Captain America: Sex, War & Domination

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by doubleohfive, May 4, 2012.

  1. LaxScrutiny

    LaxScrutiny Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Cap isn't just a boy scout, he is the quintessential, super-boy-scout. The essay addresses this, and explores how the movie addresses this.

    The idea that Cap is a virgin, and "dies" a virgin at the end of his movie, is significant. Despite the supposed purity of WWII era movies, the men at the time were spreading veneral disease across Europe. The point of Captain America is that he is personally SO GODDAMNED ETHICAL AND MORAL. It's great that he is, and the comic world needs ONE character like this. WHY IS HE LIKE THIS?

    Kal-El/Clark Kent is like this because he is alien, because he has unlimited power in his world, and because he has a repressed, highly moralized upbringing. What is Steve Roger's excuse?

    It's fair to ask that question, and it's fair to credit the movie for addressing it. Steve Rogers is the 1940s version of the 21st Century computer nerd who can't get laid. He is the cliche that we construct jokes around. It is perfectly fair to ask, what is the character and inner personality of a man who starts out that weak and powerless, who is bullied to that degree, and then becomes that powerful? His stance against bullying isn't just moral, it is OCD and bordering on fetishism. He has made up his mind about a black and white stance on right and wrong, and become locked into it to the point of never again questioning himself.

    Steve Rogers isn't just frozen in ice, he is frozen ideologically. His ideology isn't 1940s America or democracy, it is the ideology of a chronic victim. That isn't the worst thing in the world. It is certainly believable that it is the motivation of someone who actively NEEDS to be a superhero. There are a thousand things he could have ended up doing with his power, but he drives himself in one direction only. Yes, he is neurotic, and it isn't ridiculous to ask in what ways his neurosis manifests.

    To think that Steve Rogers never ever ever thinks about sex or is never motivated by it, is to reduce him to something far less human than the rest of us. He is supposed to super human, not sub human. Can we not imagine that his sex drive is as powerful as his physique implies? Certainly Peggy imagines it, as well as the secretary who tries to seduce him. The sexuality is there. He represses it, this is fact. So let's not delude ourselves that there is no repercussion to this repression.
     
  2. Gaith

    Gaith Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Well, Bucky does get tortured, is unable to make an impression on Peggy, and then (presumably) dies, so his fate would seem to be in keeping with a Puritanical reading of the flick. As for the rest of the Commandos, sure, they're rowdy and macho, but they're also a straight-up boy's club; we never see any of them with ladies on their arm.
     
  3. hyzmarca

    hyzmarca Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Steve would have totally banged Peggy if he had the chance. He couldn't because it would have made his future relationship with Shannon Carter totally squicky.
     
  4. MacLeod

    MacLeod Admiral Admiral

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    You could just as easily claim it shows out of the box thinking. The other soliders thought they had to climb the pole in order to get at the flag, whilst Rogers thought about it and brought the flag down to him.

    One could argue the former shows that in order to get ahead you have to climb over people to reach the top, whilst the later shows you can get just as far ahead by not doing so.

    As for Peggy remember the character was British and the British are generally percieved to be more reserved in matters such as Sex. So perhaps you could say it was reinforcing the perception about the British being reserved.
     
  5. Sci

    Sci Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Because he has a more strident moral compass than most people. Is natural human variation in personality no longer sufficient to explain character traits?

    I'm sorry, but this assertion is ridiculous and completely unsupported by anything from the film. He's opposed to fascism, and he wants to be out there, making a difference in the world.

    Please. He spends half the movie questioning himself.

    I mean, is he repressing it? Is someone who wants to wait until he's in love and married necessarily repressed -- at least, any more so than the prevailing cultural norms at the time would prompt, anyway?
     
  6. Hound of UIster

    Hound of UIster Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Naturally.

    Are they going to use the same actress for Sharon as they did for Peggy?
     
  7. Sci

    Sci Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I hope so. Hayley Atwell is amazing, and her chemistry with Chris Evans is pitch-perfect.
     
  8. Admiral James Kirk

    Admiral James Kirk Writer Admiral

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    I'd throw my nuts in her mouth. :D
     
  9. Admiral Buzzkill

    Admiral Buzzkill Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I think the writer expended a great deal of effort on nothing.

    Nah; Johnston just wanted the love story to be kind of sweet and retro. This guy made Rocketeer.
     
  10. Admiral James Kirk

    Admiral James Kirk Writer Admiral

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    Jennifer Connelly had such sweet cleavage back in the day. :drool: