Joss Whedon, the director of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Cabin in the Woods, brings us the movie
blockbuster that we have all been waiting for. The Avengers Assemble follows a
group of superheroes, including Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), The
Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow/Natasha Romanov
(Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), and Captain
America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), as they have to learn to work together and
overcome their personal differences in order to save the world. It would seem
though, that their world is not the only world that is in need of saving, as
these Marvel characters were first introduced during the great depression in
America, therefore their return signifies a time of need.
The Avengers are brought together
by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), the director of S.H.I.E.L.D a peace keeping organisation,
in order to track down the tesserat, a powerful energy source which acts as a
gateway to the other side of space. The tesserat has been taken by Loki (Tom
Hiddleston), Thor’s brother and he is using it to allow an alien army to rage a
war and take over earth. This is where the Avengers come in. They have to learn
to overcome their own egos in order to form an alliance and bring their
strengths together if they stand a chance in defeating Loki and his army from
space.
All the avengers, with the exception
if Thor have dual identities and their essence lies in their alter egos, as it
is who they become when they put on their costumes, or ‘suit up’ as Iron Man
calls it, that defines who they really are. They are, however, considered to be
vigilantes in society as they bring with them destruction and chaos. Set in an
sub-urban landscape the avengers becomes signifiers of social anxieties, as
they can be read to represent unruly adolescents, especially the Hulk who
embodies the pubescent teenager as he gets big, hairy, angry and his voice
deepens. These unruly adolescents are considered to be dangerous and volatile
and the cause of the destruction to the city. Does this sound familiar, with
all the recent riots that have occurred?
This unsettled environment is a
breeding ground for anxiety and suggests that society today is in a volatile
state, as recession takes hold and people are fighting to survive with rising unemployment.
It feels like we are under attack and people, therefore, loose hope in the
authorities. Therefore, people look to other places for answers and in The Avengers the people look to superheroes.
This is a film about finding an identity, which is made pretty explicit by the
costume of Captain America. He symbolises America and suggests a need to return
to tradition. The actions of Captain America suggest that there are certain
American-centric views surrounding this film.
Despite being an abstract fantasy
film about superheroes and villains, The
Avengers is fully grounded in our reality, as it deals with many of our
social anxieties that we otherwise would not deal with. This genre of film is
in constant play with social issues and anxieties, which make them even more
interesting to watch.
The Avengers brings together some of comics greatest superheroes
and creates a fantastic film that must not be missed. With action, suspense and
even comedy this is definitely one of the best films released so far this year.
It’s an awesome film that is enjoyable for all.
