In part five, we wrestled through the problems of interpreting symbolism in film. This shorter conclusion to the Film Analyst ATE works through the idea of the new American hero in film. (We also praise demolition engineers who get paid to blow $#!! up).

Doug Welch: “See? You didn’t bring anything to the movie, did you?”

Lance Schaubert: [laughs.] You don’t have a kit.

DW: A kit. A film kit. No, but I think that’s the criticism. Bring something to the film. What are you bringing to the film? Be aware of that.

LS: How you’re intereacting with that.

DW: Yeah, how you’re interacting. Not to say that it’s never good to say, “What I’m bringing to this film is wanting to see things blow up. That’s what I’m bringing to the film. For my own sake. My own soul.”

LS: “I love demolition engineers.”

DW: Yeah, I wanna cathartic experience in that way.

LS: [laughs.]

DW: I’m not putting anything on this, I’m just saying…

LS: [laughs.]

DW: Just something to entertain me for two hours. You know, I love movies that do that. I cite Brunell and then I watched Red the other day with Bruce Willis and John Malcovitch blowin’ stuff up.

LS: Shoot bullets at rockets.

[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFLX7Pk1Tn4″]

DW: It’s, I think there is something there. It’s sort of the anit-

LS: Anti-action movie.

DW: Well, it’s the anti-In Time movie. Everybody in that film is twenty-five, or whatever, and here’s Red and everybody’s in their fifties.

LS: Seventies.

DW: They’re all retired and people still gettin’ it done. You know? You show up and here’s Ernest Borgnine and you’re supposed to say, “Holy Cow! That’s Ernest Borgnine! I thought he was dead!” No! He’s not dead! He’s still gettin’ it DONE!

LS: [laughs histerically.]

DW: That’s what he’s doin’!

LS: [throws back head and belts out deep laughter.]

DW: That’s what’s you’re supposed to say. That’s what you’re supposed to bring. Okay. You know what? Richard Dreyvus! Who knew he was still making films?! Well, he’s not making movies anymore, but he’s making this. That’s what you’re supposed to say, I think. No. You know what? These old guys are still makin’ it happen. Bruce Willis can be in a fight scene with Carl Erdman.

LS: And do well.

DW: And do well. He’s winning. Kind of. He’s… there’s a funny plot point or piece of dialog where they’re fighting and he’s got him in this hold. “Did so-and-so train you?”
“Yeah, so-and-so trained me.”

“Well I trained him.”

LS: [laughs.]

DW: So he’s his spiritual grandpa, showin’ him how it’s done. Which, I don’t know if there’s been a better action hero in this generation than Bruce Willis. He does the wounded hobbling through.

LS: Perseverance.

DW: Yeah, perseverance. Hobbling through. There’s not to many guys better than how he does that.

LS: Glass. Floor.

DW: Yeah. “Shoot the glass.” Yeah, how he does that barefoot, bloodied.

LS: Falling down the stairs. One guy breaks his neck and he doesn’t.

DW: That’s his picture of America. I got laughed at when I said Die Hard is a picture of American exceptionalism over against Japanese technocracy and European faux-elitism, which is actually a desire for money.

LS: Really?

DW: Yeah, I believe that. He’s John Wayne for us.

LS: Oh yeah.

DW: He’s not American exceptionalism as the tallest guy and kills everybody, although Willis does kill everybody.

LS: But he is on the frontier and he is—

DW: Right, and he gets, he gets—

LS: The crap kicked out of him.

DW: The crap kicked out of him.

LS: All the time.

DW: He’s not John Wayne where he escapes without any harm done. You see all his scars. That’s the difference between pre-Vietnam American films and post-Vietnam American films. Who is the American hero? He’s scarred. He’s beaten up. He’s been through a lot. It’s not just post-World War Two. Of course I like those movies too. They’re so devoid of subtlety. Here’s John Wayne, “Okay. Whatever.” Bang! “You’re done.” People wish we went back to that. We can’t. That’s not our world anymore.

LS: It isn’t.

DW: It isn’t.

LS: Can’t get in a fight and come out lookin’ clean.

DW: Not in this world anymore. We’re not in a newspaper world anymore where they can just sort of push the casualties to the back page where nobody notices. This is T.V. Thought that was interesting. Hmmm. Red. Don’t think the filmmakers put that much thought into Red. I dunno. They might have. It’s possible.

LS: That’d be really cool.

DW: You’re right. It would be really cool if they did. If they said, “You know what? This is who we are, really. We’re not Justin Timberlake. We’re not Will Smith.” He’s been…

LS: He’s evolved.

DW: He has a little bit. You’re right. You’re right.

LS: I’m mean Fresh Prince to I Am Legend.

DW: Right. Sure. You’re right. Some of that is soooo deliberate. He’s more corporate than most.

LS: That’s true.

DW: Intentionally protecting a brand more than most. “Okay, I need to do this kind of movie next.”

LS: Like Handcock.

DW: Well, very famously he and his agent once went over a list of the highest grossing films and said, “Okay, what’s the common thread? Well, they’re action-based. They’re science fiction. They’ve got aliens. Okay.” Independence Day, Men in Black came right out of those kind of conversations.

LS: Really?

DW: Oh yeah.

LS: Wow.

DW: I think they’re getting back to basics. I think they’re doing Men in Black III. Well…

LS: Well, I mean, Tommy Lee Jones. He can still kick it.

DW: Heck yeah he can!

LS: Captain America.

DW: Captain America. He was great in Captain America. Yeah. That’s why I like, and why many people liked Captain America, it was devoid of the snark. No. That’s the America that they were in.

LS: But not us. Not anymore. Everything has changed.

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Thanks for tuning in for this six-part. On the next Ask the Experts, we’ll talk to a financial money manager to demystify stock options!