Family Friday: Beyond Batman

With the release of Batman:  The Dark Knight Rises in theaters, retailers have brought DVDs of the Batman shows that I grew up with - namely Batman:  The Animated Series and Batman Beyond - to the forefront. We snatched up Season 1 of both series. While I was watching an episode of Batman Beyond, I felt I had an insight into the tragedy at the midnight showing of  The Dark Knight Rises.

In the episode, "Golem," Willie is a picked-on kid at the high school that Terry - the new Batman - attends. After being picked-on and pushed around by a bully, Willie's frustrated dad demands, "So what are you going to do to the guy who did that to you?" "When someone pushes you, you push back," and "I'm not raisin' no wuss." When Willie asks how he should deal with it his father replies, "Hit 'em where it hurts. You figure it out." Driven over the edge by the pressure of being picked on and the added pressure from his father to do something about it, Willie steals his dad's golem - a twenty-foot tall robot that works with a human controller. Willie uses the golem to destroy the bully's most prized possession - his car. An encounter with Batman during this incident accidentally fuses Willie's mind with the robot's, making it possible for Willie to control the golem without using the remote control. This also means that when the golem gets damaged, Willie feels it. He continues to attack the local bullies and even confronts his father, throwing his taunts back in his dad's face and almost killing him when Batman intervenes. Of course, Batman saves the day and Willie ends up in a juvenile facility, but I want to focus on Willie's relationship with his father and the influence this had on Willie's actions.

 Willie's father was insistent that Willie fight back against his persecutors by any means necessary. I don't think Willie was trying to earn his father's acceptance by stealing the golem; I think he wanted to show his father how destructive he could be while taking his father at his word. So what does this have to do with the Colorado grad student who shot up a theater full of people watching The Dark Knight Rises? It goes to show the sort of familial relationships that can produce a killing mindset. We can't assume that the killer in this instance had this kind of family relationship, or even one like it, but it is worthwhile for us to think about these factors before we blame all of the killer's motivations on the movies. And of course, we must always remember that Batman himself never kills or condones killing.

Family Friday: Kids Movies That Are Actually Good For Your Kids #2 - Up

"Good Afternoon, my name is Russell and I am a Wilderness Explorer in Tribe 52, Sweat Lodge 12. Are you in need of any assistance today sir?" Boy, if only we were all as brave as that kid.
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Carl is an old man. Never had children; lost his wife, Ellie, to illness. His only regret is not taking her on her dream vacation - Paradise Falls. So when he ends up about to be forced into a "retirement community" he figures he has nothing to lose, and takes his house there by attaching hundreds of balloons to it and flying down there along with Russell who wound up along for the ride because he was under Carl's porch at liftoff. When they land near Paradise Falls, they go through all sorts of difficulties trying to get the house next to the waterfall including meeting up with, and then getting chased by, Carl's childhood hero. Eventually, Carl learns the lesson he needs in order to get back home.

This movie is about letting go:  of the past, of expectations, and especially of material possessions. Only, when Carl lets go of the need to get the house next to the Falls was he able to rescue Russell and his other companions. Up, more than its contemporaries, demonstrates what really matters in life:  the friends you make, the love you share, and the spirit of adventure to really get out and enjoy life.

Horror and Romance

I watched the Evil Dead movies today. I've never tried to before because I am really afraid of zombies and all manner of undead. I watched the first one when I was just out of high school, and I was so scared that at one point I actually screamed and hid under the blanket (and I'm not afraid to admit that). Now I have forced myself to watch them because I wanted to know what they're all about - mostly because I love Bruce Campbell and these movies are what he is most famous for. Honestly, the main reason I avoid horror movies is the same reason I tend to avoid romantic comedies:  both genres are dependent people doing really stupid things. If the girl hadn't run out into the woods in the middle of the night...if the guy had just talked honestly to his girlfriend...there wouldn't be much of a movie, would there? It frustrates me. There are of course exceptions in both genres, and the less the plot is dependent on the characters' utter lack of common sense the happier I am. As for Evil Dead - I cannot love the movie for its own sake, but Bruce Campbell is eye-candy to me and as long as I focus on that I am ok. :)

Kids Movies That Are Actually Good For Your Kids #1: School of Rock

School of Rock is one of the best Jack Black movies I have ever seen. In it Black's character, Dewy, makes a rock band out of the private school class he is substitute teaching. He uses their natural musical talents to get them into the Battle of the Bands. It's a cute movie and, unlike most of today's comedies, the jokes are funny instead of just stupid-funny. All of that is great for a movie in general and a kid's movie in particular, but what really makes School of Rock stand out is the evolution of Jack Black's character, Dewy.

Dewy starts off as a desperate guy trying to make his rock dreams come true, and it only gets worse for him when his band kicks him out. He pretends to be his roommate in order to pick up a substitute teaching job to raise money while he tries to get a new band together. He can't get anyone to play with him, but he realizes that the kids in his class can play classical music so he teaches them about rock and convinces them to be his band. This clearly starts out as a revenge fantasy for Dewy:  he is trying to get back at the band who kicked him out. But as he spends more time helping the kids find their individual roles in the band and shows each one how his or her role is important, he begins to focus on what is best for them, and less on using them as a vehicle for his own self-aggrandizing scheme. By making the band more about them and less about himself, Dewy becomes a better person.

I'm not going to give away the ending, but this movie clearly shows what's best about working as a team and why you don't have to win the big prize to be successful. Watch this movie with your kids, and then talk to them about it to make sure they understand why it is a more uplifting movie than it seems at first blush.