CAVEAT LECTOR: A modern film is subjected to a different sociopolitical culture and thus has different ideological drivers crafting its message; thus this analysis does not consider the Iron Man comic book series.

As discussed last week, Iron Man acts as an allegory for the modern American industrial identity crisis. In the same breath, Wall Street demands ever-higher profits from companies while off-Broadway wants social responsibility. The film depicts Tony Stark not as a tree-hugging liberal hero, as the analogy might suggest, but rather as the conflicted America that ultimately resolves its cognitive dissonance and sides with morality over profit.

Stark’s evolution parallels the United States’ since the 1860s. After the Civil War, the U.S. quickly and rapidly industrialized. Robber barons and captains of industry (depending on the point of view) turned small companies into incredible fortunes much as Stark develops his father’s weapons company. The U.S., though, struggles with the dichotomy of pure capitalism and liberalization, despite the apparent triumphs of the New Deal. When conservatives and liberals debate about tax rates and budget issues, the fundamental issue is one of degree: how purely capitalist should our country be? To what extent should corporations have free reign over the American consumer?

Iron Man does not argue in favor of one extreme or the other, but rather endorses the American solution: the third option of innovation. Stark’s resolution, upon reflecting on the horror of the war that his weapons perpetuate, is to redirect his company’s resources towards other technical challenges. This philosophy, to select neither A nor B but rather the unspoken option, is where all American greatness has started.

In our twenty-first century, there are many situations where a third path would benefit us. Environmental advocates lock horns with big business over government regulation of carbon emissions and energy taxes when the optimal solution is to use energy efficiency as an impetus for a new industry. Yes, energy taxes will hurt business, but redirecting that money to tax breaks for those corporations that either work to develop efficient technologies or that make themselves more efficient creates an opportunity. Similarly, the media frequently portrays the argument between Democrats and Republicans on almost everything, from Iraq to gay marriage, as an either/or situation. Instead, the two sides (and this is pure fantasy) should find a third solution. Compromise is a buzzword that means watering down legislations such that it does not accomplish very much, but if the two sides broadened their scope they could rewrite the rules and find an optimal solution.

While Stark certainly engages in the epic battle with Obadiah Stane, the resolution of the fundamental ideological issue of the film (the morality of making increasingly deadly weapons) is resolved by redirecting Stark Industries’ talent towards other goals. In this manner, Iron Man demonstrates that corporations need not be either greedy and amoral or altruistic and profitless. There is a third, American solution to every problem.

Lee is a recent graduate who makes no claim to know anything about comic books.