Simon Pegg: 'comic book films are dumbing us down'

telegraph.co ^ | Anita Singh,

[BenLurkin]

“Now we’re essentially all consuming very childish things – comic books, superheroes. Adults are watching this stuff, and taking it seriously!

“It is a kind of dumbing down in a way, because it’s taking our focus away from real-world issues.”

“Films used to be about challenging, emotional journeys or moral questions that might make you walk away and re-evaluate how you felt about... whatever. Now we’re walking out of the cinema really not thinking about anything, other than the fact that the Hulk had a fight with a robot.”

[moovova]

“Films used to be about challenging, emotional journeys or moral questions..."

[martin_fierro]

As opposed to...?

• The dense, indecipherable Art House flick
• The movie featuring the Ever-So-Wise LGBTQ character
• The Chick Flick in which the male character is only good for lifting heavy stuff and giving backrubs
• Any movie in which Morgan Freeman re-hashes the role of Magic Negro ad nauseum
• The flick in which the Conservative is invariably the heavy

Eh, I'll stick with the Superhero movies, thanks.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Movie makers have long promoted morality plays that invariably fail because they are based in the assumption that those who make the play are more moral than those who see it, which is very seldom the case.

And it becomes downright annoying to the audience, when those who make morality plays are themselves immoral or amoral.

[martin_fierro]

“It is a kind of dumbing down in a way...."

Geez, take a position! Is it or isn't it?

[clintonh8r]

Then we agree. He was stating his opinion, not telling anybody what to do.

[x]

“Films used to be about challenging, emotional journeys or moral questions..."

It seems like superhero movies have all that as well.

Everybody's tortured or tormented by something: Batman, Spiderman, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America.

And if the treatment is cliche, that's also true of a lot of indy films -- in fact, it's true of most movies.

The superhero movies just have a lot more explosions

[rlmorel]

Lol...good post...how true.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Since a significant part of our population no longer learns to read and write, what difference, at this point, does it make?

[rlmorel]

I didn’t think it was a waste, but like you, I rolled my eyes as the self important Hollywood types!

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Now back in the olden days a superhero or SI-FI movie script would get a low budget, filmed in Black and white or Cinecolor and be shown the bottom half of a double feature with SON OF HERCULES AND THE MOON MAIDS, at a drive in.

Today such movies get top rated budgets huge special effects and it seems that our six plex movie theater has at least five of these silly things and one kiddy show on each week.

Here is one of the worst movies I ever saw. All it needs is a BIG BUDGET and people will flock to it like flies to a honey jar. Wonder what MARVEL could do with it!

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Ever notice that Mickey Rooney played in the last one?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_in_the_Haunted_House

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

So did I. I was not a superhero fan. I did like the old THRILLER comics, in fact, I still have a quite a few around Classics Illustrated and THRILLER comics packed away.

[Organic Panic]

I enjoy Pegg’s work. But the whole reason of watching movies is to escape. It’s candy for the brain.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

*** and can almost set my watch on when certain key plot points are going to be deployed.***

Same here.I was watching Sylvester Stallone in DAYLIGHT when I realized who was going to die next, when they would have to swim for it, and seemed to be one step ahead on the plot.

Then I realized I was just watching a rehash of THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE from 1972.

[Williams]

Not sure where else the series could have gone, it had pretty much reached a bad point.

[fieldmarshaldj]

There were lots of places to take it in a universe as vast as Trek is. Going back and pissing all over the canon, the classic characters and pretty much the entire franchise (as a Star Wars fanboi like Abrams did) was unconscionable.

[COBOL2Java]

[Pollster1]

“Films used to be about challenging, emotional journeys or moral questions that might make you walk away and re-evaluate how you felt about... whatever."

To Hollywood, serious questions are raised by:

A transsexual parent, presented as normal, with anyone who thinks treating self-mutilation as if it could change a man into a woman or vice versa is crazy portrayed as an intolerant bigot (I assume - haven't watched it).

Glee, which may have more gay/bi/whatever characters than normal characters (Again, I assume - haven't watched it).

Modern Family, which presents gay "parents" as if they were normal parents (Again, I assume - haven't watched it).

It's not just that there are enough gay-themed TV shows and movies that you'd end up with a brokeback if you tried to hold all the DVDs. There is almost nothing else out there other than comic book characters.

And even Archie . . .

. . . and Green Lantern . . .

And other third-tier comic characters and their sidekicks are following along. Presenting one side of an issue, the same side of the same issue, day after day, isn't challenging or daring. It's dull. That's why those normal people who haven't given up completely on Hollywood either watch mindless trash like Fast & Furious 1, 2, . . . 7, or those superhero movies that haven't surrendered to the GLBHTQZ drumbeat. We know if a gay activist writer tries to ruin the movie, our greed friend will step in and . . .

[BBell]

With all the CGI I call them cartoon movies.

[tumblindice]

Yeah, he was great as Othello in “Hot Fuzz”.