Published 17:55 IST, October 12th 2020
Alan Moore slams superhero films, says they contributed to rise of Trump & Brexit
In an online talk for promotion for his new Hollywood flick The Show, Alan Moore launched a scathing attack on US President and UK's Brexit.
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In a rare interview with entertainment news outlet Deadline, Watchmen creator and acclaimed British author Alan Moore said that he isn’t happy with the popularity of superhero movies, adding, it led to Donald Trump’s acquisition of power and Britain’s exit from EU. In an online talk for promotion for his new Hollywood flick The Show, the 66-year-old launched a scathing attack on US President, who he said was a result of an “infantilized population” and “blighted culture” evolved out of the superhero movies.
Moore is a leading contributor to the revival of the 80s comic book industry with his masterpieces such as V for Vendetta, Batman: The killing of the Joke, the Ballad of Halo Jones, and eventually became a part of DC Comics. His work has inspired movies such as The Avengers and Justice League, Dark Knight Rises, Voice of the Fire, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, all based on superheroes. Moore, however, refuses his name to be linked with any such projects that distracted the new generation from 'complexities of the modern world.
Moore claimed that, personally, he hadn’t watched any superhero movies since Tim Burton’s Batman, calling the character dangerous, and that it was misleading the population. While he appreciated the work of art, Moore believed that the popularity of the genre spiralled far beyond its intended “original means”, adding, the genre was created to entertain working-class people and children.
Alan Moore brand remains strong https://t.co/BbJhC0JDor pic.twitter.com/jcskNdOwq5
— Alison Willmore (@alisonwillmore) October 10, 2020
Era of 'Captain America'
According to Moore, Donald Trump was elected in 2016 when the superheroes movies were a hit and dominated the global box office and the audience. Some of the movies released about that time were Captain America: Civil War, Suicide Squad, Doctor Strange, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, X-Men: Apocalypse among a series of others. In a 2016 interview with a Brazilian writer for his book, Folha de São Paulo, Moore called the superheroes as “white supremacist dreams” of the master race, as was reported by NYTimes in an Op-Ed.
Moore's stance came after director Martin Scorsese compared the superhero movies to theme parks. Moore criticized marvel heroes as a smattering of non-white characters and creating a bizarre modern culture. The Internet seemingly stood divided at Moore’s theory of modern appetite for superhero movies leading to a limited perspective.
Alan Moore has earned the right to whatever opinion he chooses to hold about comics.
— Gail Simone (@GailSimone) October 10, 2020
About a million times over.
Every time "Alan Moore is bitter" discourse comes up, it makes me angrier bc it ignores his gross mistreatment while also reinforcing the asinine, consumerist idea that fictional characters and the companies that own them are more important than the people who created them.
— 🍖aubrey💪sitterson👨🏿🤝👨🏼 (@aubreysitterson) October 10, 2020
lol Alan Moore must absolutely hate the fact that he is trending on Twitter. He is a genius writer but also a hypocrite asshole.
— Runaway (@Bahamutifa) October 9, 2020
He says superheroes are only for children but then he wrote the Joker ripping off Barbara Gordons clothes and shooting her in the spine. pic.twitter.com/L1qTIXJ0Xq
Yeah he's bitter! He has every right to be! He's been shafted like three or four times while WB profits off of his work!
— Jeremy Cyclopean (@JeremyEBSLarge) October 10, 2020
I don't agree with his assessment of the superhero genre as being uniquely bad or harmful or childish, but I can see how he came to that conclusion.
We should stop asking Alan Moore his opinion on superhero movies. For one, we've known it for a long time. For another, it's extremely boring and nowhere as insightful as you want it to be.
— Video Multiverse (EyesSkyward) (@VideoMultiverse) October 11, 2020
And finally, having not seen one for 31 years, he doesn't know what he's talking about.
Well said. It is perfectly acceptable for all of us to disagree with - or outright ignore - the purportedly controversial opinions of the great Alan Moore.
— Darth Carolina (@DarthCarolina) October 11, 2020
I think the most astonishing thing is that he’s not seen a superhero film since 1989. How does one condemn an entire genre based on a 31 year old trip to the cinema? I get him not seeing films based on his own work. But all superhero films of any kind for three decades?
— Darth Carolina (@DarthCarolina) October 11, 2020
Anyone else that admitted to that scale of ignorance on any subject would draw an eye roll and we'd all love on. Which is pretty much my reaction!
— Video Multiverse (EyesSkyward) (@VideoMultiverse) October 11, 2020
17:56 IST, October 12th 2020