Pop culture has never been the same. These decades have seen not only the proliferation of action packed movies but also of representations of TV shows reminiscent to a generation that grew up in the 80's and 90's. The action sequences blow the mind of audiences, specially the young ones who appreciate the visual stimulation and the magic of screen time performances.
But if one asks the older crowd who flock to these cinemas they would perhaps have a bigger reason for going. Aside from the flashy onslaught of screen time and sounds that pummel the ear and shake the THX movie houses, they have another reason.
Movies like Transformers (along with other remakes that were lifted from TV series and hero-infested Marvel spin offs) strike a chord in the hearts of the young adults. I am of course speaking of my generation - young professionals (and even the unemployed) who were jumping for joy when they first saw Optimus Prime transform and hear the familiar voice of the leader of the Autobots.
I have a few students who admire the awesomeness of Transformers perhaps because of the robots and their human-like personalities. But I have to find a few who can articulate the same dynamics that make this movie so appealing to yuppies - males mostly, although I know a few yuppie girls who like it too.
Transformers simply utilizes the common themes in our day to day narratives - a struggle to make a difference in life, to make choices and jump into action that will help others, to be part of something bigger and ultimately to matter in the end. The robotic figures serve as archetypes of heroes with abilities prized by individuals who feel limited by culture, economics and geography.
In other words, Transformers does not only serve as a substitute for the primal need to be known but also as a vehicle for articualting convictions firmly held in a shared assumption that others matter, that one can make a difference and that limits do not define a person (at least not completely). The movie helps bring about that need and speaks it to a visually stimulated crowd about the convictions of a generation living in the desensitizing power of boredom and apathy.
1 comment:
In others words, it's your typical Hollywood blockbuster.
You make some good points with the themes and stereotypes and what not, but is that truly what the movie is about?
Taking a look at the "New-Generation" that the kids see today, and comparing them with the Transformers we grew up watching in the cartoons, you can see that the Transformers of old had so much more to them.
Even the song "The Touch" remade by Stan Bush for this film has lost the overall impact and effect it was originally intended to have.
True, the last 2 Transformers films have allowed the generation of children today to reconnect with the Transformers, but I ask you, at what cost?
My Two Cents. Deal with it.
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