31 Day Writing Challenge Day 09 - To Binge, or Not To Binge

To binge or not to binge, this is the question.  I started this 500 word writing challenge knowing Netflix would be starting season two of their hit show Daredevil.  What I guess I didn’t realize was how hard it was going to be for me to stop watching television in order to write my 500 words each day.

As of right now, I only have three episodes left to watch and with enough time left before I have to go to work, it is really eating me up inside to sit here and write.  Perhaps it’s not helping I’ve got the television on, and the screen is primed and ready to start the next episode as soon as I finish with my writing.

My wife isn’t a huge Netflix fan because she doesn’t really like to watch TV as much as I do.  One thing I have always loved is stories, and now with the advent of streaming television, we don’t have to wait a week to see what happens next in the story.  It’s called binge watching, and while I agree it probably isn’t the best thing for us as a society to spend our time on, I do enjoy it from time to time.

What I really like about watching episode after episode is it almost feels as if it is in real time.  I guess this is because I don’t have to wait a week between episodes to see what is going to be revealed.  And especially now with some of the more well written shows intentionally placing things in each episode revealing hidden treasures about the characters and situations they are faced with.  It’s to the point now that you cannot miss an episode, or you are out of the loop.

I guess binge watching for me has brought story telling to a new level.  It’s like watching a movie in little parts, but unlike a movie lasting a couple of hours, this is like a super director’s cut which lasts ten to twenty hours.  It has made watching TV fun again.  When I say fun again, I mean I’m being entertained by something other than reality television; which I feel had its time and place, now it’s just drama for the sake of drama.  The newness of it has worn off for me; I just want to be entertained.  I can get enough drama in my own life, I don’t need to watch somebody else’s.

It probably doesn’t help the fact how I was a comic book nerd growing up and into my twenties.  In fact I still have a lot of my comics from back in the day.  Daredevil was a disaster on the big screen; Ben Affleck making it a joke in the super hero movie genre, and don’t get me started about him playing Batman now.  Daredevil was one of those conflicted super heroes I read back when I was reading comics, and Netflix has created a version of it which is very close to what I remember the comics being.

Marvel Comics has become a juggernaut in the entertainment industry, and for me it is like manna from Heaven.  All the comics I used to read are now either in movie form or are on television.  And I am so excited Netflix has joined the ranks of those who see the potential for super hero shows and want to help Marvel tell these stories.

As for me, I will continue binge watching despite the looks I get from my bride as I’m watching the various shows.  If you haven’t check into Netflix, perhaps you should.

What's The Deal With Super Heroes?

I'll admit it, I am a geek from way back. I liked comics long before it was cool to do so. Many, many years before the television show "The Big Bang Theory" ever made it popular. I was the butt of many jokes growing up, and have spent way too much money on those colored filled pages. Yet there has always been something about them that just made me love them, and I know that I will until the day that I die and go to be with the Lord.

Last night I went to watch the latest installment in the Marvel movie company's line up of super hero movies; The Avengers.  For those of you who don't know, the Avengers is a team of super heroes made up of characters who for the past several years we have been getting acquainted with each summer by watching movies about their personal stories, something for which I am very grateful to say the least.  It's nice to let my inner geek loose during the summer and enjoy watching the comic book pages come to life in a way in which I never dreamed possible way back in the day.

This morning as I was drinking my coffee and wondering exactly when I would be able to go see this movie again, I began to question what it is that I like about these stories so much?  I mean what is the appeal of super heroes for me?  Could it be the fact that in each of these characters I see something about my own life? It's the human condition that I relate to. (And yes, I realize that Thor isn't human, but he shares in the conflict of emotions for which humans do.)   It's also being called up into a story which is larger than your own personal little story that draws me in, because if I am truthful, that is what I long to be a part of as well.

After all, if you take away the fantastical part of the super hero equation, what do you end up with?  People who face challenges just like us and have problems too. Granted, those problems usually involve world domination or destruction, but then doesn't ours as well?  Whenever I face a challenge in my life, I know that it feels as if my world is going to be destroyed.  I mean the problems that I face always seem to be insurmountable and catastrophic to me, don't yours?  While watching these stories, I see the possibilities, and what could be if I am willing to face the challenges also with a fierce determination, and stick with it and see it through to completion.

None of us were promised sunshine and roses in life, challenges do come.  This is something that I believe everyone understands. And if you don't, then you need to. Life can be rough at times and if you don't understand that, you will wonder why your life isn't as good as the next guy's.  Yet it's not focusing on how rough life can be that is the important thing here, because if you do that, then you end up being one of those Debbie-downers who no one likes to be around.

No, don't focus on the challenges, we need to focus on the solutions to those challenges.  And that is where super heroes have it figured out I believe.  What makes them super is not their powers, not at all.  What makes them super is that they have the ability to see the challenge and then they have the fortitude to face it head on regardless of what happens to them personally.  And if that is the definition of a super hero, then don't we all have the ability to be super heroes?  I think so.

Don't run from the challenges that show up in your life, face them head on with the knowledge that you can and will overcome the obstacles, and you will be amazed as you leap over buildings and take out the things that try to destroy your world. Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!