The Call to something or other
Jun. 5th, 2012 10:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seriousficSo having watched both Tron: Uprising and some episodes of Ultimate Spider-Man on an in-demand service (I think it's called "Fuck you, getting up early on a Saturday"), I noticed something. In Tron, hero Beck dresses up as Tron after his best friend is killed by the Empire. He does a little family-friendly terrorist bombing, gets picked up by the original Tron who actually works as opposed to this new and untested version (for convenience's sake, we can distinguish them as Tron XP and Tron Vista), and told to continue doing what he's doing. Instead, he basically goes "eff off, my personal hero, I only wanted to avenge my best friend's gruesome death that one time." Then he finds out that his homestead has been attacked and he's the only one who can fight the Empire and Star Wars Star Wars Star Wars.
Then in Ultimate Spider-Man, the premise is that Nick Fury recruits Spider-Man into a sort of Young Avengers Initiative, just with less yaoi than those other Young Avengers. Only every five minutes, Peter Refuses The Call.
Nick Fury: Join SHIELD!
Spider-Man: No! (annoying comedy cutaway) Okay!
Nick Fury: Be part of this team of young superheroes!
Spider-Man: No! (annoying comedy cutaway) Okay!
Nick Fury: They'll also be going to school with you!
Spider-Man: No! (annoying comedy cutaway) Okay!
Also, I hate their version of Aunt May. She's just obnoxious. "My aunt isn't just some old lady, she does skateboarding and 4chan!" Yes, that's great random focus group, why hasn't she shown up outside of annoying comedy cutaways?
I think it all goes back to Joseph Campbell. You see, it's traditional for heroic journeys to feature something called a Call To Adventure (in case you're unfamiliar with this egghead terminology, it's a call to adventure). However, it's coupled with a Refusal of the Call. In theory, it makes the protagonist more sympathetic. They didn't ask for this bullshit, they tried to get out of it, but now they have to do this stuff and on their day off too.
And that does work in certain situations, but nowadays writers seem to think it's obligatory. Like they'll be picking up their Oscar for Best 30-Minute Toy Commercial when the King of Movies jumps up and goes "Wait! His character arc didn't include a Refusal of the Call! HANG HIM!" So you get situations like those series, and even the Green Lantern movie, where the hero goes "ALRIGHT, I AM 100% COMMITTED TO THIS! Wait, no I'm not, five minutes of lazy drama and a pep talk, OKAY, LET'S DO THIS!" It's especially egregious in Spider-Man's case, since he already has a Refusal of the Call in letting Uncle Ben's killer get by him. Also, they give him a motorcycle. Next up: Superman patrols Metropolis from his Super-Hang-Glider!
The odd thing is, a lot of the really big, profitable stories of our time have skipped this step. Not, like, Nicholas Winding Refn pictures. Harry Potter! Batman! They never go "whoa, maybe I *shouldn't* go on an amazing, life-changing adventure." They just go.
In conclusion, the Refusal of the Call is for jive-ass turkeys.
Then in Ultimate Spider-Man, the premise is that Nick Fury recruits Spider-Man into a sort of Young Avengers Initiative, just with less yaoi than those other Young Avengers. Only every five minutes, Peter Refuses The Call.
Nick Fury: Join SHIELD!
Spider-Man: No! (annoying comedy cutaway) Okay!
Nick Fury: Be part of this team of young superheroes!
Spider-Man: No! (annoying comedy cutaway) Okay!
Nick Fury: They'll also be going to school with you!
Spider-Man: No! (annoying comedy cutaway) Okay!
Also, I hate their version of Aunt May. She's just obnoxious. "My aunt isn't just some old lady, she does skateboarding and 4chan!" Yes, that's great random focus group, why hasn't she shown up outside of annoying comedy cutaways?
I think it all goes back to Joseph Campbell. You see, it's traditional for heroic journeys to feature something called a Call To Adventure (in case you're unfamiliar with this egghead terminology, it's a call to adventure). However, it's coupled with a Refusal of the Call. In theory, it makes the protagonist more sympathetic. They didn't ask for this bullshit, they tried to get out of it, but now they have to do this stuff and on their day off too.
And that does work in certain situations, but nowadays writers seem to think it's obligatory. Like they'll be picking up their Oscar for Best 30-Minute Toy Commercial when the King of Movies jumps up and goes "Wait! His character arc didn't include a Refusal of the Call! HANG HIM!" So you get situations like those series, and even the Green Lantern movie, where the hero goes "ALRIGHT, I AM 100% COMMITTED TO THIS! Wait, no I'm not, five minutes of lazy drama and a pep talk, OKAY, LET'S DO THIS!" It's especially egregious in Spider-Man's case, since he already has a Refusal of the Call in letting Uncle Ben's killer get by him. Also, they give him a motorcycle. Next up: Superman patrols Metropolis from his Super-Hang-Glider!
The odd thing is, a lot of the really big, profitable stories of our time have skipped this step. Not, like, Nicholas Winding Refn pictures. Harry Potter! Batman! They never go "whoa, maybe I *shouldn't* go on an amazing, life-changing adventure." They just go.
In conclusion, the Refusal of the Call is for jive-ass turkeys.
