The Worldview Of Cletus Kasady: Diluting A Film's Themes And Characters

Not every film dealing with dark or deep subject matter (on the conceptual side of things, even if not on the side of how those ideas are presented) has to be aimed specifically at adult audiences or receive an R rating to be successful as a work of artistic expression or critically or commercially.  Financial success for films has still in many cases hinged on their mass popularity, which, because of the shallow preferences of many people, is something that does not always have anything to do with quality.  Sometimes movies that are better suited thematically and in terms of the plot by an R rating are edited or intentionally designed from the start to receive a rating that might appeal to both simpletons and sincere audience members alike.  The intention in many cases is to cast as wide a net as possible with as little effort as possible.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is set to soon introduce the serial killer Cletus Kasady and his Klyntar symbiote Carnage, and it has been announced for some time that the movie would be PG-13.  This does not automatically damn a project to mediocrity or abysmal quality, of course.  An MPAA rating is an arbitrary classification of potentially unsettling content instead of an indicator of thematic and artistic quality.  Just as a movie having an R rating does not mean it is deep, unique, or executed well, a movie having a lower rating does not mean it is intended for broad family viewing, not that there is anything morally or intellectually special about being "family friendly" in the first place.  The reasons for pursuing an MPAA rating and the execution of the film determine if this is an asinine or competent approach in that case.

However, with the sequel to Venom, it is very unclear as of right now if its PG-13 rating has only been obtained at the expense of any sort of authentic portrayal of its lead villain.  Diluting the themes of a work of entertainment for the sake of money means the creators are superficial and do not deserve the recognition, approval, and money they might crave.  With Carnage, the aforementioned movie is centered on a human villain known for his sincere but irrationally assumed nihilism, personal brutality, and affiliation with an alien symbiote with a similar love of brutality.  It would be a betrayal of the very character and themes the creators are supposedly trying to adapt to include him while turning him, like the first film turned Venom into a comedic figure, into someone who makes jokes in serious moments.

A person who embraces nihilism, something that can only be done on faith instead of by logical proof, and engages in a string of murders driven by the assumption that the victims are being liberated from a meaningless reality is far from a character that needs to be aimed at bringing in as much revenue from as broad an audience as possible.  I do not mean that there is anything morally problematic about allowing young children to watch very violent, dark, or existential stories; children need philosophical awareness just as much as adults do.  I mean that trying to dilute the philosophies and personality of a character that is bent on spreading carnage, as the name of his symbiote suggests, could easily become a stupid goal if it is not done very carefully.  When his character is tied to the issues of psychopathy, an analysis of the concept of morality, and the distinction between perceptions of meaning and objective meaning, he stands for ideas of greater substance than mass appeal for the sake of mass appeal.

Unfortunately, in an entertainment world where themes and characters are routinely underdeveloped and used only as means to the end of getting audiences to pay, it would not be unusual for Venom: Let There Be Carnage to do almost nothing to explore the issues raised by characters like Cletus Kasady and their worldviews.  Diluting the philosophical and artistic integrity of a film for the sake of money only means that the film does not truly merit the kind of praise and success that it would if it had remained deeper in its construction, truthful in its themes, and authentic in its execution on a creative level.  Until it is actually viewed, there is no way to know if Venom: Let There Be Carnage has a terribly shallow or inefficient portrayal of a villain like Carnage, but studios comfortable with making money on projects with little to no true intellectual or artistic depth forfeit the ability to deserve praise.