Simon Pegg has admitted comments he made criticising the “dumbing down” and “infantilisation” of cinema “came off as a huge generalisation by an A-grade asshorn” in a new blog post.
Pegg, the self-confessed “poster child” for geek culture who has become known worldwide for turns in the Mission: Impossible and Star Trek movies, lamented the rise of comic book and superhero movies in a recent interview with the Radio Times. He pointed out that prior to Star Wars in 1977, cinema had been about “challenging, emotional or moral journeys” rather than muscular men dressed in tight spandex.
In his new post, titled Big Mouth Strikes Again, the former Spaced actor and star of the loose Edgar Wright-directed Three Cornettos trilogy (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End) promised fans he was “still a nerd and proud”. However, he also referred to the French philosopher Jean Baudrillard’s views on the infantilisation of modern culture in comments that may pass somewhat over the heads of the average teenage Avengers fan.
“Put simply, this is the idea that as a society, we are kept in a state of arrested development by dominant forces in order to keep us more pliant,” wrote Pegg. “We are made passionate about the things that occupied us as children as a means of drawing our attentions away from the things we really should be invested in: inequality, corruption, economic injustice etc.
“It makes sense that when faced with the awfulness of the world, the harsh realities that surround us, our instinct is to seek comfort, and where else were the majority of us most comfortable than our youth? A time when we were shielded from painful truths by our recreational passions, the toys we played with, the games we played, the comics we read. There was probably more discussion on Twitter about The Force Awakens and the Batman vs Superman trailers than there was about the Nepalese earthquake or the British general election.”
However, Pegg pointed out that he adored both Mad Max: Fury Road and Ex-Machina, two wildly differing but equally well-reviewed recent examples of 21st century science fiction film-making, and also said he appreciated Christopher Nolan’s efforts to bring adult themes into the superhero genre via his Dark Knight trilogy of Batman films.
“The point of all this is just to get my position clear,” he added. “I’m not out of the fold, my passions and preoccupations remain. Sometimes it’s good to look at the state of the union and make sure we’re getting the best we can get. On one hand it’s a wonderful thing, having what used to be fringe concerns, suddenly ruling the mainstream but at the same time, these concerns have also been monetised and marketed and the things that made them precious to us, aren’t always the primary concern.”
Pegg is currently writing Star Trek Beyond, in which he will also reprise his role as engineering chief Scotty. He will also be seen in this summer’s Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.
