Rated G

Posted by Loukas Tsouknidas (loukas@filmschoolrejects.com) on June 24, 2007

“Inclusion of stories dealing with evil shall be used or shall be published only where the intent is to illustrate a moral issue and in no case shall evil be presented alluringly nor so as to injure the sensibilities of the audience.”

Small excerpt taken from the “Comics to Film Code” as adopted recently by the Comics to Film Adaptation Association of America, Inc.

There used to be a time when comic books were considered objects of corruption by our mothers and the rest of the adult world. Seduction of the Innocent? The Comics Code? Those were the days. Kids were almost hiding the new MAD inside porn mags. That made comics an even greater pleasure. A boy’s first symbolic revolution against something he couldn’t define yet.

Then, those boys became it… but with a friendlier face. Geeky new age parents that understand their children and share their interests. How cool… not. That first-blood revolution in a kid’s life was nullified. Thank Bruce Almighty, mindlessly violent computer games fixed that. At least for a generation or so.

When the comic book industry found out that its main target group had grown up but wanted to remain in touch with their childhood, it decided to expand. Superhero stories would no longer be childish and simple. This time they had to contain some kind of substance. What could be better than the universal theme of existential anxiety. Why me? Why can’t I be normal? Am I part of a greater plan? Apart from the obvious Jesus rip off (not that his story was original), this turn helped some great artists to infiltrate the mainstream and push that overlooked art forward, in terms of scripting and drawing.

Of course depth, insight and inspiration don’t grow on trees, so a lot of people plainly imitated what they believed was serious enough to make them look important. Simplicity and banality can’t be covered by self-importance and pretentiousness. Mainstream comic books became full of it. Whatever, it’s a price you gotta pay.

But the total adulteration of a culture that once was “dangerous” came from another usual suspect: Hollywood. Comic book movies by the dozen. Known recipes, secured audiences and loads of green paper. Geeks piling up for the films, the DVDs, the comic book adaptations of the movie adaptations and… the merchandise. A huge industry that not only has zero intention of paying tribute to another medium of expression, but has little to no understanding of its right to ugliness, violence, gore and total distortion of the known world.

It’s not a matter of purism. A story that has already been told in a great way shouldn’t be messed with unless handled with extra care–or at least taken a step further. But COMIXPLOITATION isn’t about that at all. Alan Moore’s insight, political commentary and literary value become obsolete in the hands of hacks. Superman, Batman, Spider-Man and the X-Men become makeshift masterpieces because they just can’t afford to miss in the box office. Constantine, Daredevil, Johnny Blaze, all portrayed even more paper-thin than on paper, almost childish.

The result?

Films you can watch with your mother. That sucks even more than Uwe Bol.

Read more articles by Loukas Tsouknidas