I’m not a fan, generally, of the superhero genre of storytelling. Why? Partly Because it is so unrealistic and so alien to our regular lives. It is difficult to apply any “lessons” from those stories to our human experience.
If I have super powers, then it doesn’t really take courage to do anything. I’m above and beyond ordinary human experience. I’m “god-like” in my powers.
But humans are so deeply flawed and limited that we really can’t truly connect with a superhero on a deep level.
It is why I love stories about actual humans exhibiting courage.
For example, the movie 12 Strong is the true story of the Army Special Forces Units who rode into battle against tanks against the Taliban while on horseback after 9/11. I have a friend who served in the unit that replaced the unit depicted in the movie, and he did the same. Said he hadn’t even ridden a horse since he was about 10 years old. Then all of a sudden he’s on horseback facing Russian-made tanks of the enemy!
If we stop and think about it, do we realize how extraordinary that is? FAR more impressive to me than what a fictional Superman with superhuman strength and the ability to fly can do.
I think we need to move away from fantasy storytelling and get back to real life storytelling. That’s the stuff that “sticks” better. “If HE can do it, why not me?”
I see your point here. I also enjoy stories of regular humans. But I wouldn't discount GOOD stories of ALL kinds.
Gotta push back on your superhero and fantasy storytelling take…
I don’t think its difficult to apply to our lives at all tbh. To say having superpowers means you dont need courage to do anything seems to assume that all hard things in life can be solved with physical power…. Thats not case.
I think there's a ton of applicable lessons in not only fantasy but even the superhero genre specifically. How does Superman (when he's written well) deal with being strong enough to punch through (almost) any problem? He often has to deal with it by learning that not every problem can be solved with force.
Spiderman has given us one of the greatest lessons in human history: “With great power comes great responsibility.” As a man who has power over my household (my wife and son), having that lesson blasted into my head as a kid serves me well to this day. I have to accept the responsibility that comes with that power. The same goes for my YouTube channel. I have the power to influence, which comes with responsibility that I take very seriously. And when I do slip, Super Heroes like Spiderman have modeled what it's like to fail in that regard and then bounce back. There's not many stories out there about YouTubers being responsible for me to model after, but the superhero stories covered this as a principle that can be applied to a wide variety of things.
Imagine how Peter Parker feels when there are people he can't save (even those close to him, like Uncle Ben). He has all those powers, so when people die, he often takes it personally. Imagine the weight of that responsibility… What man can't relate to not being able to save everyone? Old friends, family members, etc...
The Lord of the Rings is Fantasy and is far more dense with applicable life lessons than the majority of storytelling.
These stories often teach us that, regardless of physical power, a man should be virtuous, fair, and seeking to be righteous. They teach us that our gifts, whether their superpowers or the ability to practice law, come with a responsibility to use them for good as opposed to using them for selfish need. They also teach us that even though Peter Parker is the strongest guy in his school (by a mile lol). He still doesn't always get the girl, still deals with tragedy, and still doubts himself (which then takes courage to push through).
So you walk away realizing that pursuing strength of character is even more important than physical strength. But to the point of this article, until you identify a goal of your own, you'll only be temporarily motivated instead of deeply changed.
Spider-Man is definitely the most human of the superheroes. And there is no question that the storytellers attempt to attribute human problems to them for us to connect to.
I think my point is that for me specifically — and I suspect a decent number of folks like me — it just doesn’t usually resonate.
Perhaps I’m just weary of the incessant Marvel and DC comics movies at the expense of other types of storytelling that focuses on real (or realistic) people, relationships, problems, challenges, etc.
I don’t mind one every once in awhile, but I would watch 12 Strong 12x before I would watch a Marvel movie. I don’t walk out of the theater after a superhero movie with any inspiration whatsoever.
But obviously, many people love them! (Including my wife and adult kids).
Well if you're only referring to the super hero and fantasy stories through movies then I get your point a bit more. I think of it more from the totality of the comic books, novels, tv series, and movies altogether. (Plus any type of storytelling.) But try not to judge the whole genre (specially the storytelling aspects) based solely on the bad movies (there are many lol).... But Hollywood doesn't put out much quality of any genre these days if we're being fair lol.
I was never a comic book guy, and I just never got into fantasy, sci-fi, etc that much. It just didn’t speak to me. I don’t even like (ducking) Lord of the Rings. I know I’m SUPPOSED to, but I don’t. I DO like the Chronicles of Narnia though.
And you are right. Most movies (of any kind) are bad these days. I’m about to give Nuremberg a try. And to be fair, I DO like a Spider-Man, Iron Man, or Captain America story every now and again. I enjoyed the first Avengers movie. But they tend to lose me pretty quickly after that.
I’ll pay attention a little more if the venue for the superhero struggles is actually a normal earth as opposed to outer space, other dimensions or planets, etc etc. Hate that crap! 😂
As long as you like Chronicles of Narnia (the original) and Spider-Man we good lol. Chronicles was written by C.S. Lewis who was a devout Christian. (You probably knew that.) He was converted to Christianity by his good friend J.R.R. Tolkien (the guy who wrote The Lord of the Rings). They disagreed on a lot but they both deeply believed that fantasy storytelling was a powerful and legitimate vehicle for conveying deep theological and philosophical truth. Im just now starting to REALLY study them, but it's an interesting rabbit hole if you ever get the time.
Oh I love Lewis. Absolutely brilliant. Have read almost everything he wrote. And I respect Tolkien. Both brilliant writers and impactful believers. I just didn’t like LOTR. I know that makes me a pariah!
This is outstanding, as always.
Here is my theory why superhero pics don’t do it:
I’m not a fan, generally, of the superhero genre of storytelling. Why? Partly Because it is so unrealistic and so alien to our regular lives. It is difficult to apply any “lessons” from those stories to our human experience.
If I have super powers, then it doesn’t really take courage to do anything. I’m above and beyond ordinary human experience. I’m “god-like” in my powers.
But humans are so deeply flawed and limited that we really can’t truly connect with a superhero on a deep level.
It is why I love stories about actual humans exhibiting courage.
For example, the movie 12 Strong is the true story of the Army Special Forces Units who rode into battle against tanks against the Taliban while on horseback after 9/11. I have a friend who served in the unit that replaced the unit depicted in the movie, and he did the same. Said he hadn’t even ridden a horse since he was about 10 years old. Then all of a sudden he’s on horseback facing Russian-made tanks of the enemy!
If we stop and think about it, do we realize how extraordinary that is? FAR more impressive to me than what a fictional Superman with superhuman strength and the ability to fly can do.
I think we need to move away from fantasy storytelling and get back to real life storytelling. That’s the stuff that “sticks” better. “If HE can do it, why not me?”
You do such a great job of that, and I thank you.
Thanks Neff!
I see your point here. I also enjoy stories of regular humans. But I wouldn't discount GOOD stories of ALL kinds.
Gotta push back on your superhero and fantasy storytelling take…
I don’t think its difficult to apply to our lives at all tbh. To say having superpowers means you dont need courage to do anything seems to assume that all hard things in life can be solved with physical power…. Thats not case.
I think there's a ton of applicable lessons in not only fantasy but even the superhero genre specifically. How does Superman (when he's written well) deal with being strong enough to punch through (almost) any problem? He often has to deal with it by learning that not every problem can be solved with force.
Spiderman has given us one of the greatest lessons in human history: “With great power comes great responsibility.” As a man who has power over my household (my wife and son), having that lesson blasted into my head as a kid serves me well to this day. I have to accept the responsibility that comes with that power. The same goes for my YouTube channel. I have the power to influence, which comes with responsibility that I take very seriously. And when I do slip, Super Heroes like Spiderman have modeled what it's like to fail in that regard and then bounce back. There's not many stories out there about YouTubers being responsible for me to model after, but the superhero stories covered this as a principle that can be applied to a wide variety of things.
Imagine how Peter Parker feels when there are people he can't save (even those close to him, like Uncle Ben). He has all those powers, so when people die, he often takes it personally. Imagine the weight of that responsibility… What man can't relate to not being able to save everyone? Old friends, family members, etc...
The Lord of the Rings is Fantasy and is far more dense with applicable life lessons than the majority of storytelling.
These stories often teach us that, regardless of physical power, a man should be virtuous, fair, and seeking to be righteous. They teach us that our gifts, whether their superpowers or the ability to practice law, come with a responsibility to use them for good as opposed to using them for selfish need. They also teach us that even though Peter Parker is the strongest guy in his school (by a mile lol). He still doesn't always get the girl, still deals with tragedy, and still doubts himself (which then takes courage to push through).
So you walk away realizing that pursuing strength of character is even more important than physical strength. But to the point of this article, until you identify a goal of your own, you'll only be temporarily motivated instead of deeply changed.
Spider-Man is definitely the most human of the superheroes. And there is no question that the storytellers attempt to attribute human problems to them for us to connect to.
I think my point is that for me specifically — and I suspect a decent number of folks like me — it just doesn’t usually resonate.
Perhaps I’m just weary of the incessant Marvel and DC comics movies at the expense of other types of storytelling that focuses on real (or realistic) people, relationships, problems, challenges, etc.
I don’t mind one every once in awhile, but I would watch 12 Strong 12x before I would watch a Marvel movie. I don’t walk out of the theater after a superhero movie with any inspiration whatsoever.
But obviously, many people love them! (Including my wife and adult kids).
So perhaps I’m just the weird one! 😂
Well if you're only referring to the super hero and fantasy stories through movies then I get your point a bit more. I think of it more from the totality of the comic books, novels, tv series, and movies altogether. (Plus any type of storytelling.) But try not to judge the whole genre (specially the storytelling aspects) based solely on the bad movies (there are many lol).... But Hollywood doesn't put out much quality of any genre these days if we're being fair lol.
I was never a comic book guy, and I just never got into fantasy, sci-fi, etc that much. It just didn’t speak to me. I don’t even like (ducking) Lord of the Rings. I know I’m SUPPOSED to, but I don’t. I DO like the Chronicles of Narnia though.
And you are right. Most movies (of any kind) are bad these days. I’m about to give Nuremberg a try. And to be fair, I DO like a Spider-Man, Iron Man, or Captain America story every now and again. I enjoyed the first Avengers movie. But they tend to lose me pretty quickly after that.
I’ll pay attention a little more if the venue for the superhero struggles is actually a normal earth as opposed to outer space, other dimensions or planets, etc etc. Hate that crap! 😂
As long as you like Chronicles of Narnia (the original) and Spider-Man we good lol. Chronicles was written by C.S. Lewis who was a devout Christian. (You probably knew that.) He was converted to Christianity by his good friend J.R.R. Tolkien (the guy who wrote The Lord of the Rings). They disagreed on a lot but they both deeply believed that fantasy storytelling was a powerful and legitimate vehicle for conveying deep theological and philosophical truth. Im just now starting to REALLY study them, but it's an interesting rabbit hole if you ever get the time.
Oh I love Lewis. Absolutely brilliant. Have read almost everything he wrote. And I respect Tolkien. Both brilliant writers and impactful believers. I just didn’t like LOTR. I know that makes me a pariah!