Son of God vs. Bat of Gotham

Batman vs. Superman (2016)
Dawn of Justice

Gone are the days when superhero stories used to spur that feel good feeling, that warm feeling that assures us that the truth will protect us, that the good would always prevail over evil. That doing good is the only thing to do; that there cannot be any other way of doing things; that good would not hurt anybody. These days, however, we have come to realise that things in life are so straight forward, not so black or white, that they are not so cut and dry. Everything comes in shades of grey. We sometimes have to appear to be unkind to be kind in the end. Doing something seemingly good may turn out detrimental to another's intention. One man's meat may be another's poison. It may not pacify him to hear that the unfavourable action is actually for his good and that he should see the 'bigger picture'.

Part of this film delves with what is doing good and whether a good deed does indeed bring only a good outcome. Superman, who is seen here as a God-like creature who descends from the sky with his thunderous might to help humankind, does hurt innocent bystanders as collateral damage in his fight against evil. Just because his actions are perceived as done with purest of intentions, the pain is, nevertheless, hurtful. The rage, the feeling of powerlessness turns good men into monsters. Which lives count and which do not?

With this background, the story shows the gargantuan clash between Superman (who seem to portray God-like qualities, a two-dimensional view of life) and Batman (who represents the human cognitive faculty which tend to rationalise things rather than expect something wholesome). In between this clash, or rather in an instigating manner is the epitome of evil, the devil persona, Lex Luthor.

The media is the means of creating mass hysteria and fanning herd mentality to sway people here and there. People soon realise that they are not the centre of the universe and doing good is not a unilateral thing. It has repercussions. Criminals are like weeds, pull one, and it grows another. People hate what they do not understand, and they cherry pick what they like to hear. Everything believes that they are here for a reason, but some die before achieving anything. Others reach senescence without knowing they have completed.

In the modern world, God is said to be dead and the people through their mental faculties have killed Him. In this Godless world, Man is left to his own devices to fend for himself. With the constant lure of the evil forces that thwart him from his quest of taking the race to a higher level of civilisation, he can prevail. History has shown again and again that his race is a resilient one. Catastrophes after maladies have erased many more well-footed species on Planet earth, but he has survived it all.

Love fulfilled by time travel!

Somewhere in Time (1980)


In the Hindu Puranas, stories were told of people completing various lifeforms (karma cycles) through dreams. Through this process, kings change roles to become slaves or animals and endure punishment or pleasure.

Time travel films usually deploy complicated devices to get their characters move through timelines. Surprisingly, in this purely romantic drama, it is made simple. Self-hypnosis in the presence of ancient artefacts is suggested as the way transport one back to the past.

Christopher Reeve (known for his role as Superman) plays the role of a playwriter, Richard Coulier. At a time when he gets a writer's block, he drives around aimlessly and ends up staying in a grand old hotel. He is drawn into the intriguing world of time travel after being fascinated with a portrait of a stage actress (the Queen of mini-series of the 80s, Jane Seymour as Miss Elise McKenna). He remembers receiving an old pocket watch 8 years previously from a mysterious lady whom he later found to be Ms McKenna herself, through his investigations.

After consulting a professor about time travel through hypnosis, Coullier transports himself back to 1912. He falls in love with Ms McKenna who is tightly guarded like a hawk by her manager, Robinson (Christopher Plummet, from Sound of Music). This love bubble burst when Coullier accidentally draws a 1979 coin from his coat pocket!

It is sad to see the hunk of Christopher Reeve ambulant. As we remember, he spent his later part of his life as a quadriplegic after sustaining a neck fracture following a horse riding accident. All the stem cell research and campaigns that he helped to be made aware, did not help him to recover. Sad.

N.B. The original Jane Seymour was King Henry the VIII's third wife whom he courted soon after his court passed the death sentence on his second wife, Queen Anne Boleyn, for conspiracy and infidelity. Queen Jane Seymour provided the only male heir but she died after childbirth. The offspring later ascended the throne as King Edward VI.

We lack super heroes?

The actions of King Rama, his consort Sita, his brother Laxman, his humble servant Hanuman have been used as the yardstick of how a human being should live his life. King Rama and his principle on natural justice, respect of power and upholding of promises; Queen Sita and her virtues of a chaste wife exemplified by her conduct; Laxman with the meaning of true friendship and Hanuman with undivided subservience to authority. The conducts and misconducts of the aristocrats and noblemen in Rama's court yard form the pillar of what Hindus the world over use to run and not to run their daily lives.
Man, the losers, were always awed by their captors. They would try to emulate and assimilate the cultures of their new found victors as their own. That would explain why we speak English and not don our sarongs to work.
So what I am saying is...Everyone is a role model either directly or indirectly to his subordinates. A child, no matter how much he despises his parents, will eventually pick up the subtle cues from the elders. So goes to the common man in the streets. His priorities are set according what he sees from his leaders and people in power. In the modern age of ICT and TV, pop and movie stars fill in the gap as well.

If the idols display traits that seem to glorify wealth, prosperity and the good life without hard work, that it would be. Money becomes the aim in life. If stars can be okay with shameless lifestyles and call it living the life, so be it too. Like in the case of the broken window theory, when the lethargy of enforcing law and order is the rule of the law, noble attributes that differentiate man and animal takes a back seat.
That my friend is the real reason why the young 12 year-olds need to re-sit their public examination papers. The people entrusted with the duty to maintain the cold chain of secrets had failed repeatedly because they fail to appreciate the need to maintain integrity in their line of work. Guess they have all their priorities twisted....