Today, I will talk about, in no particular order, super heroes and fantasy, including:
· A take-off on the movie X-Men: First Class, which I call:
XXX-Men: The D-Generation:
A cumming of age story
· Another Earth – a sci-fi movie that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, 2011.
· Superman running for U.S. President
· On a more whimsical note, Superman’s condom.
Superman for President
This bombshell was dropped in DC Action Comics #900, which hit the newsstands on April 27, 2011.
Superman speaks: “…I intend to speak before the United Nations tomorrow and inform them that I am renouncing my U.S. U.S.
I don’t follow the adventures of superheroes. Even as a kid, my interest in that subject was mild-mannered to say the least. But when I saw this story on Yahoo News, I was immediately inspired by some possibilities. All of these center around the idea of Superman running for the US Presidency – soon after he renounces his citizenship.
Of course our homegrown ultranationalists will have nothing to do with a Super Candidacy. In fact, they would want him deported, pretty much saying, “Since you’re no longer a citizen, you can’t stay here.” Superman responds by saying, “Why not let the people decide by means of a poll? If the majority says I should go, I will leave. I add this for you to think about: I hereby declare I am a candidate for the US Presidency.”
Of course, Superman is ineligible since only a “natural born citizen” can be president. He responds by asking the voters to write him in (for why shouldn’t they be allowed to decide) – without also writing in the name of a running mate. He intends to serve alone but with a twist, declaring:
“I can be a Superman but I can’t be a Super President – nobody can. No one person can or should do this job alone. Therefore I propose: I will not veto any bill passed by Congress, but I ask you-the-voter to help me be as close to a Super President as possible. This can only happen if you vote every Democrat and Republican out of Congress, electing independents instead.
“If effect, I will be a Super President by, ironically enough, doing as little as possible – leaving the governance of the country to independent legislators*.”
* Indented comment: “independent legislators” – of course, the Senate would present an interesting exception, since only one-third of its members are up for reelection every two years. One possible story line could involve the Old Guard senators doing everything they can to thwart the newly-elected independents. After one year of hopeless gridlock, Superman instructs the Justice Department to bring these Contrarians up on charges of treason, while in the same breath saying he will pardon them if convicted. Again, taking another poll to gauge pubic sentiment toward such a move.
This whole Superman-for-President storyline has several interesting thought-provokers:
· Threats could be made to “not count” any write-in votes for Superman. However, during the primaries (of both parties), scenarios like this start to erupt: Out of 100,000 votes cast, only 10,000 are for “official” party candidates – meaning 90K were ruled invalid and not counted. Push comes to shove when Superman points out, “It’s going to be awfully embarrassing if, during the general election, I end up getting 80% of the votes, but not having them be counted, with the winner getting 10% of the popular vote.”
· POTUS could nominate, for approval by the Senate, officials for confirmation who had passed his human lie-detector test. That is, he wouldn’t nominate them unless they submitted to private and personal questioning by POTUS, who could tell by super sense if they were responding truthfully.
· It turns out that US Special Ops has a secret stash of green Kryptonite, just in case Superman might ever want to bust his leash.
XXX-Men: The D-Generation:
A cumming of age story
I saw the trailer for the recently-released X-Men: First Class, which I might actually get around to seeing. But XXX-Men has the potential to be a lot more interesting. The challenge? To avoid degenerating into tasteless porn. The words in this title are nothing more than what popped into my mind as a form of writer’s exercise. Aspiring wordsmiths brainstorm by tossing out seemingly random words and trying to weave them into a coherent story. In order for this to work, an open mind is needed. Which means, “turn off your freaking filters.”
I can think of two movies which probably had this origin: Kung Fu Panda, and Cowboys and Aliens. I won’t see the latter, as for the former – I might have if it had been Sumo Wrestler Panda. Oh, well. All I can do is account for my own train of thought, which gave rise to the title. I explain:
· XXX-Men: Of course XXX indicates X-rated. But since the X-men got their powers due to the X-gene, XXX might be taken as another way of saying “super duper.” I have a problem with them being called the X-Men, since not all of them are men – which leads to a concept I’ll explore in a bit.
· The D-Generation: We common mortals have our Generations X and Y. But mutants of the Fourth Generation – denoted by the letter D – come at a time when they have a sizable community on earth. Of course, sounding like “degeneration” allows for any truth in that designation to be explored.
· A cumming of age story: Time to face facts – superheroes have sex lives. And by the time a fourth generation of mutants appears, their community’s underlying motives and moralities, not to mention sexual techniques, have had time to evolve. And that would form the basis for the basic storyline, which I see as exploring three or four couples’ relationships.
The basic plot could be developed by treating the age-old question of how we, as individuals, interact with the group. This is complicated by conflicts with the mores of the larger, so-called normal group. The D-Generation questions its parents’ values, which insist on service to (normal) humanity (mostly as a way to assure acceptance or at least tolerance) and marrying only within the tribe.
The issue of ego becomes huge since the more giftedly unique a person is, the greater the chance for arrogance to raise its ugly head. Some of the D-Gens respond by intentionally seeking weaker (that is, normal) lovers. Others become total libertines within their own exclusive community. Since they never have to worry about poverty and human frailty, those two limiting factors don’t define who they are. But what does or what should?
As for XXX-Women, that designation isn’t necessary. With their powers, they are every bit as formidable as their male counterparts – not to mention “as normal males.” In fact, the very idea of XXX-Women as the “weaker” sex could be challenged within the movie by this refrain: XXX-Women encouraging each other by saying, “It’s time for us to man-up.”
There are people who would go to see such a movie, thinking, “I want to see how superheroes get it on.” They wouldn’t care if there was anything actually profound about to happen on screen. But then again, people will see Kung Fu Panda and Cowboys and Aliens without such lofty expectations. And those types of movies seem to do pretty well, don’t they?
Wouldn’t it be cool to give an audience more than their base instincts crave? I hope to offer the same in terms of the benefits of a Steven Searle presidency in 2013.
Another Earth, directed by Mike Cahill
QUOTE:
Rhoda Williams (Marling), a business student at MIT, is driving when she sees a planet and leans out for a closer look. She hits a minivan and kills a family. She is imprisoned for four years, and upon release seeks out the widower of the family, composer John Burroughs (Mapother). The planet she saw is a mirror planet of Earth, and an essay contest is held where the winner can ride a space shuttle to visit it. Williams considers the possibility of visiting it to find out what kind of life her mirror self would have led.
:UNQUOTE:
I have no idea how this movie ends. But I hope this “mirror” planet doesn’t turn out to be an anti-matter world. I think an old Space Angel (cartoon) episode used such a device – back in the ‘60s! However, if this were not an anti-matter world, I would not want to meet another Me.
I liked the trailer, so I’ll probably see the movie – okay, I’m a sucker for a decent trailer. But this thing has stupid written all over it…I can feel that in my bones. However, I’m fairly good at suspending disbelief; besides, I’d like to reflect on how I might have done a better job with this premise. Here’s the trailer:
UPDATE: I got around to seeing Another Earth and it was wonderful - well worth seeing, especially for the ending. I didn't "get it" until I was outside waiting for the bus. Then it hit me: "Oh my God!" I love delayed-reaction stuff, though this didn't exactly qualify - any "delay" was due to my own slowness. I'm sorry to say I couldn't give this film four stars (only three) since it was a bit too slow and ponderous for my taste. But still - good stuff! - Steve (Oct. 6, 2011).
Superman’s condom
I remember seeing Superman II in 1980 with a good friend of mine. That’s the one where the Man of Steel gives up his super powers so he could get it on with Lois Lane. I asked my friend, “Why did he have to give up his powers to have sex with Lois?” He answered, “Are you kidding? In the heat of passion, Superman would have probably killed her.” I guess Superman wasn’t able to “dial down” the physicality.
So I thought about that for a moment and said, “Hey, maybe Superman could have used a condom doped with green kryptonite. You know, not a lot just…”
My friend just rolled his eyes and said, “Steve, please. Don’t even finish that thought.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Why would I write about Superman’s condom and the XXX-Men on this blog site? I mean, I have been presenting myself here as a serious challenger to Obama in 2012. So why spoil things by indulging in a bit of fantasy?
One reason has to do with Dominique Strauss-Kahn. If someone like that could seriously be considered for the French presidency (assuming his charges in the US
Steven Searle for US President in 2012
Founder of The Independent Contractors’ Party
“When Mr. Spock said, ‘Consider the possibilities,’ I thought, ‘I’m with you all the way on that one, man” – Steve.
Contact me at bpa_cinc@yahoo.com
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