What Are You Shooting For? Lessons from "The Avengers"

Yesterday evening, I went to see "The Avengers."

Unless you live on Mars, you've probably heard of it. If you're not clear on the plot, here it is:

Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow answer the call to action when Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., initiates a daring, globe-spanning recruitment effort to assemble The Avengers team to defeat an unexpected enemy threatening global safety and security. Despite pulling together the ultimate dream team, Nick Fury and longtime confidant Agent Coulson must find a way to convince the superheroes to work together when the powerful and dangerous Loki gains access to the Cosmic Cube and its unlimited power.

You might be confused. Bored. That's kinda how I generally am regarding this sort of movie. It also brings up an important point for writers: What are you shooting for?

Obviously, the creators of "The Avengers" were shooting to entertain a younger, more male, audience. (Though as the box office has proven, nearly everyone's seen it.)

(FUTURE UPDATE: I’m lol’ing at myself. Superhero flicks generally do appeal more to guys than girls, but the biggest “Avengers” fans usually seem to be girls. Of course, who doesn’t lust after Tom Hiddleston?)

However, the movie's goal was typical for an action movie. Lotsa fighting, romantic elements present but receiving little attention. Some humor and wit, too, especially from Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.)

And cliche moments. One example is when Evil-God-Dude Loki visits Germany and suppresses a crowd outside a theater. As an Evil-God-Dude, he has a staff/sword item to magically force his minions to kneel.

Once everyone's kneeling, Loki lifts the spell and begins to give a grand speech about taking over the world. Naturally, one old man stands up, to give a short line about freedom. Then, just before Loki can evilly extinguish the man's life, Captain America swoops in.

At other times, "The Avengers" just has some faulty psychology. The worst of it arrives as the Avengers battle Loki's forces to protect Manhattan.

At a point in the sequence, Captain America swoops onto a car beside two police officers. He pauses for a moment to deliver evacuation instructions, to which one of the policemen replies: "Why the hell should we follow you?" When C.A. swiftly spins and delivers blows to two of Loki's alien fighters, the policeman also turns and begins to bark C.A.'s directions to bystanding officers.

I cringed a little at that moment. Once again, cliche resistance. But there was something else: the policeman's reaction didn't strike me as natural. Humans are sheep!: if we see a hero/leader giving orders in a terrifying situation, we're going to follow them.

Now, I don't totally want to disparage the movie. (And with Joss Whedon as screenwriter, I'm not sure it was possible for this flick to be truly bad.)

My point is the question I presented at the beginning of the post: What are you shooting for? Because, truthfully, "The Avengers" was quite a good movie. Sure, the who's-more-macho fights got tiring after a while, but there were some pretty funny moments (such as the Hulk pounding Loki against the ground, before he can give another I-am-a-god! speech.) The Black Widow was very cool, and I was interested by her relationship with Hawkeye, though it didn't receive much attention. Plus, the performances weren't terrible: I enjoyed Mark Ruffalo's (as Hulk) in particular.

So what kind of humor do you want to employ in your writing? How much action, romance? Who's your audience?

Just something to consider.

Other weekend news:

1. Loving Marina Diamandis's new album, Electra Heart.
2. Loving "Bridget Jones's Diary." Can't believe I didn't see it before! (It also inspired lots of Colin Firth love.)
3. Also: began to watch the 1995 "Pride & Prejudice" miniseries (feat. Colin Firth)

Who's your audience? Did you see anything over the weekend? 

Aiming for the Heart: Another Hunger Games Post

Last week, I talked about the Hunger Games' recently popularity. Today, I want to talk about a revelation I had at the end of Mockingjay, the series' 3rd and final book.
...

First thing I have to cover is the history of my affair with these books. I read The Hunger Games 3 years ago and began Catching Fire, but quit early on due to boredom. I wasn't invested in the characters.

Now comes the movie. The teens falling head over heels, the Internet swarms, the whole phenomenon. So I decide to borrow back books one and two from my friend.

Josh Hutcherson

I read them in a day. I see the movie. I fall totally in love with Josh Hutcherson (Peeta), though he's short, and I'll never forgive Suzanne Collins for his name.*"Son of a breadmaker...", scans audience for appropriate facepalms*

(ALSO: Birdy's song "Just a Game", featured on the movie's soundtrack, makes me cry. Though I have to mention that her music usually does.)

- Point being that I fall in love with the books the way I didn't 3 years ago, but the way every reader seems to be doing now. I feel appreciation for Katniss. Gale is complicated. Then, as I've said, I've totally fallen for Peeta. (Or Josh Hutcherson, the line is blurry here.)

What I do have to say: It was Mockingjay, the end of the series, that made me impressed. That tought me something about my own writing. The first and second books definitely provide a lesson for plotting and raising the stakes, but they didn't hit me the way Mockingjay did.

It was the death of a character and Katniss' subsequent meltdown that did it. Sure, I was effected by *possible spoiler* Rue's death (and the flowers!), but it didn't make me cry the way I did at the series' end.

Here's my point: Think of your reader as a target. If you shoot him in the foot, it'll hurt (and probably irritate him.) If you hit his upper arm, it will hurt more. But hitting him in the heart will completely rock him. (You could also try hitting his head, but then you might miss him completely. Or knock him over.)

The end of Mockingjay hit me in the heart, and led to some serious blood loss.

How I feel about the series now:

I'm glad it's popular, because it's the kind of thing teens should be reading. It's not just some silly love story, it's about the desensitization of violence in entertainment/the media, and war and survival. It poses morality questions and features a fantastic female protagonist (which is, in YA, pathetically rare.)

How I feel about the movie:

- I'm not a fan of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss - I'd prefer someone younger, who acts more like... well, a terrified girl struggling to maintain her compusure and figure out this boy thing while surviving. Katniss definitely isn't a damsel in distress, but is only 16 in the first book.

(FUTURE UPDATE: I still think JLaw might be a little old for the part, but I don’t care, because she is amazing. She’s a fantastic actress and a super role model.)

- I don't get all of the fan outrage I've been seeing. (To me it's a little silly after surviving through 8 Harry Potter adaptions.) I actually enjoyed some of the changes, such as the choice of character who gives Katniss her symbolic mockingjay pin. In the books, it's Madge, the mayor's daughter, who's cut out of the movie completely. Instead, it's an old woman from the Hob (the black market), who gives the pin away for free. Though Madge is more likely to own the gold pin, and has enough resources to give it away, it's not her kind of person - the mayor's family - who gives Katniss power. *possible spoilers* Katniss' defiance of the Capitol is symbolized by the mockingjay and leads to riots and revolution. Revolution by the poor, weak, and oppressed - epitomized well by the old Seam woman. Even if Madge got the pin from her mother's sister, who died in the Games (if I remember correctly.)

- I wish the movie was creepier, even if it was necessary to tone down some bits. The scariest part, and the only part I remembered from 3 years ago, was taken out! *spoilers* (that is, the eyes and hair of the dead tributes in the muttations)

- Josh Hutcherson is mine. Hands off!

Have you read the books? Seen the movie? What did you think? And what stories hit you in the heart?

A Note of Love: Zeffirelli's "Romeo & Juliet"

This isn't going to be much of a post, but more of a note for love for Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 production. I watched it because my English class is covering the play, and I'm grateful I checked it out. This is a great example of how stunning Shakespeare can be when performed.

The movie is by no means perfect; after all, it was made in the '60s, which implies at least a few bad shots and effects. (R&J's fight scenes can be a tad horrible.) However, the performances of Leonard Whiting (Romeo) and Olivia Hussey (Juliet) are gorgeous. The pair were 17 and 15 at the time of filming, respectively, but did brilliantly. In fact, Hussey's performance as Juliet is often cited as one of, if not the, very best. (John McEnery was also great as Mercutio.)

To let you understand my enthusiasm, I'll show you what is probably the very best scene (featuring a song that's become classic itself):

What are your favorite play- or novel-to-film adaptions?
Know any other Zac Efron look-a-likes?