Seth Rogen has made a name for himself with a series of comedies that prove to be both thoughtful and raunchy. 50/50 ups the ante, by taking on a subject that may be one of the last taboos in our society: cancer. It follows the story of Adam, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who is diagnosed with spinal cancer in his late 20s.
Cancer simply serves as the catalyst for the movie’s real focus: adult relationships in the 21st century. Rogen plays the same foul-mouthed-over-sexed manchild that he plays in all of his movies. Gordon-Levitt’s character is a likable, nerdy, introverted guy who tries to “fix people.” The movies is a series of awkward moments focusing on people’s inablity to deal with the elephant in the room: impending death.
The charm of the movie is also it’s fatal flaw, it introduces a number of difficult issues, without really dealing with them. Gordon-Levitt is cheated on, yet bounces back with a sweeter girlfriend. His estranged relationship with his parents ends in him learning to pity them, rather than reconciling.
But most of all, the movie somehow fails to address it’s premise, the tragedy of mortality. Gordon-Levitt never tries to set his house in order, and barely grieves over his lost dreams. In choosing to make the movie about winning the fight against cancer, it fails to reach the depth intended. The movie reminds me of those pink “I ♥ Boobs” bracelets, that may be a great fundraiser, but also make light of a heartbreaking reality.
The movie’s shortcoming fits well into a generation that has left nothing sacred. We convince ourselves that sex is just about fun and commitment is out of fashion, yet we find ourselves alone. When we choose to run away from roots and families to hip cities (yes, I know I’m blogging this from Austin), yet we struggle to find solace in communities based on hobbies or partying. And death? Don’t worry about it. We’ll beat that eventually.
Philosopher Stanley Hauerwas talks about how, in a secular world, we have replaced spiritual communities with “churches” of sports or television or beer. These “churches” may provide distraction and relationships, yet they don’t have the ability to deal with the realities of life and death. And despite being the fact it’s probably the funniest movie ever mad about cancer, neither does 50/50.
My first recollection of Batman is reruns of the Adam West camp on cable. When I was about 9 years old, my mom left me in a library, where I was totally overwhelmed whe I happened upon Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. Later that year, I followed closely as Doomsday fought Superman to the death, and Bane broke the Batman.
I waited in line to have my copies of the Reign of the Supermen signed. I was the same age as Tim Drake when he became Robin. I watched the kid with the bowl cut and sunglasses grow into Connor Kent. Over the years, there have been universe wide Infinite Crises, Justice League Identity Crises, and a new Krypton. In Gotham alone, there has been a contagion, an earthquake, a No Man’s Land, massive War Games, a dead Robin coming back with a vengeance, a new Batman, two new Batgirls, a son of Batman, and a worldwide army of Batmen.
Superman is new to Metropolis, wears jeans, can get hurt, and is a bit of a political radical. Bruce Wayne is again Batman, and Joker ismore brutal than ever. Swamp Thing is back and occassionally hangs out with Superman. The Justice League is just getting to know each other.
Then there’s some you wouldn’t expect, like the epic Stormwatch, which gives Martian Manhunter a clandestine team of Doctor Who-like universe-savers. Animal Man looks really intense. There’s Batwing, a Batman devotee protecting Africa. And there’s a lot more.
It’s hard to say goodbye to 50 years of continuity and the characters that I grew up with. My biggest disappointment is not knowing how so many stories would end. Superman has disavowed America, Tim Drake
was burnt out on being Robin, and Batman had a psychotic son to deal with. We’ll never see where those stories would end. But that was also part of the problem. Writers had to
deal with a shared fiction universe that was collaspsing under its own weight.
But you can tell that there is a new energy. The writers seem excited, and the artwork seems fresh. It’s an opportunity for DC to tell really great stories, for kids and adults. It almost makes me feel 9 years old again.
At some point, somewhere around 1999, people realized that:
1) You could make big money on the Internet.
2) Anyone could publish on the internet.
Social media over has increased #2 trying to accomplish #1 exponentially.
The problem is that, in order to stand out among the voices, we have to convince people that we are smart and should be listened to. For some this is easy. Seth Godin was the expert on permission marketing long before there were targeted Facebook sidebars. Rick Warren was already the king of pithy one liners before he became the king of the retweets.
Most of don’t have the authority of Seth Godin or the communication skills of Rick Warren. And because of the immediacy of social media publishing, we don’t think about what we are saying or edit our words.
The end result is a lot of voicing clamouring to prove to world that they are an authority on something. Realistically, most of us aren’t authorities. Even if we are, the chances are that we will never make a living doing this.
What if, instead of trying to sound smart on the internet, we just talked about stuff we know and stuff we like. Twitter is the new cocktail party, and no one likes standing next to some guy trying to prove how smart he is.
If you’re going to publish online, just talk about what you love and pick your words carefully. You may never get thousands of followers or make a lot of money, but at least you will be honest and likable.
Seth Rogen has made a name for himself with a series of comedies that prove to be both thoughtful and raunchy. 50/50 ups the ante, by taking on a subject that may be one of the last taboos in our society: cancer. It follows the story of Adam, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who is diagnosed with spinal cancer in his late 20s.
Superman is new to Metropolis, wears jeans, can get hurt, and is a bit of a political radical. Bruce Wayne is again Batman, and Joker ismore brutal than ever. Swamp Thing is back and occassionally hangs out with Superman. The Justice League is just getting to know each other.
