Monday, June 20, 2011

Summer Blockbusters



Another hot summer, filled with trips to the air conditioned movie theatre, to see another Marvel super hero action hit. I am routinely dragged to these kinds of movies - and as a child of the 80's, I will agree with all those who love the Bangles, Punky Brewster, the Goonies, and Indiana Jones, that they just don't make them like they used to.


I run through the list of options in my head: I could fall asleep during this movie, but this has resulted in loud snores which draw horrified looks from members of my immediate family; I could pretend like this is a really good movie; I could cram popcorn and M&M's in my face to occupy the time; or I could try and find some inherent meaning to this movie so I can sound really profound on my blog.


I usually choose the latter. Green lantern is about a test pilot who is reckless, irresponsible, and fearless, though internally he is filled with fear. He must conquer his fear to save the world from a octopus looking demon. Though it is not clear in the movie how he moves from fearful to fearless, it appears that his determination of "will" and intense focus on his task moves him from fearful to fearless. Green lantern, prior to his green suit, engaged in reckless behavior in what appears to be a reenactment of the fear/grief surrounding his father's untimely death as a pilot himself. I'm not sure there is any great metephor or life lesson to be gained from the Green Lantern, but it was worth a shot.