It’s 2004 and you have this younger version of me enjoying the battles and powers of each hero in the movie called The Incredibles. 14 years later, you come across my 18-year-old self who can’t help but dissect the latest sequel, Incredibles 2, and question its subliminal message. It’s no longer a “hero appreciation” viewpoint. It’s a matter of giving some credit to the evil side, as well.
It is somewhat difficult to come up with a review built in a clear, bullet-pointed manner when the movie itself seems to be a conglomeration of ideas and suggestions, irregularly put forward. Let’s not dismiss the fact that it’s also a superhero film we’re talking about. The action-packed plot is what truly lures in millions of people. Introducing an emotional and stimulating context is usually just a cheap trick to make the audience believe there’s a lot more going on in the story. Now, if you watch Incredibles 2 on its own, my guess is that you won’t be quite impressed with it. But if you take the time to consider the first movie, too, you will notice that the sequel intelligently carries on the concept of being a hero (throwing in some additional modern topics such as gender-swapped roles and mass-media’s impact on the human brain). I’m all for discussions surrounding these themes... but is it wise enough to mix them in the same bowl?
Side note: For a presumably personal touch, I’m going to use quotes from the 2004 movie as subtitles (in order to highlight the tight relationship between these two animations and introduce my opinions about certain scenes and elements).
“Helen: The world wants us to fit in, and to fit in, we just gotta be like everybody else.”
Because yes, as soon as we spot someone superior competing against us, the most common instinct is to bring the opponent down to our level instead of working on our better self.
The film starts off with Bob (Craig T. Nelson), Helen (Holly Hunter) and their kids, Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dash (Huck Milner) and Jack-Jack, undertaking a new short assignment: the defeat of the Underminer, the villain who appears in the last few seconds of The Incredibles. It’s an ecstatic chase meant to swiftly recall each hero’s ability. The Underminer is not caught, but plenty of other damages are avoided. At least that’s what the Incredibles keep pointing out. However, nobody listens to them since more attention is paid to the news and the fake depiction of events. The cameras present a distorted reality, placing the superheroes in a less favorable position and shamelessly inducing the idea of complete wickedness lying within good people. Seeing the Parr family being misleadingly judged for its actions, I immediately realized that people do tend to focus more on flaws. It is indeed much easier to do such than praise somebody’s heroic acts and thank them for lending out a hand. This imposed desire to fit in should be replaced by an unstoppable wish to embrace our unique powers. Are we capable of doing so?
“Helen: Settle down? Are you kidding? I’m at the top of my game. I’m up there with the big dogs. Girls, come on. Leave the saving of the world to the men? I don’t think so. I don’t think so...”
That last I don’t think so leaves room for interpretation. As much as she tries to portray a tough and determined figure, the hesitant Elastigirl still struggles with the notion that men are stronger than women. The Incredibles admittedly has Bob under the spotlight. If Incredibles 2 had followed the same pattern, it goes without saying that the audience would have been utterly triggered and devastated. In today’s world, a successful movie has to provide a game-changing belief on current life-draining situations.
The change in the course of actions arises when Bob, Helen and their close friend, Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson), are contacted by a huge superhero fan, Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk), and his sister, Evelyn (Catherine Keener). The telecom billionaire and the tech-savvy sister own the company called DEVTECH and strongly believe that they can change the public’s perception upon heroes with their resources.
Frozone is pretty much ignored throughout the discussion, Bob’s powers are subtly described as being a minor source for major trouble and Helen... well, she receives the opportunity to represent an upcoming revival of DEVTECH and superheroes altogether. She is required to wear a tiny camera in her suit and offer the audience some profitable insight into the life of a hero. The moment after Helen embarks on this journey, the audience can spot a distressed Bob. The Deavors’ choice does come off as a surprise (or perhaps not), but eventually the Parrs accept to exchange their usual roles. Fair enough, it’s a smart method to imply the controversial feminism. I have no problem with it being featured... but as long as it is depicted properly.
“Bob: Thanks, but I don’t need any help.
Helen: Whatever happened to “ladies first”?
Bob: Whatever happened to equal treatment?”
Indeed, what happened to gender equality? Feminism often ends up being overvalued and men treated unfairly. Helen seems to be handling the hero life like a pro, whereas Bob is seen juggling with his kids’ lives back home and trying to be an incredible father (I’m Mr. Incredible, not Mr. Mediocre or Mr. So-so). His funniest remark Why would they change math? will persuade you to laugh off his ongoing struggles, but ultimately you will sympathize with him and most likely wonder why director Brad Bird has decided to magnify Bob’s weaknesses in such a cruelly sarcastic way. It doesn’t seem to work off as a humorous key element for the young viewers. At this point I am more predisposed to consider the downcast father as a rightful hero. He strives to do his best. And that’s what counts the most.
“Helen: Everybody’s special, Dash.
Dash: Which is another way of saying no one is.”
We surely love to consider ourselves and the others as special individuals. But could it be a toxic concept? Should we actually have Syndrome’s words (When everybody’s super, no one will be) ringing in our subconscious? This puzzling observation does sustain Winston and Evelyn’s different perspectives.
Let’s take Evelyn first. Behind her woozy and drunk persona, there is a mastermind plotting ways to send out a crucial wake-up call through DEVTECH’s advanced resources. She takes on the image of a new “villain”, Screenslaver, who is able to control people by hacking any television or computer and using monitors as gateways to the complex human brain.
She easily manages to evoke the brutal truth: we do not become special by reassuring ourselves that we are special. We are passive participants in our own lives.
“Screenslaver interrupts this program for an important announcement. Don't bother watching the rest. Elastigirl doesn't save the day; she only postpones her defeat. And while she postpones her defeat, you eat chips and watch her invert problems that you are too lazy to deal with. Superheroes are part of a brainless desire to replace true experience with simulation.”
We as human beings are contradictory creatures, there’s no pinch of doubt about it. We convince ourselves that we are capable of amazing things and yet we don’t jump into action. We just voice our desires and let others materialize them. We prefer to stay special in our own comfortable bubbles. If there are people who mess up, we stick out our heads and do a bit of complaining. It’s a never-ending blame game.
“You don't talk, you watch talk shows. You don't play games, you watch game shows. Travel, relationships, risk - every meaningful experience must be packaged and delivered to you to watch at a distance, so that you can remain ever-sheltered, ever-passive, ever-ravenous consumers who can't free themselves to rise from their couches to break a sweat, never anticipate new life.”
We seek comfort without realizing that we are stuck in a dreadful rot (should we actually avoid the feeling of ease at all costs?).
“You want superheroes to protect you, and make yourselves ever more powerless in the process. Well, you tell yourselves you're being “looked after”, that you're inches from being served and your rights are being upheld. So that the system can keep stealing from you, smiling at you all the while. Go ahead, send your supers to stop me. Grab your snacks, watch your screens and see what happens. You are no longer in control. I am.”
Do you suddenly dislike superheroes? If so, then Screenslaver’s mission has been accomplished. The low blow we’ve just received makes us question everything more or less. Have we postponed our promising potential? Or worse, have we already wasted it? Could we do something to fix this? If we are that “powerless”, what do we need to get back on the right track? That’s when you start doubting Screenslaver’s monologue. Isn’t Evelyn part of the same blame game? Where should we seek solutions if superheroes aren’t to be trusted?
This would be the moment where Winston shyly popped in and asked, May I have a word? By all means. He would tell you to keep believing in superheroes. We have to accept the fact that some people do have more exceptional abilities. Truth is, there is always going to be someone better than you. But that’s alright. These superheroes do have a purpose: to occasionally save you from extreme danger and remind you to redress your attitude. Simply claiming you are special like all others sets unrealistic expectations. Work on your special personality, your uniqueness. And you’ll be your own superhero. When nobody’s super, everyone will finally be.
With countless superhero movies handed on a silver platter in the past 10 years, Incredibles 2 may come off as a forced insertion (despite its beneficial intentions). The 14-year-old gap between the two animations is also inexplicable. Why wait so long? And is there any right interpretation for the rather ambiguous message? Under such circumstances, I wish I were a kid, prepared to grasp the Incredibles’ love and leave the theatre with a smile on my face. It is quite silly to insist on such deep judgements. Where is the 4-year-old me when I need her?
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