You picked up on a lot that I missed - I just want to see the extended edition to see if all of these interesting ideas paid off!
On the Firefly references- I think you're being overly optimistic, that's more thematic similarity than deliberate reference. Also Foucault is not my cup of tea, but I always love seeing things I studied in uni referenced ;)
Two things I though were brilliant in this meta:
1. Tony as freedom from, Steve as freedom to. I don't conceptualize these as a binary as you do (in some cases these freedoms even enhance each other!), but they are contrasting positions that are sometimes contradictory. It's also worth noting that their personal behavior belies their views - Tony is very much for individualistic freedom-to behavior for himself, but doesn't extend that trust to others. Steve is team-oriented and empathetic (the crack about German experimentation was great) and never really uses his "freedom to" for individual ends despite having great power.
2. The change between Cap 2 "It's a good way not to die," Nat and Avengers 2 "There are worse ways to go," Nat. It could be just a coincidence, but I hope not, because it's great character development. It also ties back to the idea of positive and negative peace you mentioned earlier (i.e. the difference between quiet/ calm and active peace/ justice). Surviving/ not dying is negative peace, where as accepting death but also embracing life (as she does when she pursues Bruce, and then makes the hero's choice) is a positive act.
Lastly, I thought the most interesting philosophical difference in the movie was actually between Natasha and Steve when they discuss whether to kill thousands or people in the present or risk the entire world. Natasha is clearly a pragmatist who judges actions by their results. Steve is an idealistic who judges actions by his moral code (I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it). Certainly sets up an interesting conflict for Civil War and Avengers 3.
no subject
On the Firefly references- I think you're being overly optimistic, that's more thematic similarity than deliberate reference. Also Foucault is not my cup of tea, but I always love seeing things I studied in uni referenced ;)
Two things I though were brilliant in this meta:
1. Tony as freedom from, Steve as freedom to. I don't conceptualize these as a binary as you do (in some cases these freedoms even enhance each other!), but they are contrasting positions that are sometimes contradictory. It's also worth noting that their personal behavior belies their views - Tony is very much for individualistic freedom-to behavior for himself, but doesn't extend that trust to others. Steve is team-oriented and empathetic (the crack about German experimentation was great) and never really uses his "freedom to" for individual ends despite having great power.
2. The change between Cap 2 "It's a good way not to die," Nat and Avengers 2 "There are worse ways to go," Nat. It could be just a coincidence, but I hope not, because it's great character development. It also ties back to the idea of positive and negative peace you mentioned earlier (i.e. the difference between quiet/ calm and active peace/ justice). Surviving/ not dying is negative peace, where as accepting death but also embracing life (as she does when she pursues Bruce, and then makes the hero's choice) is a positive act.
Lastly, I thought the most interesting philosophical difference in the movie was actually between Natasha and Steve when they discuss whether to kill thousands or people in the present or risk the entire world. Natasha is clearly a pragmatist who judges actions by their results. Steve is an idealistic who judges actions by his moral code (I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it). Certainly sets up an interesting conflict for Civil War and Avengers 3.