Us Normal Little People

When I asked a friend what he thought of the latest Marvel Comics movie, The Avengers, he provided me with a very succinct and quotable answer.  In fact, I reckon it should be included in every single positive review of the movie...no, wait, hang on...I'm assuming there will be negative reviews - silly me.

"It was too short."  That's what he said, and that's a sentiment I share wholeheartedly.

When I first saw the trailer for the movie, I was so excited I could hardly contain myself, so when I bought my ticket to go see it the first time (yes, it's not a typo, I did say "first time"; because there was a second time...and there might be a third time!) I was a little bit scared that it wasn't going to live up to my expectations.  But I was being silly again, it absolutely lived up to my expectations, and because of Joss Whedon being the director, it took my expectation and shot it out into space, far beyond the limit of the skies.

Who is Joss Whedon?  Did you seriously just ask that question?  Yes, of course I can hear you wondering out loud behind your computer, I have skills...silly reader.

Joss Whedon is the genius who brought you Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly and subsequently the movie Serentiy.  Yes, I own all of them...proudly.

But I'm not actually writing this blog because I want to review the movie, or Joss Whedon's epicness.  I'm writing because movies like these always leave me a little depressed if I'm not careful.  Think about it, you have six people with super-abilities and very high skill-sets defending the planet against Transformer-like creatures from an un-imaginable realm.   A planet filled with people that do not have the super-abilities to defend themselves.

And then I usually find myself wishing I had a superpower.

So, in an effort to make myself, and you all, feel better about Us Normal Little People, here's what I think:

Yes, The Avengers have a Demi-God (Thor) and two Gamma-Freaks (Captain America and Hulk), but then they have the following:  "A genius, millionaire, playboy philanthropist" (Tony Stark's words, not mine) in the form of Iron Man.  His suit comes entirely from his genius and his ability to push his own limits in understanding science.  Granted, he started out with very selfish motives, but in the end his diligence resulted in a Protector that Earth really needed.  Secondly, you have a Russian spy named Natasha Romanov.  She's absolutely human, but she has such a subtle and specific skill-set that, if you blink, you miss it:  She ALWAYS gets the information she needs (and she doesn't even have to shed a shred of clothing to get it).  Lastly, we have Clint Barton, another spy, also absolutely human.  He's the greatest marksman on the planet, not because he may have accidentally drank an unnamed green substance or injected himself with luminous blue glitter (or got bitten by a radio-active spider...haha!); he has this skill because he devoted his life to develop it and to understanding it.

My point is, I want you to look at your group of friends.  You will most probably have a representation of the Avengers in that group, and if it's not evident from the start, play a game of Find the Hero and you might be surprised.  There might not be a guy (or girl) in that group that physically transforms into a "big green rage monster" (once again, Tony Stark's words, not mine), but you may know someone that have overcome anger-management issues against all odds.

And if you step back and think that you're the Normal Little Human, remember Natasha and Clint; they're not called Black Widow and Hawkeye for nothing.  Find your skill and work at it, sharpen it and aim for the best.  Who knows, maybe one day you'll have your own metaphorical Iron Man suit with which to protect what is close to your heart.

And don't stop when you face the possibility of failure:  "And if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damn sure we'll avenge it."  Again, Mr Tony Stark.

Action Movies...And that Pesky Little Villain!

One of the many reasons that I enjoy watching action movies, is that it's pretty obvious who the villain is.  Their plan also usually involves in-your-face attacks and confrontations.  Even if you don't usually watch these kinds of movies, it's quite easy to tell very early on how the hero is going to have to defend himself.  Plus...big explosions!  Yes please!

Also, the hero is able to pinpoint exactly where the problem lies and face it head-on.  Sometimes I even find myself wishing I could live in such a movie!  Yes, I'd have scrapes, bruises, broken bones and gaping wounds on a very regular basis, but at least I will have something tangible and beatable to fight.

It's not that easy fighting battles in this life of ours.  We expect our confrontations to come head-on; or at the very least, we wish that they would, but unfortunately most of our battle-scars are invisible, emotional, psychological.

Have you sometimes wondered why things in your life that used to run smoothly, have derailed all of a sudden?  Do you stand confused at the seemingly random disastrous turn your life has taken after you thought everything was going so well?

I'm not here to try and tell you that I understand why all of these things are happening.  My point is actually to tell you that these things aren't random.  We are constantly battling things, right?  Of course you know this...everybody knows this.  But what we sometimes forget is that these battles sneak up on us in the most unexpected of places; the places we thought weren't important enough to attack; the places in our lives that invisibly hold us together and make us who we are.

And they happen because the ultimate (defeated, mind you) villain has figured out that if he kicks you at exactly that spot, you'll be crippled.  So you're going to have to come up with an action plan to get strong and fit enough to prevent him from taking away who you are.  It would be really cool if every training session in real life had an awesome movie soundtrack to it!  But alas...

Here's what I think that training programme should look like:

• Surround yourself with people, friends and best friends who knows you well enough to help identify the villain's weak spots.  Spend time with them, listen to their counsel and take it to heart;
• Spend time with yourself, get to know YOU.  Remind yourself that you are awesome, amazing and totally the hero of your own movie!
• Make sure to spend some time with God, because, let's face it, He's the writer, director and producer of your life. Oh, and that defeated villain up there?  Guess Who kicked his ass?  Haha!

So all you need to do is, place your foot neatly and squarely on the villains chest, because he was already beaten down into the ground completely!