People can complain all they want about how popular superhero movies are...but the simple fact is that we need superheroes right now. Every day we're inundated with news and images reminding us what an ugly, dangerous world we live in. It's easy to become depressed and cynical. Superheroes remind us who we are as people. Or, at the very least, who we should be aspiring to be. ~ Michael Williams
Back in the early 80's, I watched a Sesame Street "Bert and Ernie" skit which originally aired in the 70's. In the skit, Bert and Ernie are about to go to sleep. But Bert verbally observes that he hears water dripping, to which Ernie replies, "I probably left the faucet on a little bit when I washed my hands." Bert then tells Ernie that he can't sleep when he hears water dripping, and asks Ernie to do something about it. So Ernie gets out of bed and turns on the radio. Bert then tells Ernie that he can't sleep with the sound of the radio, so Ernie gets up again and turns on the vacuum. At that point, Bert gets up and tells Ernie to "just stay where you are," and then turns off the vacuum, radio, and faucet.
Superheroes are one of many creations that were born in response to the news and images which quickly become overwhelming when they are given even the slightest attention. Whether Superheroes are the radio or the vacuum is beside the point--the point is that a faucet is dripping, and the dripping faucet should be addressed. Superheroes simply show us how best to deal with the symptoms.
