Class in Review: 11.14.11 & 11.16 & Immortals

On Friday I got to go see the movie ‘Immortal’ and I think Mr. Bahlmann has succeeded in getting me to think about superheroes with everything I watch or read. Throughout the movie I caught myself comparing what I was seeing to what we had read/discussed in class and even considering whether or not the main character could be considered a superhero or not. I must give a warning that I may spoil certain parts of the movie, if you haven’t seen it but want to, I’m sorry. Anyhow I thought it was interesting that I could find elements from some of the stories we read in class in the movie. There was a bow and arrow that had magical powers from the Greek Gods (Ramayana), Theseus (the main character) got his training or “powers” (Beowulf), the idea of immortality (Gilgamesh), and the Greek Gods played an important part in the story (Iliad). Throughout the movie you could see different elements of a superhero story, there was the

damsel in distress, development of a villain, a messed up supervillain, growth of a superhero, gaining of a sidekick/best friend/brother, and epic fight scenes.

Theseus was a bastard child and when asked by his trainer why he didn’t fight in the army he said it was because he only fought for what he loved. Him and his mother were seen and treated as outcasts of the village, if you’ve ever read The Scarlet Letter, they treated Theseus and his mother the same way people treated Hester and Pearl. The supervillain is King Hyperion, his hatred towards the world stems from his past, and wanting everyone else to feel his pain and prove to them that there was no purpose in being faithful to the Greek Gods. The bow is an important part of the story because it can release the Titans that had been locked in the middle of a mountain. Before all of this happened there was a battle in the sky between the Titans and the Greek Gods. Having lost, the Titans were placed

underground imprisoned and the Greek Gods ruled on Mt. Olympus. Releasing the Titans are like releasing all the evils in the world, but the Gods had made a promise that they would not interfere in mortals’ business, it’s only when the Titans are released will they come down and fight. I won’t explain everything that happened in the movie but the ending to me symbolizes that there will always be evil in the world, but becoming immortal isn’t only having a story that will be passed down from generation to generation but it’s also having/starting a family.

In class we had discussed how there were few superheroes that were women and even if there are the male superheroes would save them from danger. In the movie I could see Athena as a superhero in the movie, but the only thing that makes her a superhero is that she is a Goddess so she does have “powers” that mortals don’t have. That leads to another discussion that we had in class: If we can see Greek Gods/Goddesses as superheroes, than why not Jesus? (Or a form of that question). So I guess I could see Jesus/God as

a superhero, I mean why not? If I can see Greek Gods/Goddesses as superheroes than I’m willing to accept Jesus/God as a superhero as well. Overall I felt that the movie had summed up what we had been discussing in class and incorporated different elements of the stories we read. I must admit that I was feeling a little “nerdy” because I would think to myself, “Hey, that’s like this part in the Ramayana! Wow I wonder if they incorporated that on purpose” or “This is like the hero’s journey and, OH! is that the supervillain, I’m pretty sure it is! That guy seems pretty psychotic, kind of like The Joker.” I hope I’ve successfully related this movie to this class, while I was watching I was taking mental notes about all the different comparisons I could make!

Word Count: 686

And this picture popped up on my newsfeed a while ago and it's so true:

Class in Review 09.12.11 & 09.14.11

On Monday we discussed whether or not we thought that Beowulf could be considered a superhero or a super hero. Throughout the discussion it was apparent that there are so many different definitions of a superhero and we all have our own opinions of what makes a superhero. I believe Beowulf can be considered a superhero by today's standards because he'd fit the criteria of what I believe a superhero is (as stated in my last post). He may not have gotten his powers from a radioactive spider or fell into a toxic vat of goo, but his "powers" (supposedly) came from God, his strength is unlike a regular man's, and the confidence he has is extraordinary.

There was a point brought up in class that Beowulf is too cocky which takes away from him being a superhero because superheroes are supposed to be humble with their powers, I guess that's why most superheroes have a secret identity, right? Their secret identities are supposed to allow them to blend in and show that they're just like everyone else, even though they're not, right? Well, I was re-reading the first part of Beowulf and I realized that there's a small part that shows his humility. It was before he was to face Grendel and he says, 'So I shall bear no blade in the night if he sees fit to fight without weapons. May God in His wisdom grant whom He wills blessing in battle." (Pg. 1579, 611-614) For Beowulf to abandon all his armor and depend on his strengths and abilities, and to also make it a fair battle, shows that he's cocky but to an extent. He's only interested in a fair battle to prove himself and show that he can talk the talk and walk the walk.

Personally I actually started to like where the discussion was going and I was actually interested in it (to my surprise). The more we discussed whether or not Beowulf could be considered a superhero, during his time, the more I was convinced that he was just super human. Maybe it’s because I kind of think about him and Batman on the same level. Both don’t really have “super powers” they’re human beings that have worked to develop themselves to become stronger and superior than average people. It actually reminds me of what body builders and weightlifters do; they train themselves to become stronger and superior than everyone else. They try to take the human body to the extreme and make us watch in awe as they lift ridiculous amounts of weights.

Back to the story as a whole, I honestly had a difficult time reading the story. The names of most of the characters confused me and I could only understand maybe 25% of what was really going on in the story. I think I understood the important parts, but I think it’d be a better idea for me to sparknotes it and re-read the entire thing. I should be honest, if their names weren’t so difficult to pronounce and actually sounded like real names than I swear it would’ve been so much easier for me to read it. I couldn’t keep up with who was who.

Word Count: 539