THE ARC OF THE UNIVERSE AND JUSTICE
(The Super Hero)
Human struggle and desire have been reflected throughout the history of cinema. Producers create and deliver what they believe the public wants. All manner of genres have been developed for this delivery. Some of these are: Crime, horror, comedy, romance, musical, cartoon, adventure, action, western, social issues, science-fiction, literary, war, cult, politics, teen, escapism, disaster, and documentary.
One of the recurring themes in many of these genres has been the hero – especially as found in the western, the detective, the spy, the adventurer, the action, the political, and the science-fiction. The hero in these depictions has always had capacities a bit beyond the ordinary. But as time has unfolded this hero has become super in every way imaginable as illustrated by James Bond, Mission Impossible, and the Star Wars saga.
Underneath this development has been our human desire for justice in a world that seems to be increasingly unjust. Perhaps the rise of the communications revolution has exposed us to information and visuals that reinforces this realization. But whatever the reason, the super hero seems to be in greater demand to overcome the rising injustice in the human drama. Moreover, as history progresses it is taking a larger coalition of super heroes working together to face down this mounting evil.
We watch such movies to not only entertain us but to give us a moment of hope, if nothing else but the illusion of justice prevailing. We do so desperately wish, as some suggest, that there is an arc of the universe that bends toward justice. However, that there is some power beyond us that will save humans from our own predilection toward the evil of injustice is an illusion. What history and reality teach is that we humans create injustice and if there is an arch of justice it is one we also create.
It is OK to enjoy the moment of respite about the triumph over evil that the movies might provide. It is renewing to occasionally bask in the illusion of some super power setting everything right in the human drama. But remember that such is an illusion and we humans are responsible for both injustice and justice.
If there is a super hero who will save us, it is us and only us.
Robert
It seems we have an interesting dichotomy going on in the entertainment world currently. Yes, there is a preponderance of Super-Hero’s, particularly in animated films of late. I recently took two of my grandchildren to see the “Incredibles.” Here we have a whole family of super hero types.
But if you examine the phenomenon of today’s most popular TV dramatic series, we find that the protagonists are more likely to be “anti-hero’s.” Tony Soprano, Walter White, Don Drapper and Francis Underwood are just a few that come to mind. These are all deeply flawed individuals, and yet they are drawing huge audiences to non network companies like Netflix, HBO and Amazon.
I recommend the following article to flush out this rather new social phenomenon:
http://thefederalist.com/2017/09/14/obsession-tv-antiheroes-destroying-souls/
Quoting from this article:
“But the point of fiction isn’t to give us an exact reflection of our world. We have documentaries for that. It’s to tell a story, and it always has a moral aspect. If we efface the archetypal moral protagonist and antagonist, or if we torture them to the point where we must squint to see the distinction between the two, we couch ourselves ever deeper in amorality, such that when the right decision calls in real life, we might find it harder to rise to the occasion.”
If, as Robert states, “We watch such (superhero) movies to not only entertain us but to give us a moment of hope, if nothing else but the illusion of justice prevailing.” then what does the new fascination with anti-hero’s call us to be?
Hmmm. Isn’t it interesting how so many of our fellow citizens today are so accepting and embracing of our current president who plays the real life role of anti-hero so insidiously.
Jim Matera
Thanks, Robert and Jim for your illuminating comments. I have been very tired of the super hero theme in movies for years, and never choose to attend one. Justice needs to come from our community, not Superman, Spiderman, or their ilk. I wonder how the prevalence of super heroes in films affects children. Do they get the message that it is no use trying to solve big problems yourself, because some magical being will swoop in and solve them for you? That attitude is a threat to democracy.
Linda Ropes
The is no supernatural interventionist that will rescue us from misfortune, tragedy, or evil. We must summon the hero that resides in each and all of us. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for, and we must get on with it!
Second effort… There is no supernatural interventionist who will rescue us from misfortune, tragedy, or evil. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for, and we must get on with it, if there is to be a brighter tomorrow!