Captain America: the First Avenger (2011) is first and foremost a movie about a small man becoming a powerful force. It also has romantic elements and obviously the super hero thing. There is not a lot of analytical traffic online about this movie. However, there is an interesting discussion about why Captain America has so few lines in the movie. Click this link to check it out.
Although this is a story about a great hero, it is also a story about lies and deception. Captain America is constantly involved is some kind of lie throughout the movie. Not sure what to make of the variety of lies in this movie, but let’s have a look.
When we first meet Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), he lies to try to get in the army. He wants to fight so badly in WWII he lies repeatedly to get there. Because he is using different names, he is obviously determined. He fights harder than most to get into the war and finally makes it.
After Steve is changed into Captain America, he becomes integrated into America’s propaganda about the war. According to Dictionary.com, propaganda is defined as “information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.” The word “truth” is not mentioned in this definition. He is trying to keep support up at home. However, it is clear when he is trying to do his show in front of the soldiers that his words are not as motivating as he might think. They have seen the war, and what he is talking about is not the real war. So he “knocked out Adolf Hitler over 200 times”. What has he done to the real Hitler?
Also, when he wants to save his friend, he deceives Colonel Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones). Captain America implies that he is going to do his show. However, he flies out with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) and Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper). He is ready to prove himself as a true soldier.
In the end, Captain America even lies to Peggy about going dancing. Both of them know he will not be there, but they lie to each other anyway. It is their way of coping with the inevitable. Maybe if they make plans to see each other he will come back.
I guess the argument I’m making is all the lies Captain America makes are purposeful. He wants to be in the army and fight for his country. Lies are the tools that get him where he wants to be.
Thank you for reading! See you next time!