Aside from all the swoon-worthy qualities and capabilities, we humans also possess some traits that make us more conflicted and complex beings. For example, we may be social animals, but that doesn’t save us from feeling envy when someone rises above us. It’s the classic “if not me, not you too” sentiment. It’s an ugly sentiment, but accept it, we have all felt it at some point.This is even truer when it comes to celebrities. In public, we may fawn over them, cheer for them; in the privacy of our minds, however, we can’t help but dream up their fall, their disgrace. It soothes us to imagine everyone is just as ordinary, miserable, and breakable as we are. It placates our sense of insecurity and inferiority.And that’s the exact sentiment Norman Osborn, a.k.a. The Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), appeals to while trying to sway Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire).“But the one thing they love more than a hero is to see a hero fail, fall, die trying. In spite of everything you have done for them, eventually they will hate you. Why bother?”The words sound dismissive and brutal, not to mention evil. And yet, even though the movie’s villain is using them to manipulate the hero, they don’t sound exaggerated. Perhaps they resonate because they have a semblance of truth in them.Within the story, Spider-Man, the benevolent hero, hears these words as a threat; we, the common people, however, cannot escape their uncomfortable veracity.The Quote and Its ContextThe ConfrontationAfter...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Wednesday, 3 December