When the name "Mr. Glass" and Bruce Wiley's "Undead" David appeared at the end of the film "Split," director M. Knight Shyamalan was frustrated by "Undead" at the box office. The paid "Superhero" trilogy is officially back. With the release of "Mr. Glass" this year, after 18 years, Shyamalan finally completed his superhero story.
"Undead Robbery" has a bad box office and bad reviews. If you want to blame it, you can only blame the previous "Sixth Sense" for being too successful. "Undead" is like "The Sixth Sense" and not like "The Sixth Sense", which makes the audience who are full of expectations a little overwhelmed for a while.
"The Undead" uses almost the same structure as "The Sixth Sense" to tell another story.
Bruce Willie suffered an accident, but "survived" and became entangled with "people". Finally, the suspense revealed that the plot was reversed, leaving an unfortunate fact.
The difference is: a tragic and beautiful story of humanistic care and life-and-death perception has become a grassroots heroic tragedy starting from comics; Haley Joe Osment, a genius child labor that affects people's hearts, has become a hairstyle and clothing taste that dare not dare. A compliment to Samuel L. Jackson.
When the "Pearl Jade" of "The Sixth Sense" was ahead and the next movie was to be filmed, Shyamalan must have also seriously considered the change and the constant, but the disappointment of the audience at that time was understandable.
Although the content jumps dramatically, the theme of "Undead Calamity" is actually quite serious, and it has similarities with "The Sixth Sense" (more on that later). With the passage of time, the "prejudice" faded away, and Mr. Glass and "undead" David also became classic characters. In addition, Kevin "The Divider" who detonated the topic because of James McAvoy's multiple roles, three People gathered together, and finally caught up with the trend of heroes gathering and fighting.
So why is Shyamalan so obsessed with making his superhero movie?
While it cannot be said that Shyamalan has not been influenced by classic hero comics, his starting point is certainly not based on comics. In addition to the suspenseful reversal, Shyamalan's other "hobby" is to use different types of themes to package the themes he wants to express.
"Sixth Sense" has ghosts, "Tian Zhao" has aliens, "Mysterious Village" has "beasts", "Banshee" has "demon" and able people, "Visit Horror" has mental patients... superheroes It is also one of these colorful themes.
Despite the design of so many anomalies, the core of Shyamalan's film is of course "people". The corresponding theme, that is, what should people do when faced with suffering and pain!
The suffering of people is the pain of life and death and the hurt of loneliness that people cannot avoid and cannot overcome. People endure these things while trying to survive.
Shyamalan was born into a family of doctors. He was influenced by the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark" when he was a child, and got an 8mm camera from his father, which made him decide to become a director. Like many people with a medical background, Shyamalan finally chose work related to the "mind" of people.
In addition, although his family is an immigrant family from India and does not believe in Catholicism itself, in order to allow Shyamalan to receive a strict education, the family sent him to a Catholic school to study. When Shyamalan explores human comfort and salvation in the film, religion is also an important theme.
Shyamalan's attitude towards religion is neither blind obedience nor complete denial. Man's problems must be faced and solved by man. "God" is the symbol and ideal of man's spirit, and religion is a form of conveying spirit and putting it into practice.
His second film, A Bag of Little Ghosts, was filmed at the Catholic school he once attended, telling the story of a bereaved little boy searching for God.
The death of his grandfather who was very close to him was a big blow to the little boy. Grandpa was a devout believer and also received the sacrament, but it didn't seem to have any effect. The little boy doubted whether God really existed, so he started his own journey of confirmation.
At the end of the film, "God" really appears, but for the little boy, the most important thing is that in the process, he has seen and understood the normal state of people who are born, old, sick, and died, and because of understanding, he can use a more positive attitude to face. Religion belongs to man, not God. Man sees himself clearly and faces it positively.
Shyamalan also has a movie with obvious religious complex, "Tian Zhao", the theme is very similar to "Little Ghosts". The priest played by Mel Gibson lost his faith because of the death of his wife in a car accident. In the process of fighting to protect his family in the face of alien invasion, he also got an opportunity to re-examine himself and the essence of life, re-recognize What is the most important, let him come out of the blow.
Although there was a "miracle" at the end of the film (the son survived), the reason why he became a pastor again was that he accepted the "normality of human beings", picked up his mood and faced the future, and used his harvest to help others.
In "Undead Tribulation", there are also doubts about God. Mr. Glass, who has been suffering from illness and suffering since he was a child, can't help but ask God: Why did he give birth to him? Is his existence a mistake?
He didn't get an answer from "God", but found a clue in the comics.
Comics are an important consolation to Mr. Glass, an imaginary world that gives him a place to live when he is unable to live as normal as others in reality and is exacerbated by bullying.
He got inspiration from the strong opposition between good and evil in the comic world, because there is evil and there is good in the world to maintain balance. If there is an indestructible "undead" in this world, then his existence as an extremely fragile person is not a mistake. , but only at the other extreme.
Mr. Glass did evil in order to find a sense of existence, and David the "undead" actually became a hero for the sense of existence, although Mr. Glass behind this was not well-intentioned.
David was a promising star football player in college, but he gave up his playing career for love (not because of a car accident, because he didn't or couldn't get hurt). Now working as a security guard at the stadium, obviously can't fill the regret in my heart. And after realizing that he has "super power" and doing what he can do and is just, his life will become full and meaningful.
In the latest "Mr. Glass", his wife has died at this time. With the assistance of his son, "being a hero" has completely become the focus of David's life.
In addition, Mr. Glass became Mr. Glass not only because of congenital diseases and comics, but also because of discrimination and bullying by children of the same age. The name "Mr. Glass" also came from them. If you can't be one of them, you can only be a special one, whether it's a hero or a big devil.
Compared with adults, children are more vulnerable and may be more affected in the face of suffering and injury because they are immature physically and mentally. Also because of its immaturity and great influence, children have more possibilities for coping and development. Therefore, children have also become the objects that Shyamalan likes to show in movies.
In the famous "Sixth Sense", the little boy lives in fear because he sees ghosts, and because of this, he becomes an alien and is lonely in the world. Fortunately, he has a mother who loves him, and meets the "good ghost" psychiatrist played by Bruce Willie (the "ghosts" in the film are actually not good or bad. "Those who can see them are actually dying to find someone to help them.) With the help of the psychiatrist, the little boy can calmly deal with the relationship with the ghost (and the doctor is also relieved). If it weren't for love and bravery, with his ability, what awaited the little boy might have been a crazy dark ending.
Kevin in "Split" wasn't so lucky. After his father died in a car accident caused by Mr. Glass, he lost his asylum and the possibility of treatment for schizophrenia. Coupled with his mother's abuse, his condition deteriorated, Kevin split into 23 personalities, and his body became a "group".
The other side of the deterioration of the disease is a kind of self-protection in the face of crisis and hardship. The constantly split personalities exist to protect the helpless and weak Kevin. Under the stimulation of extreme conditions, the potential of the brain is stimulated, and some personalities have abilities beyond ordinary people, so schizophrenia patients "evolve" into superpowers.
The appearance of "The Beast" is accompanied by bloody slaughter, which in "Split" looks like a ritual, but in "Mr. Glass" it becomes a demonstration. Active attack is also a means of defense. Being abused by his mother is a shadow that is difficult to remove. When the power is acquired and the contrast between strength and weakness changes, the original weak person has to show his existence and fight back.
This is the theme of Mr. Glass. When someone wants to cover up the existence of superpowers, for those people who gain the way of life or the meaning of life because of superpowers, it means to erase the value of their existence.
Curated by Mr. Glass, they made their presence known to the public in a suicidal way to encourage those who were like them.
Under the action of external force, the three people who were originally opposites became a collective in a sense. Although they both end in death, their meaning is elevated and will be immortalized in the world they affect.
Shyamalan's superhero trilogy, "Undead" tells about the existence and appearance of superheroes; "Split" shows the reason or way (one) of superheroes; the last "Mr. the construction of the world".
Although superheroes have different positions and natures, they are comrades in the same camp in a larger context. They possess power and suffering at the same time, and a powerful, evil adversary gives them responsibility and sacrifice, and the meaning of their struggle for their own survival extends from their individual to a group. In the corner of the world, someone will be changed by them, and the world will change with it. A new situation begins here.
It is very difficult for minorities and disadvantaged groups to survive in a society dominated by the mainstream, even if they have superpowers. From individual living conditions to social group conflicts, entertaining superhero movies also make their own expressions on real issues.
Shyamalan's superhero story is about people's struggle for survival. Despite the particular form, the meaning is universal and positive. The packaging doesn't necessarily better highlight his appeal though, although similar themes are often featured in comic book superhero movies...
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