TheCriticalDrinker
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The problem with Peter Parker
🕑 Added 2023-06-07 08:34:42 +0000 UTCMost of you will know that I recently did a review of Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse, and while I’m not going to rehash the whole thing again, the short version is that I thought it was a pretty damn good movie. In fact, one of the few things I pushed back on was the film’s treatment of Peter Parker – the one character that’s as close as possible to the original Spider-Man in a film that’s swimming in all kinds of weird and wonderful permutations of the character.
So guess what the good folks of Twitter took issue with?
“Drinker just can’t stand to see a white male character who isn’t the centre of attention.”
“Drinker has clearly never seen a new father excited to be a parent.”
“Drinker’s gonna lose his mind when he finds out Peter’s Jewish.”
Damn, that last one even had ME scratching my head.
The point is, the film’s treatment of Peter is an interesting little insight into the mindset of the writers, and I think its worth exploring a bit further. This is a topic that isn’t really big enough for a full-on video, so I figured a written essay was the better way of tackling it. So here goes!
When we run into Peter about half way through the movie, he’s introduced in an over-the-top dramatic reveal during a tense conversation, like he’s about to have a traditonal hero moment befitting such an important character. But when he emerges from the shadows, he’s revealed to wearing a pink bath robe and a baby carrier strapped across his chest.
That’s right – Peter’s a dad now. In fact, he’s what I can only describe as a hyper-dad; a guy so insanely proud and excited about his new kid that he literally can’t stop talking about her, showing pictures of her and playing with her, even when the other characters are trying to deal with a potentially world-ending event. He’s oblivious to their problems and blinded by his own happiness.
Now, I get what the writers were going for here. New parents can sometimes be a little… overbearing, and it IS kind of a novelty to see Peter Parker, the perpetual teenager, as an older man and a father but still with the childish enthusiasm of his youth. It was a funny joke indeed… for about 10 seconds. Unfortunately the movie just keeps running with it, even when there’s actually serous plot events happening.
Not only that, but Peter insists on taking his kid absolutely fucking everywhere with him, even into potentially life threatening situations where both of them could easily get killed. Its played for laughs, but its also kind of horrific when you think about how insanely irresponsible he’s being. It’s the equivalent of a soldier stuffing his infant child in his backpack and taking her off deployment to Afghanistan. In fact, there’s even a scene later between him and MJ (his wife now) which implies this isn’t the first time he’s done stuff like this. What kind of lunatic is this man?
Finally we come to an actual serious scene with Peter stands over his daughter’s crib, and he has to decide if he’s going to disobey orders and risk his life to help Miles Morales and the others. You might think this would be the moment for him to grow up a bit, throw off the pink bath robe and say goodbye to his family, not knowing if he’ll ever see them again. The classic scene of a husband going off to war, leaving behind everything he cherishes because he knows it’s the right thing to do.
But nope, he straps the baby to his chest again, like she’s a suit of body armour or something, and off he goes.
What the fuck is wrong with this man? How has his wife not divorced him for this insanity? Why would you think it’s a good idea to take a baby with you on such a dangerous mission, when there’s absolutely no reason to do it? She has a mother that’s perfectly capable of looking after her.
And all of this brings me back to my original point about the film’s treatment of Peter. There’s no easy way of saying this, so I won’t even try – basically, they’ve turned him into a pussy. A well meaning and likeable pussy to be sure, but a pussy all the same. The pink bathrobe, the exaggerated effeminate enthusiasm, the inability to see past his role as a father to understand the larger stakes… all of it combines together to create the impression that Peter is a bit of a clown.
He's goofy, he’s silly, he’s carefully neutered and softened to make him as unthreatening and ineffectual as possible. He’s not someone you’re encouraged to take seriously. And I can’t help but wonder… why? What was the intent behind this? What are the writers hoping to achieve with this character?
It could just be that they wanted some comic relief, and just so happened to choose Peter to fill this role. And yet, I can’t shake the feeling that there was something just a little more calculated about it. This is, after all, Miles Morales’ story – a character that’s taken a fair amount of criticism over the years for being simply a tokenised facsimile of Peter Parker. The writers were likely well aware of this, and their response seems to be to subtly diminish Peter and his legacy in this story, to make him just a little less serious, a little less capable, a little less legitimate.
In this movie, Peter Parker is relegated to a jokey comic relief side character – Miles is the one you’re meant to take seriously. Miles is the one wrestling with the real problems. Miles is the realSpider-Man now. You can see where this train of thought leads, right? Because I’ll tell you one thing – there are a whole lot of people out there pushing real hard to make Miles Morales the true Spider-Man, to replace yet another legacy white male hero with someone more diverse, more modern, more deserving. The same kind of people trying to not-so-subtly push the idea that Gwen Stacey is actually transgender. And those people are only growing louder, more emboldened and more insistent the more successful these films become.
I don’t know, maybe I’m just overthinking it. But it’ll be interesting to see where the whole discussion takes us in a few years. I’ve got a feeling its not going to be a good place.
Comments
Peter B
My favourite Peter Parker will always be Nicholas Hammond back in the days when they used stuntmen instead of CGI and concentrated on making the characters life like and likeable through decent acting.
AndrewJTalon
These people think destroying Western culture will bring about Utopia. It's basically their religion and they have to put it into everything.
Margie
Great post! I have noticed an active effort to tarnish all classic characters so that the studios can bring on newer, younger (cheaper) stars. Marvel has been doing this for years now. We want Iron Man, Captain America and Black Widow back but they want us to love Ant Man's daughter, Ms. Marvel, etc. Frustrating.
Dubious
Is there any way you can review Barry? It’s a great send up of Hollywood mixed an a great story an unexpectedly Fantastically practical action. I’m nobody, but I’d love to see your take on it. I thought it was sneaky incredible. Thanks for listening, A New Fan
Connor
You should revisit The Expanse. That was actually how I discovered your channel! I had just finished it and I guess I’d done enough google searches that my YT recommendations started filling up with Expanse related videos, and I stumbled onto yours. Really hit the nail on the head with the diversity done right thing. Diversity in sci-fi and fantasy shows is a GOOD thing! It allows for such a deep and interesting world, and even if a faction is racially diverse, if it’s so entrenched in its own lore and not modern day sensibilities and politics, then it passes from absurdity to believability and even therefore, it allows you to actually enjoy what your watching. Strong female characters are a GOOD thing, Avasarala is one of my all time favorite characters and Shohreh’s performance is undeniable throughout the show. She and Bobby (and Camina) -what badasses. And yet, Avasarala is a badass in her chosen field - she’s not 70 years old, punching out her opponents left and right, she’s just outwitting, deriding and embarrassing them at every turn, playing the political game as best as she can and burning bridges everywhere she goes. she’s certainly not infallible, in fact, she fucks up a LOT, which makes her so much more fun to follow. And I don’t think anything needs to be said about Bobby. In her suit, she’s terrifying. Outside her suit? Still terrifying, she’s a hulking Martian super soldier, she’ll basically fuck anyone up regardless. But it’s well established, and because we’re with her for so long we buy into it wholeheartedly. There’s so much subpar… content… being put out nowadays that something like the expanse is just a breath of fresh air, even if it’s years old at this point.
Lapsedfanmarv
Was there an Open Bar last night? Isnt it usually on Thursdays? I cant find it
Scott Bieser
Interesting take. I haven't seen this movie yet but plan to soon, mostly to look at the art style, which from the trailers seems quite inventive. (Or maybe the frame-dropping was done to save time and money rendering frames, I can't tell yet.) But reading your essay a thought occurs: What if the current batch of non-creative weasels are down on Parker BECAUSE he is Jewish? Anti-Semitism does seem to have become fashionable among a certain "smart-set."
Scott Bieser
Interesting take. I haven't seen this movie yet but plan to soon, mostly to look at the art style, which from the trailers seems quite inventive. (Or maybe the frame-dropping was done to save time and money rendering frames, I can't tell yet.) But reading your essay a thought occurs: What if the current batch of non-creative weasels are down on Parker BECAUSE he is Jewish? Anti-Semitism does seem to have become fashionable among a certain "smart-set."
Jeffrey Gismondo
And a repeat for good measure, though there's a good chance you might’vealready seen it, the actor that plays Mr Bean Rowan Atkinson Link to the vid: https://youtu.be/xUezfuy8Qpc And if you refuse to click sketchy links, look up Rowan Atkinson, Christian Institute. (whatever Institute that is).
Jeffrey Gismondo
Yo, critical drinker movie Man connoisseur. Just in case you don't check your Patreon messages (dm's). One of the peers in your industry, Rowan Atkinson made an excellent, articulate and eloquent speech a about Freedom of Speech, particularly how the U.K doesn't have any. Link to the vid: https://youtu.be/xUezfuy8Qpc If your a smart internet age man that doesn't trust some new Patreon subs seemingly random link, then look up: Rowan Atkinson, Christian Institute. (whatever that Institute is). It's affects you especially seeing as your an online commentator, content creator and critic of a lot more than just movies, and very rightly so.
Stitch
Seems like they took a page from Rian Johnson’s “How to Trash Heroic and Beloved Characters to Make the New One Seem Stronger and Mo Better”. I hate Hollywood…
Blazemc33
It really oddly makes sense when you think about it. Western societies are comfortable with a lot of these soft men. So, it's really not that surprising that this characterization of Parker would be a reflection of what many folks think men 'should' be like; or in many cases already are. Fewer and fewer people really understand greater purpose or sacrifice, and it shows in the way our society downplays true threats to our way of life and highlights stuff that really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Much of their clear target market is busy making tik tok videos or playing video games.
Michael Ward
Hmm. Pushpack from people who don't appreciate your take on things. Seems like haters calling you a hater of their perceptions. I'm not sure there is much to learn from it or how interesting that discussion would be. Being a proud dad myself, I enjoy (and agree) with your take on videos I've seen that you've reviewed, and appreciate your take on the rest.
PETER COLLINS
Haven't seen it and won't, but this explains fat Thor--he was pregnant! Seriously, this smacks of the She Hulk writer's room.
Randallj66
Wow, Drinker you joined the rest of us, or I know all of you bloggers who try and defend the fans are. You're a Homophobe, Racist, Jew-Hating, Soros loving (actually they would never say this one since they are), horrible dinosaur of a person. Yet in actuallity you are just using common sense and logic to look at a situation. A Newer Character who has checked a box (Race) needs to be made a little better in their own story. So let's try the age old thing that NEVER really works. Let's tear down another older character (that is actually the Original Character that has the largest following of fans) to somehow make the Miles character the definitive Spiderman. I hate to tell the shills this never works. If I read thousands of comic books about (lets call him) Badgerman. Then later they decide that the sales are down so we will have Badgerman recast as a beta-male who identifies as a Squirrel. Well now I'm going to have a problem with that as a fan. So then they come out with a Badgerman motion picture. But the Old Badgerman is being helped by a Badgerman that came from Earth 2000465. Well even if this Badgerman is younger stronger and has more powers. I may just enjoy the older Badgerman because that is what I grew up with. So they decide in Badgerman 2: Claws Cut. That the Older Badgerman is now sad because he could not save his Aunt Maybe. So he just gets fat and wollows in self pity. But the New Badgerman from Earth x47 who is Chinese and uses a sword for some reason. Is the main character. They are purposely tearing down the old Badgerman to help the new one. Even though the new one seems to drink only Chinese Green Tea and points it out in every scene.
Cluisdotorg
Haven't seen the movie yet, but this fits the trend so its not terribly surprising. For the first spiderverse movie I just basically spent the whole time treating it like it was a "What if?" style effort. Back in the day with comics this always served well to hash out crazy stuff without wrecking the canon of whatever character was involved. Currently the entirety of Marvel is essentially a "What if?!" universe. Tho it is written like something Dave Sim would write if he had had a stroke. :D There is a palpable thread of contempt for pretty much all the source material. Like whomever is laying this all out feels put upon to HAVE to make these movies, and that anyone who enjoys them is beneath them. But idk, just keep calling balls and strikes out there Drinker. At bare minimum it keeps us all clear that this shit IS happening, and that we aren't insane to think so despite all the gaslighting going on.
PowerCage01
It's like Reddit or Quora: only good for laughing at the userbase.
Silentphil9
It's the most toxic social media and I'll never use it.
PowerCage01
Twitter is a shithole.
Don Crolleone
He hasn't seen them. I already asked :) He's missing out big time but he gets so many requests I'm not going to hassle him!
Carter B. Ebbesen
Well put. Seems like an expansion of the Marvel problem of having to nuke the original character to make the “new and improved for modern audiences” character better by comparison. All it does is make the writers look like hacks if you cannot uplift one character without putting down another
Shan Wickremesinghe
Nobody tell Drinker about the Lone Wolf and Cub film series! j/k
Tony Selyem
It's possible "those same people" are realizing that their agenda is not getting successful enough traction and are getting a little desperate. It is not possible to reason with them - they don't want to be objective or even fair - simply to bully those that don't agree with them. Don't let those trolls - particularly on Twitter - drag you too far into their madness. (I'm reminded of the saying about wrestling with a pig in the mud.) You are doing great, dear Drinker.
Daniel F. Herrin
That's, a lot of words.
Grant Waara
I suggest you check out Just Some Guy's take on Miles Morales. It's pretty savage.
Caloy Diaz
I like that Peter is the main Spider-Man and Miles is one other spin or ‘version’. It is kind of cool that Miles has this much story and personality on his own. There is no need to diminish Peter, too — he also has his own story that does not need to be belittled just to ‘serve’ another’s.
Joao Graca
Hey Drinker. Very eloquent post. 100% agree with you. This trend is despicable and depressing. Honestly I don't know if we will ever return to wholesome fun content. But your take is definitely not overthink. Hits it right on the mark. Good job on putting it so right on what could have just been a nonsensical ramble.
Sean Vinsick
Seems like a good topic for after hours, or even a short. Well written. I'm not sure why you even bother posting to twitter, trolls are going to troll. I really hate when writers make obviously stupid decisions that seem noble, especially with endangering a child. It's just the worst. Btw, minor typo in 5th paragraph, you misspelled serious.
Robert Feldmann
another dvd to avoid ,thanks drinker
