As hard as it may be to believe, some of us have never seen a movie belonging to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you’re one of those uninitiated, none of the countless clips incorporated into the Like Stories of Old video essay above will tempt you to get initiated. Nor will the laments aired by host Tom van der Linden, who, despite once enjoying the MCU himself, eventually came to wonder why keeping up with its releases had begun to feel less like a thrill than a chore. As if their CGI-laden sound and fury weren’t trying enough, there’s also “the constant quipping, the annoying self-awareness, the fact that everything has to be a franchise now.”
Van der Linden labels a central factor in the decline of the MCU “storytelling entropy.” Classic films, you may have noticed, concentrate practically all the energy in every facet of their production toward the expression of specific themes, stories, and characters; at their best, their every line, gesture, cut, and invention represents the tip of an artistic iceberg. Take, to use a popular example, the lightsaber introduced in Star Wars, which Van der Linden calls “not just a weapon, but a metaphor” that “symbolically communicates a lot about the philosophy of its wielder, and about the larger world that it exists in,” condensing “a multitude of meanings and ideas into a simple, singular object.”
It does so in the first two or three movies, at any rate. In the decades since, as the Star Wars universe has grown ever vaster, more complex, and conceptually unwieldy, so the proliferation and modification of the once-marvelous lightsaber has turned it into something mundane, even banal. So it goes with storytelling entropy, a phenomenon that afflicts every narrative franchise commercially compelled to grow without end. That process of expansion eventually turns even the most captivating original materials diffuse and uninvolving to all but the hardest-core fans — by which point it has usually become obvious that creators themselves have long since lost their own passion for the stories.
Most MCU viewers will admit that it has produced misses as well as hits. But Marvelization, as Van der Linden calls it, has also inspired other, imitative corporate franchises to pump out globally marketable content fiercely protected by intellectual property lawyers — and has even drained the interest out of realms of film and television that have nothing to do with superheroes, swords, or sci-fi. Hollywood has always been about the bottom line, of course, but only in recent decades have market saturation, cross-platform strategy, and maximum crossover potential come to dominate its priorities so completely. From the MCU or otherwise, a Marvelized movie is one that, at bottom, has no pressing need to be made — and that we, ultimately, feel no pressing need to see.
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Based in Seoul, Colin Marshall writes and broadcasts on cities, language, and culture. His projects include the Substack newsletter Books on Cities and the book The Stateless City: a Walk through 21st-Century Los Angeles. Follow him on the social network formerly known as Twitter at @colinmarshall.
Wow, a 130 year industry based on lying.
Couldn’t even read the article thanks to the giant obstructive ads. What I could read seems to depend on not realizing this is what movies have been like for decades and just blaming superheroes for a previously existing problem
Couldn’t even read the article thanks to the giant obstructive ads. What I could read seems to depend on not realizing this is what movies have been like for decades and just blaming superheroes for a previously existing problem
And of course your comments don’t even work
I’d have to disagree with the entirety of your premise. The major problem facing film now is that the pandemic not only took people out of the habit frequenting their local cinemas but scared both film makers and theaters away from giving films a chance at the box office before slapping them into streaming(and that profit source).
As far as movie making specifics: many Marvel movies have wonderful orchestral scores AND well placed usage of pop songs. Acting has been strong with broad casting of newbies, up and comers and well established veterans.
Back to is earliest days Hollywood had series/franchises. When they find something that works, they keep working it as long as the public likes it.
So you’re a hater. We get it. Say “entropy” again…
So you haven’t even bothered to watch any Marvel movies yet here you are ranting about them?
“…some of us have never seen a movie belonging to the Marvel Cinematic Universe…”.
So you are talking about something you know nothing about. Go watch the first Guardians of the Galaxy (it has no ties with other movies, that happens elsewhere), and then maybe you will have an inkling of what you are talking about.
Most of the films on any genre are garbage. Superhero films are no exception, of course. But you can’t form an opinion on any genre if you haven’t watched any of its greatest stories.
Your arguments sound old; I have read them a lot of times thrashing Star Wars, any Spielberg before Schindler’s List, Matrix, Lord of the Rings… It is always the same.
Seriously, try them. The good ones. You may be in for a treat.
What a horrid article? Does Marvel and the MCU have its problems? Sure. Is to blame for the rest of Hollywood trying to unsuccessfully copy the infinity saga? (Even itself and Disney struggle) absolutely not.
What utter tosh when you haven’t even seen the films you are foaming at the mouth over. Pure nonsense you’ve written. No facts, no solutions offered just a bashing a film you haven’t seen.
The same tired trope, complaining about blockbusters. Theaters are really expensive, so skip the rom-coms and indie art films. Superhero movies are successful because they are escapism and a genre that appeals to a wide audience. I’m not paying premium prices and concessions unless it’s a big film with lots of action, tech, or sci-fi.
Can you even SEE through that high brow of yours? Your “article” is nothing but pretentious film school drivel.
They seem to forget the entertainment aspect of film. Not everything has to be an art project. The seem to also forget this has been the same through out history. Jesters juggled balls and fell down to entertain and get laughs. The only real difference between some of their literary masterpieces from the dark ages, is time. You think stories of swords in stones and dragons were told in taverns and on town stages for literary art. They were stories of entertainment. Stories to suck the audience in and have them forget about the coming black plague. Not every on was Shakespear or Chaucer. But they were probably not intending to create historical works of art and we’re just trying to entertain. And in truth the art and independant films are also for entertainment but to a more specified audience. But I guess it gives them reason to turn their nose up at everyone else and makes them more intellectual. I say more close minded and ignorant.
Blockbusters are destroying cinema. CGI is destroying cinema. Sequels are destroying cinema. Remakes are destroying cinema. And so on. Cinema has been in a constant state of being destroyed for as long as I can remember and as long as there are writers lamenting the way movies aren’t the way they used to be when they were kids, cinema will continue to be destroyed.
Westerns, Musicals, War films, Film noir, Horror and Thrillers, Comedies, and now Super Hero films. These were all genres that critics said where destroying “film” when studios tried to copy the success of the boxoffice hits of those that did well. So your criticism does not stand out as unique over the past century. What is unique is your unabashed pride in critiquing something for which you have no first hand knowledge.
I love the Money Pit.
Superheroes are insufferable, as well as their fans.
Oh brother, give me a break. Anyone thinks Marvel movies (at their best) are anything comparable to the best movies have to offer, has an utterly impoverished movie taste palette.
Just make good movies. That’s it. They’re entertainment first, then everything else close after.
It’s also dumb saying “Marvelization” and putting pics of a character that’s both before Marvel itself and The MCU that put it to screen. It’s not even his fault, it’s been happening for *decades* before, but maybe it’s Peter Jackson’s fault?
Wow, this article really got Marvel fans’ Superman boxers in a twist. They seem to argue both that Marvel movies can stand up to the best that cinema has to offer AND that movies are “just entertainment” and don’t need to be anything more than lowest common denominator. They can’t stand the article’s being so “pretentious,” while also being dead serious about their chosen genre of art. We’ve often been browbeaten with the phrase “don’t yuck someone’s yum,” the eternal mantra of those too defensive and insecure to entertain any opinions at variance with their own, but to that I say: equally important not to yuck someone’s yuck.
Taking aside the problem that this article feels barely half finished, on an add riddled website, I see at least two glaring ironies in this article.
One being that using Star Wars as your counter argument to what real content is, is quite possibly the worst example to use, given how bastardized and mainstream fast paced drivel Star Wars has become over the last 30 years, it only ended up making this article seem farcical and satirical in nature. But i guess you did kind of allude to how Star Wars has changed since the beginning in similar ways, but that doesn’t really help your argument.
The other irony is this article seemed more like click bait and was hardly very clear about explaining a clear argument. Which I found amusing because you essentially said the MCU is click bait. So a classic example of kettle meets pot.
The first Guardians is about capturing the Infinity stone — literally it sets off the chain reaction that builds to Infinity War.
Marvel movies are generally a blur, to the lay person some moments are good, to super fans they love every beat… Good or bad with cult like behavior. I love Guardians by the way, not hot on all the others and some are just plain awful (Antman 3 which I went to the cinema to watch — the new Captain America with red Hulk — OMG). Love Spiderman.
Creating strongmen superheroes has only served a narrative that only some strong dude will save us… No wonder the US is in such dissaray.
Check out the Disneyization of Society a book from 1999 that literally predicted this article and everything else about Disneys cultural influence.
Thankfully Dreamworks stepped up against Pixar — otherwise the US would have no animation sector anymore.
Is this the modern version of complaining about sound or color being added to films?
Some people hate change.
The movie industry has always been about repeating different versions of the same old stories they triumph in some areas and fail in others in the cinematic universe with the MCU and DCU universe they dumb down so many characters to appease different audiences that they fail to connect to true comic book fans. I’m so tired of the comical side of heroes they need to spend more time on seriousness of what it takes to be a hero get the outfit right along with their true strengths and characters. But until then just keep looking forward to franchise and sequel.
Didn’t even read this ironically unoriginal essay about unoriginal cinema complaining about how comics are not art.
This is the result of generations of teleplay writing for the big screen
Leave it to a white guy that lives in Korea to have sharp insight on North American Cinema…
I hate marvel, but this article is even worse. Your era is not unique. You are not unique. Nothing about this is new and you clearly have no idea what you’re talking about.
First of Superman’s DC no self respecting marvel fan would were superman boxers and movies are just entertainment every one just needs a reason to wine all the time or complain you don’t like it don’t watch it it’s that easy
I watched the entire shared universe of Universal monsters- mostly from the 30s and 40s.
There is something specifically not new about running a franchise into the ground with crossovers and sequels.
The video keeps talking about Order and Disorder and doesn’t justify the use of these terms.
Also, I think he only ever watches action films and wants to talk like that represents all of cinema
Based in Seoul. Please, stay there.
Its not really Marvelization, its Di$neyfication. Marvel Comics of the 60s, 70s, and 80s were fantastic, but what you see on the screen every time is a piss-poor representation of that storytelling. They can’t even bother to read their own backlog of great stories. Hollywood and Di$ney specifically twist everything that’s good into something bad. Every single time. They are too cheap and biased to hire proper skilled talent, so even their best efforts barely reach second-rate.
I am among those who has never seen any of the 78 Spider Man films.There are those who actually believe there are differences between them.
I’m with Martin Scorsese. They aren’t cinema. They’re video games. Theme parks.
Thankfully, there are still people making real films about real people.
And when that ends?
We’ll always have Paris.
If people ever just grew up anymore and actually put away childish things, then maybe it wouldn’t be such a problem. If you’re in your 30s, even 40s and you’re still watching this stuff, it’s time to put the toys away already.
The MCU is a victim of it’s own success. The episodic style releases are exactly what comic book fans wanted from comic book adaptations, considering it’s the only way to portray stories within a shared universe accurately. The fact that it pulled in loads of causal viewers and had them invested in the story, basically meant that at some point the bandwagon would fade. The facade of Marvel’s transcendent reach was destined to shrink down to primarily life long comic book fans, which is a fraction of the casual fandom. Quick release content isn’t problematic for fans of monthly episodic releases in comic book form. We’ve experienced fluctuations in quality on the physical pages of comics all our lives. Seeing it occur in cinema isn’t jarring in the least when you’re hip to the status quo of the comic book medium.
I like that movie too
Bruh calling Lord of The Rings cinema is funny it’s almost as bad as a marvel movie you couldn’t use actual cinema? Like Cinema Paradiso? City of God? Carlito’s Way? The French Connection? Fuck man I don’t disagree with you but for fucks sake know what you speak before fucking writing jackass
Clearly showing why so many average movie lovers can’t stand art prema donna movie critics.
I hardky ever post on the internet. I am also annoyrd at the giant ads and the constant moving of the text fir said ads.
Lets have a conversation over the dominance if ads when simply trying to read someones opinion. An opinion based off bias but i was atleast willing to read your article before coming to my conclusions.
So refreshing, a new insight.
Im confused why you would even write such an article.
Well said
That’s what fabs said about Star Wars,The Matrix etc. Not sll movies are like that and those LOTR gritty epic movies stopped after Kingdom of heaven.