When I first started watching Blowup, I could not help but think of the Austin Powers movie series. Honestly, during the uselessly long stretches of Blowup where nothing happened, I was sitting on the couch reminiscing about Austin Powers. Strangely enough, there are many parallels between the two films. The first thing I noticed was the photography that's present in both films. Austin and Thomas both follow similar patterns when photographing things that they find to be good. However, while Thomas uses photography in an attempt to find some kind of greater truth, Austin uses it both a fun escape from his espionage filled life and as a tool while spying on Dr. Evil. Another great similarity between the two men is their sexuality. Austin and Thomas use their sexual appeal to have sex with many different partners. This is definitely a stereotypical characteristic of 60's coolness for both men. By having a life filled with unprotected sex with multiple non-committing partners, both Austin and Thomas are able to easily fit into the mold of coolness for the 60's.
Although there are definitely many similarities between Austin and Thomas, I do not believe that Thomas is a cool person. Ultimately, this is because the underlying qualities that fill the two men are different. Austin a very joyous and carefree person that stands up for just ideals, and although he wants to maximize the amount of sex he can get in life, he ultimately cares about people and does not want them to come to harm. Thomas does not come close to this way of life. He cares only about his photography, and he only wants to get better and more intense photographs in an attempt to find the truth that he is searching for. Additionally, he wants to control the people that come into his life to fit his ways. For example, when the two girls come in wanting to be photographed, Thomas uses their innocent desire to take advantage of them and practically rape them with no remorse. This attitude towards life is not cool in any way, and because of it, Blowup shows viewers a gilded view of the 60's: While we normally see the 60's portrayed as the carefree and sexually fun times that we see in the Austin Powers series, there is also a core of lead that is made up by the much more serious and questionable actions that take place in Blowup.
Austin Powers is often given a lot of credit for making fun of James Bond, but it should get way more for the way it lampoons the swinging culture of London in the 60s.
ReplyDeleteWhich is more realist to think of the 60s as though: a time of carefree and sexually fun times or a time that wanted to be carefree and sexually fun but had something nagging at it that wouldn't let it be that way?
I agree with Fjohn. Don't you think that there are some many similarities between Thomas and Austin because one is a spoof of the other?
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