The Moving Picture

“The Moving Picture” is a blog that discusses not only movies, but television series and comic books, as well. You might be asking yourself what is the connection between movies, television and comic books and how the name “The Moving Picture” ties in. Movies, television and comic books all feed off of each other, drawing inspiration from each genre. In fact, the first movies were actually comic books — individual drawings gathered in a small book, that when flipped through quickly appeared to depict moving characters. Drawings advanced to still photographs and then actual moving pictures were invented — the first films.
However, the first films were silent and thus were paired with written dialogue —another link to comic books. And it is hard to miss the modern connection between comic books and movies today. Nearly every exceedingly successful comic book has made its way from paper pages to the big screen — from “Superman” to “Batman” to “Spiderman” to “X-Men” to even “The Fantastic Four.” It thus makes sense to include not only movies, but comic books in The Moving Picture blog.
And television is itself a moving picture that found its way from the big screen to nearly every home in America. And just like comic books, much of what appears on television influences what appears on the big screen. “X-Men” is not only a popular comic book and film series, its ideas have also influenced a number of television series. Think of “The 4400” and “Heroes.”
The premise of “The 4400” shares similarities with that of “X-Men,” in that a group of people develop extraordinary abilities meant to move mankind towards the next step in evolution necessary for the species’ survival. The difference is that “The 4400” were individually selected over a period of fifty years by human beings from the future, given special abilities and then sent back to one specific time to try and save humankind.
“Heroes,” which made its debut two weeks ago, most closely parallels “X-Men” in that all over the world human beings spontaneously evolve, developing superhuman abilities. It is unclear as to the ultimate purpose of this evolution, but a struggle between those who have evolved and those who haven’t is suggested and humanity’s survival may depend upon this evolutionary change.
In any case, comic books, television and movies are all connected, drawing on each genre’s constant evolution and all are moving pictures whether they are two-dimensional or three-dimensional.
The Redlands Daily Facts invites moviegoers, television watchers and comic book readers to engage in online discussions of these ever-changing genres. Check weekly to see what blogs have been posted and add your own comments to reviewers’ thoughts on the subjects. Your comments may even find their way into the newspaper in the “Go” section of the Daily Facts.
Also join Daily Facts reporters every weekend for a film review at the Redlands Krikorian Premiere Theatre. The movie being reviewed and the show time is posted every Tuesday afternoon in the paper.