What is "IRON MAN's" Message About America?
Before we go any further I want to say a few things.
First, I've not seen the film but recognize its' mastery. It is being hailed by some as THE BEST Superhero film ever made.
Ever.
And the Box office since it's May 2 debut, of over $300,000,000 worldwide suggests it is certainly a crowd pleaser.
Also, I am a fan of director/actor Jon Favreau (he directed ELF and played Monica's boyfriend on a short arc on the sitcom Friends).
And what better story is there than that of Robert Downey Jr? One of THE most talented actors in the business has had repeated bouts with substance abuse. His helplessness to it's deadly attraction is so bad that he once said his drug addiction is like putting a loaded pistol barrel into his mouth and liking the taste of the steel. But after much time and work on himself he has put together a track record of jobs where he has been nothing but professional on the set and worthy of a second BIG chance and in this film he delivers and this could become the defining role of his career, it is that big already and I wish him well.
In fact there is everything good to say about this movie and you want it to succeed and you want all the people involved to do well.
You even root for the producers, Marvel Comics, who have never before used all their own money to develop a project and now that they have you are happy that their gamble is paying off for them.
And yet, after all of that I was listening to Favreau being interviewed on the Howard Stern show (on Sirius Satellite Radio) and based on everyones' rave became determined to see the film and to watch a trailer right away.
YouTube - NEW IRON MAN TRAILER REAL!!
Exciting, right?
Well, it bothered me to see a suggestion that Iron Man was in opposition to our own US Military and that concerned me so I went to
Iron Man (film - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) to find out what the plot was.
And for anyone who dislikes detailed plot descriptions before they see a film this is your warning not to read beyond here: SPOILER ALERT
Quote:
During a business trip to Afghanistan to demonstrate Stark Industries' new weapon, the "Jericho missile" cluster bomb, Tony Stark's convoy is attacked (with weapons built by his own company) and he is kidnapped by the terrorist group Ten Rings, who order him to build a Jericho missile for them. Instead, he and fellow captive Dr. Ho Yinsen secretly build a crude but strong power armor fueled by a miniature "arc reactor", a smaller version of a power source previously invented by Stark. The arc reactor supplies energy to an electromagnet which prevents embedded shrapnel from reaching Stark's heart, which would kill him. During their time together, Yinsen makes Stark reconsider his life, from his playboy attitude to his hand in forging instruments of death. Dr. Yinsen is killed in the ensuing escape attempt when he stalls the guards to buy Stark enough time to power up the suit. Using the built-in weapons in his suit, Stark defeats several terrorists, destroys their weapons stockpile, and escapes, though his suit is destroyed as he crashlands in the desert. Upon being picked up by the Air Force and returning to the United States, Stark declares that his company will no longer manufacture weapons. His business partner, Obadiah Stane, tells him that this move is blocked by the board members shortly after.
Stark retreats from public view, focusing on the design of his power suit, refining its size and flight capability. He also builds a more powerful and reliable mini-arc reactor to power both his life support and the suit. During his first public appearance since his announcement, he is shown pictures of Stark Industries weapons in the hands of terrorist groups, including the Jericho missiles he refused to build for them. He also discovers that Stane has been supplying weapons to both the U.S. troops and the terrorists, as well as being the one to shut Stark out of the board while he recovers. Faced with the realization of what his company has done, Stark dons the power suit and flies to Afghanistan, rescuing Yinsen's village from the Ten Rings. In destroying their weapon stockpiles, he accidentally draws the attention of the United States Air Force and his friend and company military liaison, Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, who handles USAF weapons development. A pair of F-22 are sent after Stark--one is damaged during the chase, but Stark manages to save the pilot. Learning of Stark's identity, Rhodes covers up the incident as a training accident. |
The film shows Tony Stark's (Iron Man's) company selling arms to the good guys AND the bad guys. And that is where I have a problem/question.
That kind of military skulduggery and intrigue and underhandedness and double dealing is the kind of thing that adds to some of the public's general mistrust of the current administration and prejudices audiences - here and abroad - against the military in general, against our missions overseas, against our military contracting and procurement system and our conduct of operations. It helps perpetuate what I believe is a false impression of our entire government and can't help but demoralize those who are doing their best to fight a good fight in a noble manner.
And this really bugs me because there are millions who will, without thinking or inquiring, assume this is really what goes on.
I ask ONLY those who have seen the film to comment on whether this is an accurate impression I am getting from the trailer and the written plot description.
And I am asking ONLY those who have first hand knowledge of our military industrial complex to comment on whether these offenses depicted in the film are indicative of the corruption or immorality which exists among the contractors and/or representatives of our government and how much of this goes on, if any, and how often?
If the film portrays an accurate picture, then so be it.
But if it is slipping small doses of poison into our minds to further erode confidence and pride in America and falsely portrays us as being rife with corruption, our enemies around the world will be able to use this as a recruiting tool and to bring greater (undue) pressure to bear on us whenever we attempt to do a good thing in the world.
The reaction will be to think our representatives are lying because of the impression the person we are dealing with has mistakenly gotten from this film and other negative America bashing statements coming from our culture.
Re: What is "IRON MAN's" Message About America? 
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