Then What?

I feel no need to give a comprehensive review of Avengers: Endgame (Disney Marvel 2019; directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo) because it has already been extensively reviewed. Rather, I will say that I like the way that Disney Marvel chose to end this phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  The plot was mostly resolved, and I suspect that any unanswered questions will be addressed in subsequent movies since they don’t seem to involve the original characters.

Yes, their were some logical flaws and a couple of confusing visual sequences, but the splash panel scenes were terrific. Various beloved characters suffered injury, died, grew old, retired, came back to life, were reunited with their friends and families, and so forth. In other words, this paralleled real life, and the movie hit many of the right nostalgic notes. The big question remains. Then what?

Overall, I think the MCU has been a good escape, a prolonged fantasy from within which we can re-examine reality. Its characters are not real, but they have become friends of our imagination over the last eleven years. Losing any of them can produce a mild sense of grief. It is very human to desire permanence and immortality, to think as if the people and things we love will continue forever. You could say we were designed for it.

The cinematic gods are mortal, and so are the actors who portray them. Disney Marvel will continue churning out entertaining movies and making a huge pile of money. Eventually, we all die, and it behooves us to seek answers to that ultimate question…

THEN WHAT?

Getting It Right (3)

 

And… action! Here, I must offer a minor criticism. The action sequences set in dark environments during Black Panther (2018 Disney Marvel, directed by Ryan Coogler) were hard for my older eyes to follow. Some of the still shots from these sequences were iconic, but the flow of the action was choppy in places, probably due to the quick changes of camera angle. This was my major visual frustration.

Those scenes shot in full light were a different matter. They were easy to follow, impressive, and visually satisfying. This was especially true of the climactic battle scene.

As for the setting, I liked the blend of rural, mountainous, and urban areas in the kingdom of Wakanda. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, idealism is a major goal in what I consider the best fantasies, and portraying an African nation as technologically advanced was something I don’t believe I’ve seen done in any other movie. I’m a biology professor at a women’s college, so I applaud the positive portrayal of science and technology with role models for women and minorities. Our fantasies encourage us to imagine possibilities, and this should not be exclusively reserved for white males. This also made for a very touching ending which I will mention again next week in my wrap-up.

So I must say something here. Why would a compassionate, technologically,  advanced, and ethical society use potentially mortal combat as a means of choosing its ruler? This struck me as an inconsistency, but it was good for the storyline.

One last quibble: What happened to resolve the conflict between the warring factions? Obviously the rightful king was back on his throne, but the interim between the battle and that outcome was not shown. I hope that this gets visited in the sequel, which I hope will be given to the same director.

Well, I’m going to get lazy and let the visuals do more of the talking for now, so check in next week.

Getting It Right (2)

 

So… how good was Black Panther (2018 Disney Marvel, directed by Ryan Coogler)? It lived up to its hype, which is saying a lot. The cast was typically  impressive for the MCU and included Chadwick Boseman in the title role, Letitia Wright as his delightfully uppity and precocious little sister, Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger,   Lupita Nyongo as the love interest, Danai Gurira, Forest Whitaker as a Wakandan priest/shaman, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Bassett, Andy Serkis, Martin Freeman, Winston Duke as the king of a different Wakandan clan, and Sterling K. Brown as Killmonger’s father. The length of the previous sentence hints at the tedium of reviewing each fine performance, so I will limit myself to the performances which stood out most for me.

 

Obviously, Chadwick Boseman was excellent. I had previously been impressed by his turn in Captain America: The Civil War. I have already mentioned Letitia Wright. Let me explain that I’m a city transplant to a smaller, more rural community. The people sitting nearest me in the theater were white – okay, we were all white – and one said, “She’s my favorite character,” during one of Letitia Wright’s turns on screen. The same goes for me. Lupita Nyongo played a strong counterpart to the Black Panther and complemented his qualities well.  Angela Bassett performed well as a convincingly wise matriarch, and in fact, all of the women were strong. I grew up in a family of strong men and strong women, so it was refreshing for me to see this on the big screen. Neither gender was reduced to being a foil for the other.

 

By the way, the costumes (especially for the women) were beautiful, and I heard a spot on NPR where the designer mentioned her use of African fabrics, patterns, and re-imagined traditional styles.

 

Not that it isn’t obvious, but I want to call attention to Michael B. Jordan’s portrayal of Killmonger. Marvel has a history of writing nuanced villains with mitigating back stories, and this was a well-written character. The acting made him very affecting, especially during one scene which I will mention in a later post.

 

Although he wasn’t on for very long, Sterling K. Brown really impressed me with his acting chops and his screen presence, as did Winston Duke. I first became aware of these fine actors while watching Person of Interest on television. Since then, I have seen each of them in varied roles, and these men can flat out act. Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman were also their consistently good selves.

This movie had other redeeming virtues. My wife mentioned the sense of dignity and honor which pervaded the story and the characters (something which we found lacking for much of Thor: Ragnarok, which came across at times as a pangalactic fart joke despite the fact that I liked the overall film). There were also themes of forgiveness, compassion for one’s adversaries, community, and global responsibility.

I don’t want this post to go on for too long, so I’ll save some more for next week.

Getting It Right (1)

Credit: Disney Marvel

I have mentioned in a post series titled Recovering Ideals (under the category of Graphic Mythology – black strip on the left) how my friends and I emulated Superman in our play. While looking at some recent talk show videos on Youtube, I really began to understand how important it was for the black community to have the same thing. I saw children and adults alike beaming, proud, and geeky about Black Panther (2018 Disney Marvel, directed by Ryan Coogler) and the fact that it was even made, and it occurred to me that this was very healthy. The Disney Marvel universe has already incorporated positive images of black heroes and superheroes in its films. Take, for example, the following: Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Anthony Mackie as Falcon, and Idris Elba as Heimdall. But this is the first time we have seen a superhero movie whose primary character is black, whose cast is predominantly black, and whose director is black (not to mention many other production personnel). This makes Black Panther an important pop cultural property for the black community, regardless of who owns the film rights.

Was the movie historically accurate or revisionist? Were its portrayals realistic and plausible? Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. I don’t see accuracy and realism as the purpose of fantasy. It’s about idealism, and the movie delivers on this score. An artistic product which has widespread appeal and which makes positive portrayals of an often stereotyped culture is invaluable, and the same can be said for role-modeling. I keep reminding myself that a majority of blacks in this country, including some people whom I count as friends, are descended from ancestors who did not come here of there own volition. Being white, I know I cannot fully appreciate what effects that has had, and I am reminded of various people and events from history.

When Jack Johnson was boxing his way through a series of great white hopes, black communities all across America were celebrating. This man, despite his flaws, was shattering the lie of white supremacy.

FILE — In this Aug. 14, 1936, file photo, Jesse Owens competes in one of the heats of the 200-meter run at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. One of the four Olympic gold medals won by Owens at the 1936 Berlin Games is for sale in an online auction that runs from through Dec. 7. (AP Photo/File)

Jesse Owens did the same thing at the Berlin Olympics in 1936, prompting Hitler to leave the stadium. I was touched by the fact that Owens was befriended by a German rival.

Jesse Owens (center left) and Bill Garrett (center right)

 On a somewhat more personal note, I have previously included the names of Bill Garrett, who broke the color barrier in Big Ten basketball, and Dr. James Roberson, who placed fourth in the Olympic decathlon trials and who was one of only a few blacks admitted to the Indiana University Medical School upon graduating from college. Both of these men were friends of my father from his days at Indiana University. Dr. Roberson’s family  slept in our home, and we  slept in theirs. I have mentioned this in a previous post, Breaking The Color Barrier, under my Graphic Mythology category (black strip on the left).

Now the Black Panther has been added to the modern pantheon, so … “Long live the king.” Role models, both real and fictional, are important. They were important to me as a child. They are important to me as an adult. As I have aged, I have grown to realize how much I took this for granted and how some demographic groups have felt under-represented.  There have been two recent films which I felt the producers really had to get right. One was Wonder Woman. The other was Black Panther. Okay, I know I should actually get around to reviewing the latter, so I will return to this topic next week.

Alias Adam Available

A couple of months ago, I posted Alias Adam in a series of free installments on this site. For those who have read it and who would like to have the entire story in one place, it is available through Amazon for $ 0.99 on Kindle or for $ 9.85 in paperback. These are the minimum prices the Createspace platform would allow me to charge. You can order Alias Adam by clicking HERE.

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, you can read the entire story for free by clicking on the “Alias Adam” category in the black strip on the left. The story uses a combination of science fiction and fantasy to address the problems of sexual assault and child abuse in America. In addition, I offer the following description from the back cover:

• He had four biological parents.
• She had a father of unknown identity.
• He had a history of child abuse.
• She had been assaulted throughout her life.
• Their physical and physiological abilities were beyond the ordinary.
• Somehow, beyond all sensory verification, they were not alone.

Again, you can order by clicking HERE. Happy reading.

A Sense Of Story

In his book, The Everlasting Man, G. K. Chesterton makes the statement that although philosophers examine patterns when analyzing reality, Christianity is a story. I will add that so are all of the major myths from various cultures. Later in that same book, there is perhaps the most interesting and unique discussion about comparative religion which I have ever read. Whether you believe them or not, Christianity, Judaism, Greek mythology, Roman mythology, and Norse mythology (not to mention too many additional myths and religions to include in this post) are stories, and they address a fundamental need of the human condition. I remember being a college student in the 1970s. It was a time when these things could be discussed more freely than they are today. People weren’t nearly as prickly when challenged by ideas with which they disagreed.

The Ascension by Benjamin West, 1801

Returning back to my opening statement, the recognition and analysis of patterns is extremely useful to the understanding of how nature works. My formal training in molecular biology taught me to do just that. Without the context of a story, however, patterns become disembodied, bland, and hollow. A widespread problem in modern society is the awareness that our weeks are like sentences which lack punctuation, especially that period or exclamation point at the end. Too often, it seems that nothing significant happens, something that adds definition to our existence. This extends into the fear that our lives have no story line and no underlying theme. Social approval only goes so far in filling this need. We long, often while resisting it, for a sense of belonging to something greater than individuals or groups.

Gods of Olympus (1534-1535) by Giulio Romano

I’ve often wondered if this at least partly underlies our cultural fascination with fantasy, science fiction, or even horror. Especially in the case of the latter, do we jangle our nerves so that we will at least feel something? Lest you think I’m being overly critical, please understand that I love various literary and cinematic works of fantasy, science fiction, and mythology. The exercise of our imaginations can be extremely beneficial when it encourages us to conceive better things.

The Muse (1895) by Gabriel de Cool

May I suggest also taking a look at the hard stuff? Read the great works of epic and mythical poetry, including The Iliad, The Odyssey, Beowulf, The Divine Comedy, and The Poetic Edda. While you’re at it, you could certainly do a lot worse than reading works like, Confessions and The City of God by Augustine, The Bible, and the works of Plato and Aristotle. You won’t understand or agree with everything you read. I certainly didn’t, but I learned not only something of their content but also the pleasure of engaging in deep thinking. The driving can be difficult, but the ride is worth it.

Mercury and a Sleeping Herdsman by Peter Paul Rubens

We are by nature rebellious, so let’s rebel and begin to fill the hollow universe that has been left to us by materialistic thinking. I must add one more thing before closing. Learning is not enough by itself. Our lives become better stories when we apply what we learn by doing something, by adding quality to ourselves and our communities.

Anime And Life

I moved to the small town in which I am currently living and working right out of graduate school over 25 years ago. Imagine going from a Big 10 university town to hearing a rooster crow somewhere outside your property in the morning. I could sometimes hear the clip-clop of a horse’s hooves on the street out front. How you regard that says a lot about attitude and expectations, and that brings me to the point of this post.

From: My Neighbor Totoro (1988, Studio Ghibli), directed by Hayao Miyazaki

During Christmas at our home a few years ago, I was speaking with my son-in-law, Michael Greenholt. He is an animator who has worked for Disney/Toon Studios and is recently employed by Warner Brothers. I told him that I did not care for the general quality of anime, and he informed me that I needed to watch features directed by Hayao Miyazaki. As proof, he showed me My Neighbor Totoro.

From: My Neighbor Totoro (1988, Studio Ghibli), directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

My attitude toward where I was living was, to say the least, under-appreciative. During this charming animation, I was struck by its sense of peace, pastoral simplicity, community, and appreciation of the simple features of relationships and rural life. I remember thinking, “I want that,” and then realizing, “Wait – I already have that.” It was all around me, and I had been disregarding it.

The story is a wonderful application of mythology to the mundane aspects of human life. Some benevolent spirits of various sizes help two sisters whose mother is ill and whose father is a university professor. There were images of the father grading papers in the quiet of their rural home, and I identified with what I was seeing. That might be the sequence which really got the wheels turning in my mind.

I have said before that good fantasy can give us a perspective from which to consider reality. The subject of this week’s offering is but one good example of how this has worked for me. Happily, I can say that I am much better acclimated to my surroundings as I write this some years later. Just this last Christmas, we were at Mike and my daughter’s house out in Los Angeles, and the family watched this movie again. In another conversation during that visit, my daughter zeroed in on a statement I made about the influence of expectations on our enjoyment. If we are expecting something else, we are less likely to enjoy what is in front of us, regardless of its quality. If we can expand our thinking, we can enjoy a wider variety of things in this life.

Additionally, I can say that slowing down and taking more time to enjoy less has the effect of expanding our sense of time. I believe that we live more fully and more deeply when we can achieve this relaxed state of mind. If I were to make a suggestion, it would be to turn down the cultural noise, slow down, and get about the business of real living.

The legend hails from northern seas, a tale that few know well,

Where faith and fear blow freely on the gray and changing swell.

Mark well the drift of this account, and come to understand

That humble and heroic things go often hand in hand.

The Kraken, by Robert L. Jones, III, and illustrated by James P. Wood, is a fantasy tale told in poetic verse. It follows the journey of a bereaved and lovelorn youngster into manhood. Conscripted by brigands, he is later aided by a seaside prophet and various creatures as he seeks to destroy a monster that preys upon vessels in northern shipping lanes and to recover what has been taken away from him. 

To purchase The Kraken, click HERE.

“What of that?” the Spirit answered.

Go fulfill your task, and then

See what bitter fate awaits you.

Worse has come to better men.”

The Staff in the Tree is an epic poem set in a future landscape inhabited by mythological beasts and spirits. Through a series of encounters with these creatures and their master, a young man seeking revenge for the death of his father must learn nobler motives as he seeks to deliver this land from dark and oppressive forces.

To order, click HERE.

 

Graphic Mythology: Creative Responsibility

What I have to say this week applies not only to comics but to writing in general. A couple of weeks ago, I lamented negative portrayals of women and children in graphic novels and used early issues of Wonder Woman to exemplify my arguments. While it might seem irrelevant to get upset about something that is obviously dated and silly in retrospect, I deliberately used images that would seem tame or even harmless. To be honest, some of the more current  images are so graphic that I felt it would have been in bad taste to include them in my post. I contend that the points I made are valid, and using seemingly inoffensive examples might actually encourage readers to take a more careful look at how they and the rest of society think. Fantasy isn’t real, but it has real consequences, good and bad. Keep in mind that Wonder Woman is often uncritically regarded as a feminist icon because she is a superhero and because she is a woman. It is good to read thoughtfully and to choose one’s heroes carefully.

Color illustration from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki.

Our modern mythology in western society is embodied primarily in movies, comics, and popular fiction. The key here is writing. For something to be seen, it first must be written. Our culture in general and fantasy entertainment in particular are saturated with damaging portrayals of women. Those of us who write have the opportunity and the responsibility to help reverse this trend. Compelling characters and stories can have tremendous influence on the attitudes of many people. I am not suggesting we write propaganda at the expense of story quality. This takes too low a view of our respective readerships. These are people who can and will think for themselves, but they will choose from available options. Let’s offer them something better.

Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015), directed by J. J. Abrams.

It isn’t enough just to have lead characters who are female. This can lead us into an insipid numbers game which actually defeats our purpose and continues to feed the beast. We need to take a more qualitative look at what we are doing and why. The following comments are based on my own limited experience, so I would appreciate any additional insights you might care to contribute.

I have noticed some trends which have been lauded as steps in the right direction in fantasy writing. Most with which I am familiar simply involve the raising of awareness by describing unsettling societal issues and incorporating them into plot and character development. It is fairly easy to describe the mistreatment of women, somewhat harder to shed light on the internal suffering this causes them, and much more difficult to create solutions which can show us a way forward. For example, a plethora of female superheroes have been written with backstories of abuse and discrimination. If I can say anything about them as a group, it is that they are portrayed as damaged and often angry. Internal conflict is the base from which they combat evil, and they have a tendency to remain hurt, angry, and conflicted as they unsuccessfully try to exorcise their personal demons. In other words, they don’t often get better.

The challenge for fantasy writers, as I see it, is to begin with characters who are damaged and then make them believably whole. In doing this, care must be exercised to prevent the story from devolving into a predictable morality play. Some would argue that healthy characters aren’t as interesting, but I respectfully disagree. Would you rather have a conversation with a disturbed stranger or with one who is more balanced? Healthy characters can have as many, if not more, interesting facets to their personalities as those who are damaged. The trick, and it is not trivial, is to make them interesting in their damaged condition and then to make them even more interesting when they are whole. Then, of course, there is the type of female character who starts out from a good place and ends up in an even better one. These are relatively under-utilized roles in current fiction, and they represent considerable literary potential.

Folks (and especially guys), we don’t have to keep our female characters in chains. They can also be more fully clothed. Superheroines are good for more than ogling, DTR talks, catfights (and other girl-on-girl drama), sexual abuse, and even social statements. They and other female leads are deep wells with many unexplored possibilities. As in relationships with real women, we have only scratched the surface.