Lee Martinez argues that the Green Lantern movie is a shot in the culture wars

A. Lee Martinez wrote what is, for my money, the very best sci-fi book ever
written, The Automatic Detective. And he's impassioned about defending The
Green Lantern from the likes of The Dark Knight (a film I very much
enjoyed). He makes a strong argument...

http://www.aleemartinez.com/green-lantern-cultural-counter/blog/20062011/

I hate the term “culture war”.  And its standard use doesn’t fit this topic
> very well.  But there is a battle for our cultural media, how it portrays good
> guys and bad guys<http://www.aleemartinez.com/tag/good-guys-and-bad-guys/>,
> how it tells stories, and which stories are valued.  If the critics who
> heaped loads of praise on *The Dark Knight* and *First Class* insist
> insist on attacking a good, fun, and smart film like *Green Lantern*, then
> somebody has to step up and counterattack.  And it appears that person is
> me.
>

This is his second post defending the Green Lantern film:

http://www.aleemartinez.com/brightest-day-a-criticism/blog/20062011/

*Green Lantern *will no doubt have the same problem *Thor* has.  It crosses
> an invisible line that most superhero films avoid.  While *Iron Man* and *Batman
> Begins* are both about superheroes, they’re largely grounded in the real
> world.  And even characters like the Hulk and Superman, while incredibly
> powerful, are human and human-like.  They also live and work on Earth.
>
> But Green Lantern (like Thor) is a very sci fi character.  While Hal Jordon
> lives on Earth and mostly hangs around there, he still has a link to a much
> grander universe.  But where Thor is built on established Norse mythology
> (admittedly loosely), Green Lantern is an entirely original mythology.  And
> it’s probably even a bit stranger than Thor’s.  After all, millions of years
> ago, immortal aliens created a bunch of magic rings that they hand out to
> worthy beings to act as cosmic law enforcement officers.  At least the
> Asgardians (and their foes) are human and human-like.
>
> There’s a scene that encapsulates everything great about *Green Lantern*and everything wrong with
> *Green Lantern*, depending on your point of view.  It’s when Hal Jordan is
> on Oa, surrounded by countless other Green Lanterns.  The movie could’ve
> played it safe and avoided anything too weird.  Just slap a few rubber
> forehead aliens in the scene and keep it simple.  Instead, we see an
> incredibly diverse group of creatures.  There’s a giant bug lantern, a rock
> lantern, a robot lantern, and so on.  (Side note:  If DC decides to make the
> robot lantern an official character and is looking for someone to write the
> story, I happily volunteer.)
>
> Your reaction to this scene will probably tell you everything you need to
> know about the movie.  If you think it’s “cheesy”, “silly”, or “dumb”, then
> you are not the kind of person who should go to see a movie about a magic
> green space cop.  If you (like me) think this is awesome, then you should go
> ahead and ignore the negative reviews.
>
> Really.  That’s all you need to know.
>

Johne Cook
| http://raygunrevival.com | http://authorculture.blogspot.com |*
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