Strengths appealing to popular culture

Rating: 7/10 (18 February 2008)

There are several main points that I believe bring strength to this movie and give cause to its recognition in popular culture. The first would be that this film reaches out to a very broad audience demographically. Next is the idea that its themes, sub themes, and thematic elements are identifiable with the audience on one level or another. The last significant point that I can distinguish is the intrigue of mystery and relation to the very secrets that still prod history today.
Appealing to a vast audience is imperative to a film's success, by measurement of box-office performance and subsequent earnings. National Treasure 2 was rated PG for some aggression and violent action, which draws in a larger crowd than what a rated PG-13 or rated R movie would allow. Although it is not given for a completely general audience, it is viewable for anyone who can accept the fairly mild doses of action. The household name of Walt Disney greatly attracts audiences due to the trusted company and reputation that Disney has earned throughout the decades. By focusing in on a younger audience (with Disney distribution) alone, it lures parents and whole families to see the film. The movie was however marketed as a family affair, during holiday season which calls on the tradition of families getting together to go to the theaters (particularly on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day), which surely secured it rising to the top during the week it debuted (Wikipedia). By tending to families, an incredibly large range is covered that sweeps across gender, race, and certainly age. The statistics stating the millions of dollars grossed and status at number one for 17 days before dropping to the number two spot demonstrates this. The thematic elements in the plot also implore its success in popular culture. There are many sub themes that are identifiable for the different aspects of the audience. One of the general themes that it expresses is honor and dignity of the family name, which is an important American premise in our culture. Ben goes to great lengths to fully discover his family history and then in the sequel unwaveringly defends it, that he might beseech the truth he knows lies within. This is the type of message that resonates within culture and history and has great potential to register with viewers. For those in the audience too young or simplistic to capture this concept, there of course were the basic underlying messages which still echo as universal morality and goodness such as friendship and love. The relationships between Ben and Riley, Ben and Abigail, Patrick and his ex-wife Emily, and even in the end, between one of the protagonists and Ben, clearly remind us of that loyalty and reliability that we so value. The last point that I found which supports the movie's embrace from popular culture was the mystery. While this may sound like a simple marketing ploy to appease viewers with such suspense or only a genre, I believe that the way in which mystery is evoked from the movie is what really intrigues a great part of the audience. The reason this can be concluded is by the associations and parallelisms between the mystery and adventure in the storyline and that which still challenges historians, possible treasure hunters, anthropologists, archaeologists, societies, etc in this day and age. So often are people appealed by conspiracy, secrecy, and the significance of history. There was an abundance of these concepts being reflected. Among the list of famous historical sites were Mount Rushmore, The White House, The Library of Congress and Buckingham Palace. These are the types of places that most Americans can identify with as part of history or that history buffs are fascinated with, just as the main character was. Being relatable is an asset to popular culture.