The Avengers: The Superhero Movie Phenomenom

Normally I reserve my critiques of movies for my other blog, but I have more commentary on this movie, beyond that of a regular critique. By far, The Avengers was one of the best movies, if not the best movie, I saw this summer or even this year. It has an excellent balance of action, humor, drama, and even some romance. Not that romance is something I am usually looking for in a movie. Just ask my little sister and she'll tell you how she has to drag me to see chick flicks and I am usually mocking the movie before we even get through the previews - - but that might be because the previews are usually for other chick flicks - - I digress . . . Maybe I think it was a perfect balance because the romance was at a minimal. Anyway . . . The script was great, the acting was great, the individual personalities were all well executed and the group dynamic/interrelationships were also masterfully crafted and executed.

By the time I finally went to see The Avengers, it had been out for months. The crowds had died down and we almost had a private showing. I had decided to wait because I had yet to see any of the super hero movies leading up to the Avengers movie, other than the two Iron Man movies. I do not regret having waited to see all of the 'prequel' movies first, I just regret taking so long to do so. Of course I had already heard amazing things about the movie and I had high expectations from how well it was doing and from all the praise it was receiving. I never expected the movie to actually exceed my, already high, expectations. Yes, it was that good.

So why is this post here in my main blog? - - Well the success of this movie had me thinking about the trend for the last decade or so to really hit the super hero movies hard. Comic book patrons have not traditionally been characterized as your . How did we get to the point where comic book heroes are widely popular and a part of mainstream culture? I'm sure there are several things that play into this, a few of which I will explore in this post.


Timing: Yeah, I think there was a time when comic books were experiencing a type of 'glory days.' Comic books were still widely purchased. The X-Men and Spider Man were popular Saturday morning cartoons. It has been just long enough for us to grow up and start making our money and have our own families. The resurgence of our favorite childhood super heroes has proved to be timely. First, we go because it reminds us of our childhood days and we take our children and introduce them to our superheroes. Teenagers and college students still go, because superheroes are always popular among that dynamic. And out parents, who are now grandparents, go because they couldn't escape developing their own affinity to the superheroes of our childhood, plus they were the generation that saw the rise of the comic book. Timely because today, the superhero movies crosses all generation gaps.

Living Vicariously: Now I know for children and those of us who have our own inner comic book nerd this may mean imagining a world where we can fly, run faster than light, accomplish incredible feats of strength, and the sort, but this isn't the only kind of vicarious living I talking about. I'm not even talking about the whole "guy gets the girl' vicarious living, although that may have been why I watched Smallville in my early college years. The vicarious living I am referring to is three fold:

First - - Being Someone Else. We go to movies, read books, listen to music in many instances to either finding meaning in our own lives by relating to someone else or we do so to escape our own lives for just a moment. The superhero life captures that escape in a way different from other media. It's the idea of watching a movie to escape life and the movie depicts someone living a secret life. A man who gets to escape the daily routine of the office and go be someone else. It's why we have gone to see the movie, to escape our realities and live, vicariously, a secret life. What better way to accomplish that than to live vicariously through someone whose 'reality' is to daily escape their reality.

Second - - Being the Superhero. I am not referring to having out-of-this-world superpowers.  I am referring to the, probably universal, desire to live a life of significance and being a superhero is the epitome and pinnacle of living a life of significance. I think for the most part we all want to think that we matter; that we make a difference in the world and in the lives of the people around us. It doesn't even have to be an egocentric desire of seeking the spotlight, seeking fame and popularity. It's the age old search for meaning and significance in our lives. It's why so many people find meaning in careers of public service - - you get to actually make a difference and your contributions are significant because they are changing lives. One reason that Avengers does a good job of this is we get to see the superheroes as human and not just superheroes. They have faults just like the rest of us, but at the end of the day, they decide to be the superheroes we want them to be. I think another thing that helps us specifically connect in this movies is that the variety

Third - - Being Rescued. Of course none of this is real, but somehow it still re-instills our hope and faith in humanity. We all want to believe that people are inherently good, that altruism exists, and, oddly enough, that humanity is humane. Even more so, at one point or another, we all want to be rescued. We all face tragedy, difficulty, and hardship in our lives and we really just want someone to rescue us from our hard times. Somehow watching a superhero movie gives us hope in being rescued, which hope itself is sometimes enough to rescue us to some extent from our own heartaches.

As I see it, that's really what it comes down to. "There was an idea to bring together a group of remarkable people, so when we needed them, they could fight the battles that we never could . . ."