Opinion

Dr. Mike ~ U.L Communication Studies Professor

When I was younger, superhero movies and television shows were very risky propositions. Fans could find their favorite characters significantly altered by movie writers and TV producers before they reached the screens. For that reason, there was always a certain anxiety that came with the arrival of a new project. 

In modern times, that trepidation has been replaced with a giddy anticipation. Characters may be changed, but they are largely still in the spirit that made them so exciting to the fan in the first place. Sure, problems still occur. But when they do, it’s more a matter of narrative tone or performance rather than overall concept. The essence of the superhero was there. 

So, when Marvel talked of making an Ant-Man movie or DC started talking about Shazam, I was reasonably sure we’d get a new take on a favorite character. 

Yet sometimes a character comes along that really makes me wonder what version of the character we will get. Moon Knight is the perfect example. 

I love Moon Knight. I did not read many of his comics when they were first being published, but I became a great fan of the character later when I binged some collections of stories. When the Marvel Netflix series started up, I was constantly saying “Y’know who they should do next? Moon Knight!” So, I’ve been waiting for Moon Knight for a while now.

Back in 1989, when the Tim Burton directed Batman debuted, the Caped Crusader was risky business. Most of America still thought of Batman as the delightfully campy character played by Adam West in the ABC television series (1966-1969). The success of the 1989 film established the darker version of the character that only comic book fans had really known up to that point. Including the 1989 film, audiences have been treated to ten live-action film appearances for Batman, some animated films, and a host of television and video game appearances. We live in a new Golden Age of Batman and we are quite used to the vagaries of changes in the franchise. 

With the newest film, The Batman, about to debut, the Nerd Factor advises these things to watch out for:

By Dr. Mike ~ UL Communication Studies Professor

At the end of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the dinosaurs were finally set loose into the world. That was the moment we had been waiting decades to see. Unfortunately, giving the dinos the freedom to roam also exposes a problem at the core of the franchise. The denizens of Jurassic Park are not quite the threat that we expected. 

In several movies and on a few other projects, we have been told time and again that dinosaurs are dangerous. We certainly know that at an individual level, dinosaurs are terrifying. Many people have been eaten after all. However, we are also told, usually by Jeff Goldblum’s Dr. Ian Malcolm, that dinosaurs pose an existential threat to our species. Through the hubris of careless scientific endeavor, humans have returned an awesome natural power to the playing field of survival. We face competitors that we may not be equipped to deal with. 

Except that we are equipped to deal with them. After all, we have things like M-1 Abrams tanks and Apache attack helicopters. Dinosaurs simply lack the numbers of the other extinction level threats introduced by science fiction. Dinosaurs cannot reproduce as quickly as zombies nor do they arrive en masse as a horde of alien invaders. Simply put, in the battle of dinosaurs vs. humans, the dinosaurs are outgunned and outnumbered. 

Dr. Mike ~ UL Communication Studies Professor

For many years, streaming services have been breaking down how we traditionally view television programming. Gone are the days of appointment television, when everyone was compelled (or at least felt compelled) to be watching a specific show at a specific time. While many shows still drop an episode per week, streaming technology also gives power to the binge viewer. The classic idea of a television season is changing. The Book of Boba Fett is breaking up how we think of an actual series. 

Boba Fett is a fascinating example of a cult character in popular culture. For decades, the allure of the original Star Wars trilogy’s dangerous bounty hunter was largely based around mystery. His reputation came from only a few minutes of screen time. He was a compelling figure because we knew so little about him. Yes, there was that cartoon that introduced the character for The Star Wars Holiday Special, but fans were often unsure how official that was in terms of series canon. Really, we just knew him as the guy who captured Han Solo but who also died an ignominious death in the Sarlacc pit on Tatooine

Later, Boba Fett’s story became a backstory. Great efforts were made to fill in his past. Some of this was done in novels and comic books that are no longer considered official history. The character was seen as a child in the Star Wars prequel trilogies, various cartoon spin-offs, and video games.