Elsa Rhae is a self-taught make-up artist that transforms her face into a multitude of characters from movies, television shows and video games. She’s also a video editor, and you can see her remarkable transformations in her timelapse videos on YouTube.
To see more from this multi-talented artist, be sure to check her website. You can also find her on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
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Read more: http://twistedsifter.com/2014/05/make-up-artist-elsa-rhae-transforms-her-face/
Despite their pervasive presence in the media, superheroes are, in fact, fictional. What happens to a world in which everyday citizens try too hard to be perfect?
Did you know Marvel’s “The Avengers” is the fifthhighest grossing movie of all time, beating out “Frozen” and “Harry Potter”? Altogether, Marvel’s superhero reboot occupies four of the top 12 spots onthe box office list.We have become obsessed with superhero culture, but, more importantly, we have lost sight of what makes our favorite men and womenin tights so incredible.
They don’t do it all alone.
Iron Man’s body is fueled by an artificial heart. Captain America underwent chemical injections to make his body more formidable. Thor isn’t even human; he’s a Norse god.
The truth is, nobody on planet Earth can live up to the tremendous accomplishments of the superheroes we see on the big screen. Yet we keep trying, and it’s driving us insane.
With mental health taking up so much of the spotlight in today’s world, many studies are being done to show the debilitating effects of our “more, more, more” culture. According to a study published by the CDC, 6 percent of adolescents have serious emotional or behavioral difficulties.
Think it’s just kids? Think again. Even adults are dealing with increased amounts of anxiety these days. As the sales of adult coloring books skyrocket, we’ve watched our nation’s grown-up population revert back to kindergarten behavior, trying relentlessly to color inside the lines.
Experts point their fingers at unhealthy diets, lack of exercise, antisocial lifestyles and video games (including superhero-themed games). But there’s one very important culprit lurking in the shadows.
We’re working ourselves too hard.So what can we do to fix it?
Finding out how to channel your energy effectively may seem like a herculean task, but the more you practice tips like these, the easier it will become. Try these tips to recharge your batteries when you’re feeling super overworked and not super heroic.
Concentrate On One Thing At A Time
According to Sandra Bond Chapman, Ph.D., founder of the Center for BrainHealth, our brains don’t function well when we’re distracted.
Multitasking is a brain drain that exhausts the mind, zaps cognitive resources and, if left unchecked, condemns us to early mental decline and decreased sharpness.
While Thor may be able to hop back and forth between planets, we earthlings are a more fragile breed. In order to keep yourself alert, focused and functioning at full capacity, list out the tasks you need to get done. Take the first one on the list and work steadily on it until it’s complete. Then, select the next item and start again.
Take A Break
There’s a reason superhero movies only last an hour and a half. Studies show our brains can only handle up to 90consecutive minutes of hard work and concentration before they need to take a break.Taking a 15-minute break after every 90minutes of work will help your brain rest and refocus for the work to come. (Even Iron Man has to recharge his suit periodically.) If you find your entire life is too busy, consider taking a longer pause to evaluate your goals.
Let It Go
At the end of the day, allow yourself time to put your work away and make ameal with a loved one. Get outside. Paint your nails. Sing karaoke. Being mindful about the different aspects of your life is an important way to keep your stress levels in check. David Gelles, a business reporter for the New York Times and author of “Mindful Work: How Meditation is Changing Business from the Inside Out,” touts the importance of mindfulness.
Instead of obsessing about what we could have done better last time around, how we’re going to handle whatever comes up next, or who is on our nerves, mindfulness allows us to focus on what’s happening right here, right now.
Remember how stressed and scared Captain America was when he woke up to find almost 70 years had passed? Being mindful of your life allows you to embrace a greater sense of calm and live each day fully.
We, as a society, need to focus on working smarter and not harder. We need to stop trying to do everything.
We need to leave the superhuman feats for the big screen.
Read more: http://elitedaily.com/entertainment/superhero-movies-stressful-lives/1551532/
Marvel’s press release reads as if this is a permanent and irrevocable thing. Sure, Cyclops has always been a jerk, but whhhhhhhhhhhy?
In the move that shocked and saddened comic book fans worldwide, beloved super hero Professor Charles Xavier meets his demise today in Avengers VS. X-Men #11. In the penultimate chapter of the biggest comic book story in 2012, superstar creators Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel rally the forces of the Marvel Universe against the final two members of the seemingly all-powerful Phoenix Five—Cyclops and Emma Frost. But as this epic battle rages, Cyclops makes a decision that not only takes the life of the man who formed the X-Men and raised him like a son, but that also may damn both the Avengers and the X-Men!
Read more: http://buzzfeed.com/donnad/cyclops-just-straight-up-murdered-professor-xavier
Welcome to “Try Me.,” Elite Daily’s new advice column that shares the tough love your friends are too afraid to give you. You’ve got questions and we’ve got answers.
Got a life or love related question for “Try Me.”? Email the full details to TryMe@elitedaily.com with the subject labeled “Try Me” (questions may be edited). We promise to tell it like it is.
Dear LARG,
So I met this guy on Tinder a few months ago, we had an amazing first date, but we didn’t hook up. The first date happened on the weekend; we went out to dinner, then drinking and I ended up staying over at his place.
Nothing sexual happened other than some making out. We had so much in common, and I believed that we both had a great time because we agreed to meet again on a second date.
The second date happened during the week. We hung out at his place, ordered takeout and stayed in. We played video games and didn’t realize that it was getting late. He offered to stay over and I accepted it. I slept in his room, we shared the bed, but then again nothing happened. We just went to bed.
We still talked to each other as days passed, however, one day he just disappeared on me. No contact in the forms of call or text, nothing whatsoever for almost three weeks.
So I thought we just drifted apart, and I kept telling myself to forget him since every time I tried to message him, I didn’t get a response back.
Surprisingly, one night he started contacting me again. This time asking me if I wanted to watch a movie with him. He’s done this in the past, but then he ended up flaking on it.
So we started talking again, and every time he asked me to go out, he kept canceling the plans. Also, he only texted or contacted me when I felt like when it was convenient for him. Whenever he asked me out, it was always around late night conversations that were happening.
So one day, I got tired of his behavior, I told him that I liked him and that I’d been wondering how he was in the three weeks of no contact. He didn’t explain himself very well.
In the end, I told him that I won’t be contacting him anymore if he keeps doing what he’s doing, canceling plans, and he didn’t even respond after I told him what I feel about him.
Both of us are employed full-time. I also am in the process of getting my master’s degree. He’s three years older than I am, and both of us just moved in to this new city last year. So we both hardly know anyone in the city other than coworkers, roommates and neighbors.
It’s been a while since I last talked to him, but I miss talking to him, hanging out with him, so I’m thinking of contacting him again and see if we could just be friends? I don’t know if I should do that? Or should I just forget him completely?
Thank you!
Just Friends
Dear Just Friends,
I want you to re-read your story again as if it you weren’t you, as if you didn’t know the players, and tell me: Does this guy seem into this girl?
He always flakes on plans. He only asks you out to plans when you’re having late-night conversations (cough booty call? cough). He only reaches out when it’s convenient for him.
He’s not reciprocating in opening up to you when you tell him how you feel. And he’s not fighting for you when you threaten to end it.
You’re in the process of getting your master’s degree (amazing, Mazel Tov, congrats!); you’re smarter than this. You’re not going to get anything from this guy. And even if you do become friends on paper, his actions above indicate that he will be a sh*tty one.
But, alas, this is a blind trap that many intelligent women and many intelligent men still often find themselves in (I’ve got a collection of letters similar to yours to prove it). When you want so badly for something to work, it’s hard to see that it’s not when you’re entrenched in it and way easier to tell when you’re out of it. That’s why hindsight is 20/20.
To me, this looks like a classic situation of “he’s a flake, looking for a booty-call and you’re subconsciously loving the challenge of tying him down.” You’re in a new city with limited contacts and limited interactions, so it’s easy to hold on to those two first dates that went so well.
But what happened after those first two dates (in which, I want to point out you didn’t do anything sexual together)? He distanced himself from you. He didn’t respond to your follow-up messages.
This kind of behavior should tip you off that he’s not into being “just friends.” He, like you, is new to the city and instead of wanting a partner-in-crime to explore with, he wants to explore the field.
That realization hurts and it’s hard not to take personally. But let me tell you something, Just Friends. It’s not personal. It has nothing to do with how much fun you two did or didn’t have.
It has nothing to do with who you are or what you said. He wants a simple girl who he can call on his terms and who will come over, get him off and go home. That can be any girl. To him, it’s not about the person inside — it’s about finishing inside her.
You don’t want to fill the “any girl” role this guy is looking for. You want to be THE Girl for a man who is lucky enough to deserve you. You want a guy who will respond when you message, who will make plans and keep them, who will reach out to you in earnest. You’re in a new city with brand new people and you will eventually find the difference.
I want to give you a ton of credit, though, for being upfront about your feelings and not indulging in his games. You and I both know by now that you won’t win them. If you reach out to him again, you will just keep playing without a finish line in sight.
Stick to your words that you won’t contact him again because the truth is, you don’t need to. It doesn’t sound like you’re getting anything out of this. You haven’t mentioned any benefits of your relationship with him, besides the fact that chasing him gives your mind something to do.
“It’s been a while since I last talked to him, but I miss talking to him, hanging out with him…” Could it be that in all the time since you’ve last spoken, you’ve romanticized your interactions with him?
Absence, after all, does make the heart grow fonder. You don’t miss talking to him — as a newbie in a city with a small social circle, you miss talking to someone.
Stop trying to make this guy into something he’s not. Stop putting all your energy and focus on winning his attention. Instead, channel this force into meeting new people who will better appreciate your friendship. You can’t let in new prospects if you’re still hung up on the old ones.
He is not the only one for you in this new city, but you’ll never realize that if you keep focusing on him and not the environment around you. Forget wanting what you can’t have. It’s toxic and it only ends in failure.
I’m not saying that it’s going to be easy. In fact, it’s much harder to break this mental-bind than it is to keep chasing after the same thing. You know the outcome of the latter, but you have no idea what will happen if you stopped running after him.
I’ve been there. I’ve been the new girl in the new city who hangs on to half-assed, one-sided relationships because I couldn’t bear the thought of not having something.
But you know what happens to those girls who don’t just give up on people who aren’t worth their efforts? They hurt their self-esteem even further because the only way for it to end otherwise is in disappointment and not on your own terms.
You’re not that girl. You’re too smart to be that girl. And you’ve already got your foot halfway out the door. So shut it behind you and open another one.
Go on,
LARG
Editor’s Note: If you or someone you know is depressed or in need of serious help, please do not hesitate to talk with a professional and find the counsel you need. The following organizations offer support: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, HelpGuide, The Samaritans or see a specialist. Most importantly, remember, you are NOT alone.
Read more: http://elitedaily.com/dating/try-can-just-friends/907207/
Read more: http://www.ifunny.com//pictures/why-video-games-make-you-violent/
In an appearance on “The Tonight Show” on Wednesday, Kristen Wiig impersonated “Bachelorette” contestant JoJo Fletcher in the most perfect way.
Wearing a beige, blinged-out gown and a perfectly curled brown wiig (get it?), the 42-year-old SNL alum made all of us actually want to watch “The Bachelorette”again — if only Kristen Wiig could be the one to date a bunch of dudesnext time around. While she certainly had her look down pat, Wiig knew next to nothing about the show itself, which made her bit with Jimmy Fallon all the more hilarious.
One of the funniest moments? When Fallon asks her to reveal some secrets about the famous fantasy suite, Wiig says they “kiss a little” and “sometimes we rub each other.” She goes on to say that some of it’s faked because it’s TV and there are fountains in the hotel rooms.
But the best part comes when Fallon brings out pictures of her final four bachelors. Kristen Wiig — er, JoJo — completely botches their names and the moment is almost too good to be true.
Watch the clip above to see some of the hilarious interview for yourself.
Subscribe to Elite Daily’s official newsletter,The Edge, for more stories you don’t want to miss.
Read more: http://elitedaily.com/entertainment/kristen-wiig-impression-bachelorette-jojo-fletcher/1553903/
Censorship and suppression of public speech and expression has been a big problem for many decades now. From films to magazines, music lyrics to TV shows and video games, there have been many cases where the authorities have gone to great lengths to ban or control into whose hands these products have ended up. Here is a list of 25 video games that got banned for insanely absurd reasons.
25. Far Cry 3
Far Cry 3 is by far the best game of the series (I am only being fair here), but if you live in Indonesia, please don’t go looking for it because you won’t find it. According to the authorities the game portrays life in Indonesia as similar to living in hell and, yes, it can be viewed as such since things like disease, starvation, and plague are some of the game’smain themes.
24. Postal 2
Postal 2 was banned in both Brazil and New Zealand for gross, abhorrent content such as urination, animal cruelty, homophobia, racism, and ethnic stereotyping among other little things. However, the game’s developers took the whole thing lightheartedly and assured that a “careful” gamer (whatever that means) could play the game without conforming to any of its sick content. Who’s kidding whom here? We will probably never know.
23. KZ Manager
KZ Manager was banned in Germany and won the award for the “Most Unnecessary Game of the Year” at the 2001 IGN Awards. To be honest, we can understand the reasoning behind the ban; see, to play this game you have to become a Nazi concentration camp manager where the “resources” to be managed include prisoners who are either Jews or Gypsies. What the hell was the developer thinking?
22. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
This game was banned in Indonesia because it includes a fictional terrorist group named Darah dan Doa, which translates to “Blood and Prayer” in English. Oddly enough, the country’s president considered the whole thing a direct threat to him and his people so the game was banned immediately.
21. Homefront
In Homefront the gamer has to fight against a fictional North Korean military occupation of the US. The reason this game was banned in South Korea might sound crazy to most of us in the West, but we all have to admit that living below North Korea is no joke and allowing such a game on the market might upset Kim Jong-un who loves his nuclear weapons a little too much.
20. Saints Row 4
What we’ve learned with Saints Row 4 is how incredibly conservative Australia can be, at least when it comes to video games. Apparently, the game features a weapon with the bizarre name “alien anal probe” and this is the reason the game was banned, because it “obviously” promotes sexual violence.
19. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Ironically, the fact that this game is filled with graphic violence, drugs, and guns didn’t bother the Indonesian authorities at all, but the protagonist CJ’s “no pants” dance with his girlfriend did and is why the game was banned there, while in the “progressive” United States the game received an “Adults Only” rating. Funny people!
18. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Well this game wasn’t technically banned, but it was edited to the point that the original doesn’t look much like the Russian version. See, the Russian mission that one could play in the original was removed and everyone’s happy now in Russia. Putin doesn’t want Russian gamers shooting other Russians, even in a fictional, digital “reality.”
17. Football Manager 2005
You’re probably wondering how football (soccer), in videogame form no less, could ever be banned in somewhere and for what reason. Well, in China recognizing Tibet as an independent nation, even in a sporting event, is a very bad thing so the game was banned as soon as the Chinese authorities found out about it. An edited version was later released worldwide where Tibet wasn’t included as an independent nation and China reconsidered in good faith.
16. Manhunt 2
Both IGN and UGO Entertainment included this game in their top 10 lists of “The Most Controversial Video Games Ever,” while it was ranked first in Gameranx’s list of the “Top 25 Goriest Games of all Time.” However, the uncut version became the first and only game to be refused classification by the British Board of Film Classification(therefore banned), due to excessive violence, a decision that shocked and disappointed the vast majority of British gamers.
15. The Darkness
The Xbox 360 version of this game was originally banned in Singapore because it was thought to be excessively violent and truthfully, there’s nothing wrong with that. Where things get a little cheeky is that shortly after, the ban was lifted for the PlayStation 3 version for some mysterious reason. Let’s be honest here—Sony just paid better, didn’t they?
14. Command & Conquer: Generals
This is one of the weirdest cases and we still can’t understand why China banned this game. The official excuse was that Command & Conquer: Generals portrayed the country in a “negative light” which, to be honest, confused us even more since anyone who has played the game knows that China is portrayed as the good guys and one of the world’s superpowers. Maybe the Chinese interpreter sucked at the game and lied to the Chinese government on purpose? We can’t think of any other logical explanation.
13. Battlefield 4
Battlefield 4 picked the Pakistani army as the bad guys at some stage of the game and as expected under such circumstances, the game was banned there. However, the surprise here wasn’t that the game was banned, but that the consequences for selling or playing the game include jail time and community service. Relax guys… it’s onlya game!
12. The Guy Game
The Guy Game made history when it became one of the very few games in American history to get banned. The reason? Much of the game involves watching live-action video footage of sexy women in bikinis, and as the player succeeds in the game the women eventually expose their breasts, which is strangely against the existing pornography laws in the US, where ironically you can get very easy access to boobies in pretty much every hip-hop video and blockbuster film.
11. BlazBlue: Continuum Shift
Let’s get things straight here, BlazBlue: Continuum Shift is just another fighting game a la Street Fighter and Mortal Combat but its copies were violently pulled off store shelves in the United Arab Emirates and several other countries in the Middle East because the local authorities felt that the game’s characters were too raunchy and that their costumes revealed too much flesh. Oh yes!
10. Every Shooting Video Game In Venezuela
In November 2009, the government of Venezuela announced that it would ban all video games in which the objective was to shoot people, and they made sure to keep their promise a few months later. The ban was due to widespread violence in the country. That made Venezuela the first country to ban all violent video games thus making their manufacturing, distribution, selling, rental, exhibition, and use illegal there. Hugo Chávez didn’t play around!
9. Pokemon Trading Card Game
The Pokemon Trading Card Game was banned in Saudi Arabia because the cards supposedly promoted and supported Zionism. According to the mufti, the highest religious authority in the state, the cards have symbols that include the Star of David, which according to the mufti, is connected to international Zionism and is Israel’s national emblem. Nothing can shock us much more after this.
8. Three Sisters’ Story
This Japanese visual novel for your PC, which looks more like digital manga art than a traditional video game, was banned in New Zealand because it supposedly promoted and supported the use of violence to compel a person to submit to sexual conduct, and the exploitation of young persons for sexual purposes. An incomprehensibly harsh decision, not to say comical, especially when you take into account the kind of sexual content you can be exposed watching a blockbuster film in the theater or on TV.
7. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
It seems like this Tom Clancy series know how to get attention and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 got in hot water and eventually banned in Mexico for the offensive, stereotypical portrayal of Mexican rebels who are depicted as the antagonists. Furthermore, the game negatively stereotyped the city of Chihuahua, which was what led to the ban in the first place. However, the game can be found in the stores of other Mexican states, which means that the ban was only local.
6. Counter-Strike
In 2008 the Brazilian federal court ordered the prohibition of all sales of the game because, in their opinion, the game “brings imminent stimulus to the subversion of the social order, attempting against the democratic and rightful state and against the public safety.” To sum it up, the local Brazilian authorities reacted to a character in the game who uses a map that simulates a favela, aka a Brazilian ghetto.
5. RapeLay
First off, let’s make it clear that RapeLay was appropriately banned in several countries worldwide since it’s one of the sickest video games in history. To get an idea how disturbing this game is, the gamer’s mission is to stalk and rape a mother and her two daughters. However, what shocked us even more is the reason it was banned for good in Argentina: apparently the main issue according to the Argentinian authorities was that one of the two daughters appeared to be underage. So the question is: If all the women in the game were over eighteen then it would be legit to sell it on the open market?
4. Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
This game was banned in Brazil because it apparently uses music by a Brazilian composer, Hamilton da Silva Lourenço, without permission. Not sure if that benefited Lourenço’s album sales in any way, but we are pretty sure that the man gained many haters in Brazil who are diehard video gamers.
3. Mass Effect
When you first hear that a blatantly disturbing scene of a lesbian encounter between an alien and a human is included in this game, you fully realize why this game was banned in Singapore. Oddly, the fact that an alien was having sex with a human wasn’t the reason for the ban but rather the lesbian action. Homophobic much in Singapore?
2. God of War
Saudi Arabian theocracy is above everything and anything of lesser substance in life, such as video games that include the name “God” in the title, which is considered an extreme blasphemy in the country, and thus an excellent reason for any game with the word in it to be banned there. Additionally, the game’s developers are permanently prohibited from ever entering the country or there will be blood. You get the point, right?
1. EA Sports MMA
Scandinavian countries are known for being really progressive and socially open-minded but they showed no tolerance for this game and banned it for the most ridiculous reason you could imagine. And no, the game wasn’t banned for excessive bloody violence as one might suspect but for marketing specific energy drinks, which is surprisingly against Danish law.
Read more: http://list25.com/25-video-games-that-got-banned-for-insanely-absurd-reasons/
DRAW ME LIKE ONE OF YOUR SUPER-POWERED GIRLS.
1. Kevin Wada
Known For: She-Hulk, Covers
2. Fiona Staples
Known For: Saga, Mystery Society
3. Phil Noto
Known For: Black Widow
4. Jamie McKelvie
Known For:The Wicked and The Divine, Young Avengers, Phonogram
5. Ronald Wimberly
Known For: She-Hulk, John Constantine (covers), Dead Letters (covers)
6. John “Roc” Upchurch
Known For: Rat Queens
7. Becky Cloonan
Known For: American Virgin, Demo, Batman
8. Lee Garbett
Known For: Loki: Agent of Asgard, Batgirl, Batman:RIP
9. Kate Leth
Known For: Bravest Warriors, Adventure Time
10. Ming Doyle
Known For: Mara
11. Gabriel Ba
Known For: Casanova, Daytripper, The Umbrella Academy
12. Fabio Moon
Known For: Casanova, Daytripper, B.P.R.D. 1947
13. Annie Wu
Known For: Hawkeye
14. Rodin Esquejo
Known For: Mind The Gap, Morning Glories
15. Bryan Lee O’Malley
Known For: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Seconds
16. Sara Pichelli
Known For: Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, Runaways
17. Afua Richardson
Known For: Genius
Read more: http://buzzfeed.com/kmallikarjuna/comic-book-artists-you-should-follow-on-instagram
First off, let me state that this review and everything within it are purely my own opinions and does not represent the views of anyone I know or company that I work with/ for (I’m just a big nerd/ Superman fan). It does contain spoilers to the film, “Man of Steel.” Please do not read if you do not wish to know any of those spoilers before you’ve seen the film.
Via Warner Bros. Entertainment
I will go on record as saying that I am probably one of the biggest Superman fans of all time, and it’s well known amongst all who know me (I make it known. haha). From comics to shirts to mugs to posters to movies to shows, I have them all. There’s even a picture of me somewhere as a kid wearing tighty-whities and a blanket around my neck, ready to fly. All of this and the infusion of my love for films and you can see the amount of anticipation that I have for “Man of Steel.”
I won’t lie, when the film ended, I wasn’t as blown away and satisfied as I thought/ hoped I would be. Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was an amazing and action-packed film. It was a great reintroduction and reinterpretation of the character for the modern audience. However, it was missing something.. and after a few days (and much thought), I realized what was missing was embracing that the main character was Superman. I didn’t feel like this was a Superman movie, more like a movie inspired by Superman. The suit was there. They showed (most of) his powers. The classic characters were there. Yet, it just didn’t feel fully like a Superman movie. But… maybe that has to do with me and my history with Superman. I mean… to be fair, my expectations were beyond anything you could have imagined (like seriously, think of the highest expectations ever… and then go beyond that). This is how I felt for probably a day after watching the film, but it kept gnawing at me… why did I feel this way? And then it all clicked for me.
Growing up, I’ve experienced many variations of Superman through countless comics, TV, and films. When I was a kid, it was the classic Fleischer cartoons and a little while later, I discovered the classic films starring (who many believe to be) the definitive Superman, then moved onto Dean Cain’s portrayal in “Lois and Clark: the Adventures of Superman” as an early teen, after that came the animated series on KidsWB, getting older and into my teenage/ college years it was all about “Smallville” before the (disappointing) Superman Returns. Finally, as an adult, I’ve been presented with this latest reboot known as “Man of Steel.” Going through so many versions and variations of this iconic character that has meant so much to me, it’s not surprising that I have my own “rules” about what or rather… who Superman should be (and I won’t even mention comic book Superman because there are so many amazing different stories and universes within that medium alone). That’s my investment, and I feel like that’s the same for everyone else. We each have our own very specific ideas and even, special relationship, about what makes up this hero of all heroes. Unless it’s the specific one in each of our minds, it won’t be completely fulfilling. It’s because Supes means too much to us.
For me, I don’t believe I’ll ever be fully satisfied with any Superman film unless it’s one that is born out of my vision. It is my goal/ dream to one day direct a Superman film. I was actually happy that I haven’t encountered the “perfect” Superman film yet because if I did, there’d be no point in me telling my version of this super man in a long, red cape – it would already exist. That being said, this is Zack Snyder/ David Goyer/ Christopher Nolan’s version of Superman. There were/are complaints about how this is a much more sci-fi film than a traditional superhero film, and yes, that’s true. They wanted to approach the film in as grounded of a way as possible and ask what if Superman literally existed with us right here and right now? From a scientific standpoint, how would that be possible? Literally and logically, how would that work and come to be? Scientifically speaking, there are high chances that there are other lifeforms somewhere in that vast ocean of stars up there, but it’s fiction because Krypton does not necessarily exist (that we know of anyway). Superman has always been an alien from another planet, another immigrant who finds his way here to be like us without ever being able to actually be “one of us.”
There have been quite a few reviews and comments about how this film is “cold” or “sad” which is apparently “not what a Superman film should be” because apparently it should be more “fun.” (But come on, that scene where one of the jerks Clark runs into at a bar gets his truck demolished? Hilarious and fun.) Well, I’m glad that it wasn’t just another “fun” entertaining summer blockbuster that had no real intensity, no real meat to the story (like “The Avengers” in my opinion). What I’ve loved about Nolan’s Batman trilogy and the way that Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment have approached this film is that they wanted to make it a strong artistic piece of work comparable to any award-nominated drama out there. They make their characters these people that you can really look into and see their flaws, and that they’re actually human at heart. Don’t get me wrong, I was entertained by “The Avengers,” but after I left the theater, there was no discussion or discourse needed. I went in, had a fun time, left, and that was that. “Man of Steel” has forced me to really examine and discuss not necessarily what I think about Superman but through using this character/ this film as a vehicle, really, what my ideas are about morality and what it means to be human. And that’s the beautiful thing about what this film has done is that it’s made so many people do that as well, it’s created real thought and conversation, impassioned words at that, whether positive or negative. (Most) people are actually taking this film seriously. (To think, a superhero/ “comic book movie” has caused this sort of discourse). I think that’s such a great thing and came to realize that even with a more serious tone, this film was and still is ultimately about hope. Hope is not always whimsical and happy or at least, the path to find it isn’t always an easy one. At times, it may take sacrifice and pain in order to truly understand the power of hope.
The biggest (and easily most-discussed) part of the film is when Superman is forced to kill General Zod at the end of their battle. I have always felt that Superman does not kill. He always finds an alternative option because he is meant to represent an ideal of what humankind should be like, more than we are. Apparently, a lot of other people feel the same as well, but let me tell you why (at least in my humble opinion) this ending works. Throughout the entire film, Clark/ Superman has always taken the higher ground (whether that’s when he was a kid getting harassed by those jocks or even as an adult working at a bar and seeing someone getting harassed). He’s always found out a way in those situations to pick the other path, but Zod was different. Here you have (with no other known way of stopping) someone who is equally, if not physically stronger and more militaristically cunning than Superman. Zod (as he stated himself) has been created to become a warrior whose whole definition of being is to preserve the ideals of Krypton and that’s it. After Superman “takes that objective” away, he has no other reason to live for except to destroy the person who took that away from him. His goal became to destroy Superman and everything he held close to his heart. As Superman was holding onto Zod, watching as he was about to incinerate those innocent bystanders, he knew he had no other choice. Think about it, even if he were to throw him a mile away and delay the destruction for a bit, Zod would not stop. He would keep going and cause more and more destruction and pain, and (as presented in the context of the film), there was no prison (aside from the Phantom Zone which was gone by then), object (kryponite does exists as of yet), or other way that anyone knew of within the universe of the film that could hold him at bay. There remained only one option that could stop him… Superman had to kill Zod. He had to make the toughest choice he’s ever had to make (maybe aside from sacrificing his father) because this is again coming from someone who has always taken the other road. People make it sound as though it was just this easy thing that he did and then felt fine about, but it wasn’t, it was his sacrifice and doing something that no one else could do because he had to in order to PROTECT (and this is in response to Mark Waid’s piece regarding the film) mankind. Most of the time, in reality (where this film is based) there is no third option, and the hard choice has to be made. I think it really is from that one action that he would do whatever it takes to not have to make a decision like that ever again. Superman will from here on out find another way even if there is no other because he knows what it is like to take a life.
With that, I know, maybe Snyder’s version is not necessarily “your Superman” and you know what, he’s not completely mine neither. I really do believe this is a great reinvention of this character for this current generation. It holds no feeling of need to be beholden to anything that came before it because they literally created this film as if no others came before. They went at it with no rule book. They created their version of Superman for the 21st century, and I fully respect them for it. The filmmakers did their job, and now, as the audience, we need to do ours. We need to be okay with the fact that this is Superman, just as Christopher Reeve’s Superman is Superman or Tom Welling’s is allowed to be Superman as well. We need to be okay with loving our own versions of this character so much that we can put aside the those films and stories that came before, at least enough so that we are giving this newest incarnation of the character an opportunity to be a part of this incredible lexicon – to be Superman. He may stumble, he may fall, but in time, he can accomplish wonders.
Via Warner Bros. Entertainment
Read more: http://buzzfeed.com/klpro/why-man-of-steel-is-the-superman-film-of-the-21s-74bj
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