"The Iron Giant"

     Politics and ideology is something that is incorporated into all aspects of our lives. And they are probably the most noticeable in our media. Sometimes these ideologies are purposefully ingrained into our books, movies and art. Movies like Fern Gully and art like Otto Dix's The Match Seller are blatant and obvious in their political and ideological ideas. However, sometimes movies and books are infused with ideological ideas inadvertently. Everyone has their own ideas and opinions and this forms a part of them, forms a base. And whether they mean it or not, this base can inform how a piece of art or media is created.

     And because everything in infused with ideologies, whether directly or indirectly, it is important that we are careful in choosing which media to consume; it is even more important when choosing media for our children. We need to be critical when doing this. There are two kinds of critique when it comes to media. One kind is when the media itself critiques popular ideologies and ideas. Most of Hayao Miyazaki films do this. The other kind is when the consumer critiques and scrutinizes the media he or she is participating in.

     The film The Iron Gian (1999) can be looked at in both lights. The Iron Giant is a film that takes place in the 1950s, during the Cold War. A giant robot crash lands in Maine and is discovered by a small boy named Hogarth. However, as other people learn about his existence, they become fearful and violent, especially as the military is involved.

     The main theme of The Iron Giant, and which it is critical of, is anti-gun and anti-war. The Giant is harmless, unless threatened with violence; then he retaliates in self-defense, much like Gort. However, because of the Cold War, everyone thinks he is a weapon and is out to destroy him. Hogarth repeatedly tells the Giant things like "It's bad to kill, but it's not bad to die" and "Guns kill".

     The movie repeated calls attention to violence and wartime mentality and their downfall. The movies makes clear that violence is not the answer. Even when confronted by a giant, weaponized metal alien, the first thing we do to it should not be attack it. Only the people who take the time to get to know it understand that it is a docile entity; one to be sympathized with, not shot at. The movie ends with the threat of total annihilation for all of the characters; only to be saved by the one they were trying to kill.

     The Iron Giant, while being critical of some ideologies, can also become criticized by the viewer. The unit-violencec/anti-gun theme of The Iron Giant is pretty obvious, which may cause some people to balk. They may see The Iron Giant as childlike is it's crusade against guns. The very first instance of anti-gunnery comes when some hunters shoot and kill a deer. There is nothing wrong with using guns to hunt. To attack people who do so is wrong. And here is an example to prove my point.

     However, while the film is clearly against violence, it does not vilify the army. The leader of the army does not want to send in troops unless there is proof of potential danger. Also, he only attacks the Giant under the impression that he had killed Hogarth. Once he realizes that Hogarth is alive, he tries to stop the attack on the Iron Giant. So, while it is strong in its ideologies, it does not really vilify the opposing side, like many other films do.

     The messages we get from consuming media are as different as the media we consume. Because of this, it is important to consume media that is critical of extremist ideas, critical of people who think everything is black and white; because the world we live in is not like that, it is shades of grey. And to determine which media we should consume, we should also be critical of it.