I hope The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) can live up to the hype

                                              (image courtesy of collider)

The Avengers (2012) was a breakout hit because it successfully combined the many elements of the preceding solo superhero films in phase one of Marvel’s grand design. Now the sequel The Avengers: Age of Ultron will premier internationally on May 1, 2015. I liked the entertainment value of The Avengers but was overwhelmed by its grand superficiality which stemmed from its comic book conception and a weak villain, Loki, which barely provided a sufficient test. Qualitatively the strength of The Avengers rested on the ability of these diverse so called heroes to fit in to a unit controlled by the international government organization, SHIELD.  The Avengers also touched on issues related to the underhanded role of the government which were later developed, successfully, in Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014) where it was discovered that the HYDRA element had infiltrated the infrastructure of SHIELD. The Winter Soldier along with Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World are the main films so far of phase two which also included the otherworldly The Guardians of the Galaxy. Now comes The Age of Ultron to wind up everything and so begin a new phase. There is no doubt that The Age of Ultron will be a box office success but will it make The Avengers a transcendent film i.e. will it transcend its comic book limitations?

I cannot say because the film has not been released but I just hope that the film addresses certain issues which will make it transcendent. Firstly, I hope the film does not stick to this episodic aspect that comes with the Marvel films. This episodic quality diffuses the core and the focus should be on the core that reinforces the overall objective or its philosophical dimensions. Although the marvel films are entertaining they lack a definitive objective or overall philosophical approach apart from the introduction of several comic book characters. I thought that The Avengers was merely episodic when I first watched it in the cinema but, then, I did not stick around for the epic Thanos reveal. After seeing that post credit scene I thought that he would be the primary villain but he seems to have taken a back seat to Ultron until The Avengers: Infinity Wars. If Thanos is the major driving force then why is this not elaborated on? What does he represent? He keeps being mentioned briefly in a grand manner but it is not clear how everything fits unless you take in this episodic approach which does not seem concrete apart from the introduction of many comic book characters. His movements must also correspond with the movement of the avengers and we probably won’t know the full story until they actually have to develop Thanos as a character.    It is not really clear what the Marvel films are all about because of the episodic quality that only mentions certain elements in order to push a particular story but does not necessarily stick to them. You do expect villains to come and challenge the avengers but what is the point of introducing all of these villains. What do they represent apart from the part they play in the Marvel universe?  Based on what I have heard from Ultron his objective is to bring peace by destroying humanity and I am sure issues related to A. I will come up.  There was hardly any suggestion before that Ultron would emerge or that his character was tied into the whole thematic structure. We do learn in the trailers that Tony  Stark/Iron Man created him at some point. The point here is why was ultron not featured earlier as part of the whole in order to make him seem organic for the series?  In order to make him relevant thematically he must have been mentioned earlier in order to make the character a major driver of the series as opposed to being just another appearance of a major comic character. This is the episodic quality that has the potential to make the marvel films successful from a superficial perspective but underwhelming because it cannot transcend its comic book origins. This means that it cannot transcend it’s the source and so, merely, just plasters  famous comic book characters on screen.  The Age of Ultron will do well from a superficial basis but if it is just another excuse for these comic book characters to appear on screen and demonstrate their overwhelming powers then it will begin to magnify the weaknesses inherent in the marvel films.

Secondly, I hope that The Age of Ultron provides a more challenging villain that can really rock the team. It does seem that  Ultron will be such a villain but the extent that he can really wreck the avengers remains to be seen. Loki was an inferior villain and when he was smashed by the hulk that more or less wrapped it up. I was not impressed and I hope that Ultron provides more scale to the challenge he is supposed to bring. In The Avengers Loki decided to conquer the earth with an alien army given to him by Thanos. The battle, however, was contained in Manhattan, NY and was actually pretty small and insignificant apart from the alien fighters zipping through the air. There were a lot of explosions but it never felt like much was happening because it took place in a small section of America. In order for these battles to be significant the scale must be sufficient to make it seem worthwhile or relevant apart from the usual ranting villain who is out of touch. Ultron must be more entrenched and provide a larger scale for battle with the avengers. The world must get involved at some point particularly as the earth is part of a wider universe of alien beings.

Thirdly, the introduction of new characters like the Vision, Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver must be relevant and not just appendages. Seeing their powers on display will only be superficial entertainment. If it’s just a case where they utilize their powers in battle to defeat Ultron then it will be typical comic book fare and will not demonstrate anything new thematically. Each character must be relevant or represent something essential to the growth of the series. If not then it will just be a case where we only see them again when the next avengers film comes around. If this is the case then the quantity of the avengers films will eventually place a burden on the quality and this normally spells the doom for many franchises at the core even though, superficially, a lot of money is being made. The superficial element becomes static or formulaic as a result even though the core can no longer sustain the weight and will require a new qualitative element to absorb the pressure. It is pretty clear that by The Infinity Wars there will be a lot of characters battling a mighty villain but what this battle represents remains to be seen.  I just hope they get it right here so that each character represents something significant. If this is the case then they will expand the qualitative element.  If not then it will be just more characters with fancy powers or a case where a couple heroes will fight each other (Hulk vs. Hulk buster iron man suit)

Lastly, I hope that the film challenges the team by emphasizing some sort of break up. Two great trilogies come to mind here. The Lord of the Rings and The Dark Knight Trilogy. These two series of films had moments when a particular team was broken up in a dramatic manner but left room for reconciliation later on. When this was done it represented a decisive shift for better or worse and altered the film dramatically and made it transcendent because the overall objective was significantly challenged. The marvel films do not seem to have an overall objective and so even if there is a break up it will be self contained or limited to the film itself. It will not stretch to the next phase unless some bold decisions are taken. The death of a character does not mean there will be a decisive break up it just means that Ultron is a very effective villain. If there is a break up it should represent a decisive shift. A shift that will probably change the whole conception of the avengers team and what they represent although it is difficult to grasp what they represent apart from the comic book element. This has already been suggested in the trailers when Black widow keeps saying that ‘nothing lasts forever’. Let us hope that it is a definitive shift dramatically. Not just self contained but a shift that will resonate and make the marvel films transcendent. The two marvel films that have come really close to making these series of films transcendent are Iron Man (2008) and Captain America: Winter Soldier. The episodic nature of the marvel films limited the development of the significant themes present in those films.

Well I hope that The Age of Ultron will live up to the hype from a qualitative point of view although it is guaranteed to reach its superficial target: box office success. The superficial target is only a reflection of quantity and not quality. It is important that this film meet its qualitative targets.

Essence vs. Appearance

(movements in the core of the earth will always shape its appearance on the surface)

 Essence vs. Appearance is such a fundamental contradiction in human society that it is taken for granted in some quarters. What do we really know about this fundamental contradiction? I am only discussing this contradiction from a general perspective and to assess how it is manifested in human society. G.W. F. Hegel in the Science of Logic and Karl Marx in the 4 volumes of Capital have had the most influence on this discussion. Hegel and Marx are the two greatest proponents of the dialectic method in the history of philosophy. Hegel acknowledged essence as the objectifying principle behind something or being with appearance being its outward projection.  The contradiction of essence vs. appearance is quite straightforward in the history of human civilization. This is what I want to briefly discuss from a societal perspective and this is where Marx is very helpful. Hegel was a proponent of the idealistic dialectic method and so his method was not readily translatable into the systems that constitute human society. Marx on the other hand reversed Hegel’s dialectic in favour of a more materialistic conception of the dialectic method which he employed in his analysis of the capitalist mode of production. I am just here to generalize from a materialistic perspective while acknowledging the idealistic basis for the dialectic that laid down the principles regarding essence vs. appearance. Hegel also stated that the actuality of the object would make it into an active agent or have its existence justified in some way or the other. I am here focusing on how the realm of appearance has clouded the essence of certain objects in society. This is because the quality of an object is its essence whereas the quantity reflects the appearance of  the many parts that constitute the whole. In society it has become increasingly difficult to grasp how all the parts come together to form the whole. I am here to apply the notion that will explain this contradiction

The Essence

The essence or essential features of an object involve its many components and how they come together. A coming together of various parts normally constitutes the essence of an object which is composed of these various parts. You cannot have the one without the many (No I am not discussing the matrix but the matrix trilogy did adopt this philosophy) because the one or the whole is the content that is comprised of the many. The one along with its many parts constitute the form of a particular object or its essence. The one attracts the many and the many become the one just as the many produce the one that  becomes the many.   Obviously in the materialistic world there are many parts of a whole that also constitute their own wholes. They solidify into their own whole yet they are still  apart of a larger whole. This larger whole may also be just another part of an even greater whole. The universe  is composed of  many galaxies,  the galaxies  are composed of  many solar systems, the many solar systems are composed of planets and the planets are composed of various gaseous and rocky/solid elements. In the case of earth the life organism emerges out of this as the smallest element which is then broken down into its own various parts. In the case of human beings the life force has given way to civilization and then civilization gives way to laws or the many elements that constitute a society and make it function such as the many human individual elements engaged in economic activity. The human individual elements within the context of society also have their own parts that help to constitute the whole of a particular civilization.  In the case of life it is an offspring of the natural elements of earth in conjunction with the sun which powers the system in which the earth resides. Life is the smallest element in the universe but it is still a part of the larger whole we call the universe. Life is obviously important to us as humans because without the necessary natural elements that made it possible we would not have human civilization. These natural elements are greater than us in their physical scope and this is evidenced by the inability of humans to venture very far from earth or our inability to go beyond our own solar system. This means that human civilization is the lowest element on the universal scale. As a result of this progression, however, life forms may be the smallest physically but are also the most advanced.

From a materialistic perspective the universe is therefore a coming together of the many parts that comprise it including the puny life forms on earth. This is the essence of the universe or the essential features of its objective materialization which is comprised of these many parts. All these many parts have their own conception and therefore a relative basis for their own existence which allows them to form their wholes with several parts. The whole=parts=new wholes being formed. It is a progression from the whole object which is then broken up into several parts and these parts become their own wholes. It is this progression that reflects development or growth. The essence is the form that each part assumes as it becomes a whole or a distinct body. This sort of advancement cannot be fathomed without a historical and philosophical approach which documents how a particular part became its own whole. The essence of an object is a part of the telling but it does not explain the reason for such a progression. This explanation comes from an examination of  the subjective elements that interact in order to create new wholes and the parts that comprise these new wholes. The process itself is distinct from the essential features of an object although the essential features form the basis for a particular form of interaction between elements that will lead to a new whole. This interaction takes place within the whole itself or between the several individual parts that constitute the whole. It is their interaction that lead to the creation of a new system or whole. This is the notion or the subjective aspect that is a feature of the objective logic of an objects essence or its essential features.   The essence only shows how these parts come together in the whole but does not explain how the parts become new wholes. That is for another discussion.  

The historical and philosophical approach reveals the origins of a particular object and how it was constituted after breaking off from a preceding whole to become its own entity apart from the dominant whole. While it may remain distinct, however, it still relies on the foundation of a larger whole that supports it. It cannot be divorced from the larger whole although it has assumed its own distinct form.  If we forget the universe and focus on the many nations or cultural groups that form the whole of human civilization then the concept still applies. Although cultures appear so radically different, for instance, you come to realize, with sufficient historical research and current exposure, that humans are not different in their conception. All the various cultural groups developed in a particular manner which was characterized, holistically, by their interaction with the natural elements and how human labour utilized these natural elements. These natural elements also include our own bodies (sports, warfare etc).  The interaction of human labour with the natural elements is the basic origin of our economic systems and this laid the foundation for the growth of capitalism as we know it today. This is the material basis for the growth of human civilizations. Capitalism is the most advanced way of utilizing human labour for the exploitation of the natural elements for the benefit of human civilization.

This interaction with nature  is the core for the cultural basis of many civilizations and became the basis for the philosophical approach that sought to understand the world through enquiry.   Language, artistic representation and communication also helped us to identify these external natural elements for the purpose of conceptualization. Conceptualization however did not explain the essence of an object but described it and made it distinct in the realm of appearance. The philosophical approach of enquiry sought to understand how these concepts came together. This came with the growth of science that further rationalized the many natural elements of world in which we live. Putting the parts together, however, within the context of the whole is the only way to understand the essence of anything. This can only come with historical research and contemporary philosophical enquiry that traces the past origins of something through to the present.  With the growth of labour productivity the whole of universal human society is now composed of many parts. It is the interaction of these parts that become the source of various contradictions. It can only be resolved with a violent coming together. A peaceful coming together is out of the question because that will not lead to change because the many parts will always interact as contradictions without any coming together. The history of universe demonstrates that it is violent clashes that lead to new beginnings. The creation of planets came with the clashing of rocks.  The forces of destruction lead to creation and likewise the forces of creation lead to destruction because all natural elements are finite. Being finite means that you will be destroyed although your existence is representative of creation.

The essence is, therefore, the whole or the object that is comprised of many parts. These many parts form the basis for a certain progression from the whole forming new wholes because of a breakaway from the preceding whole.

The Appearance

The appearance of an object is the outward projection of the essential features of an object. The appearance is the element that is representative of the essential features of an object. The appearance is representative of the many manifestations of an object. The five senses of biological beings corresponds to the realm of appearance. It is how we relate to the essential features of an object. The essential features of an object are projected onto biological beings in the form of appearance and this allows for a certain perception of an object and what it represents. The perception of many individuals is due to the sphere of appearance because they relate to the essential features of an object based on how they react to it from a sensory perspective. When humans became more conscious of their environment due to the conquest of land and economic activity the level of perception also increased because humans also became more aware of the various parts of the whole which was nature and categorized them accordingly. This categorization took on a more religious perspective particularly as nature was seen as a divine element or an element beyond the control of human beings. Once it was beyond the control of human beings then it was divine in its conception. This categorization of the various parts was due to how the many natural elements were presented from a sensory point of view.

The sensory point of view is clearly the most basic form of perception but it is this perception that made some humans aware of the essential features of an object. The perception is therefore tied into appearance and it is clear that if perception is tied into appearance then there must be various perspectives of the same object. This leads to a significant distortion of the object (check Plato’s analogy of the cave) as it stands in its essential form. The realm of appearance does not allow for a significant understanding of the essential features of an object. The realm of appearance does allow for a closer examination of the essential features of an object. When we come into this world we perceive the world in a particular way as we are shaped by how we respond to our external environment. Our response to our external environment is based on how we initially perceive it but that does not mean we understand the essential features of the objects that surround us. Today there are so many objects in the form of commodities and this is due to the extent of industrial production. With so many objects being presented to us in the realm of appearance we will not be able to grapple with the essential features of all. We will, therefore, only assume or perceive our own interpretation without an examination of the essential features of some objects. We can only grapple with how these objects appear to us. When you consider the extent of production under capitalism for instance we are presented with a system that significantly exploits the working class by extracting surplus value/unpaid labour time. A lot of wealth is generated from this kind of production and in the realm of appearance this is known as profit. Profit, according to Marx, is the amount of surplus value added to the total capital advanced for production. In the realm of appearance, however, people perceive that this is the case but they cannot understand the essential features of the object. The members of the working class will perceive that something is wrong when their wages do not increase even as their productivity increases; but the wealth of their owners increase considerably with an increase in the means of production. This contradiction clearly means that the essence of the capitalist system is the exploitation of wage labour. It is the high level of labour productivity of the working class that allows for the significant increase in the amount of wealth of those owners, called capitalists, that do not partake in the working process to any great extent. The great economists such as Karl Marx, David Ricardo, William Petty, Quesnay and Adam Smith are just examples of those that sought to explain the essential features of this system. Marx was the most definitive, in his 4 volumes of Capital, in his assessment of the capitalist system because he grappled significantly with the essential features of the system and how the parts constituted the whole. This template that demonstrated the various essential features of the system cannot be challenged unless someone else seeks to understand the totality of the system instead of just one aspect.

The system is capitalism and the many parts such as the profits of the capitalist, the rent of the landlord and the wages of the working class which represent the main sources of revenue in society. There is also the element that represents constant capital and remains fixed in the production sphere. The revenues operate in the sphere of circulation or the market and it is there where the realm of appearance is manifested for several individuals that come to see money, or the universal equivalent that can be exchanged with every commodity, as the embodiment of wealth. Although the growth in a country’s monetary resources is tied into the level of production or output of that particular nation or the production level of other countries, companies or individuals that provide loans to a particular country. The level of production must be realized in the consumption sphere or in the marketplace or the production sphere will be significantly affected. This means that for the consumption sphere to be increased then production must also be increased in different sectors of the society in order to generate the revenues that will allow for the realization of production. The revenues appear as the appearance of capital to many but they do not grapple with how these revenues are generated from an essential point of view.

The realm of appearance, therefore, is the outward projection of the essential elements of a particular system or whole. As the system of capitalism shows objects normally indicate their presence by some form of emission that represents the outcome of the many processes in the system that lead to this sort of emission. In the capitalist system the appearance takes the form of revenues that circulate in the marketplace. Whereas the essential elements of capitalism are related to the production sphere that allows for the growth in revenues.  The appearance represents only the emissions that take the form of the many parts that comprise the whole. This appearance, therefore, does allow for a perception of an object’s essence but it does not allow for a sufficient understanding of how the many parts comprise the whole as a result of the notion or how the appearance itself is manifested. The whole must first be perceived in the realm of appearance before the essential elements of the whole can be understood. In the case for many people appearance precedes the essence when in reality it is the essence that comes before the appearance.  This is why some individuals become stuck in the realm of appearance and make many assumptions about an object without attempting to understand its essential features or the parts that comprise the whole. The one attracts the many and the many are solidified in the presence of the one. The many also create the presence of the one.  Many people will only come to grips, from an individualistic point of view, with the part they play in a whole while ignoring the other parts. By ignoring the other parts they can only grapple with them based on how they are projected in the realm of appearance. This leads to stereotyping.

The appearance, therefore, represents the essence of the object but does not concretely provide an understanding of the object’s essence. Representation does not translate to actuality or how an object moves or becomes involved with other parts that comprise the whole or how the whole is broken into many parts. Representation is an outward projection but does not necessarily provide for an understanding of an object’s essence or how it moves. Appearance or representation is only an outcome of the core beneath that emitted this superficial element. This is why those elements that exist in the realm of appearance are considered superficial because it only represents or only reflects the essential elements of an object which are so diverse that it is difficult to fathom, by some, in the material world. All they have is the appearance of such objects or their representative form.

Essence vs. Appearance

The contradiction of essence vs. appearance has  become a significant contradiction from a materialistic perspective. This is because from an idealistic basis Hegel saw appearance as merely the outward projection of essence. It does not seem like a significant contradiction in such a case. Appearance normally reflects the essential elements but it does not define them or provide insight into the essential make up of a particular object. Appearance leads to many people having various perceptions of a particular object or event. There are many people that reside primarily in the realm of appearance and this can lead to several false assumptions about a particular object. Conspiracy theories are one of the best examples in the social scene regarding the realm of appearance. A lot of these conspiracy theorists ask a lot of questions but do not examine a particular object from a concrete basis. They only examine objects, events or situations from the perspective of what happened in the realm of appearance. One of the primary reason for this is that in the modern day only a few individuals have access to primary bits of data that could help to explain certain objects, events or situations. This is would explain why some government documents in some national archives can only be seen after a 30 year period. Until that 30 year period it is difficult to gain access to the essential features of a particular object, event or situation and will have to deal in the realm of appearance or perception until all the elements of the essential object or event is made available. In some cases only the perception of certain individuals can provide some insight and with the growth in population of various nation states, economies and the technological apparatus of various societies it is clear that several individuals have a perception regarding certain events. They call these perceptions opinions or beliefs about an essential object. The examination of the essential features of an object or event can only come from a historical based research or philosophical enquiry. Commissions of enquiry are almost a standard in many nation states. This is due to the philosophical tradition that many claim is dead or dying.

It is ironic that the opinions or the perception an individual has about an object or event used to be the foundation of the early societies. We see this with the rise of the great religions where belief was more important than science or philosophical enquiry. Belief without any form of research led to a lot of destruction, low labour productivity and triumphant idealism that choked the progression of human society. Idealism is therefore at the forefront of the earlier societies until the rapid increase in labour productivity which increased output considerably  and wealth generation that came with capitalism made significant inroads into such perceptions. The rise of capitalism has shattered many beliefs regarding the extent that humans can take control of their destiny. Prior to the rise of capitalism many people believed only in the pie in the sky as they were still tied to the dominant physical element of  nature. Capitalism has demonstrated that with a high work ethic humans can increase their own prosperity without much regard for religious belief. Capitalism also grew hand in hand with scientific development that also increased the extent of it s applicability due to the increase in labour productivity that is one of the primary features of capitalism. An increase in labour productivity increased the worth of the sciences to society as people needed to make sure that their endeavours would not be futile due to mere perception or belief that can condemn and destroy just as much as it promotes and would be more certain of success. This now applies to most spheres of life. A lot of people want to be certain of the facts before they judge. Grappling with the facts means that one is grappling with the essence or essential features of an object or event.

The realm of appearance associated with belief, opinion or perception about  essence or the essential features of an object or situation, still predominates for many individuals despite the rapid advances of technology and science. This can also be yet another reflection of the class struggle where knowledge is controlled by a certain sector of society instead of being evenly distributed. The majority of the working class that rely primarily on their labour in order to survive and have no regard to how this technology is actually created although they know how it works or how the pieces fit. Currently the realm of appearance exists or is concentrated in many spheres such as religion,  academic spheres that are ideologically biased, the arts and many aspects of the media that deal only with breaking news or emissions from the essential object or event. The religious groups, the ideologically biased academic sphere, some aspects of the arts and some aspects of the media become the outlets for the perception of many individuals. There are a wealth of perceptions out there and many of them are not definitive. Democracy thrives on such perceptions and this explains why the implementation of certain policies is difficult because everyone has to be taken into account. This adds credence to the whole of society and its many parts. If the many parts are not considered it is possible that some of these parts will breakaway or be repulsed from the whole. Whether a democracy or a tyranny effective governance is only effective once everyone is taken into account or accounted for. If this is based on only perception, however, it will not necessarily solve the problems of society because the core moves independently of the perceptions of individuals in society.

The realm of appearance and the realm of essence therefore exist in tandem because it is clear that the essential elements move or progress regardless of the opinions of others and its appearance continually manifests in the realm of appearance. Changes at the core eventually affect the realm of appearance. The realm of appearance always lags behind and this still encourages the idealistic perceptions or those individuals that remain attached to a former way of doing things. This is one of the downsides of an idealistic approach because it elevates the realm of appearance to a point where the movement of the essential features are disregarded to some extent. The idealistic way is shattered when a crisis erupts. The eruption of various forms of crisis (political, economic or societal) in the social sphere always shatteres the idealistic mould that held sway and this violent eruption or destructive element forces a reconsideration or reexamination of the essential features of an object. When this happens then a new creative force emerges that will now emerge from an essential basis. The former idealistic measure is no more but it will then reemerge in the realm of appearance with the expansion of the new creative force at the core. In the capitalist economic sphere credit/debt can be seen as a the idealistic element that believes in  a new form of progress whereas in a crisis the credit/debt becomes bad because the essential elements cease to function as a creative force and become destructive. This credit/debt also becomes bad. This destruction, however, will lead to a new form or creative force. It is because of this contradiction of essence vs. appearance that the world seems to run smoothly because of lies that maintain a certain appearance to some elements but when the truth emerges, regarding a particular element, it is regarded as revolutionary and very disruptive. The liberation of society will only occur when society operates solely on the basis  of truth or in the  continual acknowledgement of the essential features of a particular object or event.

This concludes my basic discussion of essence vs. appearance. This contradiction has assumed significant proportions in the 21^st century. Things are never what they seem will eventually be become the basis for the interaction between people, nation states, companies etc. At this point human societies exist in a space where the realm of appearance or perception is continuously being challenged until the point where only the truth prevails over lies that only maintain the appearance of a particular element. Maintaining the appearance of an element with lies and idealism is dangerous particularly with the constant eruptions that occur in the essential sphere or at the core. These constant eruptions are very surprising because of the idealism that resides in the realm of appearances. A constant update of the happenings at the essential core lays the basis for complete liberation. Hanging on to past ideals with no regard to the current environment can only end in destruction or dire poverty.

Movie Moments: The Sheriff, in No Country for Old Men (2007), recounts a dream he had of his father

(image courtesy of maxresdefault.jpg)

The moment in No Country for Old Men (2007) when the sheriff recounts a dream he had of his father, in the final scene, is a great movie moment. It may be a quiet moment but it is potent and effective. Some critics felt that the film did not end well because of this scene particularly as the credits come on screen right after the dream is recounted. The performance by Tommy lee Jones makes this scene stand out because it sums up his experiences and his hope for the future. Those critics that felt the film should not have ended at this particular moment missed the boat because they did not take the time to assess what the scene actually meant. The film ends and begins with the Sheriff Ed Tom. In the opening scene he is relating his uncertainty about the times in which he lives. He is aware that the culture that forged his way of existence as a law man is dying out because of the new type of criminals that are emerging. Criminals that make him feel outmatched. The moral fabric of the society he cherished is being torn apart.  Throughout the film the mysterious criminal Anton Chigurh embodies the uncertainty of the times in which the sheriff is living. The Sheriff even goes as far to call Chigurh a ‘ghost’. There are many elements in this great film to discuss which cannot be done at this point and will have to wait for my ultimate great film review. Suffice to say that by the time the dream is recounted by the sheriff he is now retired. He retired because of the many events in the film that made him feel overmatched. He felt that it was time to hand over the reins to individuals that were better capable of handling these new types of social problems. One of his colleagues points to the core of the problem: ‘the money and the drugs.’ The expansion of criminal networks or organized crime is linked in some way to these two elements. Look at the plethora of gangs in Mexico today. This film set in 1980s is very relevant. The 1980s would have been a  time when the cocaine drug trade was expanding at a considerable pace.  Selling the drugs ( in this case cocaine or heroin) is the illegal way of obtaining money, or legal currency, which is a reflection of enrichment when accumulated in vast sums. We see what the circumstances associated with the money and the drugs did to Llewelyn Moss who was caught up in the deadly game once he decided to seize the money (2 million), left over from a deal gone terribly wrong,  that was supposed to be used to purchase drugs (heroin or cocaine). The characters that get involved make it difficult for the sheriff particularly as he is unable to protect Llewelyn from the overwhelming odds. What really overwhelms the sheriff is the big picture. The big picture expands considerably when numerous players become involved on a social and economic level. The division of labour within this network of money and drugs is extensive and it is something that this small town sheriff cannot fathom. Chigurh is one of the more extreme manifestations given his role and the approach that he takes to get things done.  Even the members of respected firms are involved in the rackets. How can a small town sheriff contain such violence, intrigue and conspiracy that crosses state borders in the US and the national  border  between Mexico and the US? A topical issue today.

Even though the sheriff decides to retire because he is overmatched he does believe that there is hope as a result of this dream that he had involving his father. Before he recounts the dream to his wife in the morning he clearly looks lost having given up the badge. He seems lost this particular morning because it is probably the morning of his first day as a retired sheriff.  Before he recounts the dream he wonders about what he should do and even considers going riding or probably helping out in the house. Helping out in the house is out of the question, according to the wife in her own tender way. The wife asks him about how he slept and he replies ‘I don’t know. Had dreams.’ ‘Well you got time for ‘em now. Anything interesting?’ asks the wife. ‘They always is to the party concerned.’ The wife responds tenderly ‘ Ed Tom, I’ll be polite.’ He then decides to recount by prefacing that there were two dreams he had the night  before with both involving his father. To Ed tom it’s peculiar because ‘I’m older now than he ever was by 20 years. So, in a sense, he’s the younger man.’ The first dream is inconsequential because it was about meeting the father in town who gave him some money. He  thinks he lost the money in the dream. The dream seems inconsequential because it has to do with only money. Money is a superficial representation of wealth. Superficial because true wealth is derived from the  productive qualities of human labour utilizing a given state of resources or the means of production extracted from the earth and moulded by human labour. Money represents the extent of production in a particular society but it is not the source of real wealth.    One can imagine how dreaming about money is a good thing . Many people have good dreams about receiving money especially when you imagine the things you can buy with money or the investment opportunities that arise from having money. Money is the universal exchange equivalent. All commodities are exchangeable with that element designated as money.

 Anyways it is apparent that the first dream does not have much meaning because it concerns only money. The second dream, however, is more meaningful. ‘Second one, it was like we was both back in older times. And I was a horseback, going through the mountains of a night. Going through this pass in the mountains. It was cold and there was snow on the ground. And he rode past me and kept on going, never said nothing going by, just rode on past. He had his blanket wrapped around him and his head down. When he rode past, I seen he was carrying fire in a horn, the way people used to do, and I could see the horn from the light inside of it, ‘bout the color of the moon. And, in the dream, I knew that he was going on ahead. He was fixin’ to  make a fire somewhere out there in all that dark and all that cold. And I knew that whenever I got there, he’d be there. And then I woke up.’ The wife, looking on, understands the hurt because as he was recounting the dream he began to swell up as if he was going to cry because the dream was very emotional and had some real meaning for him. The silence that follows is eerie with only the tick tock of the clock as the screen goes blank. After a brief sounding of the clock  the credits begin to roll. 

Well what does the dream mean? It is clear that his feeling of being overmatched led to despair on his part but this dream is one of hope; not just for himself but for humanity. Human beings are always inspired to push on into the darkness or the unknown however this can only be done because of those pioneers that made the trek before us. We would be conscious that even though there seems to be much darkness or uncertainty a light is there to guide you and give you purpose and direction.  The sheriff probably hopes that he left his own mark as his father did. He could have been that light for Llewelyn who was out there in all the dark and cold before he was gunned down. The sheriff did try to communicate with Llewelyn,  to be that guiding light amidst the dark and cold, but he failed. The sheriff could also be referring to joining his father in the afterlife but I would not go so far.

The sheriff gets emotional because he could not save Llewelyn. If only  Llewelyn had just reached out instead of trying to go it alone in the cold. Seek the advice of those that could truly help you. The sheriff came from a time when small town community values really mattered. It was not a case where the police served primarily the capitalist class but served the interests of a community that was more communal due to its peasant based origins. The sheriff genuinely wished to help Llewelyn out of this kinship feeling that comes from having an affinity with the members of your community. Llewelyn decided to go it alone particularly as the discovery of the money was a sign that he had the potential to go it alone. This is normally the case when the private property of an individual begins to bear fruit as a result of his labour or the labour of others. Llewelyn thought he hit the jackpot and so he no longer needed to be bound by any community because the money, which reflected the generation of wealth,  could take him anywhere. The emphasis on his own individualism became apparent as he alienated himself from the community. The sheriff refers to the older times in his dream because in those days you would fall back on the security of the community. The hope or the light that we seek is only there unless others have gone on ahead to lay the foundations for us to benefit. Without these foundations we cannot come to grips with our own social purpose or the direction that we must take. The sheriff knew that his father would be there at the end of a dark tunnel and that gave him the courage to push on. It gave him a sense of purpose or direction whereas Llewelyn ended up in a wilderness where, as the film tagline claims, there are no clean getaways. There can be no clean getaways in such an enclosed system with so many competing interests. By taking the money Llewelyn got himself involved and it would have been difficult for him to truly escape on his own or with no recourse to the cooperation with others. Llewelyn was stuck in a wilderness and was probably not aware that he needed to be searching for some form of light or hope that could have allowed him some form of security. This security is always found in the old timers. No matter how much we, as younger people, might think their time is done we do need their security as we push on ahead in the dark or the cold. When you finally mature you age as well and the cycle will continue as the generation after you will regard you as an old timer but still fall back on your achievements as a source of inspiration to go on to achieve on their own.

In the end the Sheriff became a bystander to a situation where he was overmatched or where his impact was negligible as the community values he cherished were being torn asunder. As I said before he could be referring to his own failure or inability to do more to help Llewelyn. Llewelyn could be representative of the new generations who will need some source of inspiration to push on through the dark and the cold.  In the end we all go the way of the old timers. Although it may no longer be a country for old men at least they laid a foundation for the young people to build on and flourish. The imagery of the horn with fire, going ahead in the dark, which was the colour of the moon, is very evocative. There was a similar artistic conceptualization in the video game God of War 3 which was released three years after No Country for Old Men and suggests the artistic influence of the film.

Movie Moments: ‘Puny God’: Hulk smashes Loki in a case of matter over mind instead of mind over matter

                             (here is the moment courtesy of Muhammad Salem)

                               

                                       
The moment when the Hulk smashes the ‘puny god, Loki, is not only a very comedic moment in The Avengers (2012) but a very important one. It might not be as great a movie moment but it is a case of matter over mind instead of mind over matter.

The main weapon Loki had as a villain, as he took on the avengers,  were the mind games that he would play. Loki had a slithery tongue that could get under the skin of some members of the  team. Loki was accustomed to mocking  and deriding: ‘An ant has no quarrel with a boot.’ This approach taken by Loki is similar to the approach of mind over matter where everything can be reasoned out or be used as a means to deceive or to obfuscate/confuse the issue. If you take that approach to individuals that are weak mentally they can be easily conned because they operate only in the realm of appearances. They are lured in however by the convincing reasoning put forward by a Loki type of character. The reasoning can represent nothing but it does sound convincing when spoken. The convincing talking game is what Loki relies on because he is clearly not in the league of a Thanos or an Ultron when it comes to taking on the Avengers physically. Loki’s reliance on mind control is evident when he uses his scepter to brainwash many individuals, including Hawkeye. He is clearly very interested in mind control as opposed to using his physicality to control individuals. We see this when he tells people to kneel and then trying to convince them  why they are made to kneel. He always has to provide some form of fancy justification for his actions. This is clearly a villain that relies heavily on his intellect in order to gain some sort of advantage through deception or mind control.

The Hulk on the other hand is a purely physical specimen. The main appeal of the hulk is the ultra testosterone on display.  High levels of testosterone mean that a man is more direct and forthright in his approach which is likely to antagonize. High levels of testosterone increase the need to dominate your opponent physically because your muscle mass is significant. The main test for a male with very high levels of testosterone is to prove yourself physically. The main price paid for a high level of testosterone is the decreased use of the intellect. This normally explains why some of the males that rely so heavily on their physicality are never the ones in charge of running an organization which requires some form of intellect. They assume a particular role in the organization that requires them to use their physicality and or do the heavy lifting which keeps the organization functioning. This is why the working class is being so ruthlessly exploited by the bourgeois class. This explains why primarily physical people do not grasp the necessary skill set to grapple with a high level of  reasoning. The primarily physical way is one way of being more direct and more intuitive instead of relying on high flown concepts in order to analyze or master a situation. The intellect and the physicality both have their place and I wish I had more time to discuss it further. The hulk is primarily a physical specimen. The hulk cannot lead as a result and is just an enforcer. Leaders are required to understand the big picture and demonstrate how everything comes together to benefit the whole. A character like the hulk is incapable of such a task because of his reliance on his physicality. It also gives the impression that the hulk, according to Loki, is a ‘mindless beast’. This also explains why Captain America tells hulk that his primary role is to smash the alien army, led by Loki. It is all the hulk knows; that unbridled physical power can only be utilized in such a manner.

Loki is leading an alien army to destroy earth. The earth is to be his prized possession should he succeed. The avengers stand in his way particularly as they are now united following some dramatic moments.  Captain America has assigned them several roles in the battle that takes place in Manhattan. The primary reason why it takes place in Manhattan is that Loki used Tony Stark’s/Iron man’s tower to utilize his arc reactor energy to open the portal that will let his alien army through. The battle rages on and Black widow, who is on the ground,  decides that there must be a way to close the portal because the fighting will go on and on particularly as the aliens keep coming. Closing the portal is the best bet. She manages to hitch a ride to one of the many alien aircraft zipping around in the air. Loki eventually  tries to shoot her down as he is aboard an aircraft and spots her. Black widow asks Hawkeye, on the top of a building surveying the action, for some help. Hawkeye is not very fond of Loki for very good reason. It is Hawkeye’s arrow that leads to Loki’s confrontation with the Hulk in order to emphasize the team work involved. The arrow shot by Hawkeye towards Loki appears innocuous when Loki catches in a very casual manner. It is rigged to explode and this it does sending Loki crashing out of the sky onto the balcony of stark’s tower.

The Hulk comes out of nowhere and attacks Loki with a two fisted charge that sends him flying to the interior of the building’s top floor. Loki knows he is in trouble but he still believes in his powers of persuasion particularly as the Hulk is supposed to be a ‘mindless beast’. ‘Enough, you are all of you beneath me. I am a god you dull creature and I will not be bullied by…’ He’s not able to finish because the Hulk grabs him by the leg and smashes him like a figurine on the floor 5 times. Those 5 smashes leave Loki prostrate and unable to speak. His mind tricks could not work on the testosterone driven hulk. Hulk is not as mindless as Loki claims because he follows up his smash with the passing comment ‘Puny god.’

In this case it is matter over  mind because of the direct, no holds barred approach of the Hulk. This is why tactics can come to naught when you’re being overwhelmed by a dominant physical presence. An overwhelming physical presence can cause a highly pressurized situation for those that rely on the execution of their tactics. They will still have to factor into their minds the ability to elude the overwhelming physical presence in order to execute their tactic effectively. You still need to be conscious of the overwhelming physical presence and should be able to respond to it. Loki’s mistake was to assume that his intellect would be enough to get him out of the situation instead of being conscious of the Hulk’s dominant physical presence and trying to flee. Retreat would have been the best option. People that rely primarily on their intellectual abilities need to learn how to be elusive or how to elude an antagonist that relies primarily on their physicality to get things done. In most cases the intellect relies on other dominant physical bodies or enforcers to get things done or for protection. Loki was hopelessly exposed particularly as he is much weaker than the hulk.

Loki’s humiliation abases him completely because he remains inactive for the rest of the battle. This moments was not only comedic but important because this is the first meeting between the hulk and Loki. It was leading up to that moment with Loki throwing repeated jabs during the film calling the hulk a ‘mindless beast’ or a ‘dull creature’. Loki even tries to turn the Hulk against the avengers on that  Shield fortress in the sky. This confrontation was long in coming but it is brief and humbling for Loki who, regardless of his intellect, is bypassed as mediocre opposition where it matters, on the field of battle. Loki really is a ‘puny god’. 

When the avengers eventually take on Thanos in the Infinity Wars series i doubt that the hulk will be able to dismiss Thanos as he did Loki. 

Movie Moments: Neo is 'The One'

  

(here is the moment courtesy of YouNeedMe's channel)

When Neo becomes the one in The Matrix (1999) it is a decisive moment and represents a significant shift for the rest of films in the trilogy, The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003). It is a moment that emboldens the resistance by the rebels against the machines that created the system of the matrix in order to enslave humanity. In the real world the machines, through artificial intelligence,  defeated the humans  during the 21^st century which enabled them to take control, bodily,  over the humans.  According to Morpheus’s explanation humans were then kept in the matrix, a digital fantasy world programmed by the machines and fed into the minds of the humans, from birth until death, while their bodies reside in liquefied pods as the machines extract precious energy from their bodies. The humans have to be kept alive in order for the energy to be extracted.  There is a lot not accounted for when explaining the ins and outs of the matrix but the basis seems to be that humans reside in this digital fantasy in order to keep their minds active or engaged. The humans then come to feed on this fantasy created by the machines and so it keeps their levels of resistance at a minimum. Morpheus, the great teacher, explained that at some point in the early stages of the matrix  there was an individual who was able to see beyond the façade of the matrix and was therefore able to manipulate it for his own benefit and for the benefit of others as they were able to see, with his help, beyond the fantasy of the matrix. He was, therefore, responsible for freeing the first humans. These humans eventually formed the underground human settlement of Zion. It is the humans from that settlement that, at the time of the events of The Matrix, lead the resistance against the machines as they attempt to free more humans from the mental illusion of the matrix. According to Morpheus ‘the one’ disappeared  but it was foretold that he would return and deliver the humans against the machines. There is a lot that needs explanation but it’s not provided and I am not going to get involved at this point because that’s for another discussion. Morpheus, however, believes that the one has returned as Neo.  Neo, however, is not convinced until the end.

Prior to the coming of ‘the one’ the human resistance  could only score minimal victories. This is because within the matrix the machines have programs called agents that act like the CIA and monitor the system for any sign of rebel activity or disturbances within the system . The agents are more powerful than  any member of the resistance, including Morpheus, and we see that on several occasions. Morpheus is humiliated in a bathroom by Agent Smith, the chief agent;  we see another agent dodge bullets and all agents are capable of transferring themselves throughout the matrix by those humans that are still connected to the mainframe. Morpheus explains that while the agents are superior to his crew they are still bound by rules even though they can dodge bullets. These rules still acknowledge that bullets are bullets and that the agents inhabit a particular space. They cannot transcend that space but they can amplify their abilities such as speed and strength in comparison to the members of the resistance. ‘The one’, according to Morpheus, is not limited by such rules of space and so he can manipulate the environment because he is not bound by it. He is transcendent and can not only see but  physically manipulate the environment in the matrix or defy it. The matrix is a mental construct and so that physical ability has a lot to do with how much he allows his mind to be affected by events within the matrix. Normally in the matrix, when some individuals are on the receiving end of harsh violence in the matrix they can die because their minds give the impression that they are dead because they are still bound mentally to the world in which they reside. The reality is that the matrix is not real and once you become conscious of that you realize that it can be manipulated like any other commodity or product. When we are presented with a commodity or product,  for instance, we take it for what it is and do not seek to manipulate it because we assume that this is as good as it gets. We do not challenge its makeup. There are those that can manipulate it however and can get the best out of it. Another man’s tool can be another man’s weapon, as they say.

‘The one’ is capable of using this device of the matrix against the machines that created it. The matrix was designed to enslave people but ‘the one’ demonstrates that it can be used as a device for liberation. Once the mind is liberated from the realm of appearance and can see the essence behind something then that something loses, to some extent, the credibility or the mystification it had in the realm of appearance. ‘The one’, therefore, represents a more conscious, subjective and empowering  direction taken by the resistance. The more emotionally driven humans triumphing over the system created by the machines. Progress is always made when a new subjective element comes along and challenges the objective reality that binds all of us. They are the heroes because they lay the basis for the creation of something new or liberating. People will realize that when a man can do the things that ‘the one’ can do then it is clear that this world is not real or lasting but a mental construct used against you as a form of control. The actions of ‘the one’ can show you someone that is completely liberated mentally.  The fact that ‘the one’ can do these things means this world is not real or lasting or eternal. Before the arrival of ‘the one’ the resistance found it difficult to convince some people that the cold, real world was better than the matrix. We see this when one member of Morpheus’s crew, Cypher, is not convinced that there is a better world for humanity outside of the matrix. This is one reason why he strikes a deal with the agents to betray Morpheus and asks to be readmitted to the matrix.  The ultimate goal of the resistance is to free all of humanity from the matrix. Once they do then the world of the machines will lose all credibility particularly as humans are their primary energy source. ‘The one’ makes it more likely that the people will be liberated. Yes the members of the resistance can jump high or run very fast but can they fly? They are still bound by the system and the fact that they can be overwhelmed by the agents or are constantly running from them means that the system still has sway over them mentally.  This all goes back to the point that as capitalism continues to grow in the many areas of the world the human element will become increasingly dependent on technology for its survival. The human element that made us strong will eventually be lost. Humans will only reach their true state when technology is used to enhance us for our own improvement or make us stronger or make us go beyond the confines of a particular way of life. The growth in technology, as it stands, will only encourage the commodity fetish and will keep us enthralled by capitalism. The next stage of human development will see us consciously upgrading the lives of everyone instead of only the few. With technical progress, a result of increased labour productivity, we can use this for the full development of all instead of the devaluing of the many in favour of just the few.

Whenever the resistance encountered the agents, therefore, prior to the arrival of ‘the one’ they had to tuck tail and run. It’s constant pressure and pain for the resistance. Even before Neo lives up to his potential as the one he does try and add some dynamism to the approach of the resistance. After Morpheus is beaten and captured by the agents, who wish to unlock his mind so that he can provide some form of access codes to Zion, Neo decides to pull off a daring rescue attempt in order to disprove the oracle’s theory regarding Morpheus. The oracle told Neo that Morpheus was prepared to die for his belief that Neo was indeed ‘the one’. She also informed him that one of them, Neo or Morpheus, would die.  Whereas Morpheus is convinced Neo is ‘the one’ Neo is convinced that he is not. This is why he decides to go and rescue Morpheus because he does not wish for Morpheus to die on his behalf. Even though he believes he is not ‘the one’ he does suggest that he is by his actions because it takes a lot of gumption for someone to decide to go on the offensive against the agents in their stronghold. The rescue attempt makes for some great action sequences including the bullet dodging sequence on the rooftop. After they do rescue Morpheus there is even a small moment when Neo attempts to hold up, with the aid of a harness, the weight of a falling, malfunctioning helicopter with Trinity, his love interest, inside. Morpheus is stunned by Neo’s attempt and this reinforces his own belief. In the subway, where they are preparing to leave the matrix through the telephone, agent Smith tracks them down and almost blows Trinity’s head off along with the phone. Morpheus already went through. Just before Smith’s sudden arrival Trinity was prepared to confess her love for Neo which is in line with the Oracle’s prediction that she would fall in love with 'the one'. With the phone destroyed it leaves Smith alone with Neo. The customary thing to do would be to run and find another telephone. He is urged to run by Trinity. Neo does turn to run but decides against it and turns to face Smith. This is unprecedented. Morpheus responds to Trinity’s query that Neo is beginning to believe. He is still bound by the limitations faced by many members of the resistance. He has not reached that transcendent stage but he showed with the rescue attempt that he has a lot of courage. Breaking through to be so transcendent is not as simple as belief because there needs to be some form of material manifestation that would highlight that ‘the one’ has arrived.

Neo and Smith do engage in battle in the subway and it makes for good entertainment. Neo may have demonstrated significant strength and resolve but in the end, after Smith is hit by a train, he comes back as fresh as ever. In the end Neo still has to run because he is drained. Smith is joined in his pursuit of Neo by the other two agents. Neo is busy looking for another phone he can use to get out of the matrix. He does find the phone but, just as he enters the room, he is greeted by Smith who shoots him. Neo still stands.  After the second shot Neo tries to put on another brave showing even though that shot had an exit wound as evidenced by the blood on the wall in the corridor. He put on such a brave showing because he is trying to convince himself that the matrix is not real and that it is a question of mind over matter. Smith picks up on Neo’s stubborn resolve and shoots him repeatedly until he dies. The repeated gunfire directed at Neo’s body was probably too much of a shock for his mind.  Smith  remains a bit skeptical because of Neo’s stubborn resistance and his willingness to go on the offensive. When Morpheus went on the offensive against Smith earlier on the film it was more out of desperation to protect Neo. In another situation he would have avoided confrontation. The other agents confirm for Smith that Neo is indeed dead ‘Goodbye Mr. Henderson.’ In the real world the ship inhabited now by Morpheus, Trinity and Tank is being attacked by sentinels or real live machines. The primary defense against these sentinels is the EMP (electromagnetic pulse) but it cannot be used once someone is in the matrix. It is a tricky time because Morpheus is still in shock that it is possible Neo is dead and if the EMP goes off they will forever end the link with Neo. The normally emotionless Trinity becomes desperate and as the approach of the sentinels becomes louder and more apparent she declares her love for Neo explaining that he cannot be dead because of the Oracle’s prophecy. The oracle’s prophecy that she would fall in love with ‘the one’.  She seals her confession with a kiss and shortly afterwards Neo is miraculously revived in dramatic fashion. He did die and is now reborn or resurrected as ‘the one’. It seems that Trinity’s love does not require a cell phone to communicate because as she tells him ‘now get up’ and he responds.

The agents, particularly Smith, are dumbfounded and fire several shots at Neo; but to everyone’s consternation Neo says ‘no’, raises his hands and the bullets stop in mid air. Tank on the other side asks ‘How?’ and Morpheus responds ‘He’s the one.’ Morpheus should not be surprised because he did tell Neo that when he was ready he would not need to dodge bullets. He should still be surprised at what he is seeing because for so long members of the resistance fled when they saw an agent but here is a man stopping their bullets and seeing the code of the matrix as if he were in the real world. Agent Smith is peeved by Neo’s new found power (Neo even examines one of the bullets stuck in the air) and decides to confront him with his fists. His attack is insignificant and looks desperate instead of reminiscent of the power that made Morpheus look like a novice fighter. Neo is not impressed and seems to be more interested in his  ability to see the code of the matrix beyond its normal appearance.  So insignificant are the attacks by Smith’s once powerful fists that Neo decides midway to use one hand, instead of two,  to deflect his blows  before twisting his arm, after a quick flurry, then sending Smith back through the air to  where he launched his attack, near the end of the corridor,  with one sharp, direct kick. No more running because the pressure has been significantly relieved now. Neo demonstrates his new found power as he runs towards Smith, who is expecting another beat ‘em up, and then dives into his body. This is real power because he contorts the body Smith inhabits and then forcibly tears him apart from within. Smith explodes and we see that there is a significant distortion in the matrix following this major disruption or anomaly. Neo gives the other two agents a fierce look and they run. This is the first time where agents tuck tail and run. Smith’s destruction was also the first real death of an agent in the film particularly as they could not be killed by usual means-- such as gunfire or being run over by a train-- because their programs would simply be transferred to other bodies. Neo destroyed Smith from the inside because he was able to undo his  essential features which were not visible to the naked eye. He can now undo the essential features and not just its appearances. Neo eventually gets back in time to answer the phone so that Morpheus is able to use the EMP to destroy the sentinels. Again thanks to Trinity’s call.  We also learn shortly afterwards that Neo can fly. Who needs to prove they can make a simple jump across buildings?

(The tactic used by Neo against Smith was also used in The Matrix Revolutions. Neo was so powerful by then that Smith could only challenge him after absorbing all the elements of the matrix. With the entire matrix concentrated in Smith Neo was able to tear it apart from within, as   smith absorbed him, and so fulfilling his side of the bargain with the machines that acknowledged the failure of the matrix as a system thanks to Smith who became like a virus that was also no longer bound by its dictates. This made him the negative of Neo or his arch nemesis. Both men not bound by the rules of the system.)

Movie Moments: The Riders of Rohan break the lines of Mordor

                                        (here is the moment courtesy of psyduck131)

The moment when the riders of Rohan break the lines of Mordor in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) is close to being the best scene in the  entire LOTR trilogy. It also represents a decisive shift in the fortunes of the protagonists/heroes  who up until that point existed in a very despairing and desperate atmosphere. It also exorcised several demons and questioned the belief that the world of men in Middle Earth would fall. When the riders of Rohan break the lines of the very imposing Mordor army, that were ruthlessly besieging the city of Minas Tirith at that point, the great Battle of the Pelennor fields takes place. According to Tolkien lore the battle of the Pelennor fields was the greatest battle of the Third Age. The focus here is not on that particular battle but on the lines of Mordor being broken by the riders of Rohan and how it represented a decisive shift. It is also a quite stirring, dramatic moment and is a reflection of why the LOTR trilogy is a great series of films.

Why is this charge by the riders of Rohan or the Rohirrim, that breaks the lines of Mordor, so significant as  a movie moment? This moment actually challenged one of the main beliefs held throughout the trilogy that the world of men would fall. This was actually the major moment when this view point was challenged. The defeat of Saruman’s army at Helms Deep in The Two Towers was a precursor but it also depended a lot on riding out the storm and a lot of it depended on Gandalf. In this case men are taking charge of their own destiny. When the Rohirrim break the lines of Mordor, when compared with Helms Deep,  they are no longer the besieged but the aggressor. It is more significant than the dramatic moments at Helms Deep because although Saruman’s army was large it paled in comparison to the size of the army of Mordor that was besieging Minas Tirith. Although Gondor, where the city of Minas Tirith is located, is in a state of decay as exemplified by its weak de facto leader, Denethor the steward, it is still the major kingdom of men in Middle Earth. It was created by the race of numenoreans or those men that exhibit the highest qualities in Tolkien lore. It is from that race that Aragorn, the eventual returning king, was descended (how many people know that he was around 70 years old when he was crowned king?).  With all respect to Rohan they do not boast such a distinguished lineage.  In fact this is another reason that makes the ride special because Saruman, in The Two Towers,  labeled them as mere peasants or men from lowly stock. ‘Hey look at us now Saruman.’ It is still a lesser reason though and probably a superficial one when one considers the big picture.

The ‘doom of man’ is, therefore, challenged by this charge of the Rohirrim. From the beginning of the LOTR all one hears is that men are weak and easily corrupted as they grasp for power. So Aristotle was right when he said that man was a ‘political animal.’ The decline of man is more poignant because the elves are leaving Middle Earth and it is said, by Elrond,  that the dwarves only care about their treasure in the mountains. It is, therefore, hoped that the race of men would stake a claim by asserting their right to rule. They are called leaderless. They are considered leaderless because there is no leader that can unify the entire race. Once men remained divided they were considered easy pickings by their enemies.  One reflection of this division are those men that joined with Mordor and this basically meant that they sold their souls to Sauron the dark lord (I have a lot of issues with the semantics in the LOTR films and  books where white = purity and black=evil but that’s for another day). By the time we come to the film The Return of the King, Gothmog ,the chief lieutenant of the Mordor armies proclaims, after his forces overran one of the last lines of defense for Minas Tirith,  that the age of men is over and that ‘the time of the orc has come’.  This means that the shadow from Mordor will now be able to spread even further across Middle Earth.

The race of men, therefore, is considered in grave peril or on the verge of extinction. A theme that runs throughout. Gondor is not helped when their steward, Denethor, is also corrupted and so cannot inspire the people of the ailing city as the forces of Mordor approach. As ever Gandalf has to take up the slack and try to marshal the troops to put up some resistance instead of ‘fleeing for their lives’ as Denethor claimed the populace of Minas Tirith should do. It is clear, as the forces of Mordor begin their siege,  that  the city of Minas Tirith cannot hold out particularly after the main door is broken down. The orcs begin to swarm into the city in order to ‘kill all in their path’. The orcs are led by the Witch King of Angmar or the leader of the Nazgul or the wraiths who are Sauron’s chief servants. The witch king flying high on a hideous beast above the city is an intimidating prospect particularly with that screeching sound that he and the other wraiths like to emit and the imposing mask that he wears to distinguish himself from the rest.  Even before the battle the witch king  dismisses Gothmog’s concerns that Gandalf, the wizard will be a significant problem, because he claims that ‘I will break him.’ It is clear that the Witch king and Gothmog believe that they only have to worry about Gandalf, a wizard, because from their viewpoint the race of men are weak. This weakness was demonstrated when Denethor, the steward, foolishly or desperately, ordered his son Faramir to retake Osgiliath, the last line of defense which was now swarming with orcs. Faramir then  leads a puny cavalry charge that is completely decimated. A moment of madness that was reflective of weak leadership. This would only support the claim of the Witch king and Gothmog that men were weak and that the only concern would be Gandalf. Gandalf does not back down and  is always motivated to do his duty or to perform. Gandalf demonstrates throughout the entire trilogy that he has a very high work ethic. This eliminates a lot of his fear. As Denethor’s mind eventually crumbles Gandalf, predictably, takes charge of the armed forces in order to defend the city.  Despite his valiant efforts and those of the soldiers to stave off the  very large army of orcs the main door is still broken down by the huge hammer or battering ram called Grond. The orcs then come swarming in and the desperation and despair that is prevalent throughout these series of films is once again evident. It becomes even more serious as Denethor prepares to light a pyre in order to burn himself and Faramir- who he presumes to be dead following the puny and quixotic cavalry charge- alive. Pippin, the hobbit who is now a guard of the citadel, urgently seeks out Gandalf to stop Denethor from committing another act of lunacy. While on his way to stay Denethor’s madness Gandalf is confronted by the Witch King aboard his hideous flying steed. Gandalf tries to use his magic staff but it is shattered by the flaming sword of the witch king. Gandalf falls from his horse and as the Witch King prepares to deliver the telling blow saying ‘The world of men will fall’ the horns of Rohan sound amidst  the light of the rising sun. The way Tolkien describes it in the book is epic. The Witch King, obviously dumbfounded,  quickly takes his leave in order to alert his own forces.

The sounding of the horns announce the arrival of the Rohirrim and their 6, 000 strong cavalry force which includes one hobbit (Merry) and one female (Eowyn). Obviously when King Theoden and his forces gaze upon the large numbers of orcs it seems like another stroke of utter despair or hopelessness. Theoden, however, is having none of it this time. When we first met him in The Two Towers he was completely overwhelmed by hopelessness until Aragorn shook him up and reminded him of his duty to his people. The duty to lead them on past despair onto hope pastures or pastures of hope. Even if this is supposed to be the end you must die with dignity knowing you did your best. Theoden is now a believer in hope thanks to Aragorn, the future king of men, who assumed leadership in the battle at Helm’s Deep. Although Theoden knows the numbers are daunting he  is now aware that it is his task to inspire his men, one woman and a hobbit. No more sulking and dragging of the feet. Without the ability to inspire you cannot claim to be a  true leader only a formal one when it’s a assigned role. His desire to lead is made clear when he is assigning the various positions to be taken by his various commanders and he tells one fearful  commander,  Grimbold,  ‘Forth and fear no darkness.’ Eomer is to lead from the left flank, Gamling is to follow Theoden down the centre and Grimbold is to take his company right after he passes the  wall.  After assigning the various roles he turns to address the troops who are clearly still shaken by the size of the Mordor army.

‘Arise, arise riders of Theoden, spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered. A sword day, a red day ere the sun rises.’

As he says this riding,  along the front line, towards the left,  the camera backtracks to highlight the 6, 000 strong under the glare of the rising sun. The Rohirrim assume an attack position with spears directed at the orcs. The orcs understand the gesture and respond accordingly.  (As soon as Gothmog was aware of the Rohirrim he too had to motivate his troops,  that  were stunned by the arrival of the Rohirrim, in his own way: ‘Form ranks you maggots, form ranks; pikes in front, archers behind.’)After the Rohirrim assume an attack position,  with spears pointed towards the orcs,  Theoden then rides along the frontline with his sword lightly touching the outstretched spears on the front line as a more physical cheer me up or a high five. As he does this he loudly shouts resoundingly ‘Ride now, Ride now, Ride, Ride for ruin and the world’s ending.’ He then begins his famous rallying cry of ‘Death’ as he assumes his position in the centre. This cry of death is repeated twice and by the third time all 6, 000 repeat the cry in a very robust and resounding manner as the sun basks on their faces. They are now clearly inspired to fight to the death.  The music by Howard Shore also compliments this scene very well.  ‘Forth Eorlingas,’ shouts Theoden and so the charge begins with the horns once again sounding.

As they advance, down the small incline to the plane,  the orcs are still confident and Gothmog orders his archers to fire twice before telling them to fire at will. He tells them to fire at will because the first two volleys may have inflicted some damage but the Rohirrim keep advancing. This is dramatically played out as Merry screams ‘Death’ even though some of the riders are being shot down. This means that the men are now fully committed and they will not be deterred. This contrasts with the puny cavalry charge of Faramir, which was hopeless and quixotic, because the Rohirrim  have the numbers and they keep coming. Faramir’s puny force was taken out with one volley of arrows. As they continue to advance amidst the arrows and Theoden screaming ‘Charge’ the orcs are now dumbfounded as  the thundering    Rohirrim charge approaches the frontline. Those orcs/pikeme  on the front line with their small spears/pikes stand no chance as the Rohirrim break through. They keep going and there is even a shot of Grimbold, on the right pass the wall,  with his sword out urging his men on. The Grimbold who was told to go forth and fear no darkness. It is a powerful image. As they break through the  frontline of Mordor’s armies they keep advancing towards the centre with their intense battle cries,  with Gothmog, and the orcs around him,  stunned and  dumbfounded. Who would have thought that  men, who were said to be doomed, could rise up against the  large armies of Mordor with such gumption, such bravery. It is clear that a new chapter for the race of men was being written as the riders of Rohan, with their 6, 000 strong cavalry, broke the lines of Mordor. Aragorn would have been proud because he thought that 6, 000 would not have been enough to break the lines of Mordor. Theoden does die in the ensuing battle but he rightfully says to Eowyn, as he is about to pass on, that he can join his forefathers, that mighty company, and not feel ashamed.  The  world of men was not ready to fall without a fight.  The curse associated with the ‘doom of man’ had been lifted when the riders of Rohan broke the lines of Mordor on the Field of Pelennor. A truly great movie moment.

Movie Moments: Forrest Gump hits the Jackpot

(mage courtesy of wingclips.com)

Forrest Gump (1994) is a very sentimental and sensationalistic film with most moments taking on a dramatic or comedic touch for the sake of portraying the protagonist, Forrest Gump, as a harmonious type of individual. In order to be as harmonious as Forrest Gump you have to be pretty stupid or sentimental. The film brings this out in a very stark way and by the end it is a moving experience at its best or one could simply dismiss the overwhelming sentiment on display. Despite all of this sentimentalism the film does have a certain materialistic structure that is necessary to bring across this point. This materialistic element also acts as a certain grounding element that makes the overwhelming sentiment on display tolerable. This materialistic element is brought out in a very dramatic way in the film when Forrest Gump and Lt. Dan hit the jackpot in the shrimp industry. This jackpot is the surplus profit that allows Forrest to become his own man or be representative of something from a materialist as opposed to an idealistic basis.  This moment is just as dramatic as any other episode in the film but it is bound by a materialist element that suggests that a man still has to accumulate property in a meaningful way before he can engage in certain leisurely or romantic activities.  This moment, when Forrest is able to acquire this surplus profit, also represents a decisive shift in the story of the film. It highlights that for ideals to be realized they must  be realized from a materialistic perspective.

Prior to his jackpot we see Forrest Gump blowing like a leaf in the wind. His running ability lands him a football scholarship in college. Following college he joins the army and there he meets Bubba, an expert in shrimp culinary recipes and a black man, who makes an offer, that Forrest accepts, to form a partnership and enter the shrimp business. The aspect of the shrimp business that is featured seems to be shrimp farming or fishing and does not seem tied into the culinary aspect although it would have been possible for such an extension or linkage if Bubba survived his time in time in Vietnam. Due to his great skill and success as a table tennis/ping pong player Forrest receives US$25, 000 from a sponsor  and uses the majority of it to purchase a boat in order to fulfill his promise to Bubba and become a shrimp boat captain. He is motivated, primarily, by sentiment because he is not in it for the money. He seems to be blowing with the wind and takes things as it goes. In his first few attempts he catches only a few  shrimp or just enough to make a cocktail. It seems like a fool hardy decision which is typical of Forrest until he is joined by Lt. Dan, his former platoon commander in Vietnam, who became  a bitter,  double leg amputee seeking for some sort of positive emotional release. Forrest already informed Lt. Dan of his plans to fish for shrimp when they met in New York. Lt. Dan scoffed at the idea but he clearly has a soft spot for Forrest and goes out to support him once he is informed of Forrest’s expedition by letter.  Even with Lt. Dan on board they still are not catching any shrimp and as if by chance a hurricane strikes and so turns the tide. This hurricane is seen, typically, as an act of god particularly in response to Lt. Dan’s continued scepticism ‘Where’s this god of yours?’ It does seem like a duel with god because during the storm Lt. Dan screams hysterically ‘You won’t sink this boat’. It seems to be two forces at odds. As fate would have it  the boat, or the Jenny,  was not sunk but the boats of their competitors were either sunken or destroyed by the hurricane. With Forrest’s boat being the only one to survive it’s no surprise that Forrest hit the jackpot because he now commanded the entire production sphere that would sell the product in the market. He controlled the market because he eventually  bought 12 more Jennies. 

It was a typical element in the film’s story line because Forrest could only make in roads through a favourable act of by god. It is clear that before the storm that there was no mention of his competitors that were catching all the shrimp. It just seemed like Forrest was unlucky at the time. The film is eventually compromised because it has to mention the material forces at play; material forces that could not be reducible to god but to the labour of other men. Forrest never had the business acumen to compete with them especially as he was just fulfilling a promise to Bubba. His only competitive acts, before the storm, were the enlistment of Lt. Dan and his singing and praying in the church.  All of which brought no success. If he was to beat out his competitors on a literal basis he would have had to find some way to reduce his production price in comparison to his competitors while still selling at the same market price.  This would have given him a surplus profit. If he reduced the production price then he would use this benefit to catch more shrimp. If that is not the case then, in agriculture, as the film rightly points out favourable natural acts can put you in a position to achieve surplus profit. I am sure he caught all the shrimp that all of his competitors did before but the only difference is that all of this surplus product went to him with the same labour and the same boat. Of course after he uses that surplus product to buy more boats then he would not be receiving a surplus profit he would simply be replacing his competitors for the same total product. He dominated the market to the point where he could invest in APPLE inc. Gump would be a rich man today. He also gave Bubba’s share to  Bubba’s mother which allowed her to live good as well.  The main reason why it was not just a jackpot or a stroke of luck was that Forrest and Lt. Dan were there to put in the work and to benefit from the calamity suffered by their competitors.

Well what did hitting the jackpot mean for the rest of the film and for Forrest in particular? Firstly, it certainly closed a certain chapter in the life of Forrest where he no longer had to work. The sentimental element becomes more pronounced after he becomes successful in the shrimp farming business. Before he landed it big the film was a bit quirky and more upbeat because Forrest may have been slow upstairs but instinctually he knew he had to make his own way as a man. Although he still has the love for Jenny they can never fully come together because neither of them feel settled. Even though the path Jenny takes is destructive in some regard it is still her own path to maturity. She does come into her own as a woman. Forrest Gump blows with the wind and he moves with little or no purpose of his own as he always seems to be directed by other individuals or organizations. It is, therefore, difficult to grasp what it is he represents as an individual apart from his buffoonery, simplicity and his eagerness to please. His actions make him into a harmonizer as he tries to reconcile several conflicting elements. His simplicity, therefore, makes him incapable of standing for something definitively. This might not be fair to the character because the good thing about his simple nature is that he tends to outstrip the conventionality of the other characters around him. Their conventionality makes them incapable of change or stuck in their ways and with every action Forrest does make some breakthrough that changes the individuals around him. After the bonanza, for instance, Lt. Dan, one day afterwards, is quick to thank Forrest for saving his life. He leaps from the boat and begins swimming, backstroke style, towards a beautiful horizon which Forrest claims was him making peace with god. His bitterness fades away and all his frustrations now seem hollow.   

The only thing Forrest has left is his love for Jenny and his mother. His mother passes away after he hits the jackpot but she cannot live to see him prosper. After that he returns home, particularly as he no longer needs to work on the boat. and he is well taken care of. All he has left are these deep, loving emotions. He becomes so idle after the jackpot that the film loses a bit of impetus as a result. There is even a moment where he cuts grass for free, simply because he loves doing it. The Forrest before the jackpot was always engaged in some meaningful activity that redounded to his benefit on a social level. Following the death of his mother he ends up cutting grass for free. His life definitely seems to be meandering but the narrative is pushed or extended when Jenny returns to him seeking solace from the cold world. The bonanza has finally put Forrest in a position where he can engage solely in romantic escapades or leisurely activities. After the grass cutting these romantic or leisurely activities are taken up by his relationship with Jenny. Forrest even reaches the point where he proposes to marry her even though he is rejected. He even makes the claim that he may not be a smart man but he knows what love is. It is pretty clear that he does because he literally runs on love. He and Jenny do have sex on the night of his rejected proposal and she has a son later. The day after they have sex Jenny leaves and this sends Forrest into another tailspin and with nothing to do he runs all over America which is mistaken by many as some sort of crusade. He even attracts a large following of runners that believe in his cause. In fact he is just running on pure emotion, pure sentiment and this is because he now has all the time in the world to reflect on these emotions he has for his loved ones. An episode like this contributes greatly to the overwhelming sentiment in the film. A sentiment that was not as pronounced when Forrest was engaged in more meaningful social activities such as playing college football or his military activities. The great run from Forrest is his last meaningful contribution to the social scene as he encounters several individuals that he helps along the way although it was motivated by pure sentiment and was not tied into any identifiable social reality. It is one of the more idealistic escapades in the film.

 After the jackpot it is a purely sentimental exercise and after his running he ends up on a bench telling his life story to strangers as he waits for a bus to go and meet jenny who sent him a letter.  He finally meets his son and all seems well but Jenny is sick and it is suspected that it’s HIV or Aids because she dies soon after. She does marry Forrest at last and at his wedding he meets a rejuvenated Lt. Dan outfitted with artificial legs made of a special kind of metal and a fiancée. All the sentiment comes full circle particularly after Jenny dies and Forrest and his son are left. By the end of the film the sentiment is overwhelming and most people will be moved to tears. The reason this sentiment is so overwhelming is because Forrest hit the jackpot and all he had left to deal with was love or his romantic and leisurely episodes. This is why the film does acknowledge its materialist basis. A materialist basis reflected in his shrimp bonanza that sets the tone for Forrest to engage in a quest for love or where he could simply run on love with no recourse to earning a living. The movie moment where Forrest hits the jackpot is quite important when assessing a film which many critics feel to be overblown from a sentimental point of view. The reason it is so sentimental is because this moment allows Forrest to spend a lot of time engaging only his deep, loving  emotions.