Today’s first was about pure entertainment, as my sister, Linda, and I watched the second movie in the Captain America storyline, which is, in turn, a part of the Avengers series. I have watched and enjoyed all the films in this Marvel saga and whenever a new movie launches, I’m there.
I grew up reading Marvel and DC comics. Once a week or so, I’d pick up a new comic and spend a lazy Saturday afternoon reading about the latest adventures of Batman, the Incredible Hulk, Spiderman and all the rest of the super heroes. Superman was my favorite and I followed him for years. As a young girl growing up in a big city, dealing, like we all did, with the challenges that can confront and confuse a child, I savored those solitary afternoons, caught up in a life bigger and more heroic than my own. I not only enjoyed the exploits of the heroes as they defeated the villains, I longed for super powers myself. As a child with a lively and powerful imagination, I spent many an hour contemplating what power I’d choose, if I could. Invisibility? Super human strength? The ability to fly?
As an avid movie watcher from childhood, some of my favorite films as a kid were those that depicted these characters I’d come to love so much. I’ve seen them all. As technology has improved, so have special effects and the quality of the movies. It has been fun to watch the latest movies about the individual Avenger characters. The Ironman films are not only high adventure but hilarious as well. Thor on the big screen is pure enjoyment to behold and his adopted brother Loki threatens to steal his glory.
The first Captain America movie was an important element of the future Avenger film, so I watched it and found it okay. I enjoyed his character more in the Avenger movie and in this sequel, he is fully developed in his role and capable of holding his own! I think I smiled from the opening scene until the credits rolled. I won’t include any spoilers here. I’ll just say, this was an action packed movie with many interesting twists and layers of deceit. Discovering who, exactly, were the bad guys and who were the good was part of the intrigue.
And the film touches on some important questions concerning humanity. Is it better to control chaos and people in order to have a safe society? Can the human spirit be controlled without eliminating that vital spark that moves us forward and causes us to grow? It is always dangerous, as history has proven, when one person, or a small group of people, take it upon themselves to decide the course of that growth, and who shall live and who shall die.
Super heroes appeal to me, and I suspect to others, because they live such large lives. They know who they are and what they can do. They often have an area of weakness in their lives that they must overcome and struggle to do so, making them very human in spite of their abilities. They are willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of many, or even for the sake of one. And good always prevails. If I could choose one super power now, after years of mulling it over, I think I’d be fully, magnificently myself, and live a large life. I’d be really good at understanding others and know, intuitively, how to assist them in their journeys. Oh, and I’d fly, lifting easily into the air because I willed myself to do so, soaring under my own power, far above the earth, unfettered and free.