I haven't read the current Captain America story either, but I have read all of the ones written and/or drawn by Jack Kirby. One is, of course, on very shaky ground when attempting to assign opinions to somebody that isn't around anymore, and we've seen this happen with relatives of all kinds of famous people. However, I don't think it's entirely out of line to look at somebody's body of work, identify patterns, and then see how the patterns compare with the current situation. In the case of Jack's Captain America, if one looks at his 70s work (where he wasn't collaborating with anyone else who would have had story input), I find what he did in "Mad Bomb" and "Bicentennial Battles" to be patriotic and political, but also completely non-partisan. I can easily see a reader who leans to the right feeling that his opinions were vindicated by Jack in these stories, and one leaning to the left to feel the same way. I think it's part of what makes Jack's work so universal and timeless. I didn't know Jack personally, but I think he would be more impressed by Captain America stories (assuming he read them) that inspired every reader to stand by their convictions and strive to do what they believe is heroic than those which would divide the readership and distract them from the actual stories and messages in the comic.
Well, first of all, Jack had zero interest in reading others' stories of his characters. He almost never recognized someone else's interpretation as quite the same characters, often hated what he read, and felt that manners and professionalism required that he not say what he really thought.
But the larger issue you discuss is one that I've wrestled with a lot, since people often come to me and ask, "Do you think Jack would have approved of this?" Whatever it is. There are areas where I feel confident speaking for him...for example, he was militant in believing that an individual creator had the right to credit for his or her work and to not have the integrity of that work compromised. I see no reason to even consider that he might have backed off on those beliefs.
However, in things like politics, I try to make damn sure I don't use Jack the way a lot of folks use revered entities that cannot now (or do not) speak for themselves. I can't stand it when people whose views are questioned try to make it sound like they're speaking for our troops overseas...so to disagree with them is to disrespect our brave soldiers. Or worse, when they wrap their prejudice in some Bible quote and try to pretend that to disagree with them is to disagree with God Almighty. Jack's not quite in that category but in the comic book world, I have seen people try to use him to try to win debates that way.
It's intriguing that you say that folks on both sides of the aisle (as it were) could read his Captain America stories and think he was on their side. That's probably true but it's one of those "glass-is-half-full/empty" deals because everyone could also think he was disagreeing with them. We get that a lot with Groo, every time we do anything that even vaguely sounds like we're referencing current events. And what's intriguing about that is how incredibly wrong some people are, accusing us of advocating positions we don't hold. Where Groo is a little different is that Sergio and I are often not of the same mind on a topic we address, so a story often reflects conflicting views, whereas the stories Jack wrote and drew on his own speak with one determined but reasoned voice.
I do think Jack did not want to use Captain America as a mouthpiece for his own political views, even though if anyone had the moral right to do that, it was Jack...or, I guess, Joe Simon. I remember that when Oliver North testified before Congress, Kirby thought that by wearing his uniform as he justified all sorts of illegal and immoral deeds, North had disgraced that uniform. He should have shown enough respect for the uniform not to exploit it as he did. The analogy isn't exact but I always felt that Jack thought writers should respect Captain America enough not to exploit him for partisan purpose.
This article in the L.A. Times reminds us of how bad the health insurance situation is in this country and how it will just get worse and worse if nothing is done. And it's helpful to remember that "worse and worse" means more people dying or losing their homes and/or life savings. As near as I can tell, no one disputes that this is a huge problem. Some people just stubbornly insist it can be solved without a huge solution.
Quentin Tarantino has gone and bought himself a movie theater. It's the New Beverly Cinema on Beverly Boulevard, just west of La Brea. I drive by there all the time and am often impressed by what I see on the marquee...but I haven't been inside the place for at least twenty years.
What's kept me away is that, first of all, it was a shabby concern that only seemed to roll out bad, splice-ridden prints. I am told this has changed; that the theater has been completely refurbished more than once in that time. Also, folks tell me, current management has done a better, though not flawless, job of securing good copies of the films they show. (That's always the problem with repertory theaters. They have to advertise what they're showing weeks before they get the prints. And when the prints do arrive and are old, scratchy and incomplete, the distributor says, "Sorry...that's all we have!" So what's the theater to do?)
Also, parking for the New Beverly was always a pain. I assume that hasn't changed...but that shouldn't be enough to keep me away from movies I want to see.
Ultimately, the big impediment to me is that most movies I want to see are over on my DVD shelves. That also shouldn't matter but it does. The ones I own on DVD are handy. They're complete and restored. I can start them when I want and pause them when I want and I don't have to pay or park, plus I have better snacking options here. My purism as a movie fan tells me none of that is as good as seeing them the way they were meant to be seen — in 35mm on a big screen with a lot of others around. But somehow, I never get around to listening to that purism. DVDs and Turner Classic Movies have nuked my going-to-the-movies the same way Amazon has caused me to rarely go to a bookstore. I used to do a lot of both.
I hope Mr. Tarantino's investment pays off for him because I hate the idea of places like the New Beverly closing. I haven't hated it enough in the past to actually go there from time to time and buy a ticket...but maybe his commitment will change that. At the very least, I'll feel a tad guiltier about not going there...
February 21, 2010
