Why So Serious? - An Observation on Dark & Gritty and its Misconceptions

     

    As a child of the 1990s, I grew up during the glory days of Super Nintendo, cheesy action-schlock cinema (mostly the ones with Sylvester Stallone), and the launch of NASA's Hubble Telescope, followed by everyone's roaring laughter when NASA realized they forgot to include a lens before launch. Comic book fans may also remember this time as the dark ages, both literally and thematically. It was a time when geek culture fell into a proverbial pit that it has struggled to escape from to this very day. It was the dawn of the great disillusion that being grim and gritty meant nuanced and mature. When, in actuality, it really wasn't, and still isn't. 

    To better illustrate what I mean, allow me to provide a little history. 

    In 1986-87, renowned comics writer Alan Moore, famous for writing many superhero storylines for DC Comics such as Batman and Swamp Thing, published what many people consider to be his magnum opus, Watchmen, a satirical observation of superheroes set in an alternate reality where ordinary people (mostly) decided to become actual superheroes. It wasn't so much a criticism of enjoying superheroes; it was a reminder of why they are better served as symbols of inspiration and aspiration. While in reality, superheroes have come to symbolize the better part of human nature and continue to inspire people (myself included), in the world of Watchmen, they became literal vigilantes who served as representations as to why they could not really function in the real world, due in no small part to the inherently flawed aspects of human nature. 

    At around the same time, another famous/infamous comics writer, Frank Miller, published his most famous story, The Dark Knight Returns, a grim and gritty interpretation of Batman as an aging psychopath tossing his moral compass out the window favoring brutality and murder. It was a story that would serve as the template for most Batman stories going forward and would inspire many other interpretations of aged heroes going over the edge. It would also serve as a time capsule for when Frank Miller was actually talented before losing his mind for partially unknown reasons. Long story short, he lived in New York during 9/11 and became something of a poster child for things like QAnon and Neo-Naziism in its wake. These toxic qualities are best showcased in his books Holy Terror and All-Star Batman & Robin: two disgusting and morally repugnant books that can best represent the pulsating mutation that is now the GOP. 

    These two comic series resonated with audiences in different ways. They were affirmations that comics about superheroes didn't have to be exclusively for children. They could be used to tell all kinds of grounded stories and play around with mature thematic elements. It seemed like it was the beginning of a proud and fantastic evolution for the world of superhero comics. 

    Sadly, that never happened, at least not for the first ten years or so. Most other popular comic book writers, artists, and publishers (particularly the likes of Rob Liefeld and Todd McFarlane of Image Comics), completely overlooked the deep & textured philosophical undertones of those stories and primarily focused on darkness, grittiness, and uber-masculine seriousness that, while present in those stories, were merely a small part of the whole. Well, less so for The Dark Knight Returns, admittedly. 

    This suddenly popular trend of emulating the darkness and bitterness found in Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns spawned a slew of comics that defined the 1990s, for better or worse. Comics like Youngblood, Savage Dragon, and of course Spawn all attempted to recapture the essence of what inspired them but without completely understanding or grasping what made them so memorable in the first place. These were shallow attempts at creating complex and deep characters that only showcased what little talent their creators possessed. Especially Rob Liefeld, whose only crowning achievement as a comics creator is delivering this monstrosity: 

    I apologize if that history lesson was a bit too long, but I needed to ensure that you, my wonderful readers, had the proper context for what this blog entry is all about. Because, despite the impression I may have given either here or in person in the past, I don't necessarily have an issue with dark and gritty stories or themes; I have a problem with the assumption that being dark and gritty, a.k.a "serious," somehow automatically makes a story "better" and "more adult." As if it was some kind of magic button that makes anything appear serious or complex. That is the real problem at play here! 

    Consider for a moment Disney's animated classic Mulan and its 2020 live-action remake. 

    The animated film from 1998 is a timeless and entertaining classic. It features witty writing, three-dimensional characters, a relatable story, and a protagonist who overcomes adversity to save those she cares about. Plus, it has a perfect balance between comedy and drama. While the animated film was intended for a family audience, it was also smart enough to remember and embrace its more mature narrative elements with care. Since an impending war was part of the original story, the film works in moments of serious and well-played drama to drive home one of the film's messages regarding the awfulness of senseless violence. Also, the film's overall light-hearted tone made the dramatic moments all the more impactful and memorable. 

    Compared to the live-action remake from 2020, there's no question about which one has a better sense of balance. Of the many things the live-action film does wrong, not the least of which is turning a relatable protagonist into a boring unrelatable super-powered Mary Sue, its biggest narrative issue is the lack of levity. The makers of this film appeared to be under the impression that being "adult" means being super-serious: as in no one is allowed to smile, levity is completely forbidden, and nothing is supposed to be fun. Oh, and let's not forget the hypocrisy of claiming that Mushu the Dragon was deemed "too unrealistic" for a film that has a Phoenix, the Eastern equivalent to Medi-Chlorians, and a magical Witch! 

    Also, this:

Yeah, not kidding! 

    Lately, I've been having some interesting and enlightening discussions with one of my friends about my take on dark & gritty movies. In particular, Logan and The Batman. When I initially complained about them being so dark & gritty, it occurred to me that I wasn't fully articulate about my position. I don't have a problem with stories that chose to be dark & gritty, especially when it's a tone that better fits a particular character such as Wolverine and Batman. 

    My real problem with dark & gritty is how many storytellers and artists to this day, especially many of those working in the comics and movie industry, appear to still be under the illusion that if you just put a dark and gritty coat of paint onto a property, it'll automatically be taken seriously as adult-oriented entertainment. Being dark & gritty is not the problem, but being dark & gritty for superficial reasons is. Most of the time, when someone says that their take on a film or story concept is going to be "darker," what I'm hearing is, "I'm going to do whatever crappy comics I read in the 90's did to appear more mature and nuanced than I actually am!" 

    Not to mention how many of these artists have tried to utilize the dark & gritty element with no moments of levity to balance it out. I'm not saying that stories with a dark & gritty tone need to have a random clown burst into frame every once in a while, but you cannot expect an audience to tolerate a constant sense of dread and despair for a whole runtime with no relief of any kind. It's one of the many reasons Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice is such a boring and terrible film! Because director Zack Snyder is likely one of the many people who grew up reading comics by Rob Liefeld and not realizing how shallow and arrogant they were, choosing to focus on how "cool" and "edgy" they thought they were. 

    Incidentally, the only reason the film adaptation of Watchmen was any good was that director Zack Snyder didn't realize the original book was intended to be a satire. 

    Now, in the case of films like Logan, when I mentioned to my friend that I didn't completely like it because it was dark & gritty, what I should have said was I didn't like that everyone was going to assume that the film was successful and well-received because it was dark & gritty, and not because it was a gorgeously photographed, superbly acted, masterfully directed, and thematically relevant film. My only real issue with the film is that Logan, the main character, is too much of a passive protagonist: as in, he doesn't do anything willingly and is only dragged from plot point to plot point because the story demands it. I understand that he's jaded and traumatized by his unique experience in this iteration of the character. Still, there are better ways to convey that while keeping your protagonist engaging outside of having him constantly scream, "I'm angry and I don't want to be here" every five minutes. 

    As for the upcoming new Batman film, I still intend to see it when it comes out, preferably in theaters. I have the utmost confidence in everyone involved in making it, especially director Matt Reeves. Not to mention, Robert Pattinson will be an excellent Batman, Colin Farrell will get to do his character-actor thing as The Penguin (he also looks amazing in the make-up), and the notion of making a film heavily modeled after the style of Batman from the 1970s does sound like fun to me. I just hope that if it turns out to be as good as it looks, then people will not fall back onto the "Well, it was dark and gritty, which is why it was good and there's nothing else to say about it!" mentality.  

    Having a dark & gritty tone and/or theme is alright if used for the right reasons and fits your chosen world and characters. Just don't assume that you have to be dark to be taken seriously or to be perceived as an adult. If you want to know how you can still have some fun while still being dark and gritty, watch Ronin. Or, if you want a superhero example, check out SHAZAM. Both are excellent films that succeed in balancing dark & gritty with relatable humanity. 

    Be as dark as you want; just remember to lighten up once in a while. 

Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.