Revenge.
Even just by looking at it, it’s an ugly word to many. It meaning can range from the smallest to the biggest of scales, but nearly every method or way is the same. Revenge is an act of “getting back” even if that means you’ll be better off doing nothing. Whatever the consequence, people will go to the extremes just to say they have obtained revenge by doing so.
No one is safe from this cruel act of desire. At some point in everyone’s life, we have the overwhelming desire to “Get back” at whatever bothers us at the time. Children are not safe from the influence of revenge either, for they are constantly exposed by the media to revenge stories in the form of superheroes that children are supposed to look up to.
One of my favorite examples of such is Spiderman.
Even just by looking at it, it’s an ugly word to many. It meaning can range from the smallest to the biggest of scales, but nearly every method or way is the same. Revenge is an act of “getting back” even if that means you’ll be better off doing nothing. Whatever the consequence, people will go to the extremes just to say they have obtained revenge by doing so.
No one is safe from this cruel act of desire. At some point in everyone’s life, we have the overwhelming desire to “Get back” at whatever bothers us at the time. Children are not safe from the influence of revenge either, for they are constantly exposed by the media to revenge stories in the form of superheroes that children are supposed to look up to.
One of my favorite examples of such is Spiderman.
Since the beginning,
Spiderman (also known as Peter Parker) was given a drive to do his deeds, but
at the same time, has also been driven towards a path of revenge with the death
of his uncle. This is shown especially well in the recent movie, Spiderman 3,for there is a whole scene with Spiderman confronting the Sandman (also known as Flint Marco), who has been staged in the movie as the uncle’s killer. Before
this scene, Spiderman was mainly concerned with using his new found powers to help
people. However, thanks to the Symboyite that has infected him within this
movie, his aggression has been amplified, and thus, the story of Spiderman
takes a darker turn as it follows his desire for revenge, rather than his
desire to use his powers to help those around him.
Although this movie
is certainly darker in terms of Peter Parkers Back story and motive, it does
give a sense of choice to the audience as to whether or not Parker acted out
his revenge in full; as to let the audience themselves define what revenge
truly is. The result of this choice being allowed is the dark, yet still kid
friendly movie that we all know today as Spiderman 3.
This is just the tip
of the iceberg in terms of how much the underlying theme of revenge has been
portrayed in the movie industry. There are literally hundreds of movies who
have used the idea of revenge as a driving motive for a character in the movies
plot, regardless of how they choose to act it out and to what degree.
In my eyes, Spiderman 3 was on the more mild side on the revenge in movies scale. It’s tough to come up with a low point example for this scale, for Spiderman 3 is relatively close on the boundary line, mainly because although he acts out revenge, he sees through it and isn’t completely driven by revenge in the course of the movie.
In my eyes, Spiderman 3 was on the more mild side on the revenge in movies scale. It’s tough to come up with a low point example for this scale, for Spiderman 3 is relatively close on the boundary line, mainly because although he acts out revenge, he sees through it and isn’t completely driven by revenge in the course of the movie.
So, what is an example of the more harsher forms of
revenge seen in the movie field?
Two Words.
Kill Bill.
Two Words.
Kill Bill.
“Revenge is never a straight line. It's a forest, And,
like a forest, it's easy to lose your way... To get lost... To forget where you
came in.” - Hattori Hanzo, Kill Bill
Everything about this movie screams revenge, from the back
stories, to the actions, to the visuals. Kill
Bill is movie for a mature audience (also the main reason why I chose a
quote and not a video), following a women known as “The Bride”‘s desire for one
thing and one thing only- to get revenge on the people who have caused her to
be put into a coma for four years, losing her own child in the process. Before
then, she was part of a special group of assassins, all lead by a man named
Bill. However, once she discovered she was pregnant, she wished to escape that
lifestyle, and ran off to Texas
and settled down with a man. On the day of their wedding rehearsal, she was
gunned down by her former squad, lead by an angry and jealous Bill. Believing
Bill to be the source of her strife, she makes it her mission to find and kill
Bill, along with her former comrades who have assisted him in destroying her
life and taking away her unborn child.
The plot for this whole story was so complex and time consuming, it is not one movie, but three. All of which are filled with the careful planning and literal execution of her plans as she takes out each of her former comrades in order to get one step closer to Bill.
The plot for this whole story was so complex and time consuming, it is not one movie, but three. All of which are filled with the careful planning and literal execution of her plans as she takes out each of her former comrades in order to get one step closer to Bill.