Hackneyed
I recently saw National Treasure. While searching for clues at national monuments is already pretty silly, there's something sillier that this movie shares with quite a few others--the computer genius.
Oh sure, there are real computer geniuses, but the one in National Treasure (and countless other films) can break any code and hack into any system in under a minute--and do it without being caught.
Honestly, if you could get into any system and leave without a trace, why would you bother to hang out helping other people to find treasure? You could just stay at home in your pajamas and make a few billion by hitting a function button.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:59 AM
3 Comments:
Brilliant point!
I haven't seen the movie, but if this was a stereotypical hacker, did they give the audience a breathtaking eye-candy shot of the monitor projected on his face?
In some ways computer hackers are like the mysterious specialist who can solve problems. Think of Alan Alda in MASH who could surgically save anyone (except around Emmy nomination time when he needed to do some inspired acting about the futility of war and the waste of young life) or Scotty on Star Trek who always found a way to bring the engines back to life (Although I think it was inspired for his character to admit in a cameo on TNG that he always faked how bad things were so as to lower expectations)
I thought Scotty admitting that cheapened the entire franchise. It's one thing for an audience to take something as camp--when a characters in a drama winks his eye at you, I stop caring.
Post a Comment
<< Home