From Optimus Prime to the Battle of the Black Gate

Decepticus sauronicus

Yesterday I did a relatively spoiler-free impressions post on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.  This one is going to be chock-full of spoilers for both this movie and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.  You’ve been warned, although with all the terrible reviews Revenge of the Fallen is getting you may not even want to watch it…  Anyway, the new Transformers flick plays with the same plot device (on a much smaller scale, of course) as the third volume of LOTR.  This coincidence is interesting in itself, and the device or trope is even more curious…

Let me start with LOTR’s climax.  By the time the third volume comes around, it’s been clear for a pretty long time that Sauron can only be defeated by destroying the One Ring, and that the only way to destroy that is to cast it into the flames of Mount Doom, in Mordor.  Frodo, Sam and Gollum are given this task.  But as Frodo nears the completion of this quest, the rest of the actors in the story aren’t idle.

The elves and the men of Gondor and Rohan form a coalition (the Army of the West under Aragorn) to battle the orcish troll-infested hordes of Sauron.  This is an epic battle, and Tolkien (and Peter Jackson) can and do use it to showcase valor and loyalty and all sorts of precious virtues, but ultimately its value is subordinate to Frodo’s quest.

I WANT YOU FOR ARMY OF THE WEST

The Battle of the Black Gate is (explicitly) a gigantic, costly diversion: Aragorn’s aim was to keep Sauron busy at the entrance to Mordor until the Ring was destroyed, thus ensuring victory for his side.  The deciding factor was always the fate of the ring.  I think it’s clear throughout that if it all came down to the Battle of the Black Gate, then Sauron would have won.  His forces outnumbered and surrounded Aragorn’s.  Logically, he should have won.  But the illogical heroism of the hobbits trumped this.

Same thing, mutando mutandis, happens in Transformers 2.   As the antagonist himself, The Fallen, tells us: only a Prime can defeat him.  But halfway through the movie Optimus, the last remaining Prime, dies.  This sets up the quest: Sam and friends must find the Matrix of Leadership as this is the only object that can revive Optimus and bring them victory.

As this is happening the U.S. military, which is as aware of Sam’s quest as Aragorn’s forces were of Frodo’s, brings Optimus to the Middle East where the Matrix is supposed to be located.  A coalition of Autobots, American and Jordanian forces is drawn against the Decepticon attackers.  The stated objective is to hold off the Decepticons until Sam can retrieve the Matrix and drive it into Prime’s chest, thus reactivating him.

This is where the action's at.

The battle allows Michael Bay to display the bravery of the U.S. forces in a sort of mini-Battle of the Black Gate.  And oh, boy, here comes a…

DIGRESSION TANGENTIALLY DEALING WITH ANTI-AMERICANISM

Some of the reviews are complaining about Michael Bay’s idealization of the U.S. military in this movie.  The soldiers are certainly brave, handsome and honorable.  The incompetent ones turn out to be the civilian politicians.

I wonder how many people who squirm at these portrayal felt the same way about Tolkien’s Army of the West.  In both the books and the films, Aragorn’s forces are idealized just as much as Bay’s soldiers.  I guess some will say the in the Transformers’ case, there is a very real counterpart to the fictional “U.S. forces” and that we can and should compare both to understand Hollywood’s leanings, agenda, etc.

however cool, still secondary.

Isn’t this going on in Tolkien too, though?  After all, the Army of the West has its parallels and predecessors.  It’s called “Army of the West” for crying out loud!  And if you insist that influence and metaphor in LOTR are very different things from showing actual U.S. Army gear and GMC trucks, that LOTR is still fiction, well, I’d say Transformers is fiction too.

There are those who believe Tolkien was racist, and that the whole framework of LOTR is racialist from beginnning to end.  I think it’s a very interesting and potentially fruitful line of thought to follow when analyzing his work.  Similarly, it’s appropriate to investigate Hollywood’s take on the traditional pillars of American power, and even the notion that Hollywood itself might be one of these pillars.  What I would like to see less of is fans vomiting at the sight of nice, bronzed American soldiers on film while plastering their walls with heroic Aragorn’s face or calling themselves Legolas online.

METADIGRESSION OF HONESTY

Actually, I’ve never met anyone who had a poster of Aragorn on their wall, or who chose Legolas for a username, so I was kinda BSing just now.  Sorry.

END OF METADIGRESSION

Incidentally, I think anti-Americanism is really only a surface symptom of the real, overwhelming trend taking over the planet: anti-militarism.  Which I guess (and hope) is a good thing…

END OF DIGRESSION

Regardless of how heroic the battle is, the result will be nullified if Sam doesn’t get that Matrix and goes “stake into the vampire’s heart” on Optimus.  Thus, the plot situation is fundamentally equal to that of Frodo and the Ring in LOTR.

yup, secondary.

I have a love and hate relationship with this device.  On the one hand, it is easier and more thrilling to identify with the inner struggles of a few people than the ups and downs of massive formations of warriors.  So I definitely see the appeal in quests and their placement at the center of the story.  On the other hand, I can’t help but feel like the creator is abusing his creation in a way.  I pity the elves (and the orcs) who mindlessly hack and slash each other while the real deal is going on behind closed doors elsewhere.

Historically, many huge battles have been decided by combination of strategy and hard work.  We have here, ready-made, an alliance of the thoughts of a few powerful leaders (the strategists) with the effort of countless valiant troops.  I have to confess, though, I don’t enjoy this sort of story very much.   It’s so much more exciting when there are rings of power and matrices of leadership going around!

I also don’t really understand what this plot device tells us about the creator or the consumer of his products.  As I said before, Sauron’s troops should by rights have beaten the Armies of the West, except for the Ring.  In Transformers 2 I had a strong impression that the Decepticons, who kept comet-raining down from god knows where, would have eventually overwhelmed the Autobot coalition, except for the Matrix and Optimus.  What does this mean??  What does it mean to say that Evil logically triumphs over Good, except that Good can whip victory out with a gamechanger at the last second (a gyakuten, as they say in Japan?)  Is it just entertainment?  Or is there something deeper at work?

I don’t know.

This pic is relevant because she acts in this film (for 5 minutes).

~ by Haloed Bane on June 25, 2009.