Tag: superhero

family

Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse

Andi

This movie is a couple years old now, and is getting a sequel. But I didn’t hear much about it when it did come out. It was overshadowed by other super hero movies, and it didn’t do as well in the box office either. But I want to know why. I love this movie and so do my kids.

First up, let’s talk about the animation style. The desired affect was to appear like a comic book, and I think they achieved that. It definitely gives that comic book feel. But what really impressed me was the use of words and actions made it look like this really was a moving comic book. The framing and angles they used to make emphasis. Can I hear Miles screaming WOOOOO! I can, but seeing that fall with him in visual word form as he jumps amplified the excitement of the moment.

I’ve also seen posts thanking the film makers for animating women that all look different. But I’m going to spring board off of that and thank the film makers for not only giving us diverse looking women, but also diverse acting women. Two of the spider people are female, which we need more hero women, but one of the villains was a woman as well. It wasn’t until I watched this movie that I noticed how few supervillains were female. It may seem odd that I’d want more women in evil roles, but diversity means there are men and women in all roles, not just the protagonist. Not to mention that Penni Parker is Asian American, giving even more variance to group.

Which brings me to Aunt May. For me, Aunt May is usually a side character that is only there for her relationship to Peter. She still kind of is, but there are 3 things that make this May different. Well 4, because one is she was voiced by Ms. Freaking Frizzle, Lily Tomlin. But she isn’t a weak old helpless woman. First off she knew Doc Oc on a first name basis and just by the way she said, “oh, its Liv” seems to indicate they have some kind of history. Second, she knew and prepared the Spider Lair for Miles return. She was ready to equip him with what he needed, meaning she’d also helped Peter and played more than just the kind old aunt in his life. And lastly, she didn’t run from a fight. She took a baseball bat to Tombstone’s torso. She isn’t weak or cowardly, she was not about to let these hooligans destroy her home, she was ready to fight them for it. I repeat she bashed Tombstone with a bat. I loved this Aunt May and I hope the sequel shows us Miles has kept a relationship with her.

Now to Miles. This is simply happiness over representation. Miles is a mixed kid. A mixed child is depicted in a happy loving home, as the main protagonist, the hero. My children are mixed, Miles gives them a Spiderman that looks like them. I can’t tell you how much I love that. It shows a black man as a loving father, partner and a police officer. How many negative images of black men do we see in shows and movies? This movie gave us a good one. Can I just repeat, we got movie with a mixed kid as the hero?

The music score and song selections were absolutely perfect as well. The sound effects really make a movie. They are one of those things you probably don’t notice because it fills out the experience and supports the story. It’s one of the things you don’t notice when its there, but you would notice if it were missing. It’d feel empty and hallow to you. Like when you taste something and you know something is missing but you aren’t sure which exact spice it needs. Music gives emotion to a movie, and this music department did incredible.

And I’m just gonna throw this in, this film has one of Stan Lee’s last cameos. By the time it came out on DVD and Bluray, he had passed. His cameo in this film is made more emotional because of that. It makes me tear up. Especially knowing how much Stan loved Spiderman. I’m gonna miss him.

But even just on the surface, it was funny and cute. The dialogue was captivating, the characters developed, the jokes well placed. It made me laugh out loud.

It was a good movie. It deserves the fanbase its developed, and I hope the sequel will prove that numerically.

family

Don’t Limit Them

Andi

As you might imagine if you’ve read my life posts so far, my home life was very restricted and sheltered. I wasnt allowed to consume any entertainment that wasn’t Christian and because of the type of church we were part of, it had to be from another Independent Fundamental Baptist Christian source. I wasn’t allowed to listen to contemporary Christian music and certainly not secular music. We only had one small 13 inch TV that stayed in the parents bedroom, which was off limits to us. The books I read were monitored. I wasn’t allowed to read Harry Potter because it was demonic and so I convinced myself I didn’t like it. In middle school my mom actually had me removed from a literature class at my Private Christian school because she didn’t like the book. My mom would preview a book she hadn’t read before to make sure it was ok. I never saw the shows the rest of my generation grew up with, the songs everyone else loved or the books they were reading. Any form of entertainment I liked I had to hide, read only at school, watch at friends houses, listen to on the school bus. It defintely made me odd and out of place.

When I started showing an interest in video games, my parents of course went overboard with it. I had a laptop by that time I had bought with my own money and Halo I also bought. My mom got online and read all the backstory and read so deeply into it, she was convinced it was anti Christian and took it away from me. Not to mention it was uncouth and unladylike to play video games. I had to buy anything for myself, but I didn’t have money. So like everything else, it got limited to what I could play at friends houses.

My mother didnt like the “nerd phase” as a whole. She hated sci-fi movies because they gave her weird dreams, and the only reason she’d have weird dreams was because of the devil and she wasn’t about to let the devil into her house. My likes got squashed frequently. About the only thing I could get away with was Doctor Who and that was only because an old missionary friend said he’d watched it as a kid and loved it. So she rationalized it must be ok then.

After I moved out, I got a TV and an Xbox and two games: Halo and Bioshock. I bought Star Wars and LOTR posters and put them all over my walls. I could finally Express myself however I pleased. When I met my husband one of the things we had in common was video games. But he played Playstation, and I played Xbox. So there is proof the two can coexist peacefully 😛 We now have both, in addition to an NES and a Gamecube.

My parents still think it’s simply a phase I’ll grow out of, but it’s been over a decade, I don’t think its passing. I’ve introduced it to my children. One of the first words my son said coherently was Spiderman. So no, I don’t think its passing anytime soon.

Point is, don’t try to limit or shame your child’s interests because you don’t understand why they have them. Even if it is just a phase, they are growing into adults and learning along the way. Don’t inhibit their growth. Let them discover the world and decide what they like and who they want to be.

family

Superheroes

Andi

My grandparents were my biggest role models. They were the only strong positive influence in my young life. My grandma passed in 2008 when I was 15. I lost one of my role models right as I needed one most.

I read a lot of C.S. Lewis, so I suppose you could say he was someone I looked up to. And Julie Andrews was my musical hero. I wanted to sound like her, but I also wanted to be like her. She is a magnificent and beautiful woman, and I still want to be like her.

I don’t remember who, but someone gave me a copy of Iron Man that had been released that year. I was instantly enamored. For the next 11 years Marvel spun an elaborate tale of struggle and triumph. These flawed and broken characters who overcame and defeated their enemies became my role models. It didn’t matter that they were fictional. It didn’t matter they might of had problems, that just made them all the more real to me. I looked up to them and tried to emulate them. Especially Tony Stark. Its made pretty plain that Tony had anxiety. He had deep fears and serious regret. That he struggled. But he still got up everyday and put on the suit. He overcame. His character resonated so deeply with me and he became my personal role model, and of course my favorite Avenger.

It came to the big conclusion, the Endgame. When Tony sacrificed himself, it felt like an end, closure. 11 years I’d been following this hero through his arc, and now it was over. A month later is when my only other real life personal role model, my grandpa, passed. Almost like the true end of this part of my journey. Tony came along exactly when I needed him, and I don’t need him like I used to. I grew up in those 11 years. I faced my own anxiety and deep set fears. I graduated school, got married, had children.

Grandpa got to see all of his grandchildren grown and happy. Thats what he remembers last. His granchildren and great grandchildren giggling and happy around him. He was at peace.

Tony got to see his efforts repair the catastrophe Thanos had caused. He got to see his daughter, he got to see Peter. He saved the universe and he was able to rest.

I will always love Iron Man forever and always. I will always love Marvel for providing a hero for me at the perfect time, even though they have no way of knowing I needed it. I will hold a special place for RDJ for bringing the character to life. I will always love and cherish my grandparents for providing the true role models I needed direct contact with. My personal superheros.