New Armour, Same Climax: a review of Iron Man

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Now the title is gonna make you think I didn’t like Iron Man. But I did. I enjoyed it. Robert Downey Jr. is not the most conventional superhero actor–and he definitely brings a new level of cycnism and self-deprecating humour to the superhero idea. The heart-device is completely cool–and makes our hero vulnerable. There’s great stuff here that stretches the superhero genre. But I’m noticing something about Marvel superhero movies that is making me just a little…well…concerned.

Iron Man had a great beginning. Starting the movie with a horrendous attack in Afghanistan, it then brought us back in time 36 hours to show how things got so wonky for Mr. Tony Stark. Usually superhero movies stick to straight biopic rules–start us at childhood, move us forward—but I like this prelude dug out from the middle of the movie. Then it brought us up to where we began and put him in Afghanistan, with terrorists. This was such a bold plot move by the writers–to make Iron Man contemporary, to make him relevant. (Why didn’t they stay there?)

When terrorists begin to rebuild Iron Man version 1, and have a Jericho missile (missiles that look like fireworks–fun!) and threaten to fire it –and do– then the unique story of hero facing war in the middle east takes a left turn back into cliche. Iron man zooms over and takes care of pesky, GOOD, plot with one shot.

Inevitably, in these superhero movies, one hero must face one villain (or in the case of Spidey 3, 3 villains!) and inevitably it must be someone with mucho screen time, who is close to our hero who decides to follow in the footsteps of the hero and brazenly “duplicate” the process of “transformation”. Abomination in Hulk; souped up Jeff Bridges in Iron Man; even in some ways, Venom (the “copy” of Spiderman) in Spidey 3 (the Goblins earlier, the mad Doc Oc).

But what a story Iron Man left behind! Weapons manufacturer held hostage by Afghani terrorists who turns the table on them–shown to a theater of people who are longing for an end, or any victory, in this war; why didn’t they just send Iron Man back into the fray again and again? They could have shown us that the issues were complicated, the fixes not so easy and that Iron Man was really one big Tank as hero–a suit of armor with weapons. Tony Stark is still a weapon–he’s manufactured himself as a weapon. He has not changed, in a sense, though he has foregone making money from the weapons industry–a huge difference. But that’s not really followed up on because we’ve got to move this plot towards Jeff Bridges and the one-on-one shoot ’em up which has become the hallmark of superhero movies.

Perhaps superhero movies have been influenced by the game industry, pitting the largest foe at the end of the movie–a foe that is his “equal” if not his doppelganger. But then, it could just be adventure plots which nearly dictate that a climax has to be between the protagonist and the antagonist. It’s just that Jeff Bridges was the B-class antagonist and the Afghanis were so much more interesting. More complex. It is their style of fighting–which resists making one man a central figure (Bin Laden is not in control in Iraq–Al Queda is a hydra with many heads, hence the difficulty of defeating it)–which challenges the antagonist-protagonist motif.

Wouldn’t you like a movie that dealt with the issue of the war from a superhero POV? We almost had it. And then Iron Man went on autopilot.

Still Iron Man is a great movie for what it is: two hours of great entertainment. Robert Downey Jr at his best. Jeff Bridges looking cool as a bald, bearded guy. Gwenyth Paltrow as Pepper Potts. Dialogue is snappy. There’s lots of good joke moments. Rent it and enjoy. But I had a writing teacher tell me this once: “The good is the enemy of the best.” And here, I think this is a good movie that wanted to be the best.

For another thought on this movie–and a four star rating–read Roger Ebert, my hero.

The State of the States:the Political Landscape (No. 2 in a series)

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Some surprises for me in Texas concerning the political landscape.

You’d think that in Texas, things are pretty bleak for Obama.  Or you might think a lot of things about the States when it comes to this presidential race.  Two things surprised me.

The NAS Ft. Worth military base sells books in the main exchange, the main shopping center on a base.  It caters to mostly military personnel.  You can only get on the base with a military ID, which my dad carries.  (He’s a retired Senior Chief Petty Officer. )   So, the book section is roughly the size of a Walmart’s book section.  In this base, on the shelves were three books by Obama, one from Nancy Pelosi, one each from Hillary Clinton, Tom Brokaw, Joe Biden, a bio on Michelle Obama.  There was one small paperback for McCain, Faith of my Fathers.  No Bush books, no conservative books, nothing I expected.  I assumed Military bases would be bastions of right wing conservatives, and that their bookstore would look like a Rush Limbaugh’s list of quotes.  Where was the Coulter?  Where was Cheney?  Rove?  Any books condemning the Democrats?  Nope.  Here, in addition to the ones listed above, three books condemned the war in Iraq; one condemned a too powerful presidency.  I was amazed.  What does this mean?

“It means nothing,” my dad said.  “Liberals work on the staff, and they are usually civilian.  The military is all conservative.”

I argued that the staff would have to buy books that would sell, not books that stay on shelves.  They obviously know their market.

“Those are the books that didn’t sell.  All the conservative ones got picked up.”

I told him the bookshelf was full–these weren’t remainders.  They were the books for sale.

“Most of the clientele there are civilians.”

You can’t get on base without an ID!!   He refused to believe that military personnel might be turning away from Bush and towards Obama.  In Walmarts across America you will at least see The Faith of George Bush or several books condemning Democrats or Obama…but not one positive book about Bush.

I think conservatives are losing ground in the military.  People want change.  And a failed war, broken promises to veterans, and no exit strategy is straining an otherwise conservative base….well, it’s straining this one at least in Ft. Worth.  Who knows what other bases are like?

The second striking thing:  Wish I’d had a camera on the highway as we passed out of Ft. Worth Texas.  Some one had bought a billboard and put the American Flag and the head of an eagle on it with the words, “There’s only one God-loving American patriot running for President.”  It left you to assume who it was.  And forced you to think that only one man could qualify under that description.  I know two men who qualify.

People will buy a billboard, or rent one, and put up one lie after another.  You can’t say your opinion loudly enough down here.  The landscape is littered with homemade propaganda:  “If you have morals, vote McCain.”

It’s crazy.  But then conservatives still hold more power than they should.  Witness the latest muscle-flexing of the religious right.  The boycott on McDonald’s for supporting “the gay agenda.” The only time they seem to care about their health is when they’re trying to take away the rights of other people.  Now that McDonald’s caved in to their demands, they will go back to eating the fries….

Democrats could never do the same damage to McDonald’s.  Mickey D’s would never feel the pain of our ban.

We’re smart enough not to eat there.

The State of the States: Airlines/Airports (No. 1 in a series)

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Well, I’m traveling now from Whitehorse to Reno, Nevada, and then on to my folks place for Thanksgiving. That’s right, we’re celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving (the Early Edition of Thanksgiving, available everywhere north of 49).

I intend to tell you a bit about how the States are doing right now.

First up, Airlines.

I don’t have good things to say about airlines, but I do have some warnings. First up, most US airlines are charging for checking ANY baggage. $15. No one lets you know, unless it’s in the fine print of your ticket. I’ll check and get back with you. I find this a bit rude to travelers. Basically, after giving you high fees and prices anyway, they penalize you for packing. Better if you take everything on the plane with you. Remember the time that they actually tried to convince you to check stuff that could go on board? Yep, that’s over. They want you to take everything you can on with you. Maybe they can’t pay their luggage handlers….I’m not sure. But $15 for every piece of checked baggage is a lot–and you have to pay it there at the check-in counter. They told me that Southwest was an exception. If you don’t know about Southwest, go to www.southwest.com and drool over those prices. They are exceptional. And they go to a lot of places in the US. If you take a shuttle across the border to Seattle from Vancouver ($40) you can fly roundtrip for less than $200 to most places. And, apparently, they don’t charge you for checked luggage.

US Airways is probably typical of US airlines.

Another disturbing development: they now charge for ALL beverage service on board the aircraft. They even charge for spring water. (And most travel books tell people to avoid the tap water on planes….for obvious reasons). So, for flights that are three hours, not only do they take your water from you at the door (except for 100 ml), but they now charge you $2 for drinks, $1 for coffee/tea and $7 for alcohol. They also charge for food, but I was watching that happen last year….those snack boxes. Now, even on a three hour flight–no water, no pretzels. And they will only take cash. So, get American dollars, exact change, for flights into the US, or you will have no food or drink on board. (I don’t know if you are allowed food….seems like I see these signs that allow dinner on board now if you are buying it in the terminal.) *  

The inflight movie? A) you have to pay for headphones. no surprise there. But B) you are scolded over and over again to close your window-shades for those watching the movie, even if you are passing over some stunning landscapes. I mean, the window is the cheap entertainment. It’s why you buy a window seat! Geesh. I think they didn’t want us to see Area 51. I couldn’t afford the headphones, but I can afford the window–it was $232 dollars. I didn’t have change on the plane, so I enjoyed the dry landscape as a dry person. *The good news: airport food has gotten better. yes, you can find Burger King everywhere, but I’m talking about a Mexican burrito place called the Blue Burrito Grille (all fresh ingredient burritos) in Phoenix, and Opa’s Greek restaurant in Vancouver’s restaurant (before you go through security). Opa’s is great food. I was impressed. All fresh ingredients, tasty, affordable. $10.49 for a gyro/pita with greek salad and medium drink. If these are any indication of airport food, it’s getting healthier, and somewhat cheaper.

So, traveling right now can be surprising, yes. And it isn’t getting all that better on the planes. Except for AIR NORTH which I love with all my heart. If I could date AIR NORTH, I would be the proudest guy on the planet, showing Air North off to everyone, ready to introduce Air North at every party. (Yes, I sometimes have an article for Yukon: North of Ordinary, Air North’s in-flight magazine…but this is not why I’m in love with Air North) FREE Midnight Sun coffee!! Free Cheesecake! Free Food!! Free Beverages! Free magazines and newspapers! Friendly Staff! Yes, I want the prices to come down, but you know what?? I think service on Air North compensates for the prices…. They are, BAR NONE, the best airline in Canada, and except for my former affair with Southwest Airlines (love ya, babe–we’re just too far apart) they are the best in North America for price. My beef with them has more to do with having to come home so late only on certain days from Calgary, but this is not a series on Air North….but traveling Outside makes me compare airlines…and Air North comes out favorably against US Airways/American Airlines, etc, anyday!

So, go to Vancouver and Calgary, Fairbanks and Inuvik and Edmonton….Until Air North flies farther, I’m recommending a tight traveling circle.

*okay, the flight attendant on the second US Airways flight was very kind to me and gave me a coffee for 50 cents, when I didn’t have enough cash.  I can’t trash US Airways–as I said, they are typical of the fee hikes that are invading the airline industry.

**American Airlines does not charge for drinks on board. The flight attendant said, “Please keep flying American.”   He is aware that “other airlines” have begun doing that but it turned his stomach.

Twenty Three Novels By Yukoners Being Written in November (at least!)

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Yep, twenty three novels. Hard to imagine twenty three people all writing novels at the same moment, but that’s the glory of NaNoWriMo. You jump in and you have thousands of words when you get out. I have two classes right now who are participating in this month-long event: 14 in a novel-writing class, 8 in a science fiction/fantasy novel writing class and myself. I’m only requiring 10,000 words which is a novella, but they still count as non-short stories.

Wanna join us in November? Go to www.nanowrimo.org and register for National Novel Writing Month. We can encourage each other. I also encourage you to buy Chris Baty’s book No Plot? No Problem! or to download from the youth section of the nanowrimo website, the youth novel writing workbook which is actually good stuff. I’m using some of it for my high school group, Rocketfuel.

Can you write a novel in one month? Yes. Yeah, you might say, but will it be any good? Most first drafts are good to get out of you, but need some work later. But you can’t make a pot without putting some clay on the table first. Yukoner Ivan E. Coyote pushed out a novel during NaNoWriMo, called Bow Grip. It’s damn good. So, it’s both possible to push out a decent first draft of a novel and possible that this draft can be useful for later publication. Remember the first draft is the hardest.

But everything’s a bit easier if you have a whole crew doing it with you. So, join our CREW!!

WRITE A NOVEL IN NOVEMBER.

Chosen City Columns from What’s Up Yukon?

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If you’ve been reading my columns in What’s Up Yukon? and liked them, I’ve started archiving them here on my webpage/blog.  You’ll find the articles on the page marked Chosen City, just up at the top, and they will direct you to the What’s Up Yukon? site.  (except for one, which is here on my site)  I hope you enjoy hearing the stories of Yukoners, as I have enjoyed hearing them too.  We’re a unique bunch and it takes a unique person to live up here, enduring all this beauty.

(It snowed yesterday.  It’s still September!  Geesh.)

I’ll keep placing the article links on Chosen City’s page so you can keep reading them from here.

Enjoy.  And thank you for sharing your stories with me.

Rocketmen of a Different Time

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Well, now that Yves Rossy has flown across the English Channel, I’m feeling nostalgic for a great film called The Rocketeer.  Yeah, it was Disney, but it was fun.  And it had that same joy–a man finds a jetpack and flies through 1938, doing good.  Started as a comic book, The Rocketeer was an homage to the early adventure serials (much in the same way Indiana Jones was a nod to them).  It didn’t do so well at the box office, but I bet it gets a revival.  Superhero movies are popular.  Superhero Literature is taking over the publishing industry.  Now a man flies with his jetpack without crashing.

I remember the movie because the art deco of the poster extended to the sets, Timothy Dalton (the current, at that time, James Bond) was the villain, and the hero was so gosh-darn good.  I really enjoyed the whole triumphant feel of the movie–the lack of cynicism.  This wasn’t The Dark Knight.  It was just far enough removed from Superman movies with their movie-brand idealism and perky people but not deep in the reverse-cycle we’re on now with the Watchman coming soon.

Lastly, we come to Iron Man, the jetpack story with political commentary.  I mean, we’re in a political age.  So that’s cool.  But there’s less innocent joy and more revenge, more concentration on this as a weapon of mass destruction as hero.  The villain is not a Dalton-esque individual, but a war, a people, even greed.  Iron Man is fighting conceptions.  The Rocketeer had his Nazis, an ideological flashpoint for heroes forged in the thirties and forties.  They were also a people, in a war, bent on world domination.  Funny thing now is– the people, the war, the greed — it’s US we’re fighting — both U.S. and us…

So, remember as you take up your Jet pack:

With great technology comes responsible ideology….

Jet Man Flies over English Channel

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Well, all those people whining about not having their jetpack yet, start writing those letters to Santa. Looks like a nifty pack–and I can see some nice competitions coming out of this if these are ever mass produced. Imagine a big city like Vancouver with folks flying across the city. Okay, that’s in the future, but at least it’s imaginable now…

Yves Rossy Crosses the English Channel

World Building, Renewed Interest, 9 Novelists to write 9 Novels

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If you were thinking about signing up for a class in
Science Fiction /Fantasy writing this fall, do it next
week.

The class was officially canceled on Tuesday, as it had only five members, but will be re-instated next week on Wednesday because of renewed interest. We now have nine people–and room for many, many more. If you are a fantasy writer or a science fiction writer in town and want to be a part of a novel-writing push, this is your chance.

Sign up with Krista Mroz at Parks and Recreation (phone  633-8505) and join us for pushing out that novel. We’re now online too at Cold Fantasy, a google Group of the writers in the class. With nine other people churning out a novel–and they have day jobs–you can do it too!

Rocketfuel Blasts Off, 10 and Rising

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The fantasy writers of tomorrow are sitting in a high school French Library looking at photographs on a table. Their task is to first pick a photo that appeals to them out of the twenty or thirty scattered there. Then, they have to tell who this person is, what’s happening in the picture, and what that person wants. After writing for fifteen minutes, I tell them to switch gears. I tell them to keep the same person they’ve written about but change the setting to a science fiction or fantasy one, give them a new situation. Keep the real person, though…

Rocketfuel started with six students and now has nine students and next week will have ten, and we meet at FH Collins High School to work on Fantasy and Science Fiction writing. So far, it’s green lights all the way! Snacks seem to be the fuel for this writing –and there’s a lot of good writing going on. And enough enthusiasm to make an hour and a half zoom by. They are a great group.

Thanks to all those who spread the word–and if you are still thinking of signing up, or telling your son or daughter about Rocketfuel, have them meet us on Wednesdays at FH Collins Library at 3:30. We’ll get them on board.

Every Clear Day From Now On is a Gift

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If you are like me, you cursed the lousy summer we had this year in the Yukon.  Okay, maybe you didn’t curse it.  But I wasn’t the only one who felt a bit shortchanged.  It’s because of my expectations for Summer– dazzling summers here.  We know.  We expect that.  We live through the winter to get that summer.  We had two weeks of summer—14 days, I think.  Only 3 in a row.

But now, my tune is changing.  The last few days, I haven’t been expecting good weather—I’ve been anticipating that slide into Winter.  And I’ve been pleased at every day that thwarts that.  Like today.  All it takes is the sun to be shining, and I’m thrilled that it made it out.

Funny how it isn’t that the sunny days are more frequent, or that there is less rain than in the summer.  Really it’s just a continuation of the Yukon Summer as a long British movie …BUT my expectations for summer and for fall are completely different.  I expected more out of summer, and was disappointed.  Now that I’ve accepted my fate, that Winter will be here soon, I’m delighted when my expectations are NOT met.  That Fall has some nice warm days for us.

So I’ve been out picking berries, cutting wood, eating lunch in the forest, enjoying the surprise gifts I don’t deserve and shouldn’t expect.  It’s a kind of Weather Grace.  Next year, maybe I’ll expect the summer to be lousy and then I can be as pleasantly surprised by the weather’s good behavior when it happens.

Change yourself, change the weather.  Hmmm.  That’s an idea.  At least, the yellow is brighter that way.