Steven Spielberg Offers Some Positivity Toward the Superhero Genre in Light of the Recent Criticisms by Big Name Directors
We’ve all heard about the comments that have been made recently by Hollywood bigwig directors Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese, bashing the Marvel movies, or more broadly, the superhero genre of film. Summed up, Coppola says superhero films are “depersonalizing and despicable,” and Scorsese says Hollywood is abandoning cinema, and turning theaters into “theme parks.”
I have no idea why they are taking a genre of movie so personally. A lot of people enjoy these films, and they are being made with better stories, better acting, and more incredible visual effects than ever before. Don’t like them? Don’t see them. I believe great movies are still being made in every genre, and I’m glad I’m not as cynical as these men. Lighten up.
Anyway, one of the greatest directors of all time, Steven Spielberg, spoke out a bit on the subject while at Cannes Film Festival, and while he doesn’t rave about the genre and discount the words of the other directors, he just accounts for the value he is able to find in the films and chats about his favorite. Here’s what he said:
“I love the Superman of Richard Donner, The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan, and the first Iron Man, but [the] superhero film that impressed me most is one that does not take itself too seriously: Guardians of the Galaxy. When his projection was over, I left with the feeling of having seen something new in movies, without any cynicism or fear of being dark when needed. There is a difference between heroes and superheroes. The hero is an ordinary person who is faced with a serious fact and acts to modify it. A hero is a person who, walking down the street, see[s] a car on fire and runs [to] help the person who is in the driver’s seat, attached to the seat belt to loosen it. [A] superhero is a person who, on the same scene, would fly to the car and try to turn it upside down and shake it using his super strength, until the driver is released. I identify more with the first example. Films about everyday heroes.”
I love Steven Spielberg. He has made some of my all time favorite movies, and I think his comments just validate the feeling I’ve always had about him. He loves films, and he sees value in anything good that makes people happy. He’s the best.
via: CB