American (Comic Book) Mythology Under Attack
There’s a culture war going on in the West.
On one side of the battle is the American can-do spirit—the view that humans are a product of a self-made soul, that they can rise above their circumstances. The other side is a neo-Marxist perspective that is grim, dark, and fatalistic—our births determine us, not because of biology, but because society is unfair. Society must be fixed.
One battleground of this culture war is found in cinema.
On one side of the battle is the American can-do spirit—the view that humans are a product of a self-made soul, that they can rise above their circumstances. The other side is a neo-Marxist perspective that is grim, dark, and fatalistic—our births determine us, not because of biology, but because society is unfair. Society must be fixed.
One battleground of this culture war is found in cinema.
Mr. Scorsese prefers to turn the cinema into a reflection of his own soul: a bar fight in a slum.
Re "The Joker" I'll never again ever pay money to see anything De Niro is in. Can't stand to even look at him.