Eternals: Taking a look at some of the themes (Spoilers)
The Eternals movie is an enjoyable piece of media for me. It is not perfect but it is something I think raises some good questions. When people say that comic book, movies can’t have deeper meanings, I wonder if they have ever checked out the comics they are based on like Civil War, The Boys or the Eternals series itself. Let me explain.
Antibody or Cancer? Heroes or Destroyers? Good or bad?
“...they wholeheartedly believe in their mission to protect humanity and becoming disillusioned by their true purpose as it is revealed...”
The Eternals gives us the idea of the impact a foreign entity’s presence can have on an indigenous people. Would the latter be the same if the entity was not there? Is the foreign entity an antibody or a cancer in the grand scheme of things? We have seen the story of the savior from another planet a few times, the most common being DC’s Superman.
(What would humanity have been like without the Eternals?)
In recent times we have seen this changed quite a bit to show that the benevolent savior can in fact be the opposite, having tricked all around them, such as Invicinble’s Viltrumite civilization. This is not so much the case in the Eternals movie. They, the Eternals wholeheartedly believe in their mission to protect humanity and becoming disillusioned by their true purpose once it is revealed as much as the audience is while watching the film.
To realize they are not the heroic saviors of the galaxy but in fact have damned countless planets is a shock to the system. What would have happened if they had not interfered in the lives of these people? Would it have been better or worse? Would they still exist if not for their superficial demise?
“It begs the question, can we commit whatever atrocity is asked of us, once it is an order?”
This then sprouts the next question of duty. Is their duty to their leader, not Ajak but Arishem?Do they carry out their given purpose or rebel against it for what they believe is correct? The needs of the many versus the needs of the few? Immediate Gratifcation of saving a planet or the delayed gratification of possibly birthing other worlds by dooming one?
(Is he wrong or right for his actions in the final act of the movie?)
Ikaris embodies the ‘perfect’ soldier, loyal to the cause and willing to commit whatever it takes to complete the mission, even if that means killing his team to do so. A nice parallel to Peacemaker from The Suicide Squad movie for me at least and how his loyalty to the mission led him to commit acts that costed him his teammates but could possibly save billions of lives at the cost of a island nation’s people.
Ikaris has no connections to the world around him and sees it as alien thus his only real connection is to the mission which is to birth a Celestial from the core of the planet. Knowing that their memories will be wiped after the mission, Ikaris perhaps can live with committing an act he will soon forget. It begs the question, can we commit whatever atrocity is asked of us, once it is an order? Are we less responsible for the act if it is not our idea and thus can put the responsibility on to another?
On the other hand Sersi, Phastos and Kingo have connections to the world unlike several of the others and exhibit an ability to not to just choose whether they follow orders or not but flat out rebel against it. Sersi has a career, and a lover, much like Phastos who goes one step further to have a family.
(Can the foreign entities be in turn affected by those they also affect?)
They have connections to the planet and come to empathize with it much like Superman does but on a deeper level for me, much like Omni-Man. He comes to earth to conquer it but finds himself changed for the better by those around him and feels remorse for the acts he committed in the past despite them having been orders becoming a true paragon of justice that he once pretended to be.
Kingo is unique in that he has a connection to the planet but sides with Ikaris showing a divide between his mission and the world he has come to love. It was a bit of a subversion that I wish was explored more through the lighthearted Eternal with his own human assistant being willing to toss all his earthly possessions away for a ‘higher purpose’.
Sadly that is not what quite happens as he simply exits the movie to avoid the conflict unable to bring himself to attack his friends in order to complete said mission. He is however unwilling to protect the planet from what he sees as a needed course of action for the betterment of the universe.
Freewill versus Imposed peace?
“...Is peace by the removal of free, will truly peace?”
Can the ends justify the means? Killing billions to give birth to possible hundreds of billions. This is also shown in another character. in terms of doing something that maybe seen as wrong with good intentions.
(If you could end suffering by taking away freewill, would you?)
Druig is a complex character. He wants to protect people but seeing as they can not protect themselves from their darker nature, he does what he feels is right to remedy this. The question is then asked, is peace by the removal of the free will, truly peace? Of course there are no wars but what else is this restriction causing? This censorship of ideas is truly a fine line to walk.
Trying to filter out all the evil in hopes of only leaving good may in turn, stifle the progress of the people around him. Druig’s forced peace upon humans can never be truly satisfying as he knows that they have not accomplished it themselves and if he leaves, there is every chance they will return to their ways, having truly learned nothing.
He is not willing to let them make mistakes as he sees that one mistake as the be all and end all instead of something that can be learned from and help humans in turn truly find a path to peace on their own in a more organic way.
(What other themes does the movie hold?)
It is things like this that make me enjoy The Eternals because as I have admitted it is a flawed film but it is still a good to great movie as it makes you ask questions that can reflect the reality we live in. There is more I wanted to say in terms of themes but would need a further viewing to truly do so. Hopefully this helps you see that even if it is only the tip of the iceberg or shallow, the Eternals does have some themes that can truly make you enjoy it even more. Or at least enjoy the attempt.
