Culture
If you had powers, who would you hurt? A look at three different kinds of superhero films
By: Gordon Briggs
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Now Playing is a column by film scholar Dr. Gordon Briggs. This installment in the series corresponds to the Now Playing column that ran on Tuesday, July 15 about Superman.
If you had superpowers, wouldn’t you use those to hurt other people?
Wouldn’t any of us?
Movies like the recent spin on Superman show us people who use their power for “good.” However, I would like to highlight three dark superhero movies about people who use their abilities to both help and hurt others.
The first is the cult film Mr. Freedom (1969). You’ve never seen a superhero film like this before, one that is blatantly anti-American in its sentiment. Our titular hero in question is the violent and arrogant Mr. Freedom, a man who wears a ridiculous superhero costume and destroys anyone and anyplace that doesn’t agree with American exceptionalism. Over the course of the story, we watch him arrest and kill radicals and antiwar protestors. Of course, this superhero film isn’t a product of an American studio or cinematic patriotism. It’s a French production directed by the expatriate American photographer and filmmaker William Klein, who is clearly not a fan of America’s military operations abroad. With its colorful pop-art look and Vietnam-era sensibilities, this film works less as a comedy and more as a bizarre time capsule of what the counterculture felt was in store for America.
Next, imagine John Carpenter’s Starman with a dose of Black girl magic, and you get something like Fast Color (2018), an engaging blend of sci-fi, superhero movie, and road picture. Here, we follow the journey of Ruth, a woman with supernatural powers who is pursued by government forces through a dystopic American Midwest. Sure, there are moments where I wanted a quicker pace and darker tone, but the movie accomplishes what others fail at, making a science fiction film that is grounded in accessible familial relationships and that feels like it’s populated with real people. I particularly like the scenes between Ruth, her mother, and her daughter, scenes which are enhanced by rather than overwhelmed by some colorful visual effects. Rating: ★ ★★
The last is Chronicle (2012). It was one of those films that came out of nowhere and managed to reduce the superhero film down to its most primal elements of belonging vs. isolation and good vs. evil. While other superhero films just placed celebrities in rubber suits, this film created a compelling story by getting us to empathize with its adolescent characters who start off as friends but gradually turn on one another after gaining superhuman powers. Usually, the mock documentary format can visually limit a movie. However, by making the characters would-be documentarians with telekinetic powers, it allows our perspective to float and glide through certain scenes in a way traditional superhero movies don’t. Of course, I can’t leave out Dane DeHaan. His alienated lead character feels like a blend of awkward teenage outcast and dark side Anakin Skywalker. Rating: ★★★1⁄2.
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