Tuesday, November 13, 2012

What Would Happen If Aristotle, Plato, and Marilyn, the Modern Day Feminist Went to Watch Iron Man Together?


Aristotle: Now that was a good movie. Tony Stark was a great tragic hero. His unfortunate circumstances happened because he was a good man, who was trying to do the right thing. However, Stark had a hamartia that could not save him from his fate.

Plato: No, no, no, no. Iron Man was an awful movie. It did not praise the gods. Tony Stark is just a comic book hero, not a god. This movie should not have been allowed to be made. Furthermore, Tony Stark is not a true hero! He is fictional, and fictional heroes keep people from seeing the truth. Movies should only be made about real heroes, not fictional ones.

Marilyn: Well, you two can argue all you want about whether or not Tony is a hero. I really don’t think I like the man. In the beginning of the movie, he objectified the women and used them. Then, he kicked women to the curb. How did Pepper Potts say it? Oh, yeah, “take out the trash.” Ugh, it made me so angry how Mr. Stark treated Christine in the movie, and did you see how he treated Pepper? Sure, it seems he may have gotten the girl in the end, but she was just another piece of property to him…

Plato: See, Aristotle, see what I mean. Look at how angry Marilyn is. This proves my point; the movie has incited Marilyn’s passions, and because of that she is acting unreasonable. This Iron Man is not practical, and it does not convey the truth.

Marilyn: Does not convey the truth? You have got to be kidding me! The movie did convey the truth. It showed how women have been oppressed throughout the years. Pepper has given up her entire life for a man that did not respect her. Though he seems to have made a turn-around in the end of the movie, he treated her as if she were another one of his possessions, like his precious robot, computer, or car. Even in the end of the movie, it is elusive as to whether he is going to make a meaningful commitment to Pepper or not.

Plato: Okay, so it represents only a second level of reality, but it is not true. These emotions stirred up by the movie are destructive.

Aristotle: The truth can be found in this movie, because we can learn from it. Besides, you are both missing the point! Tony Stark is a wonderful tragic hero. Once he realized that he had mass-produced weapons that were being used against his own country’s forces, he finally began to see clearly. Stark was overwrought with a great deal of guilt, and he sacrificed his own financial success to right his wrong. As the iron man, Stark was able to save the lives of innocent people all over the world from Obadiah and his terrorist minions. Furthermore, the fact that Rhodey still held Stark up above the rank of ordinary men even after Stark had let him down by stopping the weapons production, proves that Stark was a good man. The emotions felt by Stark upon his realization of his destructiveness are the sources that drove him to become a better man. We pity Stark, because many of us do not realize what the overall consequences to our actions are, and we fear that we may inadvertently be capable of doing something to harm many that we do not wish to harm. This Iron Man is important for us to see more clearly; therefore, it leads the audience to catharsis.

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