AVENGERS ASSEMBLE: Super Heroes

                      "I still believe in heroes."-- Nick Fury


I just wrote a post about our children facing fear by watching the British series Doctor Who.   This is really Part 2 of that post--my change--development as a parent.

You may have heard about a little independent movie out right now called The Avengers.   It's part of the Marvel Comics family.   Unless you're living under a rock, you've probably heard at least a snippet about this movie.   It's been a record-breaking blockbuster hit around the world since it first opened a few weeks ago.   A whole cast of super heroes and master assassins come together to save the world from the Norse god of mischief, Loki.   We're talking Captain America, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Hawkeye (my favourite), Black Widow, and Thor.   All in one movie; all on one team.  

I've seen it twice.   It's that good.   And if anyone needs a friend to go see it with, call me.   I'll see it again.   It's just a fun ride!   It's cleverly written and beautifully made.   It proves a movie can be fun and entertaining without being silly or insulting to the audience.   I first saw it at the midnight premiere at our local cinema.   We live in a college town, so I was probably the oldest person there.   My friend, Gina, was coming into town for E's first communion, and I knew she wanted to see the movie together.   Her girls are a little older than mine, so I wanted to see the movie first to decide if mine could watch it.

I had already seen Captain America and Thor.   Honestly, I was shocked at how good they were.   I really only watched Thor because it was directed by the great Shakespearean actor and director, Kenneth Branagh.   Both movies have heroes who are gallant and noble.   They also have female leads who are smart and strong.   Thor has a definite Shakespearean feel and the lead actors, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, really become Thor, God of Thunder and Loki, God of Mischief.   Captain America is just a good all-American hero movie.   It is the more intense of the two, since the fighting takes place in WWII, but it is stylised comic book-style fighting, not Saving Private Ryan battle scenes.   We watched both and decided our children could watch them.  

So, Aunt Gina and I took our girls to see The Avengers on opening weekend.   T is still too little for that kind of action movie on a big screen.   That's another thing to consider when choosing films for kids.   The cinema offers a different experience from that of home viewing on a television screen.    E saw it again with Joey last weekend and they ended up sitting with family members from two families we know.

Tough work being a superhero!

And now, we're just really into super heroes in our house.   All three kids love to play.   Aunt Gina brought T a Captain America shield and a Thor hammer.   They each got adorable little figures of characters.   I love this picture of C's special shelf:

St. Jeanne d'Arc and Loki, Norse God of Mischief--yep, that's about right for C

 
Below is a link to a great article by actor, Tom Hiddleston, who played Loki in Thor and The Avengers, in defence of super hero movies and their place in today's world.   It's worth a read.  

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2012/apr/19/avengers-assemble-tom-hiddleston-superhero

Avengers custom pie crust design

Avengers pie--pre-bake

Baked Avengers pie

With their super heroes

Captain America and Thor

Aunt Gina is a high school agricultural education teacher.   She is also the sponsor of the FFA club at school.   Each year, they choose a theme for that school year.   Her club's theme for next year is The Avengers.

One of their activities will be to "Loki" people around school.   Tom Hiddleston, who plays Loki, made an appearance on MTV's After Hours.   In the skit, he is being interviewed and the interviewer begins by saying how amazing it is that he could play a villain since he's such a nice, well-mannered, well-educated gentleman.   Hiddleston tells the interviewer that he can be just as menacing as Loki.

He then commences a wave of "mischief" around the studio, doing horrible things like giving someone decaff coffee instead of regular or secretly paying for someone's lunch.   Each time, he laughs hysterically and says, "You've been Loki'd!"   It struck Gina's funny bone and so now she and her students are out to do good deeds for people around the school, leaving them with this note as explanation:

And then I literally Laughed Out Loud over this one.   When telling me about all this on the phone, she also told me that each office in the club would be represented by one of the Avengers.   One post would be Thor, so she asked that officer if he'd ever seen the movie, since he would need to imitate the elevated language used by Asgardians.

"No, ma'am."

Then she remembered he's Pentecostal.   "Okay," she began, "you know how they talk in the King James Bible?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Do that."