EF has probable cause to spoil the new Spider Man movie.
So, *Spoilers ahead*
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but surveillance cameras and data centers are a lock and key over humanity. It has come to my attention that Spider Man: Brand New Day champions mass surveillance, framing it as an indispensable crime fighting tool of superheroes. To this I say shame on you, Marvel. Contrast with The Dark Knight (2008).
I have not seen the movie. Nor do I plan to, now. My judgements are based on social media reports and ChatGPT (response linked below).
EF
I went to see the movie with my son last weekend. He convinced me to see it in 4-D, which I have done only twice before (The Force Awakens and another one, but I can’t remember which). It was great. The movie and 4-D experience. Also, the 3-D experience has much improved, and it’s used sparingly to not tire the eyes at all with an almost 2.5 h runtime.
About the facial tracking app. The impression I got from the movie is that Spidey was using or hacking into the police network for that, which was made clear is illegal, but the cop he’s been working with gave him a pass since he’s a trustworthy vigilante. The famous line (“With great power comes great responsibility”) actually plays into that, in my opinion, since the whole point of superheroes like Superman in the DC universe and Spidey in the Marvel universe is that they are selflessly sacrificing their everyday lives for the greater good. I can see an argument that Spidey is more like Batman, living a dual life, but Batman is not superhuman. And Spidey is not like Superman, who was born that way but got his powers via mutation. In any case, the superheroes are above an average corruptible human and can be trusted to use their powers only for the greater good. That’s the idealist in all of us, who wants to believe things like that are possible.
So I find the argument about mass surveillance valid, but not necessarily applicable to the real world. We can’t trust a government; we certainly can’t trust private enterprise to have our best interests in mind. Therefore, we can’t trust anyone with the power like that. But in the fantasy world, which comics and superheroes certainly are, we can believe those things can exist.
I don’t remember hearing about a public outcry like that when Enemy of the State (1998) came out. Simply because the public was not aware of how real that technology already was back then, and my generation was not so incredibly sensitive to every little thing that can be interpreted the wrong way. Of course, the Internet echo chamber was not as strong as it is today, and we could also trust the government to at least keep up a calm and collected face and mostly act in favor of its citizens. At least publicly.
Thank you for this wise and very articulate comment. And above all, I am so glad you and your son enjoyed the 4D experience!
I’m becoming paranoid. Of course, you know this about me by now🙃
… This paragraph below helped me remember the distinguish between superhero universes and reality:
“… In any case, the superheroes are above an average corruptible human and can be trusted to use their powers only for the greater good. That’s the idealist in all of us, who wants to believe things like that are possible.”
Being able to imagine, visualize our ideals (as Spider Man, for example) is a superpower of cinema in general. And, to paraphrase what you said, in an *ideal world * government and surveillance corporations would be trustworthy. And we could use the technology to stop the bad guys.
As a kid I of believed that and was pro technology in most aspects. It’s sad that any technology can be misused not just bad guys but also governments.
I forgot to mention the Spider-Man 2 video game, where Spidey uses a crime-tracking app, which was made by his friend Ganke Lee. It allows New Yorkers to directly report crimes, weird activity, and requests for help to Peter and Miles. So instead of you listening to police chatter, citizens ping you. The game goes out of its way to point out there’s no spying involved, but everyone opts in voluntarily.
FYI I just unlocked WordPress achievement: 😆
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Lol— you earned it.
Lulu: “Our Dada saw ‘Spoilers ahead for the new Spider-Man movie’ and closed his eyes and stuck his fingers in his ears and started going ‘La la la la la I can’t hear you!'”
Well, that’s a good reason not to go. Another reason to be annoyed/affronted, according to hubby, the movie’s getting all kinds of accolades and “wow, amazing!” and looks the way it does because, in his opinion, they stole huge swabs from Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. Like how it looks, angles, etc. I don’t know. But I wouldn’t be surprised.
You see it in video games a lot— recycling levels, sometimes huge swaths of digital architecture. Dressed up as something new… I have little doubt this happens in movies. Especially with the dwindling man power. Skeleton crews relying more and more on AI muscle to achieve the final result… I haven’t seen Spider Man yet. I’ve heard and I believe it’s good… I just freaked out when I heard Spider Man uses police surveillance data to catch the baddies… I just fucking hate Flock cameras. .. Spider Man always just punched a NAzi in Minnesota so that’s very cool lol
Yeah, well, was just talking with another blogger about warnings we never listen to. Handmaid’s Tale? Sounds like a good idea! Ban abortion! 1984? Good one, let’s do it, surveillance everywhere! It’s a good reason to “overreact,” ’cause it’s real, but hopefully for Spider-Man’s sake, it’s benign somehow…?