14 DAY TRIAL // Simon Pegg, writer, actor and producer, and the poster child for the nerd culture, is biting the very hand that feeds him, saying in a new interview that superhero movies are dumbing us down and even that he’s considering retiring from geekdom so he can go “and do some serious acting.”
Them’s fightin’ words!
In a post on his official website, Pegg explains the controversial comment, hints he was misquoted and explains the point he was trying to make. It’s only half as bad as the original comment appeared to be.
“We’ve been infantilized by our own taste”
Speaking with Radio Times, Pegg tried to argue that Hollywood was helping to shift the focus from really important stuff happening in the world by keeping audiences focused on other, more childish things, like superhero movies.
It’s ridiculous to see adults taking pleasure in childish movies, like superhero flicks - and even taking them seriously, discussing them online and getting into heated debates over their meaning, he said.
“It is a kind of dumbing down in a way, because it’s taking our focus away from real-world issues,” Pegg continued. “Films used to be about challenging, emotional journeys or moral questions that might make you walk away and re-evaluate how you felt about… whatever. Now we’re walking out of the cinema really not thinking about anything, other than the fact that the Hulk just had a fight with a robot.”
Because he had grown tired of this, Pegg wanted to “retire from geekdom” and get into serious acting for once and for all, he continued. This coming from the man who is writing the script for the upcoming “Star Trek” movie from the rebooted franchise makes very little sense.
Sci-fi isn’t stupid, but it’s not enlightening either
Shortly after the quotes ended up online, making fans angry, Pegg took to his official website to explain what he had meant by them. First things first, he suggests that the reporter was out to make him look bad: so either he misquoted him or was out to get a juicy soundbite, thus provoking this kind of reply.
Secondly, he explains what he meant by what he said: it’s not the superhero / sci-fi genre that’s dumb, but the industry’s focus on it. He wasn’t speaking against the genre but against Hollywood’s tendency to use it to deliver movies packed with action scenes and very little story.
Pegg concludes like this: “I love Science Fiction and fantasy and do not think it’s all childish. I do not think it is all generated by dominant forces as a direct means of control… much. I am still a nerd and proud.”
We’ll see if the geekdom buys it.