I gave blood today. I’m O+, which makes me some kind of universal donor. It’s kind of cool– I donate every 8 weeks now, because it’s important, and our blood region needs universal donors. Plus, they call me to remind me to make an appointment, which is really neat.
Anyway, I gave blood today. And on my way home, I heard a song titled “Superman” on the radio. This isn’t the one with the real “riffy” kind of chorus that sings “Kryponiiite.” It’s the one that sounds like it should be the soundtrack to Smallville or something (and maybe it is– that’s one of the few “supernatural teen” shows I don’t watch).
Anyway, I got to thinking. See, I saw the original Superman movie when I was very very very little. I think we saw it in the drive-in with my folks. And Christopher Reeve– well, it would have been a miracle to find anyone better suited to that role, you know what I mean?
But see, that’s the problem. Reeve wasn’t able to find good roles after Superman because he was Superman. I mean, he had a couple of roles after that, but he found that “ultra-good-guy” persona as hard to shake as Schwartzenegger’s Conan was for the big Austrian, or Stallone’s Rocky was for him. I mean, if you really define a role, it’s hard to break out of it. Especially when you’re a large charismatic actor with some real acting talent. The fact you can act is seen as bonus to the directors who want to just have “some big guy” in their action movies.
OK. Fast forward through the 80’s and into the 90’s. Reeve still can’t get a part.
And then it happens.
In a terrible riding accident, Reeve’s spinal cord was damaged. No more walking. Now what? Is this the end of Superman?
In a way, yes. Reeve can now go on to do the kinds of roles that don’t rely on his physique. But on the other hand, our world is changing in terrible, terrible ways, and they revolve around our great icons.
- Superman is in a wheelchair, possibly for life (though I won’t discount Reeve’s power of persuasion!)
- The fairy princess got divorced and died in a high-speed tunnel accident with her boyfriend.
- The Twin Towers are a heap of rubble.
I feel as though there’s something at work in the world that is great and terrible, perhaps something slouching toward Bethlehem to bring us all down with a whimper. I don’t know, of course. I just know that our iconic heroes and our princesses are gone or immobilized.
Perhaps now is the time for us to be our own heroes.
Or perhaps, it is time to give up heroes entirely, as they don’t seem to be doing a very good job of saving the world right now.
I don’t know. I’ve lost a pint of blood today, and I’m just a little sleepy. But looking at how our world is so. . . . broken. . . . . I just have to sigh and wonder if we can ever fix it?
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