34 – Thanksgiving – Mailbag

coverblackA shorter holiday episode.  Being thankful, grateful, and appreciative.  Diving into the mailbag.

Answers, insights, and commentary on:

  • UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm
  • Lois’s hair color
  • Superman’s character arc in BvS
  • Will Superman be a moral ideal in BvS?
  • Does the title Batman v. Superman denigrate the heroes?
  • Seeing the Fortress of Solitude again
  • PG-13 Rating for Suicide Squad
  • Magic’s effect on tone and realism
  • Maintaining suspense for nonlinear stories and period pieces
  • Steve Trevor in modern day
  • Setting Wonder Woman during The Great War

…and more!

How to make a smart TV ad | Freakonomics
Dana White & Tony Hinchcliffe | Joe Rogan
How can you drive across Antarctica | BrainStuff
How to create suspense | Freakonomics
Cosmic Queries Science Fiction | Star Talk Radio
Justice League Unlimited Complete Series Blu-Ray | Warner Archive
Juvenoia | VSauce
The Professor in the Cage | Jonathan Gottschall
Producer Charles Roven Reveals the DC Brain Trust | Collider
What’s the Meaning of Life | Where There’s Smoke

Web: ManOfSteelAnswers.com
Twitter: @mosanswers
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10 Comments

  1. Hi Doctor, I’m grateful that you make these Podcasts and that you will keep making them. I have a question that I’m not sure if is relevant but I want to ask it nonetheless.

    Are you planning on renaming the website anytime in the future? Next year the DCEU will start taking shape, and since you are covering everything that’s going on I’m not sure if “manofsteelanswers” would be in-place for such a huge universe. Personally I think that you should keep the name because, after we got all these long waited films, it would remind everyone that it was Man of Steel the one film that started it all, the one that allowed all this to happen.

    The same I think about the \S/ logo in both the website and your Podcasts, in the future when you discuss Wonder Woman, Aquaman and other non-Superman films it would be a constant reminder that it was thanks to Superman that we got all this.

    • Thanks for listening.

      Although domains are pretty inexpensive, I’m a pretty frugal person by nature… so unless I think there’s a site I have-to-have, I’m probably just going to stick with this for now. If I had the time, I’d probably re-theme to something a little more lightweight and easier to read, but I don’t! On sheer inertia alone, stuff will probably stay the same more than not. Although I have a name in mind for the BvS podcast, but I’d probably still use the same feed, site, etc. It’s all down the road so no need to worry about it now. You’re certain to get Superman in at least three films between now and JL2, if not more appearances or the eventual solo(ish) film.

  2. Ugh, please leave feminism out of WW.

    • I think it’s tough to do considering that her creative origins (Marston’s intentions), her significance to the first wave (Ms. magazine cover), and popular culture (one of the first popular female-lead action TV shows). It’s a little like trying to divorce Captain America from patriotism or the X-Men from civil rights. Not every story is steeped in these things but for it to not be a layer to it seems unavoidable.

      I think the asking for subtlety, intelligence, and nuance in the application, is more realistic than expecting or wanting its total absence.

  3. Hey there Dr. A, been a fan since i discovered your ground-smashing, thought opening, hate-repellent Man of Steel Answers YouTube channel, and now i’m a frequent visitor of your site. Nice to know someone who can articulate much and providing evidence and represent us who see and support this very thoughtful made movie and the future development of DCEU.

    Just wanna add that Lois has been a red hair, even in the comics, not just in the movie. Her hair is red througout the end of the 80’s most remember it from Byrne MOS era throughout the Death and Return saga through his Wedding era, so I find those who ask or worse, complain about her hair color is mostly doesn’t read and self proclaimed a Superman fans just because they saw several incarnation of Lois that they hold too tightly and subjectively. SMH

    Anyway, i got a few questions that still bugs me, even though i find my own conclusion on that, but i wanna see your assessment or theory on those questions, where do you think i should post it? Thanks and always nice to have a chat with a reasonable Superman fans!

    • Thanks for listening.
      I agree, I think I mentioned Noel Neill and dark red hair in the 90s.
      Feel free to ask the question where ever… if it’s particularly salient to something, I’ll move it where it belongs, but otherwise, the most recent post is fine.

  4. Thanks for the extra episode before the Thanksgiving holiday.

    As you pointed out, there have been so many red-headed versions of Lois that it never even crossed my mind as an issue when Man of Steel was first released. I think you made some nice points about it possibly being a secondary concern when making the movie, but to me it’s not even a concern at all.

    An off-topic question for the doctor: What movie(s) did you spend a lot of time analyzing before Man of Steel came out? I can’t imagine that you started viewing movies in this detailed way just in 2013.

    • I don’t think I’ve spent this much time publishing on a single film, but I tend to be pretty attentive to big scifi films (Star Wars, Terminator, The Matrix, Avatar, etc) and time travel films. Maybe it’s my programming background where we deal a lot with loops and recursion, but I can’t think of a single time travel film where I didn’t sketch out the loops. Probably The Matrix was a big one… before the sequels. The Matrix is probably more rewarding from the analysis of creative and symbolic and thematic angles, because of the many influences and references, but a lot of that is more squishy subjectivity (and really well covered by others) so, personally, I find the coherence of MOS more interesting, particularly since not many others seem to cover it.

      At this point, I accept that a certain level of inconsistency is the norm for mainstream films, so it doesn’t bother me. As a kid, Star Wars drove me nuts and I think I drove fans nuts asking questions. I wasn’t a kid, but I remember parsing Equilibrium to the point that the director, Kurt Wimmer, actually contacted me to confirm they made a shot choice for the aesthetics rather than its coherence. Consistency is just a nice plus factor to me.

  5. Just heard about your podcast not to long ago so I’m catching up on previous episodes. Enjoy your in-depth knowledge & analysis about Superman, the films & upcoming DC Films. On this podcast you mentioned the Steve Trevor situation & I think it’s more likely the character will show up during modern time, especially the next film in the slate after WW will be Justice League. I think they may go the route of the descendant w/Pine as it similarly happened on tge tv show. It’s the most logical angle but if they go a different way w/bringing the character to modern day through magic, time travel or something else in a believable way then I think that will be unique. Plus, I have trouble believing they would hire Chris Pine just to be used in a limited way. I guess until we get a full trailer will we possibly get answers.

    • Thanks for listening!

      Thank you for sharing your thoughts. While Pine’s casting is so strong there’s an impulse to want to see him in future films, I think DC Films are so stacked with talent that incredible one-off casting is just as plausible.

      There are many ways to continue to use him if they want to. In flashback (Agent Carter), descendant (TV show), resurrection (Jor-El / Zod), or magic. I can only comment on my feelings of plausibility or internal consistency towards those approaches. Flashback has no issues other than he’s not in the present. The descendant doppelganger is cheesy. “Resurrection” depends on the story, but hard to find a technological reason to bring back Steve specifically and that opens all sorts of other implications. Magic is certainly possible and story dependent, but likely triggers a lot of other implications. I’ll let the filmmakers make their case whatever it is, but based on the limited perspective we have at this point (magic, tech, and cosmic being expanded greatly by BvS and SS alone, but to what degree we’re still unsure) Pine’s casting staying in the past creates the least potential for plot holes.

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