The Gaps of Generations: What Makes a Man a Man
(An A-Team Essay)
Notes: So, I went a little crazy this week and wrote a 3,461 word essay about how the different generations in the A-Team series and the A-Team movie change the characters. Mostly because I watched the movie and then started watching the first season again, but I'm always really interested in figuring out characters; this seemed the best way to figure out how the characters can still be the same fundamentally, yet differ from their counterparts. Thus, I give to you an essay. (If anyone wants to chime in with their opinion, feel free to comment; the more the merrier.)
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about originals and reboots, particularly reboots that have happened decades after the original [see also: Star Trek 2009]. And when I hear someone say something like “these characters aren’t the originals,” I generally reply, “Well, no, that’s kind of the point.” Because a) reboot, and b) different generation. I’ve always judged that the most important part of a reboot is that the essences of the characters are the same, not the characters themselves. And yeah, a lot of the difference in Star Trek is due more to the essential AU of the reboot, but the A-Team’s major difference is the gaps of generations.
So, without further ado:
The Gaps of Generations: What Makes a Man a Man
(Or, the A-Team Is Awesome No Matter the Year)
Time Period
As a starter and essential setting, placing the time periods is the first order of business. The Vietnam War ended in 1975 for the US, and while the series was filmed mid-80s, I don’t know if there was any direct reference to the years the series was set in. (If there was, someone can totally school me on this with their awesome knowledge.) In the first season the team is pretty comfortable in their routine [see: Mr. Lee’s shop, Hannibal’s “career,” B.A.’s community work with kids], so I’m going to assume that they’ve been doing this for a few years. Ergo, the first season is probably set in the early to mid 80s. There’s literally a world of difference between the series’ time and the movie’s times. In movie time, it’s the pullout in Iraq; the pullout of Iraq hasn’t even happened yet, which sets the movie even further forward than the time we’re actually in (which, how crazy is that?), but pretty much has the same time period as ours, just with the war finally ending. So now that we’ve got the time periods, we can fill in some over-arcing problems that are crucial to the differences in the series and movie.
Sex and Sexuality
(I’d love to include a slash-tinted view in this essay (perhaps another time?), but for the purposes of this essay I’m looking at the strictly cannon relationships and cannon timeframe.)
Even though the world had already done through the major “free love” movements, the series is still (compared to modern-day) pretty conservative in regards to sex and sexuality. Face of TV never takes off his shirt to tan like the GQ mother fucker he is. Women are held like they’re on the cover of a bad romance novel, where the man sensually, yet somehow still chastely, cradles a woman by the shoulders or upper back [see: any woman Face touches, ever]. Kisses are close-mouthed [see: Hannibal macking on that doctor like a boss]. Sex was something you could allude to, not even subtly [see: Face’s, “We can study volcanic eruptions together”], but still private. I won’t even go into the prejudice against homosexuality, but suffice it to say that while it wasn’t like the 50s, there sure as hell wasn’t the kind of acceptance that the world has today (or in movie-verse).
I believe that a major factor of the view of sex were the Sex Wars. The Sex Wars were in the 70s and 80s. In the late 70s, there was an anti-pornography campaign in the lesbian feminist movement. (I wonder what they’d think of fanfiction…) This campaign was based on the ideal that porn was a sign of patriarchal dominance, and that it debased women; basically, demonizing male sexuality. The counter-argument came in the early 80s, deemed “Pro-Sex” Feminism. This was a direct reaction to the anti-pornography movement, and countered that society repressed all sexuality; anti-pornography was seen as a move towards censorship. So, basically, the series is set in a time where society was having a severe debate about not only the role of sex in society, but how sex should be viewed in society. The writers seemed to take the neutral ground: In the series, “chaste” affection (of heterosexual couples) in public was perfectly okay, but anything more needed to be in private.
Movie-verse is completely different. While the military has DADT (well, that’s pending, but for right now we’ll assume that it does), sexuality in society is much more open than it was in the series. Even sex is more open in society, to say the least [see: Face and Charisa, which yes, was to pass a key along, but it wasn’t out of ordinary that they frenched in public]. While prejudice is still abound in society [see: in Virginia it is legal to fire someone because they’re gay, and doesn’t that just make you want to punch that piece of legislation in the face?], society in general is much more accepting of sexuality [see: pending appeal of DADT]. Even society’s views about personal space are different. Casual, personal touches aren’t reserved just for family and lovers anymore, they extend to friends (and sometimes even acquaintances). Personal space can be invaded in the public; our society today seems much more lax about the separation of the public sphere and the private sphere, and the line between platonic and non-platonic touches. [See: Face cupping B.A.’s face in the helicopter in Mexico.] Actually, the example of Face and B.A. exemplifies the difference of personal space in the series and the movie: Since sex and sexuality became much more publically accepted, it’s become more acceptable to platonically touch both members of another sex and members of the same sex. B.A. and Face didn’t have the same relationship in the series [see: B.A. probably punching Face]; none of them did, with the exception of Face and Murdock (which doesn’t really count, because Face and Murdock are bestest friends ever no matter what).
Casual touching may not seem like it should be categorized under sex and sexuality, but overall our perception of sex and sexuality has a lot of influence in the way we touch others. It used to be inappropriate to touch a woman unless you were family or married; now you can practically touch anyone who gives permission. As sex becomes more public, the level of the personal in the public becomes higher. Basically, where the series Hannibal would rather get shot than have to talk about feelings with his team (other than “get over it and get going”), Hannibal of the movie doesn’t have any problem with it [see: B.A.’s mid-life crisis]. But more to the point, it’s acceptable.
Violence
There’s a big difference between the violence in the series and the movie. For one, in the series no one dies, mostly because murder-one in almost all the states would be not only a hassle, but also an actual crime; the A-Team may be fugitives but they aren’t criminals (except for the theft and assault, of course). The show had almost campy violence; there was a lot of violence, but it never ended in more than, at the most, broken bones [see: any flipped car that miraculously doesn’t have a crushed roof and that people climb out of]. They took jobs mostly in rural or rural-esque areas, to a) avoid the fuzz, b) because, supposedly, the fuzz were either dirty or just unable to help, and c) crime in cities could be handled by real police. The series, intentionally or not, divided violence between “good” and “bad”: violence with the intent to hurt or kill is bad, but violence with the intent to stop “bad people” is okay. It creates a kind of “safe” violence. The movie may have some of that “safe” violence, but I never doubted that if it came down to it, those boys would shoot to kill.
I’m going to go into a subject that may not seen relevant, but I feel is an important parallel of aggression in society: gangs. I live in a city rife with gang activity, and there’s a huge difference between gangs in the 80s and gangs today. For a little background, gangs originally started in the US to protect the community. Think of all the big mafias and mobs: Italian, Russian, Irish. They all started because when they first immigrated, xenophobia was high and the police wouldn’t protect them, so they decided to protect themselves; gangs were about protecting the community. While it might seem prejudice and stereotypical, there was (and still is, to an extent) a strong correlation between ghettos and gang activity. In the 80s, you generally didn’t have a problem with gangs unless you were in a bad neighborhood. Look at the portrayal of gangs in the series: they’re in a rural area, or they’re a family, and they’re generally unorganized. Any violence in a city area or in an upper-class area was done by hired muscle. Violence was something that happened, but didn’t end in death. (Except, of course, that in real life it did.)
What has changed is aggression in the general society. Everything is a fight, a competition: getting into a good high school, getting into a good college, a good job, a good career. People have to be more aggressive in every facet of their lives, and it shows in gangs. The gangs today are more organized, more violent, and more involved in illegal drugs. Members are getting younger and younger, and there is an increase in female gang members not in just a kind of family role, but in a day-to-day activities. Aggression isn’t just for war, it’s for everyday life.
This is one of the major differences I see in the series and the movie. In the series, the jazz came from a crazy plan succeeding. The jazz still comes from that in the movie, but violence is something we’re becoming immune to, even excited about [see: Face’s expression when B.A. breaks Pike’s neck]. The movie team feels sharper, edgier, which could be because they were either in the Army or recently deemed fugitives, but I feel like they’re more aggressive because of the society they live in. (Small aside: Does anyone else feel like the title pictures sum up the characters perfectly in the movie?) Sosa is a prime example of what I’m talking about: She is fierce. In the series women may have been strong enough to stand up to men, and Amy ended up pretty bad-ass, but none got to the level of aggression of “I will dedicate my immediate future to destroying yours.” (Like, hot damn. Preach it, girl.)
What’s interesting is when the ends-in-death-violence occurs. I’ve heard complaints that the movie ruins the series because the A-Team killed in the movie. So, I started looking for where the deaths are: the General in Mexico (technically, some else does), the rebels in Baghdad (possibly, but they may have just been injured), General Morrison (also killed by someone else), the team in the LA docks (which actually was the A-Team), and Pike (holy shit, B.A., over-kill much?). All in all, they only killed when they felt there was no other option.
Prejudice
I said before that I wasn’t going into the prejudice against homosexuality, and I’m not because according to cannon, the boys are heterosexual men in their prime (or something). What I really want to talk about is racism and the prejudice against women. In the series the feminist movement was still very much active, but the African American Civil Rights Movement was pretty much done. But that doesn’t mean there still wasn’t loads of prejudice against both groups. Women may have been empowered like never before [see: Amy is one of the best reporters in the nation. Eighty syndicates? Get it, girl.], but they were nowhere near today [see: first female CEO of a fortune 500 company was Indira Nooyi for Pepsi, in 2006]. The women in the series may be as hard-ass as the men, and they may even be able to use a gun, but they’re still considered weaker than the men. Half the time, the portrayal of females is of a well-meaning but slightly vapid young woman.
Racism was another thing altogether. Brown vs. Board of Education was only in ’54, so while on a federal level racism was illegal, even in the 70s there were laws being abolished because they enforced segregation. So while people in the show aren’t running around telling B.A. that “his kind isn’t welcome” (and really, who the fuck would be that stupid?), in the series B.A. would have grown up with some racist comments. (And if the show were truer to the time, he probably would have gotten them later in life, especially with the boys going into rural areas like they did.) While racism and prejudice still exists today, in the movie it’s nowhere near as severe as it would have been in the series. It doesn’t define us as much as it would have defined people in the series.
The Big Picture
Overall, the society in the movie is basically the invert of the series’ society. The series’ society is, like all societies, in a state of confusion: should sex be in the public or private; what kind of violence is acceptable; what defines prejudice? The movie has an overlap of private and public spheres regarding sex; a kind of desensitization to violence and a rise in general aggression; and prejudice (racism and sexism) isn’t the issue it once was.
Characters
So now the societies are defined, but how does it apply to the characters? I think it changes each of them in separate, notable ways, despite the fact that the characters are fundamentally the same at the core.
Hannibal
Hannibal of the series is the old-school kind of man. He’s controlled, slightly conservative in his relationships, and definitely the embodiment of a man in charge. Personal feelings, especially of the men, are dealt with as quickly as possible. Hannibal embodies the separation between public and private; when he kisses the doctor they’re alone in her house, and he doesn’t advertise his relationships. He’s open to suggestion, but overall he makes the plans; his word is as good as law. He has a job, and he gets it done.
Hannibal of the movies is a similar man, except his division of the private and the public isn’t as rigid. Where Hannibal of the series (I feel like I should write that as a title, like he’s some kind of knight: Hannibal of the Series) is the leader, Hannibal of the movie is a mentor. It’s not just his job to lead the team, it’s his job to take care of the team [see: Hannibal shooting B.A. (a stranger) just to save Face]. The movie Hannibal has always, to me, made the series Hannibal brusque in comparison, simply because movie Hannibal is modeled more on the 21st century, feelings-are-okay man than the men-don’t-talk-about-feelings man. Yes, they are both aggressive and assertive and have a distinct private sphere. But when I look at the casual touches from the series and the movie, Hannibal of the series’ touches are strategic, while Hannibal of the movie’s touches are more of a “comfortable in your space” kind of thing.
Face
Face is, in some ways, the most different character between the series and the movie. In the series, Face embodies that questionable line between the public sphere and the private sphere; he flirts in public and kisses in public and makes thinly-veiled sexual innuendos in public, but he never gets serious in public and he also never gives a girl back her panties in front of a prison warden [see: hee. Hee hee hee]. He’s the most reluctant team-member, despite the fact that he can throw down just as well as Hannibal and they always come out on top. In some ways, Face still has that family ideal that’s been slowly breaking down in present-day. He’s got commitment issues bigger than his cons, but he also wants that normal (albeit, rich) life: the nice job, nice house, maybe a dog and later a wife on his arm.
Movie Face shares some of that [see: the photo booth conversation], but I don’t see him meaning to settle down the entire way. Face is, once again, a great example of the change I’ve been talking about, except this time it’s aggression. Face of the series didn’t get into fights unless he had no choice or he was seriously pissed off [see: the diner in Ray’s town]. Face of the movie starts grinning as soon as the shooting starts, and he’s more than willing to be in danger [see: shooting down the reaper drones]. He’s a lot more aggressive and a lot more desensitized to violence. Half the time, he seems more excited about the plans than Hannibal does; a sharp contrast to the usual reluctance in the series.
B.A.
(Has anyone else noticed how tiny Mr. T’s hands and feet are? Especially compared to the rest of him? And is he left-handed or right-handed, because he punches with both but he shoots with his left.)
Anyway, B.A. isn’t too different in the series and in the movies. The major difference I see is that B.A. is a lot meaner in the series. He doesn’t really have that joking camaraderie with the team; when he’s laughing, it’s because he’s one-up over the rest of them [see: B.A.’s adorable giggles]. If I had to walk up to either movie B.A. or series B.A. and ask for some change? They’re both scary as hell, but movie B.A. seems more approachable. It’s funny, because B.A. seems to have lost some of the aggression from the show rather than gained some, but I think that’s because of the politics. B.A. of the series had to deal not only with violence in his neighborhood, but also racism out of it. The Army wouldn’t have been the friendliest place either; there were segregated units even in the Korean War (which meant an all-black unit under the command of a white officer). There was probably a reason that B.A. had a habit of slugging officers in the series, and it probably wasn’t because of his “bad attitude.”
B.A. of the movies wouldn’t have had to deal with so much shit. Sure, he probably came from a bad neighborhood as well, but I think he had an easier time in the Army. His mid-life crisis is something I can’t get over, mostly because I can’t image B.A. of the series ever being conflicted about beating the every-loving shit out of someone. (Which reminds me, if B.A. couldn’t kill, why the fuck did he let Pike beat the shit out of him and then pull his gun? If he’d beat Pike down, then there wouldn’t have been that “I might have to shoot him but I can’t” conflict. He said he couldn’t kill, not that he couldn’t kick someone’s ass.) I think that B.A. of the series’ youth made him aggressive towards everyone; B.A. of the movie’s youth made him aggressive to people who were aggressive towards him.
Murdock
I hate spending such little time on him, but Murdock seems like he’s changed the least, maybe because crazy is crazy, no matter the decade. He still seems more aggressive in the movie than in the series [see: “I’m looking for my next near-death experience"], just the same way Face is: danger is exciting, and violence isn’t as big of a deal. I don’t know if Murdock of the series would be quite as excited to be falling in a tank [see: “Awesome!”] from about twenty-thousand feet, but Murdock seems less plain crazy [see: less characters, but that may be because of the time-constraints] and more adrenaline crazy.
What it Means for Them
Different societies, different set of rules, different relationships and non-fundamental characteristics. It’s amazing how it changes both the characters and the relationships. B.A. is a lot less mean in the movie than he is in the series, especially towards Murdock [see: any time B.A. barks at Murdock vs. how Murdock can bribe B.A. with food]. The team seems closer emotionally in the movie than they do in the series [see, again: B.A.’s mid-life crisis]; I’ve always felt that, as close as they were, there was a kind of boundary between them collectively (excluding the relationship between Face and Murdock) in the series. I don’t doubt that, in either world, those boys love each other like a family; but in the series there are distinct lines that they don’t cross, like Face casually touching B.A or B.A. casually touching anyone. Hannibal is definitely the team leader, the man-of-the-household in the series, as opposed to the mentor-like role he take on in the movie. Think of the movie’s team as a reincarnation of the series’ team; they're different men except where it counts: At the core.
Notes: So, I went a little crazy this week and wrote a 3,461 word essay about how the different generations in the A-Team series and the A-Team movie change the characters. Mostly because I watched the movie and then started watching the first season again, but I'm always really interested in figuring out characters; this seemed the best way to figure out how the characters can still be the same fundamentally, yet differ from their counterparts. Thus, I give to you an essay. (If anyone wants to chime in with their opinion, feel free to comment; the more the merrier.)
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about originals and reboots, particularly reboots that have happened decades after the original [see also: Star Trek 2009]. And when I hear someone say something like “these characters aren’t the originals,” I generally reply, “Well, no, that’s kind of the point.” Because a) reboot, and b) different generation. I’ve always judged that the most important part of a reboot is that the essences of the characters are the same, not the characters themselves. And yeah, a lot of the difference in Star Trek is due more to the essential AU of the reboot, but the A-Team’s major difference is the gaps of generations.
So, without further ado:
The Gaps of Generations: What Makes a Man a Man
(Or, the A-Team Is Awesome No Matter the Year)
Time Period
As a starter and essential setting, placing the time periods is the first order of business. The Vietnam War ended in 1975 for the US, and while the series was filmed mid-80s, I don’t know if there was any direct reference to the years the series was set in. (If there was, someone can totally school me on this with their awesome knowledge.) In the first season the team is pretty comfortable in their routine [see: Mr. Lee’s shop, Hannibal’s “career,” B.A.’s community work with kids], so I’m going to assume that they’ve been doing this for a few years. Ergo, the first season is probably set in the early to mid 80s. There’s literally a world of difference between the series’ time and the movie’s times. In movie time, it’s the pullout in Iraq; the pullout of Iraq hasn’t even happened yet, which sets the movie even further forward than the time we’re actually in (which, how crazy is that?), but pretty much has the same time period as ours, just with the war finally ending. So now that we’ve got the time periods, we can fill in some over-arcing problems that are crucial to the differences in the series and movie.
Sex and Sexuality
(I’d love to include a slash-tinted view in this essay (perhaps another time?), but for the purposes of this essay I’m looking at the strictly cannon relationships and cannon timeframe.)
Even though the world had already done through the major “free love” movements, the series is still (compared to modern-day) pretty conservative in regards to sex and sexuality. Face of TV never takes off his shirt to tan like the GQ mother fucker he is. Women are held like they’re on the cover of a bad romance novel, where the man sensually, yet somehow still chastely, cradles a woman by the shoulders or upper back [see: any woman Face touches, ever]. Kisses are close-mouthed [see: Hannibal macking on that doctor like a boss]. Sex was something you could allude to, not even subtly [see: Face’s, “We can study volcanic eruptions together”], but still private. I won’t even go into the prejudice against homosexuality, but suffice it to say that while it wasn’t like the 50s, there sure as hell wasn’t the kind of acceptance that the world has today (or in movie-verse).
I believe that a major factor of the view of sex were the Sex Wars. The Sex Wars were in the 70s and 80s. In the late 70s, there was an anti-pornography campaign in the lesbian feminist movement. (I wonder what they’d think of fanfiction…) This campaign was based on the ideal that porn was a sign of patriarchal dominance, and that it debased women; basically, demonizing male sexuality. The counter-argument came in the early 80s, deemed “Pro-Sex” Feminism. This was a direct reaction to the anti-pornography movement, and countered that society repressed all sexuality; anti-pornography was seen as a move towards censorship. So, basically, the series is set in a time where society was having a severe debate about not only the role of sex in society, but how sex should be viewed in society. The writers seemed to take the neutral ground: In the series, “chaste” affection (of heterosexual couples) in public was perfectly okay, but anything more needed to be in private.
Movie-verse is completely different. While the military has DADT (well, that’s pending, but for right now we’ll assume that it does), sexuality in society is much more open than it was in the series. Even sex is more open in society, to say the least [see: Face and Charisa, which yes, was to pass a key along, but it wasn’t out of ordinary that they frenched in public]. While prejudice is still abound in society [see: in Virginia it is legal to fire someone because they’re gay, and doesn’t that just make you want to punch that piece of legislation in the face?], society in general is much more accepting of sexuality [see: pending appeal of DADT]. Even society’s views about personal space are different. Casual, personal touches aren’t reserved just for family and lovers anymore, they extend to friends (and sometimes even acquaintances). Personal space can be invaded in the public; our society today seems much more lax about the separation of the public sphere and the private sphere, and the line between platonic and non-platonic touches. [See: Face cupping B.A.’s face in the helicopter in Mexico.] Actually, the example of Face and B.A. exemplifies the difference of personal space in the series and the movie: Since sex and sexuality became much more publically accepted, it’s become more acceptable to platonically touch both members of another sex and members of the same sex. B.A. and Face didn’t have the same relationship in the series [see: B.A. probably punching Face]; none of them did, with the exception of Face and Murdock (which doesn’t really count, because Face and Murdock are bestest friends ever no matter what).
Casual touching may not seem like it should be categorized under sex and sexuality, but overall our perception of sex and sexuality has a lot of influence in the way we touch others. It used to be inappropriate to touch a woman unless you were family or married; now you can practically touch anyone who gives permission. As sex becomes more public, the level of the personal in the public becomes higher. Basically, where the series Hannibal would rather get shot than have to talk about feelings with his team (other than “get over it and get going”), Hannibal of the movie doesn’t have any problem with it [see: B.A.’s mid-life crisis]. But more to the point, it’s acceptable.
Violence
There’s a big difference between the violence in the series and the movie. For one, in the series no one dies, mostly because murder-one in almost all the states would be not only a hassle, but also an actual crime; the A-Team may be fugitives but they aren’t criminals (except for the theft and assault, of course). The show had almost campy violence; there was a lot of violence, but it never ended in more than, at the most, broken bones [see: any flipped car that miraculously doesn’t have a crushed roof and that people climb out of]. They took jobs mostly in rural or rural-esque areas, to a) avoid the fuzz, b) because, supposedly, the fuzz were either dirty or just unable to help, and c) crime in cities could be handled by real police. The series, intentionally or not, divided violence between “good” and “bad”: violence with the intent to hurt or kill is bad, but violence with the intent to stop “bad people” is okay. It creates a kind of “safe” violence. The movie may have some of that “safe” violence, but I never doubted that if it came down to it, those boys would shoot to kill.
I’m going to go into a subject that may not seen relevant, but I feel is an important parallel of aggression in society: gangs. I live in a city rife with gang activity, and there’s a huge difference between gangs in the 80s and gangs today. For a little background, gangs originally started in the US to protect the community. Think of all the big mafias and mobs: Italian, Russian, Irish. They all started because when they first immigrated, xenophobia was high and the police wouldn’t protect them, so they decided to protect themselves; gangs were about protecting the community. While it might seem prejudice and stereotypical, there was (and still is, to an extent) a strong correlation between ghettos and gang activity. In the 80s, you generally didn’t have a problem with gangs unless you were in a bad neighborhood. Look at the portrayal of gangs in the series: they’re in a rural area, or they’re a family, and they’re generally unorganized. Any violence in a city area or in an upper-class area was done by hired muscle. Violence was something that happened, but didn’t end in death. (Except, of course, that in real life it did.)
What has changed is aggression in the general society. Everything is a fight, a competition: getting into a good high school, getting into a good college, a good job, a good career. People have to be more aggressive in every facet of their lives, and it shows in gangs. The gangs today are more organized, more violent, and more involved in illegal drugs. Members are getting younger and younger, and there is an increase in female gang members not in just a kind of family role, but in a day-to-day activities. Aggression isn’t just for war, it’s for everyday life.
This is one of the major differences I see in the series and the movie. In the series, the jazz came from a crazy plan succeeding. The jazz still comes from that in the movie, but violence is something we’re becoming immune to, even excited about [see: Face’s expression when B.A. breaks Pike’s neck]. The movie team feels sharper, edgier, which could be because they were either in the Army or recently deemed fugitives, but I feel like they’re more aggressive because of the society they live in. (Small aside: Does anyone else feel like the title pictures sum up the characters perfectly in the movie?) Sosa is a prime example of what I’m talking about: She is fierce. In the series women may have been strong enough to stand up to men, and Amy ended up pretty bad-ass, but none got to the level of aggression of “I will dedicate my immediate future to destroying yours.” (Like, hot damn. Preach it, girl.)
What’s interesting is when the ends-in-death-violence occurs. I’ve heard complaints that the movie ruins the series because the A-Team killed in the movie. So, I started looking for where the deaths are: the General in Mexico (technically, some else does), the rebels in Baghdad (possibly, but they may have just been injured), General Morrison (also killed by someone else), the team in the LA docks (which actually was the A-Team), and Pike (holy shit, B.A., over-kill much?). All in all, they only killed when they felt there was no other option.
Prejudice
I said before that I wasn’t going into the prejudice against homosexuality, and I’m not because according to cannon, the boys are heterosexual men in their prime (or something). What I really want to talk about is racism and the prejudice against women. In the series the feminist movement was still very much active, but the African American Civil Rights Movement was pretty much done. But that doesn’t mean there still wasn’t loads of prejudice against both groups. Women may have been empowered like never before [see: Amy is one of the best reporters in the nation. Eighty syndicates? Get it, girl.], but they were nowhere near today [see: first female CEO of a fortune 500 company was Indira Nooyi for Pepsi, in 2006]. The women in the series may be as hard-ass as the men, and they may even be able to use a gun, but they’re still considered weaker than the men. Half the time, the portrayal of females is of a well-meaning but slightly vapid young woman.
Racism was another thing altogether. Brown vs. Board of Education was only in ’54, so while on a federal level racism was illegal, even in the 70s there were laws being abolished because they enforced segregation. So while people in the show aren’t running around telling B.A. that “his kind isn’t welcome” (and really, who the fuck would be that stupid?), in the series B.A. would have grown up with some racist comments. (And if the show were truer to the time, he probably would have gotten them later in life, especially with the boys going into rural areas like they did.) While racism and prejudice still exists today, in the movie it’s nowhere near as severe as it would have been in the series. It doesn’t define us as much as it would have defined people in the series.
The Big Picture
Overall, the society in the movie is basically the invert of the series’ society. The series’ society is, like all societies, in a state of confusion: should sex be in the public or private; what kind of violence is acceptable; what defines prejudice? The movie has an overlap of private and public spheres regarding sex; a kind of desensitization to violence and a rise in general aggression; and prejudice (racism and sexism) isn’t the issue it once was.
Characters
So now the societies are defined, but how does it apply to the characters? I think it changes each of them in separate, notable ways, despite the fact that the characters are fundamentally the same at the core.
Hannibal
Hannibal of the series is the old-school kind of man. He’s controlled, slightly conservative in his relationships, and definitely the embodiment of a man in charge. Personal feelings, especially of the men, are dealt with as quickly as possible. Hannibal embodies the separation between public and private; when he kisses the doctor they’re alone in her house, and he doesn’t advertise his relationships. He’s open to suggestion, but overall he makes the plans; his word is as good as law. He has a job, and he gets it done.
Hannibal of the movies is a similar man, except his division of the private and the public isn’t as rigid. Where Hannibal of the series (I feel like I should write that as a title, like he’s some kind of knight: Hannibal of the Series) is the leader, Hannibal of the movie is a mentor. It’s not just his job to lead the team, it’s his job to take care of the team [see: Hannibal shooting B.A. (a stranger) just to save Face]. The movie Hannibal has always, to me, made the series Hannibal brusque in comparison, simply because movie Hannibal is modeled more on the 21st century, feelings-are-okay man than the men-don’t-talk-about-feelings man. Yes, they are both aggressive and assertive and have a distinct private sphere. But when I look at the casual touches from the series and the movie, Hannibal of the series’ touches are strategic, while Hannibal of the movie’s touches are more of a “comfortable in your space” kind of thing.
Face
Face is, in some ways, the most different character between the series and the movie. In the series, Face embodies that questionable line between the public sphere and the private sphere; he flirts in public and kisses in public and makes thinly-veiled sexual innuendos in public, but he never gets serious in public and he also never gives a girl back her panties in front of a prison warden [see: hee. Hee hee hee]. He’s the most reluctant team-member, despite the fact that he can throw down just as well as Hannibal and they always come out on top. In some ways, Face still has that family ideal that’s been slowly breaking down in present-day. He’s got commitment issues bigger than his cons, but he also wants that normal (albeit, rich) life: the nice job, nice house, maybe a dog and later a wife on his arm.
Movie Face shares some of that [see: the photo booth conversation], but I don’t see him meaning to settle down the entire way. Face is, once again, a great example of the change I’ve been talking about, except this time it’s aggression. Face of the series didn’t get into fights unless he had no choice or he was seriously pissed off [see: the diner in Ray’s town]. Face of the movie starts grinning as soon as the shooting starts, and he’s more than willing to be in danger [see: shooting down the reaper drones]. He’s a lot more aggressive and a lot more desensitized to violence. Half the time, he seems more excited about the plans than Hannibal does; a sharp contrast to the usual reluctance in the series.
B.A.
(Has anyone else noticed how tiny Mr. T’s hands and feet are? Especially compared to the rest of him? And is he left-handed or right-handed, because he punches with both but he shoots with his left.)
Anyway, B.A. isn’t too different in the series and in the movies. The major difference I see is that B.A. is a lot meaner in the series. He doesn’t really have that joking camaraderie with the team; when he’s laughing, it’s because he’s one-up over the rest of them [see: B.A.’s adorable giggles]. If I had to walk up to either movie B.A. or series B.A. and ask for some change? They’re both scary as hell, but movie B.A. seems more approachable. It’s funny, because B.A. seems to have lost some of the aggression from the show rather than gained some, but I think that’s because of the politics. B.A. of the series had to deal not only with violence in his neighborhood, but also racism out of it. The Army wouldn’t have been the friendliest place either; there were segregated units even in the Korean War (which meant an all-black unit under the command of a white officer). There was probably a reason that B.A. had a habit of slugging officers in the series, and it probably wasn’t because of his “bad attitude.”
B.A. of the movies wouldn’t have had to deal with so much shit. Sure, he probably came from a bad neighborhood as well, but I think he had an easier time in the Army. His mid-life crisis is something I can’t get over, mostly because I can’t image B.A. of the series ever being conflicted about beating the every-loving shit out of someone. (Which reminds me, if B.A. couldn’t kill, why the fuck did he let Pike beat the shit out of him and then pull his gun? If he’d beat Pike down, then there wouldn’t have been that “I might have to shoot him but I can’t” conflict. He said he couldn’t kill, not that he couldn’t kick someone’s ass.) I think that B.A. of the series’ youth made him aggressive towards everyone; B.A. of the movie’s youth made him aggressive to people who were aggressive towards him.
Murdock
I hate spending such little time on him, but Murdock seems like he’s changed the least, maybe because crazy is crazy, no matter the decade. He still seems more aggressive in the movie than in the series [see: “I’m looking for my next near-death experience"], just the same way Face is: danger is exciting, and violence isn’t as big of a deal. I don’t know if Murdock of the series would be quite as excited to be falling in a tank [see: “Awesome!”] from about twenty-thousand feet, but Murdock seems less plain crazy [see: less characters, but that may be because of the time-constraints] and more adrenaline crazy.
What it Means for Them
Different societies, different set of rules, different relationships and non-fundamental characteristics. It’s amazing how it changes both the characters and the relationships. B.A. is a lot less mean in the movie than he is in the series, especially towards Murdock [see: any time B.A. barks at Murdock vs. how Murdock can bribe B.A. with food]. The team seems closer emotionally in the movie than they do in the series [see, again: B.A.’s mid-life crisis]; I’ve always felt that, as close as they were, there was a kind of boundary between them collectively (excluding the relationship between Face and Murdock) in the series. I don’t doubt that, in either world, those boys love each other like a family; but in the series there are distinct lines that they don’t cross, like Face casually touching B.A or B.A. casually touching anyone. Hannibal is definitely the team leader, the man-of-the-household in the series, as opposed to the mentor-like role he take on in the movie. Think of the movie’s team as a reincarnation of the series’ team; they're different men except where it counts: At the core.