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WARNING: This article contains spoilers (up to episode eight) of the Netflix series Luke Cage
IN THE PAST, on-screen superheroes have been a symbol for being different, and for being a good person who makes the right decisions.
Netflix’s Marvel series has shaken that up a bit.
In introducing us to heroes such as Matt Murdock (aka Daredevil) and Jessica Jones, superheroes have been brought back to their comic book origins – and live in the space between what’s good and what’s bad.
Luke Cage is the third part of the Netflix Defenders series, and two of the reasons it stands apart from other supernatural adventures is the complexity of its characters and the seriousness of its storylines.
Not only does it force us to think about what is really the right thing to do, it also puts real-life issues in front of us; unusual for a mode of entertainment that mostly deals in a good dose of escapism.
With this in mind, we’ve taken a look at the key issues that have emerged from the Luke Cage series that are all-too close to real life.
1. Rebuilding a disadvantaged area
The Luke Cage series is set in Harlem; an area of poverty, of crime and of little opportunities, and where ‘everyone has someone in prison’. In the first episode, (last spoiler alert!) three youths interrupt a serious gun deal in order to make some money for themselves, which is the catalyst for the entire plot.
The barber ‘Pop’ is motivated by reform of the area’s youth – he sees boys getting caught up in crime and gang activities, and seeks to help them by offering people – like Chico – a job and a refuge from the bullets, the thefts and drug use. He himself is the product of a man who has changed his life around – and his eagerness to help others is what gets him killed.
Councilwoman Mariah Dillard is trying to revive the disadvantaged area on a grander scale – offering opportunities to the area’s youth and building affordable housing for the area. The problem is, she’s using illegal money to get it.
Her and her cousin, the crime boss Cottonmouth, represent what the youth of the community are forced into turning into if left without supports or help. Cottonmouth in particular, represents a man with talents, with opportunities, who was forced down a path through necessity and a history of crime in his family.
Luke Cage, meanwhile, represents the superhuman solution – a bulletproof, ethical beast with incredible strength and a polite but outspoken nature. He is also looking to rebuild Harlem into something more hopeful, through eliminating the crime bosses and cutting off the funding for political corruption.
The timing of this series is integral to its power – released at the tail-end of a presidential election where prejudice and hate have featured heavily, and where mass protests have been taking place all across America because of a lack of justice felt by the black community against their police force.
Amid all of this, Luke Cage is a powerful, inspiring, and untouchable figure, who reminds the audience that ‘standing up to bad people, even when they’re a friend’ is a real sign of courage.
2. A poorly-paid police force
One of the most surefire ways to undermine the effectiveness of a police force is for their government to underpay them. In the Luke Cage series (and Daredevil), police are bribed into turning a blind eye, to acquit members accused of crimes, and to smuggle out evidence – and it’s not the first series to do so.
Although it doesn’t seem to be a pressing issue in America, it is a constant problem for Nigeria’s police forces, where low pay and delays in being paid on time result in constant bribes from the terrorist organisation Boko Haram, which have gained enormous ground and control of the area.
Earlier this year there were reports of prison guards blowing up prison walls so that members of Boko Haram serving prison sentences could escape.
3. Gun regulation
In the wake of the Orlando shootings, the issue of gun regulation was revisited in America. People were angry that the laws were so lax for those with a history of violence or mental health issues and wanted improved background checks.
The number of accidental deaths involving guns was also an issue – at least 199 shootings by children have occurred in America so far this year because people had failed to lock up their guns properly, or were in the process of teaching their child to use them.
This is portrayed in the story of Detective Scarfe, the corrupt policeman who lost his son in a gun accident, “who’s always laughing, but never smiles – there’s a difference”.
4. The ‘n’ word
Luke Cage is about the black community: the heroes are black, the villains are black, the ordinary people, the powerful leaders, the music and the language is based on black culture, and makes it clear how unique and separate is from anything else.
One of the more controversial aspects of this that is addressed is the use of the ‘n’ word. It’s history is as a derogatory term, used by white people when the black community were treated as an army of slaves (see Django Unchained for most frequent use of the word). Now some members of the black community use it as you would ‘brother’ – to show camaraderie and solidarity and even an understanding of what happened in the past.
Luke Cage doesn’t see it like that.
In one of the most powerful moments of the series, a young boy puts a gun to his head and calls him the ‘n’ word. Cage turns around and gives him a Martin-Luther King-esque speech on freedom, respect and black history – spine-tingling.
Although the meaning of words are always in flux, the suggestion is that this word and the use of it, will forever represent oppression and disrespect of the black community.
5. Sexual Assault
This issue is only mentioned briefly, but it deals with many of the root problems to do with sexual assault. Councilwoman Dillard recalls the moment she was a teenage girl, and when her uncle Pete abused her.
His defence that “it was only a game” and “we laughed about it”, and her cousin’s accusations that “you were always flirting with him” and “you were asking for it”, are all echoes of the kind of accusations that secual assault victims can face.
In an even more grim scene, Dillard’s grandmother realises what’s happening, and sends her to boarding school to ‘keep her away from Pete’ – in a move that mirrors the reaction of the Church to cases of sexual assault.
In the end, what motivates her grandmother to take action is Pete’s betrayal of the business, instead of the sexual assault itself.
The long-term effect of rape when justice isn’t served is apparent in the way that Dillard reacts to the accusations that she was ‘asking for it’ – a murderous, livid reaction which results in her turning on her cousin, and killing the only strong relationship she seemed to have.
Self-sought Justice
The topic of justice and the ethical value of vigilantes, is a theme that runs through and fuels the entire Defenders series.
Jessica Jones doesn’t pursue justice for herself, and it leads to the destruction of another person’s life, which is why she decides to pursue her arch-nemesis.
Matt Murdock and Luke Cage beat the bad guys up, but don’t kill people as they feel it’s unethical – but The Punisher, another vigilante who kills his enemies and anyone else who gets in his way, even questions that, when he says:
“You hit them and they get back up, I hit them and they stay down.”
The Defender series is more powerful than any other superhero group, as the only-slightly superhuman foursome forces us to question: who exactly should we be rooting for?
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What??? You mean 131 didn’t work… Noooooooo!!!
Everyone is waiting for 132s
So less buy the 131′s and more buy the 132′s meaning that, overall, the same amount of cars are bought this year.
Feckin brainless spanners, the gombeens that came up with this. Didnt we all say this would happen.
*sigh*
here is an idea. Scrap VRT car sales go up.
Exactly
Which would reduce our tax base and increase the money we spend on imported goods. If you want to support an industry there are better ones to choose.
Great for people working in car factories …. Which we don’t have … I’d rather see an incentive to maintain old cars ( using labour in Ireland), than send money out buying new cars …
Daft to encourage purchase of new cars and send €6,000,000,000 out of the Irish economy every year.
Dafter to use borrowed money to do it and give the banks 9% interest in the process.
NCT was supposed to prolong the national fleet and prevent wasting money in unnecessary early replacement. Car life longevity is what “smart economies” do: USA 10 yrs avg: Sweden 10.7 yrs avg: Germany 8 yrs avg.
Do the Irish not get it?
€6 bn would create a lot of jobs if spent in the Irish economy instead of “exported”!
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http://www.CarTaxPetition.net
So, fewer people can afford new cars? Well holy jaysus. That’s a surprise!
Just a few things on car sales, As with the UK you should be able to buy a reg for your car making a 99D into a 01C and so on, Motor tax should be scraped and put on fuel with rebates to business users and taxi, haulage etc.. NCT on cars over ten years old should be from the day of the test and not this stupid system of the date of first registration making Jan- April the busiest in the test centres.
Is the VRT not illegal in accordance with EU regulations? So we cannot blame the EU for that one.
Seemingly the mobility allowance was illegal too, they were able to scrap that..
It should be noted that we don’t make cars here. Our attempts to prop up and assist the motor trade in this country is madness. We should be actively discouraging the purchase of new cars as cars are one of Germany’s biggest exports. It is one of the best ways for us PIIGS to strike back at the Germans and encourage them to give us the debt forgiveness we so desperately want.
Do u still have that passat Ciaran….
Oh my god!…and that’s coming from an agnostic. I always refrain from this question but here it goes….Are you fckin stupid?! Kill Irish jobs put of spite is your suggestion?
I do. Second hand mind so the Germans got that money off some other gorp. I did put ‘new cars’ in the comment mind. Wouldn’t have to be long term, just long enough to have the desired effect.
Who is an agnostic and what’s that got to do with the price of bread?
Yes unfortunate side effect but I think most would agree that we are sending enough money towards the German economy…
Once you go black you never go back
black the most popular colour, reflects the mood of a nation..
Goes well with everything?
And it’s slimming ;)
also don’t have to wash it as often..
why no green cars in the emerald isle? is it because they are unlucky?
Most popular colour suits well to the situation on the market…
The property tax and water charges may possibly add to that also. We should be cutting our spending instead of new taxes. This would eliminate the need to “broaden the tax base” as Noonan regularly cites.
Why would I buy a new car? It’s got 4 wheels and drives just like every other car over the last 30 years! It will cost me several g’s, most of it tax and the tax man then rips me a new one every time i fill so I can drive to work to pay his tax bill.
State backed scrappage scheme ?…. anyone? ……. modified first time home buyers grant? …. anyone? ….. guess not. …. government have a short memory. … and very limited imagination or understanding of demand side economics
It is great to see an ignorant idea fall flat on its face.
I think it’s heavily linked to how much people have to spend rather than an extra digit on the number plate. The masses have spoken when it comes to buying new cars, we can’t afford them. Also with engineering and manufacturing so good these days a car will run for years and years without needing to be changed, people know that, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. The whole problem was the fascination of the numbers on the reg plate which lead people to think they needed a knew car when in fact they didn’t; wanted yes, needed, no! We are in a time of needs not wants
Volkswagen at No 1 possibly as much to do with VW have its own finance vehicle with attractive interest rates as well as a good product range … As long as banks don’t lend or lend at near credit card rates , then car sales will remain in free fall and VRT receipts reducing in line ….
Personalized number plates would have been a good idea a money spinner and at least those that could afford it would have got some joy from it . . A sort of fun tax for a Change .
good news!
We need to see a whole year’s sales data to determine if the trend in sales of new cars is up or down. The new registration system was brought in to do away with the January spike and spread sales out over the whole year (not because it’s 2013 and superstitious wouldn’t like 13 on their reg plates, as several people have suggested.) Many people will hold off till the 132 reg comes out in July. Sales are down in January and February this year compared to last, but that shortfall should be recouped in the latter part of the year.
Car industry in UK kept 13 plates,the first of which were sold today and they are selling multiples of numbers being sold here without any fuss over superstition etc.
131 and 132 reg plates have nothing to do with superstition. Next year we’ll have 141 and 142 plates, and the year after we’ll have 151 and 152 plates. There are very good reasons for it, just as the UK has a split-year registration system too. When we had one year on the reg plate, sales (and new vehicle registrations) were concentrated in the early part of the year. There is a knock-on effect of this in that most NCTs fall due earlier in the year, leading to a backlog in testing dates.
It just so happened that the new regime started in 2013, and we all assumed that it was a superstitious aversion to the number 13. It’s not. It makes sense to do this.
So they are not attaching the new number plates securely enough ???. They will take some time to catch on, an more and more of them can be seen on the road … Ummm?
You can have any colour you want, as long as it’s black
I love red in a car, my last car was a green scoda octava kept breaking down, maybe it was the colour drives a corolla now cant compare.
have your say