DISCLAIMER:
Avengers Discussion Below!! If you Don’t want any Spoilers Don’t Read!!!
Date Night at Endgame
This weekend I finally was able to watch Avengers Endgame. Full
disclaimer, I love superhero movies. I love the adventure, the fight scenes,
the friendships. Together they create a drama and excitement that I cannot look
away from. Obviously this is a feeling shared amongst Americans as Endgame grosses
of $1 Billion internationally on opening weekend. Something about superheroes
captures our imaginations, and takes us far beyond the universe as we know it.
Human Curiosity, Aliens, Heroes and Universes beyond the Stars
Part of the appeal comes from our natural human curiosity. These
aliens and heroes have come from places we have never seen, and it intrigues us
to get to travel to universes beyond the stars that we can see. It also taps
into our desire to understand natural laws. When Rocket and Nebula fire up the
spaceship, and launch through a wormhole to another universe, it stretches our
understanding of the universe around us. They pull us into a place where
anything is possible, where we as humans can reach the stars in ways that aren’t
currently possible.
United by a love of our planet
This doesn’t explain the deep spiritual stirring that these
movies evoke in me. After the snap is reversed, and the other half of the universe
is brought back into existence, there is a moment when Captain America, Thor
and Iron Man have been decimated by Thanos. Even without the Infinity Stones,
Thanos swiftly dismantles the three men. Thanos calls out decrying the joy he
will feel at the destruction of Earth, the “stubborn” planet. Captain America
drags his busted body up to face the Titan. Then from behind him, the other superheroes
who had recently been snapped back into existence appear. These people of all
different species, all different colors, all different backgrounds band
together, just to prove how “stubborn” Earthlings really are. This scene made
me cry. Unapologetically, unabashedly, I cried. I know it’s just a movie; I
know it’s not real, but seeing a mismatched group of beings band together to
defeat a common beasty evoked tears. Especially in our current political
climate, we have become so divided. Conversations about disagreements turn into
shouting matches, and instead of ideas being passed around and expounded on, we
are banding on two sides trying to tear down each other. For a moment, when
watching Endgame, we were not strangers watching a film. We were people
experiencing a bonding that does not happen normally. Despite our different
backgrounds, fields of work, political views, if that screen had opened up
allowing us to pass into that world, we all would have fought amongst the
heroes we love.
Me and the Boyf at Halloween just to prove how much of a superhero nerd I am :)
Hidden Goodness within Ourselves
One can’t name an example of a superhero who refuses to save
someone because of their political views, race, sexual orientation. Because to
us they aren’t super, and they aren’t heroes. We admire Captain American, Thor,
Black Widow, Scarlett Witch and Captain Marvel, because they fight for the
greater good. They look into themselves, pulling out a piece of goodness that
many of us cannot find in ourselves. Superheroes often get a bad rep, because during
battle scenes they have this moment, where they unlock something inside
themselves that unleashes enough power to defeat the bad guy. While I
understand the argument, that this doesn’t really count as character
development, we watch and enjoy it, because it encourages us to look inside
ourselves. When Wonder Woman realizes that she is the daughter of a god, and
can defeat Ares, we feel that we have a piece of power in ourselves that can be
unlocked. These movies convince us that we each possess a goodness, a strength
that can propel us through any darkness, and any hardship that we experience. My
favorite example of this in Endgame was Black Widow and HawkEye when they go to
achieve the Soul Stone. Both have a troubled past to different extents, but
they both find strength and love within themselves to show each other the
greatest love that they can. Black Widow sacrifices herself for Clint, and for
the world. She was able to unlock a goodness that allowed her to become the
greatest hero. (In my opinion, she is the greatest hero in Endgame. There is no
greater love, than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends 😊)
I loved Endgame. I will watch it again, particularly
whenever I feel that I need a boost-an internal boost, a boost about the
goodness of humanity, and a boost about the power we can harness when we work
together as one humanity.
Comment below your favorite part of Endgame, and which superhero calls to the greatness within you!
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