Lot's Wife Edition 2 2016

Deadpool:
A fresh look at
reinventing the
R-rated superhero
by Gazain Zia
Illustration by Ceitidh Hopper
Some of Hollywood’s box office successes over the past
year have heavily emphasized their ability to appeal to
a wide, family-friendly target audience. With this in mind,
it’s no surprise that many big titles such as Guardians of the
Galaxy, The Avengers and Star Wars rely on keeping their
content PG. It not only allows younger, upcoming fans to
view these movies, but also a large segment of the public
to involve themselves into the culture and fan base that
these movies have created. With the release of Deadpool and
its heavily appreciated R-rating, a new stream of fans has
emerged that Hollywood has yet to really take advantage of.
The tale of a bloodthirsty mercenary with a penchant
for juvenile humour, Deadpool challenges the previous trend
of comic book heroes that seem so focused on appealing to
the younger crowd, and potentially splits the demographic
between them, and older die-hard fans.
The idea of releasing a movie for one of comic book’s
most entertaining characters was surely about appealing
to a specific group. Fans of Deadpool were already familiar
with the character’s dark humour and gory violence before
the movie had even released. Using an R-rating was a matter
of staying true to the character’s origins, rather than altering
a story to allow for mass market appeal. It gave a sense
of ownership to fans who knew exactly what to expect in
the movie, along with allowing the director to play around
with the film’s comedy without the limitations of political
correctness. In fact, one of the biggest reasons this movie
had been so anticipated was because fans could finally see a
character that had no restrictions in his performance, and
could play out as extravagantly as the script required. One
of the drawbacks to any R-rated movie is the limited number
of viewers your movie could have.
Yet despite this, Deadpool has broken several box
office records such as biggest R-rated opening weekend,
and biggest opening weekend for a first-time director. This
could indicate that by bringing a purely fan-focused film
adaptation of a comic book character, viewers are left more
satisfied. They are also left more supportive of movies that
choose to go beyond the usual kid-friendly trend in comic
book movies. Film studios have already experimented with
R-rated comic book adaptations in the past, and produced
CULTURE
some titles such as Watchmen, 300 and Sin City that have
not been too memorable. While these movies did produce
some impressive numbers and gained a fair amount of critical
acclaim, their impact on the general public was limited
because of their R-rated content, with their ability to create
a fan culture (including demand for sequels, merchandise,
and cosplay) could only go so far without being exposed to a
younger generation of viewers.
However, Deadpool has been enough of a success to
possibly reinvent the R-rated comic-book genre early on in
2016, and could potentially open up a new era of hero and
antihero (I’m looking at you, Carnage) adaptations. This
could very well be a trend that has already taken its course,
as there has already been mention of a director’s cut edition
of Batman vs Superman with an R-rating attached.
Keeping a PG rating has also allowed these franchises
to break into merchandising via toys, books, and costumes.
This is a market that’s not as easy to be involved in as an
R-rated flick. Another arguably more irritating factor is criticism
from parents and other guardian groups looking out
for their own children. It’s pretty upsetting that despite the
maturity implied with every rating, there are still members
of the public that look to shamelessly demand censorship
and diminish the creative effort of movie makers.
The most appalling example I’ve seen has been a
petition by concerned mother Grace Randolph to release
a PG-13 version of Deadpool that already has nearly four
thousand signatures. “If there was a PG-13 version [young
viewers]... could be superhero[es] rather than... super-villain[s]...”
claimed Randolph.
It’s scenarios like these that raise the question:
When does the blame shift from the (openly specified)
violence and graphic nudity in movies, to the clueless and
unprepared viewer? There always seems to be a minority of
viewers that publicly go against the content of controversial
movies, and those in the R-rated genre are no strangers at
being criticized by the disapproving eyes of the internet.
Luckily, if done right, movies like Deadpool can satisfy
enough fans and like-minded viewers to overcome any
criticism from the unprepared. This movie has set an example
for directors and studios. It’s a successful comic book
adaptation that has taken a unique approach to storytelling,
allowing Deadpool as a character to play to his fullest
potential. Its R-rated antics have been accepted as a breath
of fresh air, and it’s made a large enough impact that’s continuing
to gain attention for its ability to break out of the
PG loop and into the zone of R-rated performances.
Despite all the backlash, a good comic book film
should only be judged by its appeal to its fans and mastering
the identity of a character that’s only previously been seen
on paper. While most comic book franchises continue to
remain loyal to the PG market, Deadpool has proven that a
movie can still be successful outside of the norm so long as
it remains loyal to its origins.
Lot’s Wife | 51