ivyfic | More on Spider-Man (Reply)

Sam, Ted and Bruce
A quick note on the inside jokes in the film. There are, of course, cameos by Ted Raimi and Bruce Campbell (they have cameos in almost all of Sam's projects). Here, Ted reprises his role of newspaper flunkie from the first film. Bruce is the pompous usher (he was the wrestling match announcer in the first). And dude! He looks old!

(For the uninitiated, Ted and Sam are brothers (duh) and Bruce is one of Sam's closest childhood friends. If you want anymore detail, go read Bruce's autobiography, "If Chins Could Kill.")

The weakest moment in the film for me was the tentacle attack in the operating room. Sam Raimi went all "Evil Dead" for a moment there. A mean, the fingernails scratching into the floor? Give me a break. Of course, I was laughing at this whole thing. Especially when one of the nurses grabs a chainsaw. Suddenly I'm yelling, "Ash! Evil Dead!" in the theater and everyone's looking at me like I'm nuts.

New Yorkers
I'm going to take a slightly different tack in discussing the Jesus scene. It is clearly crucifixion symbolism, though I bet the sensation was something more like being drawn and quartered. I think this scene shows something very telling about New Yorkers. As I've said before, New Yorkers (and I say this as one of them) have a thick crusty shell and a soft gooey center. Or something.

In choosing his costume, Spider-Man does himself a disservice. The outfit, especially with the mouthless mask, is completely dehumanizing. In it, Peter looks no more like a real person than Gumbi (one of my main problems with the first film). This makes it easy for the press and the public to villify him. He doesn't seem in any way to be like a real, normal person. They can't see his face through the mask, so they can't see his humanity.

On the subway car, he is revealed not just as a human but, as one rider puts it, as "just a kid." Not only that, but the subway riders see the pain and weakness of this superhero. By revealing his vulnerability, and therefore his humanity, he finally gets the recognition he's been missing for the last two years.

This moment also serves to unite these perfect strangers. Normally, a subway is filled with hundreds of people each completely alone and isolated. But, occasionally, something will happen to unite them and make them a community. Saving Spider-Man is what makes this group a community. So much so that they promise not to reveal his identity and trust that each of them will keep that pact. It is breaking down the outer shell of Spider-Man that allows all of the riders to reveal their humanity and their capability for heroism.

Impotence
Got your attention, didn't I? Spider-Man 2 takes two of the most tried and true superhero angst plots - the superhero-gets-demoralized and superhero-loses-his-powers plots - and combines them. This is genius.

All the factors that lead to Peter losing his abilities - lack of sleep, self-doubt, stress - are the same factors that can lead to impotence. And since for Peter this means losing the ability to eject a white bodily fluid from his body ... well. You can't get any more explicit than that. As the NYTimes review pointed out, he's suffering from "performance anxiety."

The combination of his demoralization and the loss of his abilities makes it easier for Peter to walk away from Spider-Man. Since he can no longer effectively complete his job as superhero, it's easy for him to say Spider-Man walked away from him, not the other way around.

In the first film, this huge responsibility was thrust upon Peter. He didn't ask for it, he didn't want it, and it in one way or another has made his life a living hell ever since he was bitten. The power is an obligation and a burden for him.

Now Peter is faced with a choice. In order to be Spider-Man now, he has to choose it, he has to want it. He has to decide, as Otto Octavius suggests, that it is a gift and not a privelege. The obligatory fire rescue sequence enforces this point. He goes into the building as Peter, not Spider-Man, and succeeds in an act of heroism. But it is not enough; he fails to save everyone. This shows that being an everyday hero is not enough for Peter. He has to be a superhero.

When Peter loses his abilities, he literally falls. Then he loses his ability to see clearly. Both of these are an illustration of his internal loss of perspective, and prevent him from being able to be a hero.

Balance
In a way, this film is about finding balance. Just as Batman has Alfred and Superman has his parents, Spider-Man needs someone to support him. On his own, he cannot take the outside criticism. He loses his perspective and stops seeing the good he does. He needs someone behind him to remind him that what he is doing is worthwhile.

At the end of this film, Mary Jane steps into this role. But, it isn't Mary Jane specifically Peter needs. He just needs someone to be there for him. When he has decided to walk away from his abilities, it is Aunt May that gives him the pep talk he needs. She fails ultimately as this figure because Peter feels like he needs to protect and support her, and won't allow her to be completely supportive of him. But all Peter really needs is a pat on the back every now and then, and it's almost incidental that at the end it's Mary Jane.

Does anyone else think of marijuana every time they hear the name "Mary Jane," or is it just me?