast and there has still been no mention of which giant robots will be in it, or who will be doing their voices. With that said, I will continue.
My first reaction was of course what you read in the headline - oh my God (with a capital “G”) they are going to ruin the political message of Transformers. Steven Spielberg has already made the pity case for those responsible for the murders of the Israeli Olympic Wrestling team in Munich, will he defend the Muslim Extremist cause again by bastardizing Transformers?

The world of politics and Transformers have always been intertwined. The original show served as an analogy for the cold war. The Autobots (the good guys) were led by the benevolent Optimus Prime (who was conveniently red, white, and blue) whose famous quote was, “Freedom is the right of all sentient beings,” and his alternate mode was an 18-wheel semi-truck - the symbol of industry and capitalism as he ruled the road. The Decepticons (the bad guys) were led by the warmongering Megatron who boasted the alternate form of a handgun and whose motto was, “Peace through tyranny.” As the inhabitants of the world were stuck between the conflict of the American and Soviet titans, its was never left unmentioned that the humans were being adversely affected by the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons - and we were always reminded by Optimus Prime that while war is a necessary evil, it presents better hope for all sentient beings than an unchecked tyrant like Megatron. In the 80's when this cartoon was made, it was obvious that moral relevance could not be a viable weapon against either Megatron or the imperialistic communism of Soviet Russia - Optimus Prime knew that just as much a Reagan did.

However, the fact that today’s terrorists are often viewed by the left as nothing more than having a different way of life or a different opinion then ours has not been hidden by Hollywood. From Fahrenheit 911 to Munich to Syriana the idea that “we are just as bad as they are (if not worse)” has invaded the silver screen more than it ever has before. So, you can imagine why when I see a Spielberg project with the line “Our world. Their War,” I can only imagine that the war between the Autobots and Decepticon will not be the ultimate struggle of right and wrong as our President views the war against Muslim Extremism. Rather, the epic struggle of the Autobots and Decepticons will be made into a new analogy. The Autobots will remain America, Megatron will now stand for Muslim extremism, and the humans being maligned by the war will be the theaters in the Middle East where our soldiers are currently fighting (those being Iraq and Afghanistan). I predict that instead of Optimus Prime reminding us that to defeat evil we must meet it wherever it rears its ugly head, we will instead see Autobots and Decepticons as Cybertronians with differing opinions, and like the left’s depiction of Iraq (who apparently had never felt the effects of terrorism until the oppressive American government led them there despite the discovery of mass graves upon our invasion) the humans who are maligned by the Transformers’ Great War will never truly understand why the Autobots and Decepticons must fight (as opposed to the humans in the original show who sided with the Autobots as they realized it was their only hope to conquer evil).

So, to those who love America, Transformers, and Conservatism, I ask you to transform and roll out. Let us hope and pray (since we believe in doing that kind of thing) that this Transformers movie will teach the next generation what it taught mine so many years ago - that the forces of good must travel the galaxy and meet the forces of evil wherever they may be in order to defend the freedom of all sentient beings.

[bcrt2000]

It's quite a coincedence I guess but yesterday I was thinking about the political implications of G1 after rewatching about the first 30 episodes or so of G1 again after about 16 years or so (and the movie as well). You may need to go back and rewatch the episodes and movie as well.

If you notice, Optimus Prime is extremely liberal. He never takes pre-emptive strikes. In fact, he goes out of his way in one episode to not hurt a robot ninja called Nightbird even though Nightbird is trying to kill them. Also, he prefers saving lives over anything else. That was evidenced in the episode where there were two Optimus Primes, where he orders everyone to save Spike even if the crystals in the chasm were unstable and about to blow. In the movie, he hears out Megatron's plea and he doesn't shoot at him when he grabs Hot Rod, even though it was his best chance to kill him. He has so much honour that he was ready to leave earth after losing a 1-on-1 duel to Megatron, and never even expected that Megatron cheated.

[Paradox]

What a difference a year makes..

[RandallFlagg]

Yeah.
I got the DVD and loved this movie. I especially enjoyed seeing the pro-military tone it had. Showing the bravery of the troops while they were engaged in battle against the Decepticons was a nice change from the usual Hollywood crops of film.

[Paradox]

I saw the movie AND I am planning on purchasing the DVD. I really liked the movie, one of my favorites of the year. Sure it was campy, dopey, and silly, but man-oh-man did it ever kick some a$$. I enjoyed it perhaps more than my very young kids did.