Note: I didn't really organize my thoughts here. I just can't seem to make my mind make sense today and focus, so I apologize if none of this makes sense or seems to be composed weird.
Many of you know that at the midnight premier of the Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado, a gunman entered through the emergency exit of the theater and opened fire. 12 people were killed and many others injured.
Immediately after the events came to light I saw an outpouring of grief, fear, love, and even a little hope. After all, such a tragedy could happen to anyone, anywhere, and maybe a little bit of our perceived safety net was taken away. However, following tumblr, pinterest, facebook, reddit, and other major internet strongholds I realized something - people were coming together in the spirit of Batman. Some were using his anti-gun stance as a call for stricter gun control, others were posting ribbons with the famous Bat signal emblem on them, but many were talking it out about how the tragedy affected them personally. I don't necessarily mean personally as in they were there or had loved ones involved - but they may as well have. Who can't empathize with victims who were excited to view a long awaited film, a time of great anticipation and joy and almost serenity. This is a tragedy that tugs the heart strings of every film lover, every fan of any kind, every human being simply because of the senselessness of the action. My brother, Andrew, wrote a very eloquent post about that aspect - what the movie-going experience means to him (and many others) and how that magic being turned into the unimaginable is something that strikes us all. I watched on tv last night Anderson Cooper interviewing some of the people who were in the theater as well as some family members of the victims. It was important to all of them that the victims should be remembered and not the man who killed them (whose name I won't mention here as well). Anything less is inappropriate. It is also inappropriate to ignore the people who helped one another out in the midst of the chaos - One man even took a bullet for his girlfriend. That is Level Batman bravery and badass-ery.
Personally, I'm heartbroken for the victims and their families but I don't fear public spaces any moreso. When I was blossoming into a teenager I had a lot of irrational anxieties - one time, while on vacation with the family, we saw the Phantom Menace in theaters. For some reason I was really scared that the theater was going to blow up. I thought about that yesterday. Although that fear doesn't seem so irrational given the circumstances, I've come to terms with something since. There will always be risks. There will always be danger, and we will never be certain if we're completely safe or not - no matter how many metal detectors or measures we take. There will always be psychos out there who plan on hurting people. I'm not saying this to be some kind of depressing realist, but because it means we have to balance our fear with rationality. Statistical probability versus situational empathy.We can't cower behind extensive security measures because in doing so we give up a little of our freedom; to privacy, to live as we please, to live confidently with the knowledge that yes, something bad might happen, but that shouldn't stop us from living and loving.
There's an odd but fitting parallel in this tragedy. Like Anderson Cooper, I don't want to dwell on the crazy guy who did this...but I find it strange that this man would make his point, or take his mental break-down out, or whatever, during a Batman film. It's terrifying to think that he planned such an opportune moment to open fire and instill such chaos and fear in a packed theater on a night that was much awaited. Today people are afraid. I've seen several people post how uneasy they are in public spaces, how we need more gun control, less gun control, how nowhere is safe anywhere. This is where the parallel comes in, but first I want to speak my mind on Batman himself.
I'm just going to go right out and say it; I don't really care for Nolan's Batman trilogy. I don't dislike it, but I don't think it's the end-all be-all trilogy (I found myself realizing that the Dark Knight was dragging on as I kept checking the time, whereas I still find myself swept up completely in other movies with similar runtimes, for instance). I like the movies but don't get the hype. There is nothing wrong with that and it isn't necessarily relevant to this post - I just figured I should get that out of the way in case my points contradict Bale's brooding motives and people want to nerd fight over it. Personally I preferred Burton's take on Batman, where Gotham was a weird, almost whimsical place with a grim reality at its core. It made the ridiculousness of the villains and a grown man in bat suit more appropriate. It doesn't matter which version of the story I prefer because bottom line I still love Batman. He was always my preferred superhero because he represented ingenuity, not god-given talent, to influence his environment. Of course the massive inheritance helps his endeavor, but even unlike Tony Stark who was, to an extent, born a genius Bruce Wayne must train and work and build through trial and error and drive. Depending on how grimdark you want to delve into the psyche of Batman, you could also say a sick obsession with vengeance drives him. I'm going to ignore that point and focus on campy Batman (the one who hangs out with Superman a lot and makes unintentional double entendres at Robin). Batman is a human being who feels a lot of hate and angst but chooses to be brave instead. The character in spirit, why we love him and connect with him, isn't because of his call for vigilante justice - but a call for bravery in the face of cowardice, teamwork in the face of loneliness, and small but important victories in the face of a seemingly endless internal war.
Gotham City is a place filled with chaos and fear. Its very citizens are slaves to the reality that psychos crawl among them, manifesting their sick and twisted desires in the most flamboyant and deadly manner. It is a grim, strange place where sometimes nothing makes sense. Batman fights to change all that; of course he has his own tragedies and his own flaws, but at the end of the day Batman represents a notion that we shouldn't live in absolute fear, that we can be repressed just as much by our fear as we are by the villains who instill it and that we don't have to be that way. Batman looks at cowardice and fights back. There are lessons to be learned from this tragedy. If we give in to fearing every possible situation at every moment in time, then the villains of the world win.
The man who shot up the theater thought of himself as the Joker. Let's all be Batman.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Reflections on My Own American Dream.
Happy Fourth of July, everyone! Now, before I get into the nitty-gritty of my post, I want to give a disclaimer. I'm writing this as a reflection of the meaning of the day as it pertains to me. I realize my viewpoints may not line up with those of anyone who reads this, and that is okay. It's one aspect that does make America great. I'm also NOT writing this as a super smug liberal-hipster (libster?) who wants to condemn flag waving and red-white-and-blue party plates...if I was I would have said "Happy Fourth of July, everyone! Have you hugged any French today?". That being said, I would like to share this video.
America Is Not The Greatest Country in the World (the Newsroom, HBO)
The above clip is from HBO's new series, the Newsroom, starring Jeff Daniels as a cynical anchor of an all news network. He is speaking at a university with two other pundits (one liberal, one conservative) and was reluctant to give a serious viewpoint concerning political alignment. Although the first episode deals primarily with the aftermath of his tirade (which he blames on vertigo medication), there is something that just resonates with the audience and, of course, with the audience watching the show at home. It is not fair to just show the first half and leave out his lamenting yet hopeful call for true American greatness. As Sorkenesque as the writing may be, I felt the above clip summarized very much what I feel about the United States as it stands today....not just because I feel that America is not the greatest country in the world (I think it's on par with other first world nations) but because of that second half.
"Sure used to be. We stood up for what was right. We fought for moral reasons. We passed laws, struck down laws, for moral reasons. We waged wars on poverty, not poor people. We sacrificed. We cared about our neighbors. We put our money where our mouths were. And we never beat our chest.
I am an American patriot.
A lot of people may disagree with this sentiment. "You don't think America is the greatest? How can you be patriotic?". That's easy. How do you love another person despite all of their inherit flaws? Or dark spots in their history? How can you love something even though sometimes things don't work out the way you want them? That, for me, is patriotism. It is not Nationalism, the blind idea that one's country is the best and can do no wrong (and for the record, EVERY nation has citizens with this belief. Please don't think I'm trying to ruffle my own countrymen's feathers with that statement). And yes, Will's statement is a little white-washed in and of itself and the kind of call to "a simpler time" that usually makes me roll my eyes...
...On the other hand, in school, I always loved hearing about the Great Depression and World War II. Not so much because I have a macabre fascination with history and suffering (which I do, but that's beside the point), but because things were done because they were right. I'm not talking about the mess that led us to the economic nightmare that was the Great Depression; I'm talking about the aftermath. The Civilian Conservation Corps, part of the New Deal, gave jobs to millions of out of work young men and helped make our country not only more beautiful but more accessible to every citizen. Relief and recovery were given to EVERYONE in need and no one batted an eye about helping those less fortunate because everyone was in the same boat together. Government handouts weren't considered a Marxist wet-dream so much as the government serving it's people. Then the United States became involved with World War II, and despite my personal disgust at isolationists for taking so long in getting involved, one must still feel a sense of pride at seeing those old posters for the war efforts. Victory gardens, rationing, reminding every citizen that they had something to sacrifice - by giving up these new found comforts that come with a booming economy, we were helping our boys overseas. World War II was fought with a clear directive, an almost too perfect "good vs. evil" (gray areas such as Stalin aside) scenario that literally everyone in the world could get behind. This is why I have a hard time taking people's word on supporting wars today and comparing it to the WWII war effort. Nothing is that clear cut, and motives are much more rooted and covered. Maybe it was then, too. I don't know.
What I do know, though, even if hindsight is 20-20; for every dark spot on our record as a nation we have spots of genuine goodness, integrity, and innovation. One of my favorite essayists, Sarah Vowell (really, check out her books, she's amazing) said in her book the Partly Cloudy Patriot that "The true American patriot is by definition skeptical of the government". I agree with this statement, as I find myself agreeing with many things Ms. Vowell has to say. However, it's not the government itself that I find myself being skeptical about. So many other things factor in.
People who believe others can't be true "Americans" because they disagree. People who twist the Constitution to support their own agenda, partisanship in general, historical white-washers, people who couldn't even pass an American history course yet are speaking and acting in office as though history does not repeat itself, people who don't understand how taxes work or what socialism really is. But if anything, today is not a day to dwell on all that. Not for me.
Today is a day when we celebrate the crazy notion that the will of the people are what make a nation and not the government; that the government must serve it's people. Today is the day where we remember that sometimes the underdogs who want it more (and yes, with help from a boatload of French guys), can come out on top. Today is the day where we get to pat ourselves on the back for all the amazing things America has accomplished, that Americans have contributed to the global community. Today should also be the day that we look to the future for upcoming accomplishments, to not say "remember when things were simpler?", but to instead say "what can we accomplish as a nation in the next 100 years?". Today is the kind of day where I hope that the promise of an easier, better tomorrow, where science is not feared but celebrated, where civil rights and basic freedoms can be upheld, and where every child really can follow their ambitions because they received the education and community support they needed. That, to me, is the American dream. I am fortunate to live in this country because it can change hats and become greater than it ever has before. I love this entire world dearly, but I will always be an American.
Tomorrow, let's not pat ourselves on the back anymore and instead start doing again. We live in a beautiful country filled with natural wonders and amazing cultural diversity found nowhere else on the planet. We should be celebrating the promise of our future every other day of the year. As citizens, we should all work on being kinder, being more open minded, and learn to really research what's going on around us. We shouldn't ride the coat-tails of our past success but instead observe and create.
So yeah, I don't think that the United States is the greatest country in the world. We are not the only ones who enjoy freedom. We're a little behind in accepting progress when we built our entire foundation on progress, but things can always change. My American dream is what I believe in, why I love this country because it CAN happen, and why I am an American patriot.
America Is Not The Greatest Country in the World (the Newsroom, HBO)
The above clip is from HBO's new series, the Newsroom, starring Jeff Daniels as a cynical anchor of an all news network. He is speaking at a university with two other pundits (one liberal, one conservative) and was reluctant to give a serious viewpoint concerning political alignment. Although the first episode deals primarily with the aftermath of his tirade (which he blames on vertigo medication), there is something that just resonates with the audience and, of course, with the audience watching the show at home. It is not fair to just show the first half and leave out his lamenting yet hopeful call for true American greatness. As Sorkenesque as the writing may be, I felt the above clip summarized very much what I feel about the United States as it stands today....not just because I feel that America is not the greatest country in the world (I think it's on par with other first world nations) but because of that second half.
"Sure used to be. We stood up for what was right. We fought for moral reasons. We passed laws, struck down laws, for moral reasons. We waged wars on poverty, not poor people. We sacrificed. We cared about our neighbors. We put our money where our mouths were. And we never beat our chest.
We built great big things, made ungodly technological advances, explored the universe, cured diseases, and we cultivated the world’s greatest artists and the world’s greatest economy...We reached for the stars. Acted like men.
We aspired to intelligence. We didn’t belittle it—it didn’t make us feel inferior.
We didn’t identify ourselves by who we voted for in the last election, and we didn’t, oh, we didn’t scare so easy. Ha. We were able to be all these things and do all these things because we were informed. By great men. Men who were revered. First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one. America is not the greatest country in the world anymore."
I am an American patriot.
A lot of people may disagree with this sentiment. "You don't think America is the greatest? How can you be patriotic?". That's easy. How do you love another person despite all of their inherit flaws? Or dark spots in their history? How can you love something even though sometimes things don't work out the way you want them? That, for me, is patriotism. It is not Nationalism, the blind idea that one's country is the best and can do no wrong (and for the record, EVERY nation has citizens with this belief. Please don't think I'm trying to ruffle my own countrymen's feathers with that statement). And yes, Will's statement is a little white-washed in and of itself and the kind of call to "a simpler time" that usually makes me roll my eyes...
...On the other hand, in school, I always loved hearing about the Great Depression and World War II. Not so much because I have a macabre fascination with history and suffering (which I do, but that's beside the point), but because things were done because they were right. I'm not talking about the mess that led us to the economic nightmare that was the Great Depression; I'm talking about the aftermath. The Civilian Conservation Corps, part of the New Deal, gave jobs to millions of out of work young men and helped make our country not only more beautiful but more accessible to every citizen. Relief and recovery were given to EVERYONE in need and no one batted an eye about helping those less fortunate because everyone was in the same boat together. Government handouts weren't considered a Marxist wet-dream so much as the government serving it's people. Then the United States became involved with World War II, and despite my personal disgust at isolationists for taking so long in getting involved, one must still feel a sense of pride at seeing those old posters for the war efforts. Victory gardens, rationing, reminding every citizen that they had something to sacrifice - by giving up these new found comforts that come with a booming economy, we were helping our boys overseas. World War II was fought with a clear directive, an almost too perfect "good vs. evil" (gray areas such as Stalin aside) scenario that literally everyone in the world could get behind. This is why I have a hard time taking people's word on supporting wars today and comparing it to the WWII war effort. Nothing is that clear cut, and motives are much more rooted and covered. Maybe it was then, too. I don't know.
What I do know, though, even if hindsight is 20-20; for every dark spot on our record as a nation we have spots of genuine goodness, integrity, and innovation. One of my favorite essayists, Sarah Vowell (really, check out her books, she's amazing) said in her book the Partly Cloudy Patriot that "The true American patriot is by definition skeptical of the government". I agree with this statement, as I find myself agreeing with many things Ms. Vowell has to say. However, it's not the government itself that I find myself being skeptical about. So many other things factor in.
People who believe others can't be true "Americans" because they disagree. People who twist the Constitution to support their own agenda, partisanship in general, historical white-washers, people who couldn't even pass an American history course yet are speaking and acting in office as though history does not repeat itself, people who don't understand how taxes work or what socialism really is. But if anything, today is not a day to dwell on all that. Not for me.
Today is a day when we celebrate the crazy notion that the will of the people are what make a nation and not the government; that the government must serve it's people. Today is the day where we remember that sometimes the underdogs who want it more (and yes, with help from a boatload of French guys), can come out on top. Today is the day where we get to pat ourselves on the back for all the amazing things America has accomplished, that Americans have contributed to the global community. Today should also be the day that we look to the future for upcoming accomplishments, to not say "remember when things were simpler?", but to instead say "what can we accomplish as a nation in the next 100 years?". Today is the kind of day where I hope that the promise of an easier, better tomorrow, where science is not feared but celebrated, where civil rights and basic freedoms can be upheld, and where every child really can follow their ambitions because they received the education and community support they needed. That, to me, is the American dream. I am fortunate to live in this country because it can change hats and become greater than it ever has before. I love this entire world dearly, but I will always be an American.
Tomorrow, let's not pat ourselves on the back anymore and instead start doing again. We live in a beautiful country filled with natural wonders and amazing cultural diversity found nowhere else on the planet. We should be celebrating the promise of our future every other day of the year. As citizens, we should all work on being kinder, being more open minded, and learn to really research what's going on around us. We shouldn't ride the coat-tails of our past success but instead observe and create.
So yeah, I don't think that the United States is the greatest country in the world. We are not the only ones who enjoy freedom. We're a little behind in accepting progress when we built our entire foundation on progress, but things can always change. My American dream is what I believe in, why I love this country because it CAN happen, and why I am an American patriot.
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