‘There Are No Strings On Me’
I had strings
But now I’m free
There are no strings on me
This is the boast of generations.1 It’s the boast of the 1960s sexual revolution. The boast of the 2000s “no religious affiliation” revolution. The boast of the ongoing 2010s sexual revolution 2.0. And so on.
Now it’s the boast of Ultron, the titular tyrannical robot overlord from Avengers: Age of Ultron.
In the new trailer he sounds like a hybrid of Megatron and The Joker. But he offers more evil philosophy than either.
“I want to show you something beautiful,” he intones. “Everyone screaming — for mercy.”
There’s kind of a layer here. Like maybe something about the trailer itself.
Because the trailer is beautiful. Hauntingly so. Marvel trailers have always been fun, but this one takes a step up — toward the elevation of the film teaser/trailer as an art form in itself.
Fans of Joss Whedon (I’m more of a casual fan myself) have remarked how he enjoys exploring the ideals of human freedom versus tyranny in his stories. But what happens when someone evil powers his own tyrannical machine with the boasts of freedom?
Avengers: Age of Ultron comes to theaters May 1, 2015.
- And originally the glibly performed ode to “freedom” by the titular character of Disney’s Pinnochio in 1940. ↩
E. Stephen Burnett creates sci-fi, fantasy, and beyond as well as nonfiction, such as The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ (coauthored with Ted Turnau and Jared Moore), which releases Sept. 7, 2020 from New Growth Press. Stephen explores biblical truth and fantastic stories as publisher of Lorehaven Magazine and cohost of the Fantastical Truth podcast. He and his wife, Lacy, live in the Austin area, help with foster parenting, and serve as members of Southern Hills Baptist Church.
I am really looking forward to this.
Good observations, Stephen!
That is what tyrants do. They free themselves by enslaving and/or destroying others.
OK everyone, now that we’re all suitably creeped out, please head over to the guys at How It Should Have Ended and see what they’ve done to this trailer. You will laugh. You will laugh a lot.