Sunday, April 18, 2010

"Kick-Ass": the Edgy New Statement in the Box Office

Temple's 2010 Spring Fling was full of creative, entertaining and rather rainy booths around every corner. For instance, who could forget the life-size yellow letters spelling out "KICKASS" right next to Barton Hall? Intrigued, I looked into this more and found out that Kick-Ass is a new movie expected to be a box office hit. The film combines teenage nerd culture with superhero combat madness. An inquirer article talks about the new hit as having "punk energy, ace action moves, and a winning sense of absurdist fun."

Kick-Ass is a story of Dave Lizewski, a dorky high schooler who wants to impress the girl of his dreams more than anything. Through the fabrication of an alter ego, crime fighting antics, and literally "kicking ass," a chain reaction sets off and other superheros, such as "Hit Girl," and "Big Daddy" come out of the wood works and a new-school justice league is formed from the everyday "average joes."

Interestingly, technology and social media play huge roles in the movie. For instance, when Kick Ass saves one of his first people from bad guys, bystanders watch from a distance and film the combat scene on their cell phones. The cell phone videos are then posted online, and Kick Ass gains notoriety as he becomes the next viral sensation. In a similar vein, MySpace has a huge placement in the movie, acting as the main social networking site through which Kick Ass raises awareness about his quest to help others. Social media is also used by the movie's bad guys to stream live video over the Internet as they take revenge against Kick Ass for foiling their plans.

The movie features action-packed comedy, but also reflects the enormous role technology plays in our lives today.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member, Michele Reilley.

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