Third-World Country, First-World Hero

Very often in films the West is depicted as the heroic figure rescuing weaker, devastated nations, but where does the concept of superiority originate? Just as languages use different grammar, a film “generates its meaning through systems which work like languages” (Turner, 52). The various elements range from a film's camera positioning to its particular use of sound, which together contribute to the film's broader meaning. In particular, the scene in the film “Iron Man” demonstrates the use of those techniques where meaning is constructed through its film language and use of psychoanalytical film theory. Overall, the scene produces a greater ideological understanding of what constitutes an ideal superhero in American society and makes the cultural claim that Tony Stark, like America, possesses the technological advancements that allow the West to aid less capable third-world countries.

In the selected scene, character Tony Stark discovers that his business partner Obadiah Stane is supplying American enemies with their weapons and has plans of taking over the corporation. Having designed a power suit that enables him both the functions of fight and flight, Stark flies to and rescues an Afghan village being terrorized. This specific scene portrays protagonist Tony Stark's fight against the mass destruction triggered by the very weapons he invented, and his objective is to regulate the use of his weapons to protect the innocent. The usage of different camera angles is crucial to the scene's attempt to portray the dominance of Western power. The camera positioning of this scene works to tell the story of Stark's unstoppable power as he enters as the American superhero in contrast to the third-world refugees under attack. The camera points down on groups of Afghan civilians as terrorists are threatening to gun them down, but once Stark arrives as Iron Man the camera switches to the perspective of those on ground level. The camera proceeds to an upward shot of one terrorist and his gun barrel peering down at the captive. According to Graeme Turner, the camera position is then a position of power in which the downward view of the refugees represents weakness and the upward view of the terrorists represents authority. However, when Iron Man arrives on the scene the camera angle transitions and looks up hopefully at the superhero. After the terrorists have been defeated, the camera uses an overhead shot and looks down at the rescued refugees and the terrorist leader that is now outnumbered and helpless. Here, the scene's different use of camera angles and positions plays an important role in film language in which the “audience is informed about the changing relationship between two characters” (Turner, 60). In this case, there exists a shift in power dynamics where power originally lies in the terrorists but transfers to Iron Man. Initially, power belonged to the terrorists that dominated the scene but Stark has the ultimate control when he successfully rescues the refugees. Therefore, the use of camera positioning serves the purpose of signifying changing power relations and indicates the superiority of the Western world.

Another component of film language constituting the story of this scene is the sound that serves the purpose of expression. Turner states that sound “enhances realism by reproducing the sounds one would normally associate with the actions and events depicted visually” (Turner, 66). The use of sound emphasizes the dire situation of the Afghan civilians in need of rescue. The background audio and sound effects reinforce the desperation of the setting and dramatizes the arrival of superhero Iron Man. The scene is accompanied with a series of explosions, continuous gunshots, and cries for help while the refugee camp is being raided. The usage of sound here demonstrates the unsurpassed power of Stark in comparison to the terrorists. Sound, therefore, primarily functions to help narrate the meaning of this particular scene, communicating that the powerful abilities Stark has allows him to defend the innocent and qualifies him as the needed hero of the Afghan civilians. Most importantly, the display of a chaotic setting is enhanced by the use of audio and constructs the story that the scene attempts to tell by the use of dramatic sound effects.

Furthermore, the cultural significance of the scene also incorporates concepts of psychoanalytic theorists such as Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan. To begin, Freud discusses the human psyche and its three types of consciousness: id, ego, and superego. “'The ego represents what may be called reason and common sense, in contrast to the id, which contains the passions'” (Storey, 72). The id refers to “our most basic instincts” that we constantly want to satisfy, otherwise found in Stark's inner desires for limitless power (Levina, 3/31/09). His superego or “internalized voice of authority,” however, competes with Stark's instinctive drive and directs him towards using his immense power for good (Levina, 3/31/09). Hence, within the psyche is the eternal conflict between the pleasure principle of the id and the reality principle of the ego, Freud claims. The idea is that what we want to do is contrary to what we ought to do instead. The fact that Stark saves the lives of the Afghan civilians he indirectly affected with his weapons is representative of his superego overpowering his id. Iron Man is practically indestructible and can in fact use his power differently (perhaps for personal gains), since his identity is separate from that of Tony Stark's. His actions of rescuing an Afghan village under the attack of terrorists equipped with his weapons, though, establishes that he made the decision to use his abilities for defending justice. From the American perspective, then, Stark is the exemplar superhero balancing the clashing consciousnesses of the id and the ego and represents global superpower America by assisting weaker nations with his abilities. Freud's theories of the psyche is evident in the scene's cultural implication that American society commends a hero overcoming the instinctive force of their consciousness to ultimately defend the weak.

Likewise, Lacanian psychoanalysis consists of three stages of development, one of which is classified the mirror stage. According to Lacanian theory, this phase of development occurs when “the infant first sees itself in a mirror...” and “...forms an identification with the image in the mirror” (Storey, 79). Resembling the child that sees themselves in the mirror for the first time, Stark catches a glimpse of his reflection in the glass in the opening of the scene. In that sense, his reflected self is symbolic of his new superhero identity. Lacan describes, “[the infant] not only sees an image of its current self, it also sees the promise of a more complete self...” (Storey, 80). Having perfected his iron armor, Stark gazes into the glass at his “complete” self. He is no longer merely genius inventor Tony Stark, he is superhero Iron Man too. Stark shatters his image in the glass, showing that his “current” self is finally satisfied with the half that appears in the glass and is now “complete.” With the technological and engineering skills of Tony Stark and the heroic reputation and abilities of Iron Man, he experiences a sense of wholeness. The dilemma Stark must overcome is whether he should continue his lavish lifestyle disregarding the consequences that his weapons are creating or to take responsibility and ensure that his weapons are not used wrongfully, such as that of a terrorist attack on a refugee camp. All in all, the combined concepts of Lacan and Freud embodied in this scene indicate that the desired Western hero is both whole in their sense of self and able to overcome internal conflict of the mind; thus, such a hero is also symbolic of the West that holds the potential and the power to save other nations.

Moreover, Edward Said's principles of Orientalism are often found in representation of binary oppositions distinguishing the West and the East. Orientalism, Said explains, is the cultural construction referring to the “tendencies of westerners who have festishized, mythologized, and feared the cultures, lands, and peoples of Asia and the Middle East” (Sturken/Cartwright, 113). As this “Iron Man” scene communicates Afghans, or the “Other,” are commonly depicted as terrorists in contemporary popular culture. The Other in this Orientalist gaze is mythologized as the poverty-stricken third-world country undergoing intrastate conflict that demands the intervention of the powerful West (Iron Man).

Combined, the film language, psychoanalytical theories, and concept of Orientalism contribute to the overall cultural meaning of this scene in the film “Iron Man.” The greater argument that the scene makes is that an American hero is constituted by characteristics of powerful abilities, balance of mind, and the heroism of defending a vulnerable population. The film language aids in narrating the expressive aspect of the scene, while psychoanalytical concepts of the id and superego and mirror stage of development add to the cultural implication of its larger message. Further, Orientalism provides another perspective for the analysis of this scene's cultural claim that Stark is representative of global superpower America protecting and aiding the mythologized, mysterious “Other,” or Middle East in this case.