My baby needs a Superman (Write-Away)
Originally posted 2006
The airplane full of passengers, after hurtling through the atmosphere in flames, comes to a screeching halt just a few feet over a baseball diamond. Thank goodness, Lois is safe and Superman has saved the day again. The whole crowd is on its feet at this spectacle. When they realize what has taken place, that Superman is back, they burst into applause. Hubby and I burst into tears. We, like the audience at that baseball game, were so happy to see Superman again: “I’m so glad he’s back. I’m so happy to be HERE, at a movie, with YOU!”
This is only the second movie Hubby and I have seen since Sam was born, not including the two that we tried to take Sam to when he was younger because, well, they just don’t count. And we used to be a couple that would go to a movie and on the way out decide we wanted to see another. So it was a big deal to be at the theater, a few hours that made the trip to visit the in-laws well worth the travel in the car with the infant, even though the fireworks were canceled.
And it’s not just that we got to see a movie, but we got to see Superman Returns. To be fair, it’s really not that great. But that’s not the point. That first action sequence makes it worth it, because I think for anyone of my generation we’re going to feel nothing but complete joy when we hear that music (yes, they keep the awesome music by John Williams) and feel that relief when we see that he’s done it yet again. We grew up with Superman, the amazing Christopher Reeve. We grew up with Star Wars, the original trilogy before all of the crap was added. We grew up with He-Man, Thundercats, Indiana Jones, and E.T., everyone’s favorite extra-terrestrial. What will Sam grow up with? Who will his heroes be? When he is about to turn 30, who will return to make him think, “Thank goodness, I’m so glad he’s back in my life again – I really missed him”?
It makes me sad. I want my son to have all the things I had growing up. I really feel like our generation benefited from a fabulous burst on the scenes of Hollywood just as we were getting old enough to appreciate it. Some of what we had as children has become a quintessential part of our culture today. There are moments from these films that still will give you the chills when seen again. Just watch Elliot riding his bicycle at that beautiful moment before they lift off the ground and you’ll know what I am talking about. Elmo, Dora, Sponge Bob for goodness sake! They just aren’t comparable. And I realize that to Sam they will be totally and completely comparable. And I suppose that to some extent one could argue that Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy are comparable. But…well…I want Sam to love what I loved, I guess. I want him to see Star Wars and realize how amazing it was for its time, not be distracted by what he considers to be poor special effects. I want him to feel the joy that his father and I had as children from seeing something new and loving it innocently, without cynicism or criticism.
I want Sam to be able to enjoy the world in which I grew up, and I am starting to be afraid that he can’t. What if we can’t find a house in a neighborhood where it is safe for him to go out on his bike for hours with his friends? Do kids even get to do that anymore, leave for the afternoon and be free and independent? Or is the world already too dangerous, too scary? I don’t want to raise my child to be afraid of the world, but…I just don’t know…if I can.
On the drive home today Hubby and I were talking about Kim Jong-Il developing nuclear weapons and my gut reaction was, “Oh my God, what if something happens to our planet before Sam gets to live his life?” I can’t even bring myself to watch Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth, because I already feel so amazingly powerless when it comes to the fact that I know we are destroying our world. I don’t want to be afraid, but it is so much, SO MUCH harder now that I have him. I have no control. Who will save the world for my baby? Even Superman can’t stand up to the radioactive material from his home planet.
I don’t want my son to be afraid of the world, to lose his childhood to fear. I want Sam to play with his friends in the street without me watching him out the window every moment. I want him to have some clean air left to breathe, some fresh water to drink, some sunlight safely touching his face. I want for him to have some superheroes, both real and fictitious, in whom he can place his hope. And yes, I want him to have some truly awesome movies too.
I originally wrote this post in July of 2006, and in reading it back now, I don’t really know that all that much has changed. I still want the same things for my boys (there are, of course, two now), Al Gore won the Nobel Prize, and I still have the same anxiety about the state of our planet. Oh, and a new Indiana Jones was released since then, and it was seriously one of the worst movies I have ever seen - even the music couldn’t save that one.
I am reposting this here as part of Scribbit’s Write Away contest for July. The theme is “Wonder Woman/Superman.”
What a great post - I know you said it was written like 2 years ago (I was little confused when I read that you just saw Superman Returns. . .) - but isn’t that totally the truth? We want the same things for our kids that we had. I know your son isn’t old enough yet, but my other moms friends and I were talking that all of our 5 - 7 year old girls are obsessed with Hannah Montana, HSM, Camp Rock, etc - we didn’t have any of that stuff - I mean I didn’t have my first crush till Donny Osmond and that was like 4th or 5th grade! So - they are growing up faster - more bling, more crushes, more advanced things - but my guess is that our parents said the same things about us . .we are just the old ones now. ..except I stil don’t get the 10 year olds with cell phones. Although I give you permission to throw this in my face 4 years from now if my daughter has one!
No, I don’t think things have changed all that much either–and they’ll probably get worse. Though (and I hope this doesn’t sound funny to say this) your boys have a loving and wonderful home and despite all the crazy things happening around outside, the comfort and stability that brings compensates for a lot of unrest in the world outside. I think–at least that’s my take on things. Great post!
I loved this post and I still love it. xo
i remember that post. i think yours is the blog i have read the longest.
and yeah. not much has changed. and i have to wonder….what’s it going to take?
It does make you feel utterly powerless.
Jeff and I talk sometimes about how we used to take off on summer mornings only to return briefly at lunch and then once again when the sun started to go down. No checking in. No cell phones or walkie talkies. I would never dream of letting my kids do that in spite of the fact that I think our neighborhood is safe.
My kids will likely never love the things I loved as a child. I’ve come to terms with it because I know that their memories will be just as sweet to them, no matter how different they may be. That didn’t stop me from buying a Rainbrow Brite doll a year or so ago though. You know, just in case.
Hey! There’s a little somethin’ for you on my blog!
I get you on the fear about the planet. You just have to let go and realize that there isn’t anything you can do that will truly make a difference to the problems OUR children will face. They will just have to face them. But we can make tiny steps to help the world start to heal for our grandchildren and their children… The world is changing. We WILL adapt.
Re: the icons. Did you have the interest in your parents’ icons? I remember being interested in I Love Lucy, Fred and Ginger, and all of the black and white shows from the 30’s to the 60’s. I can only imagine that the truly classic shows from OUR generation will still hold interest for our children as the older shows held interest for us.