Why is it that generally speaking, if a character has a posh accent, they are generally not to be trusted, that they get to be a villain in a soap (or any other drama)? In American films generally, if they want to cast an actor as the 'bad guy' then they will go out and find a British actor to play the part. In 'The Lion King,' the voice of Scar, the villain of the piece, is voiced by Jeremy Irons. What is it about a Britsh actor's voice that suggests 'villainy'? In soap-land, if you cast an actor with a middle-class accent, you can bet your bottom dollar he'll be untrustworthy, and either be a landlord, businessman, accountant or have a similar job. Cockneys, in general are cast as being 'the salt of the earth,' hard working, good parents, loyal and so on (or in shows such as 'Only Fools and Horses.') that is, unless they live in Walford, and in particular in and around the streets near Albert Square.
Getting away from soaps, it's occurred to me that super heroes (and heroines) costumes are just plain silly. Well, thinking about them in general, super heroes are pretty stupid. I know it will upset a lot of people, but that's my opinion. A load of stupid characters dressed in ridiculous costumes, roaming about the world. For example,Wonder Woman's costume is really impractical. Does she never get cold? How does she manage if she goes shopping? How does she manage at work? In fact, what does she do for money? Does she have a paid job? Does her boss mind if she shoots off and saves the world? Then, of course, where do you purchase such an outfit? They never seem to get dirty, when you've saved the world from some evil monster or villainous character. After jumping all over the place, smashing down brick walls, swinging on ropes and scrambling down the side of skyscrapers, how come their costumes never get dirty, or get torn on nails, caught on splinters of wood? Where does Wonder woman get her clothes repaired? Not just her, of course. There's the age-old thing about Superman wearing his underpants over his trousers. How does he manage to get from the Clark Kent garb into the Superman costume so fast? Then, how does Lois Lane never realise that Superman is actually Clark Kent. All he has to do is take off his glasses and he changes into his ridiculous costume and he's his alter ego. Why does it take Lois Lane so long to catch on to who he is? Is it because Clark Kent is such a geek and Superman the complete opposite. Not very convincing. It's not just Lois Lane who has never caught on who Clark Kent is really. Nobody else notices. Even if they peer at his face closely, wouldn't they see he's Superman?
Hollywood seems to be obsessed with making more and more films based on super heroes. There is obviously a certain section of the audience who love these characters and the movies which are based on them, but generally I think they would be in the teens and twenties. As a result they are ignoring those of us who prefer something with a bit more depth, not all about fighting villains and daft stunts like flying about on the end of bits of rope and climbing up the side of sky scrapers. Most are what you'd call 'Summer Blockbusters,' noisy and action-packed. Although there's nothing wrong with 'action-packed' movies, it annoys me that they take up so much space in the multiplexes up and down the country and then there are countless sequels. It's really no wonder that television seems to be the place for really good stories to be told. So many actors and directors are now turning to television because they can tell stories over seasons or series, have a longer time frame to really get to grips with characters in more depth. We have directors such as Ridley Scott investing time and energy on projects such as 'The Man In The High Castle' on Amazon and with series like 'Taboo' on BBC 1 with actors like Tom Hardy involved in not only acting but having a say on the writing and producing.
Getting away from soaps, it's occurred to me that super heroes (and heroines) costumes are just plain silly. Well, thinking about them in general, super heroes are pretty stupid. I know it will upset a lot of people, but that's my opinion. A load of stupid characters dressed in ridiculous costumes, roaming about the world. For example,Wonder Woman's costume is really impractical. Does she never get cold? How does she manage if she goes shopping? How does she manage at work? In fact, what does she do for money? Does she have a paid job? Does her boss mind if she shoots off and saves the world? Then, of course, where do you purchase such an outfit? They never seem to get dirty, when you've saved the world from some evil monster or villainous character. After jumping all over the place, smashing down brick walls, swinging on ropes and scrambling down the side of skyscrapers, how come their costumes never get dirty, or get torn on nails, caught on splinters of wood? Where does Wonder woman get her clothes repaired? Not just her, of course. There's the age-old thing about Superman wearing his underpants over his trousers. How does he manage to get from the Clark Kent garb into the Superman costume so fast? Then, how does Lois Lane never realise that Superman is actually Clark Kent. All he has to do is take off his glasses and he changes into his ridiculous costume and he's his alter ego. Why does it take Lois Lane so long to catch on to who he is? Is it because Clark Kent is such a geek and Superman the complete opposite. Not very convincing. It's not just Lois Lane who has never caught on who Clark Kent is really. Nobody else notices. Even if they peer at his face closely, wouldn't they see he's Superman?
Hollywood seems to be obsessed with making more and more films based on super heroes. There is obviously a certain section of the audience who love these characters and the movies which are based on them, but generally I think they would be in the teens and twenties. As a result they are ignoring those of us who prefer something with a bit more depth, not all about fighting villains and daft stunts like flying about on the end of bits of rope and climbing up the side of sky scrapers. Most are what you'd call 'Summer Blockbusters,' noisy and action-packed. Although there's nothing wrong with 'action-packed' movies, it annoys me that they take up so much space in the multiplexes up and down the country and then there are countless sequels. It's really no wonder that television seems to be the place for really good stories to be told. So many actors and directors are now turning to television because they can tell stories over seasons or series, have a longer time frame to really get to grips with characters in more depth. We have directors such as Ridley Scott investing time and energy on projects such as 'The Man In The High Castle' on Amazon and with series like 'Taboo' on BBC 1 with actors like Tom Hardy involved in not only acting but having a say on the writing and producing.
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