Heroes in Hard Times and Lethal Weapon
“Heroes in Hard Times” and “Lethal Weapon”
Danny Glover (Murtaugh) and Mel Gibson (Riggs) paint the very picture which King talks about as the typical buddy cops. When the two first meet, they don’t get along too well, and the established cop, Murtaugh, wants no part of the new kid, Riggs. As the movie progresses, so does the cop’s relationship with one another. They disagree with each other’s tactics, yet are willing to fight for each other’s life and put themselves in harm’s way in order to protect the other. They also fall into the cliché that one cop has a good, mostly happy life and the other is a complete mess away from the job, with no family, little money and being borderline suicidal. This seems to be the case in 99% of cop movies.
Mel Gibson’s character seems to characterize the “bitterness, and sense of oppressions” the King talks about in the chapter about the white males guilt. Riggs is very guilty about the death of his wife and considers suicide at several points in the movie. He is unafraid to die, and therefore takes risks in order to help people that most other cops would not consider. He also tries to drown out his problems by drinking and smoking and paying hookers to watch tv with him to alleviate his loneliness. These qualities seem to make Riggs more effective on the force, yet eat him up inside because of the guilt which haunts him constantly.
Danny Glover (Murtaugh) and Mel Gibson (Riggs) paint the very picture which King talks about as the typical buddy cops. When the two first meet, they don’t get along too well, and the established cop, Murtaugh, wants no part of the new kid, Riggs. As the movie progresses, so does the cop’s relationship with one another. They disagree with each other’s tactics, yet are willing to fight for each other’s life and put themselves in harm’s way in order to protect the other. They also fall into the cliché that one cop has a good, mostly happy life and the other is a complete mess away from the job, with no family, little money and being borderline suicidal. This seems to be the case in 99% of cop movies.
Mel Gibson’s character seems to characterize the “bitterness, and sense of oppressions” the King talks about in the chapter about the white males guilt. Riggs is very guilty about the death of his wife and considers suicide at several points in the movie. He is unafraid to die, and therefore takes risks in order to help people that most other cops would not consider. He also tries to drown out his problems by drinking and smoking and paying hookers to watch tv with him to alleviate his loneliness. These qualities seem to make Riggs more effective on the force, yet eat him up inside because of the guilt which haunts him constantly.
posted by Danny at 3:13 PM
1 Comments:
Do you think it is guilt that eats away at Riggs?
Or is it just self-pity? Or are they the same thing perhaps?
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