Film

Compare and contrast the superhero film Darkman with current examples of the superhero genre. This film was the first work in the genre for Sam Raimi, who wrote it as his own take on a superhero story after failing to secure the rights to superheroes Batman and The Shadow. Raimi would later go on to direct the 2002-2007 Spider Man films, and contribute heavily to the revival of the now massive genre. Compare elements such as the characters, themes and plot in Darkman to those in modern superhero films and discuss in what ways the film may have served as a jumping off point for the modern superhero movie.

Note: Useful movies to use as points of comparison could be Raimi's later Spider Man movies, as well as films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

First coined by comic book writer Dennis O'Neil in his book "The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics", the concept of a megaseries is a narrative that spans multiple subplots within a greater whole, almost emphasizing them over its main plot. The main example used was DC’s first massive crossover event “Crisis on Infinite Earths”. In his description, O’Neil described it more as an art of the creative process and less of the work itself. Much like comics' close relative, television, the megaseries has been used to create immense story arcs that expand across multiple creative visions, giving the audience pieces of a larger world.

The MCU is special because this is cinema's first time at this, at least on a theatrical-level. The article could go into the cultural impact these films have had and how their inter-relativity might have contributed to their success. It could also go into the relationship of the main plot (“Avengers”) and how it contrasts to its multiple "subplots". What's most interesting is how film –as a medium– works within this design. Within a megaseries prose, comics, and television use subplot in heavily passive ways. For the most part, they're shorter. In comics, one issue could suffice for an important arc. In television, one episode. But with film, one would need to use an entire movie that could range hours. Within the same time-frame that almost every other film creates and concludes its universe, the MCU simply builds a tiny piece upon theirs. Regardless of how people feel about the quality of these movies, volumes can be said of their importance both culturally and structurally.

The most important thing to take away is their success. No studio or creative property has been able to support this investment. Very few stories (ever) have the wealth of content, cultural impact, and audience recognition of current mainstream comic books. So despite the IP’s strength, could this paradigm be used for a completely original concept? And could cinema ever have its own megaseries, birthed and intended only for the medium’s use; not as a cash-grab, but as a testament to its own art?

It would be a great idea to analyze a bit more on what made film producers want to create a film after a book. This analyzation can introduce the readers to a few reasons that may have attracted the producer to want to see a story from an author come to life. The topic can focus on the romance genre as there have been many movies adapted from books of romance. For example, 50 Shades of Grey which has been a big deal in today's generation. The book trilogy got not just one movie, but three. What were the attractions that the film producer got from the book that he/she wanted to see on the screen?

Analyze the images that illustrate the Arab woman in Western societies. Trace the portrayal of the Arab woman in film and explore the transition in film when Arab women were advertised as alluringly sexual, and oppressively objectified to dangerous and suspicious.

X-men films have included WWII based story lines through the characters Magneto and Wolverine (among others). What do these snippets of history teach its readers about this complex war and its aftermath? What messages are they trying to convey to the modern audience about contemporary issues? To cover the depictions of WWII in the comics might be too large an undertaking so I have limited it to the films.

This past weekend, Jeffrey Tambor won the Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series for playing a transgender woman in Amazon's show Transparent. Also, Eddie Redmayne will be playing a transgender woman in The Danish Girl in an upcoming film that looks like it's an Oscar vehicle. And think of how well Dallas Buyers Club did for Jared Leto. It seems that these roles are often portrayed in interviews and articles as "complex challenges" for cisgender actors to take on. Is this problematic? Should we be arguing for more trans* actors to play their own roles, or is it okay to continue casting cisgender actors?

What are certain comedies that draw on themes of film noir and neo-noir that make these comedies ironic? The example of Arrested Development comes to mind. Culturally, film noir played a major role during and after the second World War, and now with the advent of the comedies of today, is there a levity in darkness? What cultural circumstances must be evident to bring about the bleak and the comedic?

Although most of todays time-period drama's are fiction—Call the Midwife, Downton Abbey, Reign, Peaky Blinders ect—just how accurate are they? I love the feeling that I am witnessing something similar to past times and learning a bit of history, but are we being fooled? I am curious to how much of the fashion, language, visual surroundings, politics, events and controversies are true to the time and place of the storylines.