A Gift or a Curse?
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Posted by Break from Sanity @ 10:52 PM
It goes beyond what I have normally seen on movies where we only have a little bit of background on the newly emerging hero, most likely due to time constraints of the movie itself, where it does jump right into the fight, newly attained super-powers blazing away. No, Heroes takes it deeper inside and delves deeper inside what it means to be a hero; how they feel, the trials and tribulations they go through figuring out their powers, their confusion, how it turns their life upside down, the freedom it gives them at times, and how scary it is for them.
The only super hero movie that came close was Spiderman, which gave us glimpses of the background and how he went through things in his life, but nothing of major substance, again, most likely because of movie time constraints.
There was a short-lived tv show called "The Greatest American Hero" that was probably the best in trying to portrait the fumbling and bumbling through trying to figure out his "super-powers", which in this case came from the suit itself:
Los Angeles high school teacher Ralph Hinkley encountered an alien spacecraft while on a desert field trip and was presented with a red costume with unique superpowers. The suit looked like a pair of tight fitting red pajamas with a black cape and bestowed fantastic powers (flight, incredible speed, telekinesis, clairvoyance, invisibility, invulnerability from bullets and super strength) to this blond, mild-mannered high school teacher. The aliens had chosen Hinkley because he matched their profile of someone having the qualities of "moral character, idealism and integrity."
Unfortunately, before Ralph got the hang of the suit's abilities, he lost the instruction book that came with it. He spent the rest of the series clumsily fighting evil as he tried to unlock the many mysteries of this extraterrestrial costume.
But with Heroes, we are given several individuals who are slowly being drawn together (masterfully worked), they are discovering their powers, confusion is the most prevalent reaction as they try and figure out what is happening to themselves, from the teenage cheerleader that can't seem to be killed or hurt (story revolves around her - "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World") to the Japenese man who can freeze time and travel through it (realizing also at this point he hits and misses when traveling) and learning of their own responsibilities that they are becoming aware of.
This is definately a show I have become hooked on. It is well put together, draws you into the lives of the characters and what they are going through, the feelings, decisions and paths they take.
The show revloves around the theme "Save the Cheerleader - Save the World", in which the cheerleader who cannot seem to be hurt or die (she has fallen off buildings, burned herself, even had a branch stuck through her neck to heal it all back to normal), is some how linked to a disaster that is soon to happen five weeks in the future, where a terrible explosion (nuclear by the looks of it) blows up the city.
Which brings me to the my current thoughts......
If you had a super power, what would you "prefer" to have (we never get what we truly would like - it just doesn't work that way) and how do you think you would handle learning about your power (practicing with it, testing it), and do you think it would be a gift, or a curse?
Think of Invisibility...
Many would think it would be great to have no one see you. Think of the things you could do or see when no one knew you were there. But also think of the movie the Invisible Man / Hollow Man where he found he could not return back and be seen again. What would it do to YOUR mind?
There is an episode of the Twilight Zone I believe that dealt with this also, where a man was able to turn himself Invisible, and caused all sorts of trouble. He was invisible and forgot that he was and was struck by a truck while crossing the street because the truck did not see him. He laid by the side of the road dying, still invisible, while many remarked on how bad the area was beginnning to stink.
So, where some would say this power of invisibility would be great, and neat, I doubt the two above would consider it so, in fact, it might have been a curse to them instead.
Perhaps Flying?
How would you test it?
As you got braver and flew, aside from being so far up in the air, and being probably scared out of your mind since we as human beings normally fly in machines (airplanes) or have parachutes to cushion us as we waft back to earth on the breezes; what would you do if you lost your concentration, your fear took over and you were no longer able to fly - while being a thousand feet in the air?
I remarked on another blog that posted a similiar question about how I would love to be able to breathe underwater and to withstand the crushing depths of the ocean so I could explore a whole new world that has never been explored before.
But what would happen if at such depths that ability faded? Or if I found out that I no longer could walk on land again, but only could breathe in the water and not air? Would it be such a great thing or a curse?
What makes something great can easily be turned into a curse.
But just remember that the flip is true, what may feel like a curse, could be a gift in disguise.
Go check out my tenant, Self-Proclaimed Supermom, and see what she has been up to. She only has 10 hours left as my tenant as of this posting, so head on over there and peruse through her blog and see what she is about.
