30 May 2020
A hot and bright day by the lake. Youngest went swimming, though the lake is freezing. I dunked my feet, which was as far in as I cared to get, but I did read half a book in the shade of the porch. Quesadillas for dinner, followed by Thor Ragnarok, which we’ve had from the library since the lockdown began but they’re not charging fines or asking for things back just at the moment. I can tell the movie is directed by Taika Waititi. Very funny, lacking the self-seriousness of other superhero movies I’ve seen. Still, I didn’t love it. I couldn’t get invested in Thor and his battle; it wasn’t motivated in the film. The people in my house who have knowledge of such matters explained that was motivated in a previous movie.
I never read comic books growing up, so I’m slowly learning my way around the DC and Marvel universes (Thor is Marvel), and the thing I dislike about Marvel is that the films are daisy-chained with references. Basically, if you want to appreciate—or even fully understand—all the Marvel flicks, you have to start at the beginning. A tiny bit of research reveals I must go back twenty-three movies in order to be caught up properly to the next release.
Dude, that is a big ask.
Out of that list, of which I’ve seen six, the only one I liked was Black Panther. I’d watch that again, many times. Maybe I’m evaluating an inadequate sample size, but I’m curious why that’s the one film apparently not tied into the other 22. Or perhaps Ryan Coogler’s a more thoughtful director than the others and takes care to create a film whose story line is comprehensible to a new viewer. Whatever the reason, I’m grateful it wasn’t tied in because that allowed me to follow and enjoy the movie.
Resuming Thor gripes
So anyway, Thor teams up with the Hulk because apparently they’re friends (today I learned…), plus Tessa Thompson the Valkyrie (she’s quite fun), and together they unleash some kind of lava monster to destroy Cate Blanchett—easily mistaken for Maleficent— and fulfill a prophecy. It’s not a spoiler because the objective is stated early on so you know what the ending is going to be. There’s a lot of exploding stuff and epic gun battles, blah blah blah. Fin. Creative lesson: Jokes help, but without a motivated core story line, the viewer/reader won’t care. Secondary lesson: In any series, each unit needs to be able to stand alone while also conveying the series arc.
Haven’t been able to get the laptop to connect to the Internet all weekend, which has been both frustrating (no work on the novella edits) and useful (they’ll be there, so relax). I finished reading Nickel Boys and sobbed in heartbreak and wonder at this breathtaking book. In skimming the news, am reminded painfully of Faulkner’s observation, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” If I ever write anything a quarter as meaningful or articulate as Nickel Boys, I’ll have done very well indeed.
