Iron man: How Technology can save the World

Dear Reader,

My favorite movie is Iron Man and it begins with a story of a man who has everything. Tony Stark is a gifted mechanics genius who has made billions of money by manufacturing high end weaponry. From the start he is self- assured and has no moral dilemma about his work believing it to be the right way to end the war in the middle east and believes in the adage “might makes right”. But fate comes full circle when the weapons he uses falls into the hands of renegade terrorists who uses the weapons against him while he was on a mission in the Middle East to showcase his latest collection of sophisticated weaponry to the US military. There he experienced war firsthand at the hands of his captors after he was kidnapped, tortured and kept in subhuman conditions while recuperating from shrapnel lodged forever in his heart which served as a testament of his misplaced philosophy. While in captivity he was pressured to create one of his deadliest weapons for the benefit of the terrorists. Putting his faith on the belief of his captors’ ignorance, Tony Stark began his most ambitious project to date: the iron man suit.

Seamlessly tying up the story to real world events was a brilliant device. It adds real pathos to the storyline that audiences can’t help but relate to since these events are happening in their own backyard. It brings the concept and fantasy of an Iron Man much closer to home. Unlike other superhero movies, Iron man’s nemeses are homegrown stemming from greed, unequal distribution of resources clash of religious beliefs, technological disparity of rich and poor nations which eventually led to terrorism. What is also unique about the movie is it explores technology’s ability to save the world in the hands of a morally upright hero. Iron Man is after all a technological product, not a mutant like Spiderman, and not an alien like superman. Tony Stark is a man among men and he uses his moral outrage to create a suit of armor to defend the most helpless citizens of war torn nations. As Iron Man he can specifically target perpetrators of war crimes lessening innocent human casualties. However a twist of events shows that “terrorism” isn’t confined to a geographic location or a group of people as his long time business partner has turned out to be in conspiracy with the terrorists that abducted him. A clash of ideologies ensues between Tony Stark as Iron Man and his former business partner as Iron Monger. The antihero’s name itself suggests man’s abuse of nature and the benefits of technology to achieve personal fortune and power.

Robert Downey Jr’s acting was dead on. He captured Iron Man’s youthful wit and devil may care attitude in his performance. He was dashing as the suave billionaire genius, Tony Stark. Unlike other superheroes who are burdened by secret identities and the predictable angst stemming from the responsibility of having to save the world, Iron Man is unapologetic and lets it all hang out, much to the audience’s glee. It is only poetic justice that he reaps the accolades for his heroic feats.

Yours Truly,
Alice