#Review: Spider-Man: Brand New Day – A #Hero for the #Surveillance State?

source: themoviedb.org/movie/969681-sp…

At first, #Spider-Man: Brand New Day looks like another emotional #superhero #story. Peter Parker has lost everything. No one remembers him, not even MJ. He searches for his #identity while trying to protect #NewYork. The #film spends much of its time on #trauma, #loneliness, and #mental #health.

But behind this personal story lies a political #message. The film presents mass surveillance as something necessary and even heroic. This is where the #movie becomes much more interesting—and much more troubling.

Spider-Man uses powerful surveillance #technology to watch the city. He collects video from many security cameras. He scans every face to find criminals. Even the #police admit that this is probably #illegal. Still, the film treats these actions as acceptable because Spider-Man is one of the "good guys."

Jean Grey—now portrayed by Sadie Sink (She kept her role a huge secret beforehand for marketing reasons.) in the Marvel Universe—falls into the facial recognition trap set by Spider-Man's surveillance program. If, by the end, you feel sorry for Jean Grey because the script wants you to and you’ve let yourself be swept up in the drama, then please remember that at the beginning of the movie, Jean possessed an old man and sent him running into the street so he would be brutally run over. She’s a mass murderer who’ll stop at nothing to achieve her goal. She could easily achieve this goal with her incredible superpower, but she makes it unnecessarily complicated by first freeing the Scorpion, which is what draws Spider-Man's attention to her in the first place.

This idea has a long #history in popular culture. The strongest comparison is George Orwell's 1984. #Orwell imagined a #society where every citizen is watched. Surveillance is presented as a tool for #security, but it destroys #freedom. In Brand New Day, the situation is different because Spider-Man is a hero, not a dictator. Yet the basic question remains the same: Who watches the watchers? If one person can see everyone, who controls that person?

The film never really asks this #question. Instead, it assumes that surveillance is good as long as the right people #control it. This is one of its biggest #weaknesses.

Another interesting comparison is The Dark Knight. In Christopher Nolan's film, #Batman creates a machine that can monitor every mobile phone in Gotham. Lucius Fox calls it too dangerous because it gives one person unlimited power. Batman agrees. He uses the system only once to catch the #Joker and then destroys it immediately.

Brand New Day takes a very different approach. Spider-Man's surveillance technology is not treated as a #moral #problem. Instead, it becomes a normal #tool of #crime fighting. The ethical debate that makes The Dark Knight so powerful is almost completely missing.

The transcript also compares Spider-Man's work with modern surveillance technology. Peter Parker works closely with the Department of Damage Control and helps collect huge amounts of personal data. The review argues that this creates a positive image of a close relationship between #government institutions and powerful technology companies.

This makes the film feel surprisingly modern. Today, governments and private companies collect enormous amounts of digital information. Cameras, facial recognition, smartphones and artificial #intelligence make surveillance easier than ever before. The movie reflects this reality but rarely questions it.

One of the most interesting contradictions is #PeterParker himself. He wants #privacy for his own life. He hides his identity and wants to escape public attention. At the same time, he watches everyone else and scans thousands of faces. The film never fully explores this contradiction.

This creates an uncomfortable message. Privacy seems important for the hero but less important for ordinary citizens.

The citizens themselves hardly have a voice. They mostly watch, cheer and accept Spider-Man's actions without #discussion. They never decide whether they want to live in such a #society. They simply #trust the hero.

As #entertainment, Spider-Man: Brand New Day offers impressive visuals and emotional performances. However, its political ideas deserve much more attention. The film normalizes mass surveillance while presenting it as an act of kindness and #responsibility. It replaces difficult ethical questions with emotional storytelling.

Unlike 1984, it does not warn us about surveillance. Unlike The #DarkKnight, it does not seriously question its use. Instead, it asks the #audience to trust the hero completely.

That may be the film's most surprising message. The greatest danger is not an #evil government forcing surveillance on its people. The greater danger is that we willingly accept surveillance because it is carried out by someone we like.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day succeeds as an emotional superhero #drama. As a political film, however, it raises fascinating questions without giving convincing answers.

#cinema #criticism #fail #ethics #future #cybersecurity #ice #palantir #homelandsecurity #america #nyc #ny #humanity #humanrights #marvel #news #politics #policestate #police #bigbrother #propaganda #lawandorder #justice

"Ahora los productores de alimentos están frente a los consumidores y lo que debería ocurrir es que nos pusiéramos al lado de los consumidores, abriéramos nuestras explotaciones y lo hiciéramos NUESTRO reto... volver a encontrar aliados en esta historia, hacer un plan juntos sólo funcionará cuando la gente se dé cuenta de cómo producimos y por qué".

“Now food producers are opposite consumers and what should happen is that we should move next to the consumers, open up our farms and making it OUR challenge... to find allies again in this story, making a plan together will only work when people realise how we produce and why.”

"Ora i produttori di cibo sono di fronte ai consumatori e quello che dovrebbe succedere è che dovremmo muoverci accanto ai consumatori, aprire le nostre fattorie e farne la NOSTRA sfida... ritrovare alleati in questa storia, fare un piano insieme funzionerà solo quando la gente capirà come produciamo e perché".

#soberaniaalimentaria #foodsovereignty #fotovoz #photovoice #agricultura #agriculture #agroecology #agroecologia #food #nature #networks #local #autonomy #thenetherlands #wageningen #wur #farming #grow #farm #foodsystem #wageningeneetduurzam #raicesdesoberania #organic #regenerativeag #future #fertile #soil #ancestors #decolonisation

"En la agricultura, la corona es una cosa menor, la crisis del nitrógeno va a cambiar la agricultura, tiene que pasar algo. Donde antes había 12 personas trabajando en una granja, ahora hay una. No hay forma de mantener el sistema como está ahora, y ese es un mensaje difícil de escuchar para los agricultores"

“In agriculture, corona is a minor thing, the nitrogen crisis will change agriculture, something has to happen. Where there used to be 12 people working on a farm, now you have one. There is no way we can keep the system how it is now, and that is a difficult message for farmers to hear”

"Nell'agricoltura, la corona è una cosa minore, la crisi dell'azoto cambierà l'agricoltura, deve succedere qualcosa. Dove prima c'erano 12 persone che lavoravano in una fattoria, ora ce n'è una sola. Non c'è modo di mantenere il sistema com'è ora, e questo è un messaggio difficile da ascoltare per gli agricoltori".

#soberaniaalimentaria #foodsovereignty #fotovoz #photovoice #agricultura #agriculture #agroecology #agroecologia #food #nature #networks #local #autonomy #thenetherlands #wageningen #wur #farming #grow #farm #foodsystem #wageningeneetduurzam #raicesdesoberania #organic #regenerativeag #future #fertile #soil #ancestors #decolonisation

"No estábamos preparados para las prisas en las tiendas" y "cada vez más gente empezó a comprar en las tiendas de los agricultores". Durante unas semanas, las ventas en el mercado agrícola cayeron porque la gente evitaba las grandes aglomeraciones, pero también "empezaron a evitar el supermercado, aprendieron a tomarse las cosas con calma y a hacer comida fresca"

“We were completely unprepared for the rush on the shops” and “more and more people began buying at farm shops.” For a few weeks sales at the farmers market fell as people avoided large crowds but also they “started to avoid the supermarket, learned to take it slow and make fresh food”

"Eravamo completamente impreparati per la ressa nei negozi" e "sempre più persone cominciarono a comprare nei negozi agricoli". Per alcune settimane le vendite al mercato contadino sono calate perché la gente ha evitato le grandi folle, ma anche perché "hanno iniziato a evitare il supermercato, hanno imparato a prendersela con calma e a fare cibo fresco"

#soberaniaalimentaria #foodsovereignty #fotovoz #photovoice #agricultura #agriculture #agroecology #agroecologia #food #nature #networks #local #autonomy #thenetherlands #wageningen #wur #farming #grow #farm #foodsystem #wageningeneetduurzam #raicesdesoberania #organic #regenerativeag #future #fertile #soil #ancestors #decolonisation

El lockdown ha sido una afrenta a nuestra facilidad de vida, "la gente se confió demasiado en que todo estaba arreglado para nosotros, es bueno ver que la gente tiene preguntas, sería bueno ver que se toman el tiempo para reorganizar las cosas".

Lockdown has been an affront to our ease of life, “people got a little too confident that everything was arranged for us, it’s nice to see people having questions, it would be nice to see them taking the time to rearrange things”.

Lockdown è stato un affronto alla nostra facilità di vita, "la gente è diventata un po' troppo fiduciosa che tutto sia stato organizzato per noi, è bello vedere le persone che hanno domande, sarebbe bello vedere che si prendono il tempo di riorganizzare le cose".

#soberaniaalimentaria #foodsovereignty #fotovoz #photovoice #agricultura #agriculture #agroecology #agroecologia #food #nature #networks #local #autonomy #thenetherlands #wageningen #wur #farming #grow #farm #foodsystem #wageningeneetduurzam #raicesdesoberania #organic #regenerativeag #future #fertile #soil #ancestors #decolonisation

El lockdown ha sido una afrenta a nuestra facilidad de vida, "la gente se confió demasiado en que todo estaba arreglado para nosotros, es bueno ver que la gente tiene preguntas, sería bueno ver que se toman el tiempo para reorganizar las cosas".

Lockdown has been an affront to our ease of life, “people got a little too confident that everything was arranged for us, it’s nice to see people having questions, it would be nice to see them taking the time to rearrange things”.

Lockdown è stato un affronto alla nostra facilità di vita, "la gente è diventata un po' troppo fiduciosa che tutto sia stato organizzato per noi, è bello vedere le persone che hanno domande, sarebbe bello vedere che si prendono il tempo di riorganizzare le cose".

#soberaniaalimentaria #foodsovereignty #fotovoz #photovoice #agricultura #agriculture #agroecology #agroecologia #food #nature #networks #local #autonomy #thenetherlands #wageningen #wur #farming #grow #farm #foodsystem #wageningeneetduurzam #raicesdesoberania #organic #regenerativeag #future #fertile #soil #ancestors #decolonisation

"Si tienes un buen ecosistema, habrá [un] equilibrio, no hay una plaga que surja porque tienes tantas variedades de estas especies, que hay resiliencia. Funciona. Se fortalecerá el suelo, se producirán alimentos súper sanos y de buena calidad, se embellecerá el paisaje y, lo que es más importante, se embellecerá a la gente".

“If you have a good ecosystem, there will be [a] balance, there is no one pest coming up because you have so many varieties of these species, that there is resilience. It works! It will build up the soil, produce super healthy good quality food, make the landscape more beautiful, and most importantly it will make the people more beautiful.”

"Se hai un buon ecosistema, ci sarà [un] equilibrio, non c'è un solo parassita che viene fuori perché hai così tante varietà di queste specie, che c'è resilienza. Funziona! Costruirà il suolo, produrrà cibo super sano e di buona qualità, renderà il paesaggio più bello e, soprattutto, renderà le persone più belle".

#soberaniaalimentaria #foodsovereignty #fotovoz #photovoice #agricultura #agriculture #agroecology #agroecologia #food #nature #networks #local #autonomy #thenetherlands #wageningen #wur #farming #grow #farm #foodsystem #wageningeneetduurzam #raicesdesoberania #organic #regenerativeag #future #fertile #soil #ancestors #decolonisation

El dominio de las formas globales e industriales de producción, procesamiento y distribución de alimentos, con sus mercados impulsados por la exportación y la importación, tienen un impacto en la naturaleza no natural de la crisis. En Puerto Rico, su condición de estado colonial hace que su sistema alimentario dependa de las importaciones estadounidenses y de la producción de cultivos de exportación. A pesar de estar fuera de la experiencia colonial, los Países Bajos están inmersos en el sistema alimentario mundial y los agricultores descubrieron que los mercados de exportación no servían a las propias comunidades de las que forman parte.

The dominance of the global and industrial forms of food production, processing and distribution, with its export and import driven markets have an impact on the unnatural nature of the crisis. In Puerto Rico, its status as a colonial state leaves its food system reliant on American imports and producing export crops. Despite being outside of the colonial experience, the Netherlands is immersed in the global food system and farmers found export markets did not serve the very communities they are a part of.

#soberaniaalimentaria #foodsovereignty #fotovoz #photovoice #agricultura #agriculture #agroecology #agroecologia #food #nature #networks #local #autonomy #thenetherlands #wageningen #wur #farming #grow #farm #foodsystem #wageningeneetduurzam #raicesdesoberania #organic #regenerativeag #future #fertile #soil #ancestors #decolonisation