I read on someone's blog this week that Jack Bauer isn't real (http://bradclemons.blogspot.com) You can imagine my horror at such a suggestion! Without Jack, America as we know it, would have been destroyed seven times over (and counting).
I love super heroes like Jack: Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Ironman, John McClane, Frodo. The list goes on and on. Why? Why do I come away from super-hero movies sighing in contentment? Why does everything in my world align when a super -hero saves the day? I know the plot is unreal. I know the feats are ridiculous, but I can't help it. These are "feel-good" movies, and I love them. I suppose I could blame it on my brother, Ed, who was an avid Batman fan in the 60's. With only one TV (gasp!), and Ed being my older brother, I either watched Batman or started on homework. Which of those would you choose? So I became an addict in my formative years. Thanks Ed. I'm truly grateful.
Super heros give hope. Sure, the actuality of a super hero is absurd, but nevertheless, their message is clear: in the end, good conquers evil. Super heros take a beating as they fight for truth and justice, but they persevere; they prevail; they win. There comes a time in every hero v villian movie when the villian has the upper hand. The hero is trapped in a madman's diabolical clutches with no apparent means of escape. There he is, he dangles above a vat of boiling oil. The rope that holds him is slowly lowering him into the vat, so he can die a slow painful death one inch at a time. His feet are a milimeter from the surface of the oil. All is surely lost! But wait! Just in the nick of time, he frees his hands! He pulls himself up the rope that had been lowering him to his death. Ah! Sweet safety! But the story isn't over yet. There's still a villian to be caught, and our hero will catch him. Rest assured, he will definitely catch him.
Maybe I love super hero stories because I love metaphors; and super hero movies are metaphors. Metaphors for life itself - life beneath the surface of our smiles. Very few of us will ever literally, physically fight evil, but each one of us fights it within ourselves every day. We see the fallout of lost battles in our relationships and in our attitudes. We see the fallout from others' lost battles in the newspapers and on TV. We see fallout in the eyes of children living on the streets, babies addicted to crack before they're even born. Yeah. We definitely need the hope that super heros give, and amazingly that hope isn't in vain. It rarely looks like God is going to win. As a matter of fact, it often looks like Evil has God tied up and hanging over a vat of boiling oil, but God is the ultimate super hero; and in the end, He wins.
I love super heroes like Jack: Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Ironman, John McClane, Frodo. The list goes on and on. Why? Why do I come away from super-hero movies sighing in contentment? Why does everything in my world align when a super -hero saves the day? I know the plot is unreal. I know the feats are ridiculous, but I can't help it. These are "feel-good" movies, and I love them. I suppose I could blame it on my brother, Ed, who was an avid Batman fan in the 60's. With only one TV (gasp!), and Ed being my older brother, I either watched Batman or started on homework. Which of those would you choose? So I became an addict in my formative years. Thanks Ed. I'm truly grateful.
Super heros give hope. Sure, the actuality of a super hero is absurd, but nevertheless, their message is clear: in the end, good conquers evil. Super heros take a beating as they fight for truth and justice, but they persevere; they prevail; they win. There comes a time in every hero v villian movie when the villian has the upper hand. The hero is trapped in a madman's diabolical clutches with no apparent means of escape. There he is, he dangles above a vat of boiling oil. The rope that holds him is slowly lowering him into the vat, so he can die a slow painful death one inch at a time. His feet are a milimeter from the surface of the oil. All is surely lost! But wait! Just in the nick of time, he frees his hands! He pulls himself up the rope that had been lowering him to his death. Ah! Sweet safety! But the story isn't over yet. There's still a villian to be caught, and our hero will catch him. Rest assured, he will definitely catch him.
Maybe I love super hero stories because I love metaphors; and super hero movies are metaphors. Metaphors for life itself - life beneath the surface of our smiles. Very few of us will ever literally, physically fight evil, but each one of us fights it within ourselves every day. We see the fallout of lost battles in our relationships and in our attitudes. We see the fallout from others' lost battles in the newspapers and on TV. We see fallout in the eyes of children living on the streets, babies addicted to crack before they're even born. Yeah. We definitely need the hope that super heros give, and amazingly that hope isn't in vain. It rarely looks like God is going to win. As a matter of fact, it often looks like Evil has God tied up and hanging over a vat of boiling oil, but God is the ultimate super hero; and in the end, He wins.
Comments
Post a Comment