Okay, apparently this is old news (from the Daily Mail Sept. 2010), but I just heard of it and my head has been spinning over it all day. Here’s the scoop: There is a scene in the new Captain America movie in which our hero tackles a gun-toting woman to keep her from killing someone. Our heroic captain, dressed nonchalantly in a white t-shirt, khaki pants and bare feet, tackles the woman with a full-speed running jump just as she pulls the trigger. Perhaps unfortunately, superheros like Captain America don’t exist in real life, and evidently neither do their feet even in the movies.
The stunt actor in this scene was not barefoot. He was wearing prosthetics designed to make him look barefoot.
There are so many insanities here I don’t where to start unpacking them. First, the guy is a STUNTman who tackles a stuntwoman from a running start. Actor Chris Evans and his stunt double participate in many harrowing scenes throughout the movie, but they apparently cannot run across a street barefoot!
As you can see from the picture, the actor tumbles hard on the city street with the murderous woman in tow. His arms are bare and his torso covered only with a flimsy – practically see-through – t-shirt, but God bless his poor feet… they must be protected. They cannot withstand even a few steps on pavement.
What has happened to us? How can we think our feet are so useless and pathetic and incompetent that even a stunt man can’t use them for something as innocuous as running across pavement? Since I have run thousands of miles barefoot on pavement, clearly I should be getting paid more for my “stunt” that even a professional can’t pull off.
And yet… yet… we want them bare. Why not just film the scene with shoes? Why bother with the awkward prosthetics to give the impression of bare feet? Is it that most people believe our feet are so inept that having our hero in this scene barefoot adds to his “superhero-ness”?
I’m truly disturbed by this. I guess the only good news to take away from here is that the powers-that-be wanted to show bare feet in this scene even if they couldn’t bring themselves to bare any feet.
If there are any trained psychologists reading this post, then please… contact me. I would love to pick your brain about this bizarre foot-anxiety that plagues the “civilized” world.
Same principles as the "hobbit feet" in LOTR - according to Tolkien, hobbits had furry feet, not enormous feet, but Hollywood has its odd quirks.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, bare feet can withstand a lot in movies. In "Brother Sun, Sister Moon," about St. Francis of Assisi, all the friars are barefoot throughout the movie... no fake feet. The same is true of a more recent Italian movie on St. Francis and of a film made in the 1950's on him by Rosellini, "The Little Flowers of St. Francis."
I don't look to Hollywood for much guidance at all... my way of life is so contrary to the decadence they produce, I just don't pay much attention to them.
You have the movie scene totally wrong. First, he was "bare foot" because this is immediately after he has the operation to make him into a super soldier, and he was getting redressed when he had to chase down a spy.
ReplyDeleteHe does a lot of very fast paced running over many surfaces, and I would guess the stunt man doesn't go around bare foot all the time so he probably doesn't have overly calloused feet. So I would imagine the fake feet were used as much for traction and speed as they were for protection.
Unrelated to the topic is the fact that he's actually saving the woman, his love interest, from being run over by the spy he chases down after. I guess that doesn't make a difference, but it just makes you seem like you don't know what you're talking about.
dontcare... You are absolutely correct: I don't know what I'm talking about when it comes to Captain America as I have not yet seen the movie. I was describing the scene as best I could from the pictures and the original article quoted in my post.
ReplyDeleteBut I DO know what I'm talking about when it comes to feet and I assure you, bare feet are capable of "very fast paced running over many surfaces." Unless of course your feet have been coddled in shoes for years, but then... that's my point.
I was excited to see him running barefoot in the movie as well, but now I find myself disappointed. I too am a BF runner and know that running fast BF on pavement can be accomplished. But I also thought to myself that he must have trained BF for that scene, because he would have been sore on the bottoms and tops of his feet otherwise. So in some way I see why they used the fake feet. But it would have been exciting if he would have conditioned himself to use his real feet. Bummer!
ReplyDeleteCaptain America has been my childhood favourite movie. I have been a fan of this movie since my childhood, Even though I was now a professional writer at CV writing services Dubai but I still love this movie. And even today, when I see this character inside the Avengers movie, I feel great. And even today I take time out of my work to watch this movie.
ReplyDeleteAs you can see from the picture, the actor tumbles hard on the city street with the murderous woman in tow. His arms are bare and his torso covered only with a flimsy – practically see-through – t-shirt, but God bless his poor feet… they must be protected. They cannot withstand even a few steps on pavement. tungsten rings wholesale france , tungsten rings wholesale uk
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ReplyDeleteThis revelation about Captain America's barefoot scene is indeed perplexing. It's a stark reflection of our society's peculiar anxieties, where even fictional characters can't be shown barefoot on pavement. Your observation about the mismatch between our desire for bare feet and the fear of exposing them is both insightful and concerning.
ReplyDeleteIn a world where real-life heroes run marathons barefoot, it's puzzling that a stuntman, skilled in high-risk maneuvers, can't portray a simple barefoot run. It speaks volumes about the disconnect between perception and reality. Your curiosity about this foot-anxiety is valid; it's a subtle yet potent reflection of our society's quirks.
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