While captured by the terrorist, Starks was nearly killed because of his rebellion to the idea of creating weapons for them. As a result, his heart was severely damaged and almost completely malfunctioned. Starks had a solution; his created energy source that has the capabilities of unlimited power. He invented a way for the electrical power of the energy source to distribute energy to his heart which kept it functioning. What makes it even more cool if the fact that he also created the robots that performed the operation of integrating source to the heart. The surgery was a success! Now it`s time for the battle with the terrorist.
The creation of the suit: This suit is what makes IRONMAN a superhero. Although Starks was not born with supernatural abilities, he is one of the few superhero’s that uses his intelligence to make him more than human. The suit contained the energy source that he created, fully armored, and full of technology. It even has its own intelligent assistant! It is basically a one man army. Starks uses this suit to fight the terrorist to prevent them from the misuse of the energy source.
Starks personality throughout the movie didn’t resemble the usual genius personality. He was more for the cool guy that had the big house, fancy cars, and women. Not your typical antisocial nerdy guy, huh? It is almost as if the IRONMAN movie was promoting the notion of the “New Cool” being the nerdy technology guy that has the swag of someone completely opposite. You know, the guy that has a lot socially going for him. Today, its more common for the nerd to be the attractive guy.
I personally like the plot of the movie IRONMAN. It shows that just because one has high intellectual abilities, you don’t have to be the quiet antisocial guy in the corner. In parallel, the movies expresses that having the intellectual capabilities will result a significant amount of income. This may be one the reason why women are becoming more attracted to the nerd. I feel that most women want to be financial stable. With the advancements in technology, having knowledge in technology is the “New Cool!
I love the Iron Man movie as a kid. Plus I know what you’re talking about, I like the way you describe a person who is gorgeous, brilliant, fresh and intelligent are the ones who could be productive enough to own everything including inventions that Anthony does for his talent. Like you said he went from nerdy to Mr. Cool. It’s kind of like you see billionaires who have money and power and gets all the ladies they like. But they better watch out, most of these beautiful women wanted their money, wealth, and power.
ReplyDelete-Kendra ZeMenye
I have always loved these movies. To think that Iron Man came out 10 years ago now. Marvel has had a brilliant influences on the superhero industry. Hidden themes in their movies address common social issues such as nerd versus Mr. Cool, race, and weapons black market. Iron Man has evolved so much over the years as the story continued in the next movies and in the Avengers. One of my favorite aspects of the movies is how Tony Stark started advocating for superheroes to have more restrictions to avoid the abuse of power. To me this is relatable to the fearful viewpoint many have when they few a person with power.
ReplyDelete-Alan Donoho
That is an interesting take on Ironman. I have always just thought of Tony Stark as a massive jerk. I do agree with you that smart has turned into the "new cool." Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Steve Jobs are apart of recent movement where society's intellectually gifted are glorified. I mean, is there anybody cooler than Elon Musk? He is a billionaire who built a rocket that shot a sports car he designed into space. On the contrary though, I do think that intelligence of that level is met with some form of social inaptitude, even if that inaptitude is complete disinterest in a lot of social interaction. I always felt Tony Stark was an unrealistic representation of genius. DC's Tony Stark, Bruce Wayne, strikes me more as the "cool genius." He does everything a socialite would do, but he does them sparingly. He would rather be working on his inventions. Of course, this is just my opinion rooted in my own experience, so I am in no way saying that you are wrong. I really enjoyed reading this and it got me to think. Good job! -JJ Leath
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that the movie Iron Man (more specifically Tony Stark) did usure in a template for the sort of swave 21st century eccentric billionaire archetype that would become more prevalent in movies that followed it's release; I have to disagree on both the titular character and film usure some kind of era of "New Cool". Or at least in the sense of popularizing the idea of excentrism and intelligence being inextricably linked and or the idea of that intelligent people could be outgoing or "cool". Eccentric, billionaire playboy, intellectual types have been around since the 1920s in the form of your Gatsby's and Howard Huge types in the business and entrepreneurial world. Though I will grant in the case of film for a long time traditionally intelligent people were kinda type cast as meek and unassuming but that idea began to change during the late 90s and early 2000s. I feel like Tony Stark was more just a re framing of the archetype and in fact, actually falls somewhere on the ambivert spectrum personality wise. I think he's just gotten very good at putting up airs as the snarky, wisecracking playboy because he believes that that's the kind of person he has to be to the public. A lot of it is performative in my opinion because he often starts speaking and acting more sincerely when he's alone with people he cares about. Something that isn't super uncommon for ambiveritish people to do. If there were a "New Cool" I felt the film brought into the turn of the century (aside from the obvious popularization of Marvel and Superheros in general) I think it be a more postmodern understanding of American Ingenuity/ corporatism and its pros and cons.
ReplyDelete-Kenneth
Rob,
ReplyDeleteGood topic on Tony Stark! You make a good point that Stark has become the poster child of our generation as the "cool nerd guy"; However, I would argue and agree with Kenneth that he has not been the sole proprietor of the "cool" nerdy guy. I would also attest that super-genius intelligence is in and of itself a super power, thus Stark would not be your average citizen born without superhuman abilities. Lastly, I will contest your opinion on the desire of most women to be financially stable. I think most of us desire to be financially stable, regardless of gender, and that intelligence does not necessarily guarantee a surplus of income. There are many intelligent people out there who are not financially stable. I will point out that financial stability is highly subjective to the level of comfort each of us desire.
-Aly Hernandez
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIron Man is absoultly amazing movie. I do agree with the term that you used"the cool guy" in the movie. Even though we all know he is a nerd in the movie, he also has some characters that could exprese him as a cool guy. The middl section where the newly energized Tony tinker with his emerging super powers like a kid in a shop class is the movie's finest and funiest moment. Great post!
ReplyDelete-Weini
I have never seen Iron Man, or a lot of movies for that matter, so most of this information was new to me. I agree with your analysis of the how pleasing the "cool guy" are now associated with the "nerd" in this movie. That is a very refreshing concept to see and something I would like to see more!
ReplyDelete-Kyra Moore
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI personally enjoy the iron man movies but yet to see them all. I do agree that Tony Stark has set the precedent for the new "cool". What you have is a genius of his time that revolutionized the arms industry as well as the energy industry. What I like about the movie is that he ironically learns his lesson as his genius cool guy mentality ultimately comes back to bite him in the ass! He ends up getting hurt by the same thing that made him rich, weapons (maybe a "stark" comparison between weapons and his brain).
ReplyDeleteKyle Gardner
Alex:
ReplyDeleteI always found Stark to be similar to Bond in the way that it is an outward, indulgent expression of Western masculinity. Many men relate to it, whether or not the character really reflects their personality, because it appeals to things they would desire. It is a way to live vicariously in a world of fiction where cars have missiles, suits made in caves can blow up tanks, and the hero always gets the girl. It is a common trope that works because that type of artificial excitement stands in for the excitement many people lack in a modern capitalist society. It satisfies a certain lust for action.