Brightburn: Boys Will Be Boys (VIDEO SCRIPT)

I wanna talk about Brightburn

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Brightburn is a 2019 science-fiction horror/thriller produced by James Gunn, respectively written by his brother and cousin Brian and Mark Gunn, and directed by David Yarovesky. It tells the story of Brandon Breyer, who following the origin story of Superman, finds out he’s from another planet and has superhuman abilities. Unlike Superman however, he actually ends up being a little shit.

(superior clip with his aunt)

Now I made a video about the similarities between the story of Brightburn and DC Comics’ Superman and the possibilities of how they were able to avoid being sued.

And in that video I expressed an interest in seeing the film myself to see the Gunn’s take on a horror angle regarding the founding father of superhero literature. I even intended to review it for the channel during its theatrical run

But when I went to see Brightburn in theaters, my desire to discuss this film more in-depth just started to surface the more I was exposed to it.

AKA, this movie got me back on my bullshit.

And whereas others are quickly capable of summarizing this film as a horror take on Superman’s origin that you can just turn your brain off and enjoy it for what it is, my initial takeaway was something COMPLETELY different

So in this video essay, I’m going to explain how Brightburn warns us -- whether intentionally or unintentionally -- about the dangers of adolescent white male privilege. (pause) I told you I was back on my bullshit.

What is White & Male Privilege

Now in order to understand how Brightburn serves as an allegory for the dangers of promoting white and male privilege in young boys, we must first understand what both white privilege and male privilege are, along with their symbiotic relationship with each other.

White privilege is a set of various systematic advantages that white people have that minorities do not. Some are aware it exists, some refuse to believe it exists, and others are straight-up surprised that it’s even a thing because they believe that said advantages they have are equally available to everyone.

The reason for the latter is because the majority of white people are not properly taught that these advantages are not equally distributed to their minority counterparts as it is to them. As a matter of fact, most of the self-reflection and realization of white privilege happens because those who benefit from white privilege sit down and think about all of the ways its normalized in their lives versus how other minorities can’t say the same thing.

They can say that their skin color doesn’t play a factor into financial reliability while others can’t say the same. They can curse in public and wear ragged hand-me-downs without having to worry about people attributing those decisions to the lack of education or money that’s usually associated with other races. They don’t have to worry about their whiteness being one of the factors of them being pulled over by the cops or having the IRS randomly select them for an audit. They don’t feel that their presence in modern media is underrepresented, yet wonder why people of color constantly make a big deal out of it when they’re represented even in the slightest of ways.

White people taking the time to actually think about all of the things that they take advantage of every day while simultaneously realizing that other races aren’t regularly offered the same opportunity as them usually opens their eyes in regards to the overall existence of white privilege -- both on a personal and a broader scale -- in one way or another, which I’ll touch on later. 

• “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” Peggy McIntosh

Then we have male privilege, which, like white privilege, is a set of various systematic advantages that are granted to men. And it's literally been around since the birth of patriarchy. Conveniently enough, Natalie Wynn of ContraPoints JUST released a video talking about the patriarchal dangers men suffer. And I wish we properly planned this shit out so that this could be a proper collab project between us, and I’M NOT SALTY AT ALL. But no, seriously; go check it out once you finish this. It’s actually a really good watch. But yeah, while white privilege focuses on advantages white people have against people of color, male privilege focuses on advantages men have against women.

Its favoring the outdated societal norm of men being the moneymaker in a heterosexual relationship while women stick to being a housewife and taking care of the children. It’s giving in to the wage gap divide between men and women in the workplace. It’s the overall nepotism favoring men and their needs instead of also taking into consideration the needs of women due to long history of wealth and authority built by the former. Male privilege stretches across economic, political, social, educational, temporal and even psychological advantages that favor men. Sometimes even when the men in question are scumbags.

• “Masculinities in Contemporary American Culture: An Intersectional Approach to the Complexities and Challenges of Male Identity,” Thomas Keith

So when you combine white privilege with male privilege, you have pretty much a perfect storm; a system spread throughout major aspects of government and society that highly favors white men over other demographics. It doesn’t matter if they’re above or below the poverty line in some instances; as long as they’re white and male, they immediately have a leg up in the race because of these long list of stackable advantages at their disposal, especially if they are AWARE of their own privilege. Because when they’re aware, there’s a chance their superiority complex will kick in.

I may not have a job now, but at least I’m not a woman.

I may be poor, but at least I’m white

The kicker here is that I’m not even exaggerating in the SLIGHTEST; there are legitimately people who are aware that the system is rigged for them and take advantage of it, most as current events have shown in the most worthless of ways. And as Brightburn has shown -- while definitely exaggerated -- sometimes that grooming for abusing these privileges start as a child, only for them to mature as they grow older and become more self aware of who they are, what they’re capable of, and test the waters for themselves.

Meanwhile, those that are capable of either setting them on the right path to use their advantages for the betterment of others or nip the behavior in the bud before it has a chance to properly develop are ALSO affected by the second-hand societal norms of both white and male privilege. The way this is reflected in the way Brightburn tells its narrative is one that’s both brilliant and eerily similar to how white and male privilege is established in young white boys in real life. Because like most real world narratives, they tend to have this one thing in common.

Puberty: The Other White Excuse

So I think it goes without saying that despite my take, we have to take into consideration what Brightburn is presenting to us regarding Brandon into the overall equation. Thanks to the classroom scene during the first act of the movie, we know that it wants us to believe  that the alien race Brandon belongs to are similar to a species of brood-parasitic paper wasps; one wasp species that forces another wasp species to raise their babies for them, because they don’t have the capability to make a hive themselves.

We also find out that the moment the clock strikes 12 on his 12th birthday, Brandon’s assimilation into the aforementioned alien hive mind begins that causes him to sleepwalk to where his parents are keeping the ship he arrived to Earth in, and he begins to develop his not-at-all-Superman-inspired superpowers hours later. Then during his birthday dinner when his uncle triggers it by BUYING HIM A GUN, we see that the metamorphosis he’s beginning to go through is causing shifts in his behavior, which makes his parents Tori and Kyle shrug it off as that good ol’ hormonal shift. Y’know, the one that everyone goes through, but can never find the courage to talk about because we either don’t wanna suffer second-hand embarrassment over recalling it on some “uwu” shit or are too awkward to talk about it with minors that we spawned thanks to its existence?

“It’s called Puberty”

Right. Yes. Fine. It’s called puberty.

This methodology that the Breyers came to is based off an over 100 year old theory by Phsychologist Granville Stanley Hall, implying that the hormonal imbalance during puberty is set to cause teens to rebel against authority, make stupid decisions, cause bouts of agression, unironically listen to the band Sublime. But as popular as that theory is -- especially to Baby Boomers who like to use it as a legit scapegoat as to why they acted like assholes back in the day -- it doesn’t really hold up anymore. Using the hormonal changes of puberty as the reason why your mantra is the My Chemical Romance lyric “teenagers scare the living shit out of me” isn’t really valid, considering that it’s been proven in the past 30 years that there’s no drastic difference between the hormonal levels of a teenager and a 25 year old.

“Don’t Blame it on the Hormones” Po Bronson, Newsweek 11/09/09

Despite the fact that Brandon is not a human being, we see that this isn’t the case even in the movie. As much as we like to assume the official start of his assimilation into his alienhood started the moment his 12th birthday began as an exaggeration of Hall’s puberty theory and to give Tori and Kyle some credibility as parents with the best intentions, it actually started BEFORE the clock struck 12 that day. Going back the day before his birthday to the same classroom scene where we learned about the on-Earth inspiration for his alien species, we see him drawing the infamous symbol in his notebook that he would constantly draw throughout the rest of the movie.

Because the Breyers aren’t aware of this approaching development with Brandon until later on in the movie -- who even then just first shrugged it off as the Gen Z equivalent of the S thing the majority of us Millennials drew in school -- they’re easy to chalk up his post assimilated backlash as the result of an over 100 year old theory regarding puberty that has been disproven longer than Brandon’s existence on Earth.

It’s just as understanding as it is irresponsible, because while that updated knowledge may not be available to them considering their background and social status, the Breyers’ level of second-hand white privilege allows them to not have to worry about it playing a factor if they were ever chastised about it. 

And then the way society helped establish certain aspects of male privilege into their lives keeps Tori and Kyle from appropriately wanting to understand more about Brandon’s metamorphosis by using puberty as a form of excuse for his behavior, because that’s just how boys are during that transition. They lash out. They rebel. They aren’t as mature as girls are during this phase of their life so we should cut them some slack. There’s no need to do anything to try and get to the root of the problem, because there IS no problem; what they’re going through is normal

(He’s always been my little sweet guy, and now...he’s so different)

That aspect of symbiotic white and male privilege that’s embedded in the Breyer parents does more harm than good in this case. Since male privilege justifies that what Brandon is going through is only puberty and should be handled with kid gloves because, y’know... (Hercules “He’s a guy”), and white privilege allows them to not worry about being condemned that their understanding about how puberty works is off by 30+ years, they proceed to groom Brandon in a way that actually acts in favor of his brood-parasitic alien metamorphosis. More specifically, Kyle having this version of “The Talk” with Brandon (clip), which, with his newfound abilities, almost immediately starts him down the path to see what he can get away with (clip).

Aw, that just means he likes you...

Not only was it that instance that initially told me that these factors were going to play heavily into the overall story of Brightburn, but as I continued to watch the movie from that point onward, I realized that there was indeed more symbolism regarding the white privilege male privilege symbiosis than I thought.

Making A Monster

Some would say that because Brightburn is about a superpowered individual that’s being integrated into the thinking of the hive-minded alien species Brandon belongs to -- especially since the moment he found out that he WAS an alien, he realized his mission was to “take the world” and was pretty much completely indoctrinated as a result -- then that would mean none of his actions over the rest of the movie were really his choice and my argument about the symbiosis of white privilege and male privilege that I believe influences him over the course of the narrative is invalid.

And to those individuals, I would respond with “you’re wrong.”

If anything, the effects of the brood-parasitic alien race Brandon is both being powered by and indoctrinated into serves as an analogy. Specifically for young white boys who as they grow and test the waters, realize that the system as it is now is rigged in their favor.

Brandon realizing that he’s not of this world and is stronger, faster and has more abilities than human beings could just as well have been replaced with him inheriting a fortune, constantly cheating death to see what’s on the other side, either accidentally taking a plane different than your family on Christmas vacation and end up in the wrong city only to find out that you had your dad’s wallet on you all this time. The only difference between those scenarios and Brightburn is that while the characters in the other scenarios properly learn about their privileges and how it factors into the overall story in order for them to not take what was given to them for granted, Brightburn goes hard into the element of not giving a damn about the ramifications of Brandon’s moral code.

As stated before, it starts with what he can get away with upon the discovery of his powers after Kyle gives him just...just the most stellar of advice. The experiments then grow more dangerous while the warning signs are clearly there, but are never really acted on. He’s rejected by the girl he likes as a direct consequence of one of his first actions, which is his first exposure to not getting what he wants as an individual that benefits from both white and male privilege. Not knowing how to process that information in a healthy way because previous experiences never allowed him to learn how to properly do that, Brandon makes the conscious decision to do a bad to her. Because of this, Brandon becomes one of those individuals that truly exist in real life who are aware of their privileges as white boys that turn into men and know that they have a leg up among everyone else, has benefited from things like the law, media and societal norms working out in their favor, but doesn’t know why things happen the way that they do when it doesn’t.

That’s why he reacted the way that he did when he threatened his aunt not to turn in her reports on him to the sheriff when it didn’t work. That’s why he reacted the way that he did when he told his uncle not to tell his parents that he was at their house when THAT didn’t work. That’s why after he killed him, Brandon lied to his parents regarding where he was in order to get things back to his perception of normal, despite it being unknown to him that it didn’t work.

It’s not uncommon for people to regularly expect the benefits of white privilege, male privilege, or both that they’re just used to things always working out for them because of it, both on a sociopathic and psychopathic level. So Brandon having this mentality reflected in his character once he gives in to the hive mind isn’t so far fetched when compared to real life scenarios. But at the same time, it also shows him and the real-life counterparts who actually think this way why they are extremely dangerous.

Instead of deciding to analyze the situation and possibly change their perspective of how they look at the puzzle in order to get the results they want once they realize that the square peg will NEVER fit into the triangular hole, regardless of whether or not they want to change, Brandon Breyer and people like him are the type to naturally get offended that the square peg won’t fit into the triangular hole and just double down on forcing it to happen the way he’s used to things happening, until eventually the entire puzzle ends up destroyed.

And I can’t emphasise it enough when I say that both of the individuals I just described are just as dangerous. The only difference between the two is that the latter is more than likely to become registered as a sex offender, while the former is more than likely to become the majority leader of the Senate.

But the REAL kicker here is that Brightburn accurately shows that this isn’t the ONLY thing we have to worry about when it comes to white privilege and male privilege doing the fusion dance with each other. There’s in fact one more factor to take into consideration, and in my opinion it’s just as important.

Getting Away With Murder

If Brandon Breyer represents the dangers of both white and male privileges exposed at a young age, then his parents represent society not only establishing them in him, but also reacting to said buildup and its aftermath. As stated in my previous section, despite his uncle bringing Brandon’s metamorphosis to their attention on his 12th birthday by BUYING HIM A GUN the main perpetrators in question are the parents, especially Tori Breyer played by Elizabeth Banks, who in an interview admitted something very important regarding her character’s involvement in Brandon’s upbringing

“Mother Blinders” Clip

To quote the court scene from Disney’s 1951 Alice In Wonderland movie: That’s very important.

Man, I never thought that old school Disney clips would come in so clutch when talking about white male privilege. Is this what THRIVING means???

Because, yes; a set of Parental Blinders is indeed a good way of presenting a character in fiction that finds it hard to accept the fact that they’re pretty much raising a psychopath. After all, Marvel Comics’ A-Lars -- Thanos’s father -- had the same set of parental blinders on his face during Jason Aaron’s “Thanos Rising” comic when he was presented with the info that his son was literally killing people in the name of “science.” But the reason why Tori Breyer’s Parental Blinders matter in this case, is because they’re the same type of Blinders that society uses when presented with real life Brandon Breyer’s every day thanks to this combination of privilege.

Tori represents multiple facets of society being exposed to white and male privilege for generations to the point where it’s normalized within them, whether or not they personally benefit from one, the other, or both. Per my previous point, one aspect wants to do something about the development of someone being shaped by dangerous motivations but society reassures them that it isn’t necessary due to how white and male privilege has shaped it in their favor (so I’m overreacting clip). Another being society itself, ignoring the clear warning signs that said someone white and male could’ve been responsible for something drastic when it’s been imbedded in their mind that considering their location and situation, another “more dangerous” entity -- or race -- is more than likely to be the culprit (dead chicken clip).

We have Tori as the media, who despite having growing doubts of their own comes to the defense of the white and male someone when either a person of color, or in this case, a woman -- white or otherwise -- accuses him of something he’s indeed guilty for, and because of both white and male privilege is only given either a slap on the wrist or certain treatment in response to their actions, as opposed to a more severe punishment if the accused was anything but white (I am his mother clip)

Then of course near the end, we have Tori as both the media and the individuals it influences when shit goes extremely sour. It’s too late to look at red flags, warning signs are now irrelevant, and now we have an aftermath of devastation. Yet despite said terror, or damage, that the white and male someone has caused because of the combination of white privilege and male privilege that has allowed him to constantly test the waters to get to this point, there is still the aspect of the combination of both white and male privilege that gives media the nerve to offer sympathetic takes on the individual in question, when other individuals that are either male but not white, white women to a certain extent, or women of color, are not offered that same privilege if they performed actions either equal to or less than what the white male someone has performed (I know there’s still good in you clip).

Conclusion

Whether it was the Gunns intention or not, Brightburn paints a very clear picture about how much influence white and male privilege has on a select group of individuals, how it keeps us from addressing the situation, and how it deflects us from properly doing anything about it. If anything the fact that Brandon Breyer reflects the powers of Superman in this case shows us the overall power this one-two combo has on individuals like him. They may not be able to fly, but privilege will have them zooming past accountability. They may not be bulletproof, but with the way media promotes privilege to society, they might as well be.

Brightburn might consciously offer a more horror-based look at the Superman myth. But time as proven time and time again that when it comes to true dangers, terrors and paranoia, thanks to the combination of white privilege and male privilege, going “look, up in the sky” should be the last thing we do.