For Wednesday, November 6, please do the following:
(1) Watch — via streaming service, reserved DVD, or your own copy — The Avengers (2012), the first film in our superhero team-up series (though hardly the first MCU film). As you watch, take notes on anything that strikes you as resonating with Greco-Roman myth, especially on the What? Why? and How? spectrum of ideas. Your notes will form the basis for our discussion of the film in class.
(2) Read Liam Burke's "'A Bigger Universe': Marvel Studios and Transmedia Storytelling," AKA chapter 2 of our Assembling the Marvel Cinematic Universe textbook (pp. 32–51). Take notes on interesting comments and insights, and be sure to bring the book to class.
(3) The following students must use the blog comments feature to recommend 3–5 minute sequences from The Avengers for close review in class: Cohen, Darby, Fitzhugh, Forte, Franzel. In your comments, please
- briefly describe the sequence;
- give approximate starting and ending times (hh:mm); and
- explain why reviewing this sequence is worth our time as it pertains to a mythical considerations of the MCU.
DC
The scene I'm choosing is the one with Loki outside of the Gala event, where he commands the crowd of people to kneel to him, only to have one man defy him and say that he won't kneel to men like him. Loki moves to strike down the man, only for Captain America to swoop in and save the man, and after Iron Man also arrives, Loki surrenders without a fight. This scene is at 40:00 - 42:37. I believe this scene relates to myth as it has Loki, who is basically a god, talking down to humans, saying they only exist to kneel to someone in charge. However, Loki is still affected by only one person questioning him, something that we've also seen in myth. Gods can be a bit touchy when it comes to their names being disrespected. Additionally, after Loki realizes he is beaten, he willingly surrenders, something that heroes in myth also do, as they are able to admit defeat when they are matched with another hero of great renown. Thankfully the Avengers show mercy, something that greek heroes aren't exactly liable to do, as Achilles did not do in the Iliad with Hector.
ReplyDeleteThe scene I chose to discuss is the one where Loki and Stark try to intimidate each other during the battle. In a display of audacity, Stark doffs his powered armor and faces the Asgardian warlord as a mere human. Loki brags about the might of his army and the futility of resistance, while Stark counters with a speech about the determination of the heroes and, of course, the iconic "We have a Hulk" line. This scene is approximately from 1:38 to 1:42. This sequence has mythic significance because it represents an archetypal example of mythical figures trying to verbally outmaneuver each other and to break each other's resolve. Each man boasts about his team's strength in an attempt to intimidate the other into backing down. Additionally, Stark displays levelheadedness under supreme pressure, casually offering his godlike adversary a drink before his coldly delivered speech, while Loki waxes poetical about his supposedly inevitable conquest. This display of fortitude is reminiscent of Achilles's standoff with Agamemnon: Achilles keeps composed (with divine assistance, of course), while Agamemnon spins a lyrical and tantalizing offer of surrender terms for the great warrior.
ReplyDeleteI chose the scene at the end of the movie in which the fighting has begun and the Avengers are fighting Loki and his army. Then they all come together to strategize how they are going to go about winning this battle. However, Bruce Banner arrives in the middle of it and the other Avengers (Thor, Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye) change their focus onto him. He then changes to the Hulk and he punches the flying monster/creature and Iron Man blows it up. Then they all come together and start to strategize what is going to happen and who does what job. This scene is approximately 1:49:00 - 1:54:00. I think that this scene is important to be examined because it shows the leadership between the Avengers and how they function as a collective, similar to Jason and the Argonauts. Iron Man even tells captain to plan the strategy and they all look up to him and wait for his command. It is similar to that Jason and the Argonauts and the questions that are raised regarding leadership. It makes the audience wonder why Captain America is chosen to lead, just as Jason was.
ReplyDelete01:03:28-01:07:12
ReplyDeleteI chose the scene in which Black Widow tricks Loki into telling her he is most threatened by the Hulk by pretending to get upset and calling him a monster. She tells Loki that she wants him to keep Hawkeye alive, because she owes him for sparing her life. In addition, Natasha references that she has ‘red on her ledger’ which she wants to clear by helping S.H.I.E.L.D. This is similar to Heracles’ redemption story, as to make up for killing his family, he needs to fulfill his 12 labors. Natasha Romanoff can also be compared to Heracles, as she is able to outsmart Loki, a god, just as Heracles outsmarts the gods, such as Hera and Atlas.
Sarah Franzel
ReplyDelete47:03 - 49:56
This is the scene in which Thor and Iron Man battle. Thor is confronting his brother, Loki, when he is attacked by Stark. In this scene, Stark can be compared to Diomedes. Diomedes was given superhero strength by the goddess Athena, and Tony Stark was given advantages like flight and enhanced strength through the invention and use of his own advanced technology. When Diomedes wounds Aphrodite, Apollo steps in and warns Diomedes to stop fighting them (the gods). Captain America plays Apollo's role in this scene, stepping in to intervene when Stark and Thor battle. We also see parallels between the weaponry in mythology and this scene. The shield of Achilles was made by Hephaestus, blacksmith of the gods, and Captain America's shield was made by the famous inventor, Howard Stark. Mjolnir can also be compared to Zeus's lightning bolts, and Thor to Zeus. Like the lightning bolt, the hammer conducts lightning and belongs to a god, and it can't be wielded by just anyone. Also, Thor (in the movie and Norse mythology) is the god of thunder, and Zeus is the god of the sky, lightning, and thunder in Greek mythology.