Believe it or not, some people have never seen a movie that belongs to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you are one of the beginners, of like an old story video essay on will try to get you started. There will also be no lamentation from host Tom van der Linden. Although he himself once enjoyed the MCU, he eventually began to wonder why keeping up with the series’ releases felt more like a chore than a thrill. As if the CGI-heavy sounds and anger weren’t enough, there’s also “the constant cynicism, the annoying self-consciousness, and the fact that everything has to be a franchise now.”
Van der Linden calls “storytelling entropy” a central factor in the MCU’s decline. As you may have noticed, classic films focus virtually all of their energy in every aspect of their production toward the presentation of a particular theme, story, or character. At their best, their every line, gesture, cut, and invention represents the tip of an artistic iceberg. As a well-known example, let’s take a look at the lightsaber introduced in . star warsVan der Linden calls it a “metaphor” that is “more than just a weapon, it symbolically conveys much about its wielder’s philosophy and the larger world in which it exists,” and it “condenses many meanings and ideas into a simple, single object.”
That’s what happens in the first two or three movies anyway. In the decades since, as the Star Wars universe has become increasingly vast, complex, and conceptually unwieldy, the proliferation and modification of the once-great lightsaber has rendered it commonplace, even mundane. This also applies to storytelling entropy, a phenomenon that plagues any narrative series forced into endless commercial growth. The process of expansion eventually spreads even the most appealing original material to the point where it becomes inaccessible to all but the most dedicated fans. Usually by that point, it becomes clear that the creators themselves have long since lost passion for the story.
Most MCU viewers will agree that it has produced hits as well as failures. But what Van der Linden calls “Marvelization” has inspired other copycat corporate franchises, launched globally marketable content fiercely protected by intellectual property lawyers, and even taken attention away from areas of film and television that have nothing to do with superheroes, swords, or science fiction. Of course, Hollywood has always been focused on profits, but it’s only in recent decades that market saturation, cross-platform strategies, and maximum crossover potential have come to dominate priorities so completely. MCU or not, a Marvelized movie is, at its core, a movie that has no pressing need to be made and ultimately one that we don’t feel a pressing need to see.
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Based in Seoul, Colin Mbemust write and broadcastIt’s about cities, languages ​​and cultures. His projects include the Substack newsletter books about cities and a book Stateless City: A Stroll Through Los Angeles in the 21st Century. Follow him on the social network formerly known as Twitter. @Colinbemust.
Source: Open Culture – www.openculture.com
