minalisms

When I looked at the most recent box office figures, I was astonished to see that “Iron Man” grossed more than $100 million dollars in its opening weekend. The second best top seller was “Made of Honor,” bringing in $14 million. That’s quite a gap between No. 1 and No. 2.

I have yet to see “Iron Man,” but its popularity got me wondering: Do Americans want to be saved? What is it about superhero movies that has us coming out in droves, handing over nine bucks to the high schooler behind the counter who knows the ugly truth behind the “butter” in the buttered popcorn?

All movies have heroes, but not all of them are as super as Superman, Batman, X-Men or Spider-Man, to name the most popular. These characters have a fan base that is hard to match, let alone rival.

So what’s behind the fanaticism? Could it be a cry for help?

With the state of the nation in so much despair, it makes sense that we’d want superhuman powers to solve our problems.

How cool would it be if Superman were our next president? What if Wolverine, Rogue, Cyclops and the rest of the X-Men were our indestructible soldiers on the battlefield? Spidey, the bookish guy that he is, would be perfect for the top seat at the Federal Reserve, where he can solve this damn credit crisis. Batman could help us find Bin Laden and those tricky weapons of mass destructions that have eluded us for so long. And maybe all of the above could convince us that we’re just as strong and capable of helping humanity.

Tags: Batman, iron man, movies, news, spider-man, superheroes, superman, x-men