For better or worse Cinematic Universes are becoming an ever prominent part of the modern movie goers cinematic diet. And like with any other form of art and entertainment each has their own strengths and weaknesses, though what those are will of course vary from person to person. However as a fellow purveyor of the cinematic arts I though I would give my two cents on how studios, critic and fans alike could possibly improve on these in the future. So without further ado, lets get things started.
- Accept That Different Tones are Good & Necessary.
One of the sad truths of cinematic universes is that they can all to easily become rather repetitive or monotone in nature. This can be in the form of being far to light hearted or “fun” as some call it, or far to grim & dower. This is rather restrictive as many times the comics or properties these universes are based on have many characters with content of various tones and themes. Not every movie needs to be light hearted and “fun” or dark, serious and philosophical. There is room for both extremes mind you, but like the characters themselves the movies should be able to have more then one tone to them. For example, it is OK to make a movie about Thor more serious then a movie about the Guardians of The Galaxy, even though Marvel sadly doesn’t seem to think that is the case. On the DC side of things if they ever made a Blue Beetle & Booster Gold movie, I would expect it to be more comedic and light hearted then a Batman or Deathstroke movie. It is important to make the tone of the film match the tone of the character as opposed to everything having to fit into a narrow “fun & lighthearted” or “dark & serious” extreme. Superheroes have a very diverse range of tones for stories and Hollywood would be wise to explore more of these, and critics and fans would be wise as to be more open minded to superhero stories with these characters that don’t just follow the generic MCU mold.
2. Stop The Juvenile Fan Wars.
Fans on both sides of the fence, be it the MCU or DCEU have become highly toxic towards each other as well as to themselves. what is even worse is so called professional critics also engage in this ridiculous behavior to fan the flames of drama and controversy thus like a cruel right wing politician legitimatize and normalize such juvenile and toxic behaviors amongst both fan and critic communities which is unhealthy not just for set fan bases but for CBM’s, cinematic universes and the art of cinema as a whole. This false sense of elitism and pointless desire to create division and rivalries where none are needed is as old as human culture itself, but like with any part of life it serves no purpose but to harm and like with those other aspects it must be fought against and stopped.
3. Do More Then Just Superheroes
As much as I love comic books and superheroes there is potential for non CBM universes as well. Decades of animation, film and literature have also provided ample opportunity for cinematic universes based on beloved cartoon and movie properties of the past, and if utilized properly and given to diverse voices to direct and produce you could make unique and entertaining worlds for all to enjoy with them.
and finally
4. More Diversity in Directorial Positions and Film Decisions.
Despite what the bigots of the world may say, diversity is a natural part of the human experience and a natural part of life in general. So yes we do need more movies with female directors, more movies by Men & Women of color, Asian, Hispanic, middle eastern and LBGTQ directors, writers, producers and staff. We need diverse heroes like Static Shock, Vixen, Ms. Marvel, Moon Girl, Miles Morales, The Ray, Midnighter & Apallo, etc .
Overall I believe these small changes and acknowledgements could greatly improve the future of CBM’s and cinematic universes in general. But hey, that’s just my 2-cents.
A Slice of Comics 