Chantel Dobell – Assignment #4

Assignment #4

VISA 1500

Chantel Dobell

For this assignment, I have chosen the Action-Adventure, Drama, and Sci-fi film, Avengers: Endgame. Endgame was first released on April 24th, 2019 and made a total of $357,115,007 at the box office, with a run time of 3 hours and 2 minutes.

In the photo above, we see the opposing team diverging to the centre of the screen, where the protagonist is defending himself. In the background of the shot, it can be seen how vast the battle is. In the dark lighting and flames scattered across the borders, we viewers can see how grim and dire the circumstances are. The smoke grows clear the closer the viewer looks to the scene’s focus, as Spiderman uses mechanical arms from their suit to ward off the aliens attempting to kill them.

The scene itself displayed in the picture takes place at the end of Avengers: Endgame when the final battle is in motion. Each side is taking turns seizing the upper hand. Within this extensive action sequence, Peter Parker (Spiderman) is at the centre of it all. Various members of the opposing side are beginning to crowd Spiderman as he uses his suit to aid him in warding them off. Though he does have enhanced human abilities, he still requires the help of the gadgets within his suit to defend himself. As Spiderman attains the object that everyone is fighting for, he activates instant kill. The camera jumps back then pans inward on a close-up shot, almost crowding Spiderman much like the villains he is fighting.

The Marvel cinematic universe is currently at the centre of violence in the film industry. It is understandable where the franchise’s popularity is coming from. Avengers: Endgame is rated PG-13 in the United States, and Barranco states that “…underage consumers prefer violence, while adults do not. Violence in PG and PG-13 movies increases ticket sales (movies accessible to kids), but that is not the case in R rated films (movies only accessible to adults),” (Barranco, 2020), making the popularity of movies containing scenes like the one above are dominating the entertainment industry. Films like Avengers: Endgame are being released monthly, be it in theatres or on a streaming service. The question is, to what extent will we as viewers properly digest the violence in front of us and determine what is right and wrong. In this scene, for example, when Spiderman says, “…activate instant kill,” (“Marvel Universe Entertainment”, 2019), where does that leave the ethics of the situation. The character is supposed to be a superhero but is openly admitting to being a killer. Sadler quotes Philosopher Mark Johnson in stating that “…ethical values arise from social and cultural experiences, including experiences of film and art,” (Sadler, 2020, pg. 2). The influences that Marvel movies are having on the younger population are yet to be determined, but if we as a society constantly surround ourselves with violence, how could there be any possibility for peace.

References:

Avengers: Endgame. Box Office Mojo. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2021, from https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt4154796/?ref_=bo_se_r_1.

Barranco, R. E., Rader, N. E., & Trinh, M. T. (2020). Ticket sales and violent content in popular movies. Deviant Behavior, 41(8), 1005–1017. https://doi-org.ezproxy.tru.ca/10.1080/01639625.2019.1596535

Marvel Universe Entertainment. (2019, September 20). Avengers: Endgame (2019) – ”a furious display … – youtube. YouTube. Retrieved November 23, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-RMCM0NxaY.

Stadler, J. (2020). Imitation of Life: Cinema and the Moral Imagination. Paragraph, 43(3), 298–313https://doi-org.ezproxy.tru.ca/10.3366/para.2020.0342