Monday 22 September 2008

Iron Man - Rusty Premise

I saw Iron Man during a recent flight and was more than just disappointed. I don't know if the "political context" appealed to American audiences or not, but it put me off completely.

Don't get me wrong. I can handle hours of mindless violence and destruction. I'm not so high-brow. It's the pseudo-moralism I can't stand.

So the hero decides to stop making weapons because he realised that American weapons are being turned against American soldiers? So that's what's wrong with the war in Afghanistan! Riiiight....

On the other hand, news reports of American soldiers killing Afghan civilians are nothing to be concerned about, I guess. Nor is it a big deal that the US has been cozying up to the real bad guys for years. Oh no, it's the use of captured American arms against Americans that's outrageous.

As a person born in India, arguably the biggest target of terrorism in the world today, I should have been rooting for the forces of democracy. Unfortunately, Iron Man is such a sickeningly righteous, racist movie that I found myself almost cheering for the other guys...

If America is to win over its enemies, Americans must first learn to look at themselves through foreign eyes. They may not like what they see.

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