I recently read a review of the awesome new Marvel movie The Avengers and was delighted to hear that somebody else felt the same way that I did.
Cue movie announcer voice: "In a world where fantasy grows darker and darker, where dystopias reign supreme, out of the gloom rises The Avengers! A movie that actually makes you feel better about life!"
I have to admit I have neither read nor watched The Hunger Games. I am not hating on anybody who has and who loved it. It's just that my life is miserable enough at times without borrowing somebody else's darkness. I don't want to read about a future that's all dystopian and upsetting. Now, when I was in high school, I ate up 1984 and Brave New World like they were candy. I felt positive the world was going to hell in a handbasket and these books were proof!
These days, though, I am much more inclined toward optimism, hence my enjoyment of the happy butt-kicking of The Avengers.
The Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender also had the right mix of current trouble and ultimate hope in my opinion. Aang wasn't an overly troubled teen---or at least his troubles didn't make him angsty. He kept looking for something better in the world and kept believing that he could make a difference. Heck, even thoroughly angsty Zuko (be still my heart) finally came around to Aang's way of thinking.
I want more movies and shows that make me feel positive after I've watched them, like maybe the world is worth saving and that it's not all going to hell in a handbasket.
More Chris Hemsworth in my movies is always a good thing too, but I digress. Ah, Thor (be still my heart---again).
Even though I'm getting ready to put my characters from The Blacksmith's Daughter through some pretty serious crap here in the sequel The Merchant's Son (also involving scary giant man-eating wasps), I don't ever want to lose that little thread of hope that ties it all together. Because when we've lost hope, what else is there?
Well, there's still Chris Hemsworth.
Your thoughts?
