What about the superhero? Even the most ordinary american action figure
often bears something of this myth alongside that of the adventurer.
Much action film is highly invested in the good/bad on a thematic
level, though true in an unthought sense much of the time. Spiderman's
motto, "with great power comes great responsibility" is born of his own
guilt--his implication in the causal chain of events that led to his
uncle's death. The green goblin challenges his ethic by presenting a
double-bind. He suspends mary jane and a tram full of children over a
bridge. the ethical dilemma of choice, in this case the one vs. the
many, is overome though a feat of super power and special effect. Not
an option that plays out beyond cinema unfortunately. Perhaps the need
for the superhero is akin to the happy ending as Sharath describes it.
an antidote for despair of sorts.
reni
On Tuesday, July 29, 2003, at 02:54 PM, Nathan Andersen wrote:
> Hi Dan,
>
> A number of films that seem to be more about epistemology/truth have a
> fairly significant ethical component: e.g. _Rashomon_ & _Hilary and
> Jackie_ are not just raising the question what really happened, but
> also
> pointing out that what "really" happened is a subject for
> interpretation, and hence so is the question whether and where moral
> wrongs have been committed.
>
> Action movies conveniently sidestep ethical questions -- is Indiana
> Jones's personal ambition to find the latest treasure really sufficient
> grounds for his willingness to risk the lives of hundreds of people en
> route? -- which seems an important point to address. (Simone de
> Beauvoir talks about the adventurer in _An Ethics of Ambiguity_
> precisely in terms of the contradiction built into the attitudes that
> motivate him or her: the adventurer has seen that a "principled"
> (serious) approach to ethics is flawed insofar as it puts universal
> ideals higher than the individuals for whose sake they are formulated,
> but then turns around and puts his or her individual aspirations higher
> than any other individuals who might be sacrificed along the way.) The
> flaws in the attitude of the adventurer are highlighted in Pontecorvo's
> _Burn!_ (_Quimada_), where William Walker (Brando) plays the role of
> the
> adventurer.
>
> Nate
>
> --
> Nathan Andersen
> Assistant Professor of Philosophy
> Collegium of Letters
> Eckerd College
> 4200 54th Ave. S. Phone: (727) 864-7551
> St. Petersburg, FL 33712 Fax: (727) 864-8354
> U.S.A. E-mail: [log in to unmask]
>
>
Reni Celeste, Ph.D.
University of Rochester
http://www.cinemonkeys.com/reni/
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