Understanding Superman

There have been many who have derided the character of Superman as a character that can't be done effectively on screen because he is too powerful and therefore has nothing to lose, and no one to match him as far as a villain goes.  While this may be true, the key to understanding Superman is not in his power.  That is just the popcorn part of his character.  No, Superman is more complex than that.

The key to understanding Superman is in his isolation.  The son of Krypton was raised to be the same as everyone else in his little farm community.  He was not one of them.  He had all of these abilities that he had to hide, and all of that power in a struggling lonely boy isolated him in a way that no one could really reach him.  No one could understand.  Yet with this great power that he did not ask for, comes the great responsibility that he never wanted.  But being raised by great foster parents, he was taught of goodness, truth and justice.

Recently, movies have realistically shown how the world would react if the man of steel showed up in our world.  You would start with some thing pure and exciting in the wonder of all that this being could do.  Some would probably worship him as a God, others would give way to fear that absolute power corrupts absolutely, and believe that one day he would turn into a villain.  It would get political and rubbish really fast.

So here we have not a god, or a devil, but a farmer from Kansas that wants to do what is right, and because he is a good person, he goes out and helps many, but he has to live with the idea that even he with all of his strength, cannot save every child that cries out in fear.  He can't defeat every bad thing or take away every heartache.  He has to hear the outcry of "Why didn't Superman save my (insert loved one here)?"

Personally I would want to run away from it all.  Not belonging and having that kind of guilt riding on your shoulders would be difficult.  Of course he is taught through recordings of his birth father that it is not necessarily his job to solve all of humanity's problems.  He is there to be a light or an ideal to strive towards, that one day after their stumbling and pitfalls, they would join him in the sun.  There is a certain metaphor that could be made there about him being a Christlike figure, but I would like to focus on what really makes Clark Kent a compelling character.

He is in every way that matters, human.  He wants to make his family proud.  He loves his girlfriend.  He has a job.  He has friends.  He wants to sit in front of a television once and a while.  He wants to go out and have fun.  He wants to have a family some day.  Yet every moment he takes to be human, and do human things, people are dying that he has the ability to save, but he chooses not to.  I could see him one day becoming very frustrated with the guilt of it all.

Clark has the ability to put the world under his thumb and conquer it should he decide that humanity cannot be trusted with it's own freedom.  He has the power to tear the whole thing down if he chooses to.  He doesn't because he was always taught to believe in people.  But the potential for destruction is there.

In essence, Clark is a man without a home.  He is not really part of his Kryptonian ancestry, as he never grew up in their ways, and never knew that life, but he isn't human either.  He is separate from the rest of humanity in ways that he cannot ever reconcile.

The key to understanding Superman is Lois Lane.  As was recently stated in the most recent movie, she is his world.  She is the place he calls home.  She is that place he feels accepted.  She is the place he finds peace in a world that expects too much of him.  She is his link to humanity.  She is the reason he is able to get out of bed in the morning and do as much as he can for ungrateful and sometimes evil people.  She is the reason he is able to go out an be a symbol of hope.

The biggest problem with this is she is always wanting to help people as well, and always throwing herself into trouble in the hopes of helping him.  It would be wise, I think to have her out of harm's way so that Clark could never lose his link to humanity.  What would become of him if one day he was too late to save her, and he lost everything that he cared about?  What if he lost the reason he found to live.  What would a person with that much power bursting out of him become if he was suddenly fresh out of empathy.

Of course, if Lois was willing to put herself in a cage and let Superman save the day, she would not be Lois Lane, and Clark Kent wouldn't love her.  So they are locked in this dance, this limbo.  Superman is busy doing his thing, saving the world, and he has to pause and place a premium on saving this woman who is constantly getting into trouble.  If it were a choice between Lois Lane and the world, Clark would choose Lois, because she is his world.

Therein lies the danger of Superman, and therein lies the key to understanding the boy.  The world around him and the responsibilities on his shoulders is too much for anyone to handle.  The guilt of not saving everyone, and the frustration of being misunderstood, has to be swallowed up by the most human thing of all.  He loves this girl, and that is all he can think about.  Can anything more be asked of a simple farmer's son from Kansas?  Much less the very last lonely son of a family and people he never knew.  Give the boy a break.

Expecto Patronum

I have, in recent readings of the Harry Potter series, come to a realization.  The third book is best written story of the bunch.  Many would not agree for valid reasons.  Nevertheless I believe it is the best for the simple reason that Harry is given his best character arc for growth.  He wrestles with his inner demons and his hatred for the man who killed his parents and in a surprising act of mercy, spares his life.

But far more important, I think, is his battle with the dementors.  This is also the subject I wish to discuss.  For those of us who need a refresher, dementors are among the foulest creatures in the wizarding world.  They are found in places of deepest evil.  They cannot be killed. They cannot be manipulated.  They cannot be bought.  They cannot be negotiated with.

A dementor is so terrifying not because it is a disturbing mixture of a ghost, grim reaper, and a ring wraith.  It is because it reduces even the most brave man to a crying heap just by being in the vicinity
of the monster.  Dementors feel on every dark thought, every painful memory, and they feed on the soul.  They leave you in a state of complete despair from which you cannot escape.  

In short, they are the living personification of depression.  

This is a beautiful story of how to fight it.

As I said, they cannot be killed.  So how does one fight it.  Well, chocolate is recommended to recover from the effects after an encounter, and it makes sense. Chocolate makes everything better.  But unfortunately, chocolate does not drive the creatures away.  To do that, a wizard has to create powerful magic and find help beyond themselves, but it also demands something of them.  

This is called the patronus charm.  The desired effect is a glowing light usually in the form of an animal to come to your aid and chase away the dementors.  This requires a wizard to in that depressive wretched state, think of a powerfully happy memory and grip it tight till it burns their hand and say the words "Expecto Patronum."  

It is difficult to master, and it takes Harry some time to get it right.  In the end he summons a patronus  so powerful that it drives an entire hoard of dementors away.  It was not the last time he faced them, and he didn't always win, but he beat them in the end.

What hit me so powerfully about this story hit me when I found out what expecto Patronum means in Latin.  It literally means, " I await a guardian."  How powerful is that?  How many in their darkest hour cried out for a guardian, a savior, someone who could save them from the pain in their soul?  How many have felt something empowering in that moment as if they were filled with light?  

I submit that a patronus represents the Spirit of God.  It is the only thing of which I am aware of that can effectively fight against depression in a definite win.  But something is demanded of the individual.  They must not give in to the despair.  They must allow for a particle of faith that everything is going to be okay, and so it is, and so will it always be.

Until next time, mischief managed.

Into the Forest

Inevitably in stories darkness has a part to play.  It is in a measure what makes the story worth telling.  It is the darkness that provides the emotional weight necessary for an audience to care about the characters in a meaningful way.  It is because of this, because stars are only visible in darkness, that I often say that a story is only as good as its villain.  If there is a villain that is no real threat, then the hero is never really in any sort of peril.

Sometimes in order to keep the darkness at bay, or for the hero to even survive it, it requires something of the hero that they would rather not give.  This is called sacrifice.  It is among the most powerful of story plot points.  What is the character willing to give up in order to achieve his goals?  It is the mark of the greatest of heroes, that they value the lives of others more than they do their own.

This can be sacrificing an object like the holy grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, a boatload of treasure in Treasure Planet, a wish for a genie's freedom in Aladdin, a prophecy for the lives of friends in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the Black Suit in Spider Man 3, or immortality for Jack Sparrow on more than one occasion in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.  This is usually the hero learning not to be selfish, or the villain has someone they care about at gunpoint.

Sacrifice becomes more powerful when it is not an object that they have to give up, but a relationship with someone they care about.  Some examples of this would be Thor destroying the Bifrost even though it's his only way back to Jane, Harry breaking up with Ginny at the end of Half-Blood Prince, Peter Parker severing his connection to Mary Jane at the end of the first Spider Man movie, or Hermione's relationship with her parents in Deathly Hallows.  They can sacrifice their reputation like Batman at the end of the Dark Knight, or Dumbledore in Order of the Phoenix
.

In the end for the hero, the only true conclusion is death.  The hero does not cower to death.  That would belittle life.  It is the final thing that can be done.  Sometimes those who know the hero deem his quest too important to fail, and so become heroes themselves by laying down their lives.  Examples include Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope, Boromir in the Fellowship of the Ring, the Potters in Harry Potter, Harry Osborne in Spider Man 3, Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy, Dobby in Deathly Hallows as well as Neville and pretty much everyone else in that book, and many more.

Then the last of all is where the main character is willing to pay the ultimate price.  Examples include Batman from the Dark Knight Rises, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man in the Avengers, Harry Potter,  Cooper in Interstellar, Hercules saving Meg, Aslan from Narnia, Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings, Jack Shepard from Lost, Robert Neville in I Am Legend, Anna in Frozen, Baymax in Big Hero 6, Wall-e, Flynn Rider in Tangled, and many more.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."  The reason such sacrifices resonate is that it is the most powerful act of love that anyone can achieve.  But also, such sacrifices often reflect the last and greatest sacrifice of the atonement of Jesus Christ.  He is represented so often, most recognizably as Aslan, Gandalf, and Harry Potter, as they all came back from the grave.

It is Harry Potter in particular that I want to focus on.  He found that after all his efforts, Dumbledore's plans did not include him surviving.  He was to be sacrificed for the greater good to bring Voldemort down.  The worst part was that Harry would have to be told that he was raised as a lamb for slaughter, and he was expected to walk willingly to his death.  It is a testament to his character that he walks without a weapon willingly into the dark forest.  He willingly gives up his life.  His only comfort is to talk to those who have gone before.  After that bravery his sacrifice has magical power that the dark lord knew not.  His sacrifice for his friends made it impossible for Voldemort to hurt any of his friends.  It was essentially an atonement.  That's why I compare his story to the Savior.

These are the stories that really matter, where things seem most dark, but in the end the sun shines out the clearer.  These stories and many others stick around with you because they mean something.  That there is some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for.

There Has Been an Awakening.

Star Wars is among the newest mythology to show up on this little blue planet.  That's what mythology is in the end, stories.  There are all kinds of things to be learned from it.  It's characters are known to the general public even if they haven't even seen it before.  There are many possible reasons for it's popularity, and now is not the time for me to list them.  I only wish to theorize that a reason for its enduring popularity, and the popularity of other movies, may be that it has an abundance of truth.  No, I don't believe that the events actually or indeed could ever happen.  I'm talking about spiritual truth, and not just about good and evil.

Let me begin by saying that there will be no apologies given in referencing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  It is in point of fact, the reason the website is here at all.  And with Star Wars in particular, there parallels are numerous.

My theory is that some of the most iconic stories resonate with audiences on such a deep level because that is one of the ways that the Holy Ghost can reach out and touch the hearts of the general public.  That is in some measure why some stories have almost a religious following.  It is because they felt something special that they feel ever so rarely.  The Holy Ghost testifies of all truth.  And Star Wars teaches what was thought to be fiction to the hearts of receptive souls everywhere, about good and evil, redemption, life after death, a force out there that accounts for things, even recent history.

The Jedi Order is favorably compared to the early church established by Christ in Jerusalem.  The Jedi order was not destroyed by enemies from without, but from within.  Anakin Skywalker can be compared very easily to Judas Iscariot.  One by one the Jedi were hunted down and destroyed, creating an apostasy in the force.  The same thing happened to the early Apostles resulting in an apostasy that lasted nearly two thousand years.

Then, we have a humble farm boy with no extraordinary talent on the outward appearance who gets called to become a new hope.  He then through patience and training becomes a hero and a legend.  Joseph Smith is called to restore the Gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ to the earth.  Luke Skywalker is called to restore balance to the force and restore the Jedi Order.

There are many other things that could be mentioned, but this suffices for my next point.  Recently a prophet has declared that this now is the time to hasten the work of salvation.  You could say there has been an enthusiastic awakening of spiritual duty and awareness.

Some have criticized the seventh Star Wars movie, "The Force Awakens," to be too much like A New Hope.  While that may be true, the context is different in the way it resonates with audiences.  The awakening in the movie illustrates that it is time to fight again for all the light that is out there, to stand against new darkness inspired by darkness of days past.  That is where we find Rey, someone with no past and no future, nothing but a scavenger on a forgotten planet cut off from the galaxy.  Then the force intervenes and she is swept up in a fight for the future of light and hope in the galaxy.  And when she is thrown into this adventure, she finds herself more equal to the task than she would have ever believed.  As she that her abilities and her worth are greater than she could have ever hoped, those around her see it too.  She finds out that she is much more than a scavenger.  Rather, she finds the potential deep within herself to become a Jedi Knight.  It is time for ancient ideas to make a comeback.  Ideas such as heroism, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, hope, humility and faith.  It is time for an awakening of new Jedi, so to speak, to fight the battles that will rage.  Unfortunately evil is not permanently destroyed, and heroes cannot defeat danger itself forever, but for a moment, they can free others from fear.  Let others find hope in their sacrifice.  Let those that knew them well speak of their fierce loyalty, unwavering convictions, and when the time came, their ultimate willingness to give all.  That's how legends are born.

It is for these ideals that we have to strive to be better, to become heroes, to not allow ourselves to squander our abilities and gifts on satisfying our lusts for revenge or power.  They are given to us to give others hope, to give others an ideal to strive towards.  So become Jedi, always in control of your thoughts and emotions, using them to help those in need. Now is the time to be heroes, to be guardians of peace and justice for all.

There has been an awakening.

Have you felt it?

Have you been paying attention?

Believe it.  Join the Resistance against the dark side.  You will have help.  You will find the strength within yourself like Rey in her fight against Kylo Ren.  Feel the force around you.  Listen to it.  If it were here on earth you would call it the Spirit and Power of God. (depending on the situation).

The Force: It's calling to you!  Just let it in...

Biff Tannen for President

Some of the best lessons in life are from people who made all of the wrong choices.  It is no different in movies and television.  This time Biff Tannen of Back to the Future fame is put under the magnifying glass.  Many may only remember him as the bully in the first movie, if they remember him at all.  He is characterized as dim witted, abusive, yet physically powerful.  Unfortunately such power attracts others in the high school environment, either to obtain some of that power for themselves, or to avoid falling victim to it themselves, so he has a few henchmen as well.

The subject of this post however is not of the teenager who got a well deserved punch from George McFly at the "Enchantment Under the Sea" dance.  No, I will instead be referring to the unfortunate individual that he grows into in the second movie of the series.  Through some abuse of time travel, Biff find a way to give himself the key to nearly limitless wealth.  He uses this good fortune to mold the city in his own image.  The result is a nightmare for every person other than Tannen who sits in his lofty penthouse looking down on deliquescing city he grew up in.  He doesn't care if it rots.  He is taken care of.  He has everything that he ever wanted.  He doesn't care if the world burns around him.

The reason for the focus on such an unpleasant individual is his uncanny resemblance to a certain candidate running for president.  In fact, I would go so far to say that they are similar in almost every way, including the haircut.  I am talking today about leadership, and what makes a leader.

When I think of great leaders, images come to mind of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and many other great men in the world's history.  Other examples include Aragorn from the Lord of the Rings, Captain America, and Harry Potter to name a few.  There are many reasons that Biff Tannen does not find himself on the list.  The largest of these being he is a bully.  From the cradle he has, I can only assume, learned that if he wants something, he must prey on the weak to get it.  It has been said, "If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."  Should such a man be trusted to make the call on whether or not to help those in need, or to have negotiations with other countries?

Another thing that makes Biff so dangerous is his pathological abuse of women.  Seeing them as nothing more than objects for him to satisfy his own desires, he brings ruin to all relationships he enters leaving scars and damage that lingers for years, and in his arrogance and narcissism, he convinces them that they are the problem, convincing to mutilate their bodies to be good enough.

His narcissism knowing no boundaries, he is completely convinced that whatever he does is right.  He never makes a mistake.  He never has to apologize.  He doesn't have to adhere to anyone else's rules.  He can say what he wants, do what he wants, and no one can stop him because he has the money.  He has the power.  He has little mindless yes men who will do anything that he wants them to.

Is that the type of man that should be as Abraham Lincoln once said, "clothed with immense power?"  Should anyone be worried if such a man gains popularity from stomping on the weak, or by insulting the powerless?  What would America become if it were to be molded into the image of Biff Tannen?  Who would lift up those who are struggling?  Who would the people turn to when they were most in need?  Is it really a good idea to have a bully for president?

The only answer I can think of is given by one of my heroes, Captain America:

"I don't like bullies.  I don't care where they're from."