"The Incredibles" Right Wing?
Nov. 13th, 2004 07:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
filkertomA fascinating meme is making the rounds in some corners of the blogosphere: Pixar's The Incredibles is Republican propaganda.
I happen to think that's utter bullshit.
The heroes are heroes because, well, they care about helping people. They aren't paid to do it, that I can tell -- they just do it. When Mr. Incredible is forced into hiding because of lawsuits filed by members of the Blame Generation, he still tries to help people by guiding them through the intractable maze of his insurance company's bureaucracy. When hiding is no good any more, the heroes revel in their superhero-ness. Their family is strong, because (by the end of the film, at least) they respect each other for what they can do, and what they can do together.
The villain, Syndrome, wants to make everyone "super" through his gimmicks and devices, and therefore get rid of their individuality as people ("... And when everyone's super... no one will be.") As a boy, he tried to become Mr. Incredible's sidekick, and he managed only to make things worse; now, holding a grudge decades later, he kills off his rivals to make himself look good.
I'm not saying anything like "Dems good, Repubs bad" here. I'm just saying that whoever is trying to make The Incredibles into a statement in favor of the neocons and BushCo is looking too hard. Thoughts?
I happen to think that's utter bullshit.
The heroes are heroes because, well, they care about helping people. They aren't paid to do it, that I can tell -- they just do it. When Mr. Incredible is forced into hiding because of lawsuits filed by members of the Blame Generation, he still tries to help people by guiding them through the intractable maze of his insurance company's bureaucracy. When hiding is no good any more, the heroes revel in their superhero-ness. Their family is strong, because (by the end of the film, at least) they respect each other for what they can do, and what they can do together.
The villain, Syndrome, wants to make everyone "super" through his gimmicks and devices, and therefore get rid of their individuality as people ("... And when everyone's super... no one will be.") As a boy, he tried to become Mr. Incredible's sidekick, and he managed only to make things worse; now, holding a grudge decades later, he kills off his rivals to make himself look good.
I'm not saying anything like "Dems good, Repubs bad" here. I'm just saying that whoever is trying to make The Incredibles into a statement in favor of the neocons and BushCo is looking too hard. Thoughts?
