In Wednesday's lesson within the unit, Film Genres and National Cinemas, students investigated action genre films, and their role and function in society. As a lead in, I couldn’t help myself but to have my students refer to the original Spider-Man film trilogy (2002, 2004, and 2007), and to do some research in regards to its importance as an action film staple. With plenty of thrills and ‘edge of your seat’ moments, these movies continue to deliver the full package to audiences worldwide, regardless of whether they are comic book fans or not (fun fact - Tobey Maguire never read a comic book (or wanted to), but took on the role of Peter Parker because he liked story according to the script).
At St Luke’s, it doesn’t take long for colleagues and students alike to discover that I love books, movies, anime, Elvis, and Tobey Maguire. Tobey is a wholesome and sweet person both on and off screen (and has been a vegan since the 90s!). Due to the Spider-Man films, and his iconic performances in movies like The Great Gatsby (2013), Brothers (2009), and most recently Babylon (2022) (where he was on screen for only about 10 minutes (I know because I watched it twice in the cinemas, and checked my watch), but made such a lasting and fabulously creepy impression on the audience!), he is one of my top favourite actors, and will always ‘be Spider-Man to me’. I certainly see this as a sort of generational question, like ‘who is Batman to you?’ Perhaps very soon, the next generation will refer to Robert Pattinson as their go to Batman, for his gritty and stripped back 2022 portrayal of the black-caped vigilante. When it comes to pinning down why Tobey Maguire’s portrayal of Peter Parker is the best, and why the original Spider-Man trilogy is exactly my cup of tea, as well as a fantastic example of an action film with a positive and ongoing message for society, I can certainly think of quite the laundry list of reasons. For this blog however, I will attempt to keep it brief and to the point by limiting those reasons to just TWO (I know!). Without further ado, here is some explanation in regards to what all the fuss is about when it comes to ‘OG’ (original) Peter Parker, and the first Spider-Man film trilogy.
Nobody’s Perfect
Okay, I may be slightly contradicting myself here…I mean, he IS perfect to me, but because of the ways he isn’t, as well as the ways he is. To clarify, Peter Parker as portrayed by Tobey Maguire is a complex individual. He is not the squeaky clean Captain America type, but rather a bit of an anti-hero. In the first film, Uncle Ben iconically states, “with great power comes great responsibility”, however Peter does not understand this concept right away. As a regular teenager who happens to be given ‘great power’ by accident, he was taken by surprise, and used these powers for his own gain, by entering a wrestling competition to win money for a car to impress Mary-Jane Watson. After using an unfair advantage to win the competition, Peter consciously stepped aside as an armed thief stole money from the event organiser out of spite. Karmically, this was to his detriment, as that very same thief was involved in the death of Uncle Ben, who had come to pick Peter up from ‘the library’. When Peter was faced by the death of a loved one who he felt responsible for, he jumped into a typical ‘action hero mentality’, where the bad guys must not only caught, but eliminated (think of this logic in conjunction with the film Taken (2008). Liam Neeson’s character fights to get his daughter back, but stops at nothing, including the fact that he needed to kill A LOT of people to reach her). After fighting to the death with the thief, Peter experienced no peace that was often thought to come with revenge, and struggled with his conscience.
This was a defining moment for him to become Spider-Man, as a more selfless and courageous life would make his Uncle proud. In this sense, this iteration of Peter Parker in his struggle to become a beacon of hope and moral goodness becomes a better hero to me, and a lot more real than some ‘Mr. Perfect’ ‘Captain Planet’ kind of character, who wouldn’t even dare to raise his voice at the bad guy.
He’s an Outsider
Now, I would be lying by omission if I didn’t share the fact that I have fantasised about waking up in the morning, and putting on my glasses, only to find that I could see better without them! Peter’s instant glow up is such a fun part of the film, and his surprise and delight in being able to have more confidence in his appearance is charming. Peter Parker was the kid at school who faded into the background, and just did his best not to get trampled under foot along the way. I think for many viewers, it is nice to see a hero who didn’t always look and act like ‘the chosen one’ or ‘golden child’, but had to rely on luck and then persistence to truly become the person he always wanted to be. This is especially admirable when you consider that the person Peter worked hard to be was a masked hero who protected complete strangers for the most part, at the expense of his personal life, including romantic prospects, career opportunities (“pizza time!”), friendships, and his higher education (something that was a big deal to an academic guy, with a true love for Science and learning). Even though Peter’s powers could definitely be used selfishly, as he learnt the hard way, he committed wholeheartedly to giving back the community, and wanted nothing in return. He didn’t even mind being on the run from the NYPD, or painted as some kind of freaky cosplay menace in The Daily Bugle, as long as he could continue to make a positive difference.
References:
Foster, T. (2019). “10 Things You Didn’t Know about Tobey Maguire”, https://tvovermind.com/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-tobey-maguire/, accessed on 23/3/23
Sony Pictures Entertainment. (2012). “SPIDER-MAN [2002] – Official Trailer (HD)”, online video, viewed on 23/3/23, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t06RUxPbp_c
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