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Captain America
Jun. 17th, 2015 04:41 pmLife continues to suck, so instead of talking about what is happening in the real world, let me rave about my latest obsession. I recently watched the Captain America movies. (I had previously avoided them after watching like five minutes of Iron Man and being horrified by the way the whole of the Afghanistan war was just background to the American hero.)
I love the entirety of Captain America. I approach the text through slashy eyes of course, and the great big love love of Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes through time thing really pleases me.
Plus I am thrilled to find a fandom with so much backstory. Like literally 70 years worth. This must be how new Who fans felt in 2005 when they realised there was such a mammoth amount of canon. I am currently working through the oeuvre of Ed Brubaker, the guy who brought Bucky back from the dead.
And there’s so much history in the canon. I love that Steve Rogers is grounded in a specific time and place. I would highly recommend the historicallyacurateSteveRogers tumblr for a cornucopia of information about life in 1930s and 40s New York. Want to know what kind of slang the military were using? What people ate? The typical layout of a tenement? What kind of handwriting taught in schools? What slang was used for genitals at the time? What people wore on the streets? It’s all there.*
I shall now rave about a particular aspect of the canon. Marvel fans and those with a deep knowledge of America history can feel free to roll their eyes about my ignorance.
I had thought the title Winter Soldier was well chosen. It hints that he was kept (literally) on ice. It reminds us of General Winter, the great force in Russia’s historical battles. It suggests that he is cold and emotionless because wiped of his memories.
What I had not realised until I started reading fics is that it is a specific reference to Thomas Paine’s letters.
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.
How fitting for a man who is like the longest serving POW ever.
Plus, it turns out that there was a famous Winter Soldier conference in 1971 In which veterans gave testimony about massacres and crimes they had witnessed in Vietnam, stating that they were the true patriots for calling the country on illegal war crimes. Some of their testimony eventually wound up being presented to Congress before the war concluded.
And then again veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have held similar hearings, with the information now available on Youtube.
I now appreciate the title Winter Soldier has layer upon layer of meaning, just like the fandom as a whole. I am really enjoying it.
· You remember how Steve calls Bucky a jerk and Bucky calls him a punk. Well, the modern meaning of ‘troublemaker’ was prevalent at the time but so was the meaning ‘effeminate guy’. It’s like Bucky is on the screen, ruffling Steve’s hair and calling him his twink.
I love the entirety of Captain America. I approach the text through slashy eyes of course, and the great big love love of Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes through time thing really pleases me.
Plus I am thrilled to find a fandom with so much backstory. Like literally 70 years worth. This must be how new Who fans felt in 2005 when they realised there was such a mammoth amount of canon. I am currently working through the oeuvre of Ed Brubaker, the guy who brought Bucky back from the dead.
And there’s so much history in the canon. I love that Steve Rogers is grounded in a specific time and place. I would highly recommend the historicallyacurateSteveRogers tumblr for a cornucopia of information about life in 1930s and 40s New York. Want to know what kind of slang the military were using? What people ate? The typical layout of a tenement? What kind of handwriting taught in schools? What slang was used for genitals at the time? What people wore on the streets? It’s all there.*
I shall now rave about a particular aspect of the canon. Marvel fans and those with a deep knowledge of America history can feel free to roll their eyes about my ignorance.
I had thought the title Winter Soldier was well chosen. It hints that he was kept (literally) on ice. It reminds us of General Winter, the great force in Russia’s historical battles. It suggests that he is cold and emotionless because wiped of his memories.
What I had not realised until I started reading fics is that it is a specific reference to Thomas Paine’s letters.
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.
How fitting for a man who is like the longest serving POW ever.
Plus, it turns out that there was a famous Winter Soldier conference in 1971 In which veterans gave testimony about massacres and crimes they had witnessed in Vietnam, stating that they were the true patriots for calling the country on illegal war crimes. Some of their testimony eventually wound up being presented to Congress before the war concluded.
And then again veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have held similar hearings, with the information now available on Youtube.
I now appreciate the title Winter Soldier has layer upon layer of meaning, just like the fandom as a whole. I am really enjoying it.
· You remember how Steve calls Bucky a jerk and Bucky calls him a punk. Well, the modern meaning of ‘troublemaker’ was prevalent at the time but so was the meaning ‘effeminate guy’. It’s like Bucky is on the screen, ruffling Steve’s hair and calling him his twink.
