A Time for Heroes

Posted by Cynical Sarah on February 2, 2008

It used to be that each summer we could rely on some super blockbuster movie to come out. They all had the same basic formula of awesome special effects and a simple heroic storyline – all meant to put butts in the seats at the theaters so the studios could make money and people would leave feeling entertained.

Those are the kind of movies I tend to pop in the DVD player when there’s nothing good on TV and I just need an entertaining distraction while I do other things like laundry or dishes or just napping on the couch on a rainy afternoon.

The other day Armageddon was on TV and I couldn’t resist watching it while I scoured Craigslist for used furniture and did who knows what else. It may not be Oscar-worthy, or the kind of movie that people will be analysing in film classes years down the road, but it’s the kind of movie that leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy and good about the world.

We don’t get enough of those kinds of movies anymore. I’m all for the dark and the artsy stuff. I recently saw Sweeney Todd and loved it, but it’s not exactly a feel-good kinda movie. And this is more typical of what’s being made these days.

Writers and directors are taking the artsy route, and while that makes for some solid quality movies and big debates around Oscar time, I think Americans could use a little feel-good hero movies right now.

I’m going to head right into taboo territory now and blame 9-11 for the death of the blockbuster super heroes. Suddenly big disasters and fighting terrorists in the movies was a big no-no. God forbid someone set a disaster movie in New York that might make people think of the towers coming down again.

I understand it was a huge incident in American history, not just New York City history, but when did we become such an oversensitive nation that we can’t handle seeing a disaster happen on the big screen that requires a hero to come in and save the day? And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of how overly PC movies have tried to be when it comes to terrorist attacks and war.

That doesn’t mean there haven’t been war movies and terrorist movies, but they’re not what they used to be. Whatever happened to Bruce Willis single-handedly taking down a group of terrorists in an office building? Or what about a war movie that shows American troops kicking ass and taking names and not so much of the gritty reality of war?

There’s definitely a place for the documentary-style war films. We do need that dose of reality to keep us from romanticising the darker parts of human behaviour too easily, but at the same time, right now America needs some heroes.

We really need a moment like that in Independence Day when Bill Pullman, playing the President, stands up before the crowd of people getting ready to go into the last-ditch battle and says:

“Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. “Mankind.” That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can’t be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it’s fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom… Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution… but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: “We will not go quietly into the night!” We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!”

No matter how many times I see that movie, that speech still gives me chills. The same goes for the scene in Armageddon when Bruce Willis has to tell his daughter he won’t be coming home.

It’s not the same chills that you get from the ID4 speech, but when he says goodbye so that he can save the world, you can’t help but feel like this is the reason the world is still worth saving.

Even better than bringing back the blockbusters that make us feel this way would be to find actual leaders that can make that happen.

I haven’t yet decided who is getting my vote in the Presidential election this year, but for the first time since I’ve been able to vote, my indecision isn’t because I was trying to find the lesser of two evils. This time around, there are actually some candidates I would want to vote for.

Without going into too much detail, I’ve been a fan of John McCain since he was up against George W. for the Republican nomination. I would have voted for him then, but Bush got the nomination and I voted for the lesser of two evils that time around and it wasn’t Bush.

He’ll have a deep hole to work his way out of now just because he’s a Republican and people are looking for a drastic change after eight years in the President Bush regime.

On the Democrat side, I’ve got my eye on Barrack Obama. Initially, I just got a good vibe from him as a candidate. I like his views and he seems to be a generally likeable guy. But what really caught my eye was this quote from back in November:

“When I am this party’s nominee, my opponent will not be able to say that I voted for the war in Iraq; or that I gave George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran; or that I supported Bush-Cheney policies of not talking to leaders that we don’t like. And he will not be able to say that I wavered on something as fundamental as whether or not it is ok for America to torture — because it is never ok… I will end the war in Iraq… I will close Guantanamo. I will restore habeas corpus. I will finish the fight against Al Qaeda. And I will lead the world to combat the common threats of the 21st century: nuclear weapons and terrorism; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. And I will send once more a message to those yearning faces beyond our shores that says, ‘You matter to us. Your future is our future. And our moment is now.’”

The first thing I was reminded of when I read that quote was the scene from Independence Day. Those are words that inspire and make a person sit up and take notice. Those are the words of a hero, and they make my decision much, much harder in a good way this election year.

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