My Grassroot Hero Spiderman

9/1/2019 life

Spiderman, Spiderman, he does whatever a spider can!

First of all, the classic theme song (opens new window).

# Correspondence w/ S

The following correspondence was made in summer 2017, shortly after the film Spider-Man: Homecoming was out. S is a respectful wise old man, and we knew each other through mutual friend LXM and ping pong.

Hi S:

I have always liked Spiderman b/c i have found a lot of similar traits wit him. He is a grass-root hero, he is a friendly neighborhood everybody wants to have. He succeeds at saving people and punishing the criminals, yet he fails but learns his limitations. He sought for help, like from Iron man in this movie, and he really needs heed, like from Karen the AI in this movie.

He is smart and handsome, yet still was called a loser. He yearned for success but he frustrated at keeping his secrets from his most loved and cared ones, the fact that he is the Spiderman, to make them safe. He seemed to be absent at every important moment the girl needs him as Peter Parker, yet he really helped her every time in solid actions. He is a character full of conflicts and ambitions and actions, as well as the plainness as a human being. I think i will always be a fan of him, and he will always remain my childhood hero. It is a great movie by the way.

Hi Franklin, Thank you for the Spiderman movie "review".  I completely understand the way you feel.  I think ALL young men at some time or another have issues similar to Peter Parker.  I certainly remember feeling similarly when I was that age.  I just had other heroes from comics as well as movies.  I remember, particularly when I was in high school but even in college, feeling "different" enough to have similar issues.  All I can tell you is that, as I found my part in society and even eventually my love, these issues diminished.  However, I still greatly enjoy the Spiderman movies because I also still relate to Peter Parker!  😃

S

Hi S:

I guess I will probably feel the same as you do at some point in the future, but I guess I still doubt a bit. One big takeaway from these movie sequels for myself was, a human being always lives in conflicts, and no matter how the circumstances changed, there is one great common divider in all the scenarios. My personal experience is: I would feel at the prime at some point, but after some time I look back at myself during that period of time, I would say to myself, "why would you ever do something like that then? What were you even thinking?". However, one would always live by making decisions, myopically choosing the local optimum, in order to achieve the global optimum. But does the greedy algorithm always work? We can never see the future; new issues always come up, and to make a better choice, we have to give up something. For spiderman, he forgave his personal enjoyment, such as going after the criminals instead of having fun with the girl and his friends in the swimming pool. That's one of his great traits I admire. In order for the welfare of the mass, he would put himself in dangerous situations, and made his aunt constantly worry about him. That is the sacrifice I admire.

I would want to quote from Fitzgerald, the Great Gatsby, to put my thoughts about the movie into a poetic suspension, "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past". My understanding is, though we think we are controlling the future, and living the present, we are still facing the same issues, though the problems might look different from time to time. Thus, I would always go back to spiderman for reference when facing my own issues in my life, the hero who always struggles to make the right choices in the ocean of life problems.

Thank you for sharing with me your experience. 😄

p.s. He almost kissed her this time, upside down.

Franklin, We come to forks in our lives almost every day.  A decision one way or another at each fork could have profound effects on the rest our lives.  I like to give the example of the young “kid” in high school that decided my future by choosing my vocation and where to attend the university.  That “kid” was me at a very young age.  So many times I look back and wonder, what if that “kid” had decided differently?  What if that “kid” had done it differently?  What if that “kid” had said something different?  The way I get myself back to where I really need to be is to remember that we can NOT change the past but we can change the future.  We can learn from the past and hope we have learned enough to make the best decisions for the future.

I firmly believe that these decisions are different for each person.  I greatly admire people that can self-sacrifice for the good of others.  For example, my niece donated one of her kidneys to a close friend that needed it.  I like to think that I could do that in a similar situation, but I will never know for sure unless it presents itself to me.  However, certainly in small ways we all can help our friends and family and those less fortunate almost every day.  As I get older I find that I have the time and desire to help others.  What I was surprised to find is that I often receive more in personal satisfaction than I feel I’ve even given in help to others.  This may seem somewhat far from the Spiderman story, but I like to think it really isn’t!

S

Thanks for sharing your experience! I guess whatever choice I make at each fork, I should and will never regret it. Spiderman chose the self-sacrifice and service for the people. I will hopefully compose my own unique story, one a bit different from his.

# Personal Note

# June 28, 2019

I wrote this after I watched the film Spider-Man: Far From Home in summer 2019, two years after Homecoming:

It's been two years since last Marvel's Spiderman movie came out. One could argue that the last one was actually Into the Spider-Verse, a film independent from MCU. However, I loved the Homecoming film more than the animated one, even more than any other Spider Man movies.

There are many films which could not live up to the expectation after watching, but Far From Home is an exception. It does not tell a story of the glories of Spider Man, but how he kept failing but finally recaptured his lost grounds. In this film, like Homecoming, Spider Man goes on a field trip with his classmates, met a few monsters but always messed up and put his friends in danger. Unlike last one, he is no longer protected by Iron Man, but seen as a successor: the next Iron Man. Through doubts and betrayals but with friends' help, he was finally able to see through the delusions, kick the ass of Beck, and win his true love: MJ. Although they did not kiss on top of Eiffel Tower, they did on Tower Bridge, surrounded by debris and covered with mud, MJ holding a broken Black Dahlia.

The twists in the plot gets me quite excited, especially the end. We all thought Beck has died, but he made up the story, employed media to frame Spider Man, and worst of all revealed PP's true identity, thus turned the mass against Spider Man. What is a hero's use if he who wants to protect do not trust him? What would the hero do in the most desperate time? Give a speech and regain people's trust, or wait for the villains to reveal their evil and chase after the villains? I hope the next one would: 1. Base in NYC 2. Do not fall into either of the two stereotypes I suggested above, because despite the great special effects, what matters most is the script. The exact reason why I love Homecoming is 1. It gives MJ not a bitchy, but a smarty look 2. Welcoming news for the Asians: Spider Man's best friend is now a Thai!

# July 24, 2019

Just heard from EC that Tony Leung will be in future MCU, though an antagonist! Looking forward so much!

# September 26, 2019

Choose What's Right

Whatever comes in our way, whatever battle we have raging inside us, we always have a choice. My friend Harry taught me that. He chose to be the best of himself. It’s the choices that make us who we are, and we can always choose to do what’s right.

Sony Spiderman 3

This quote reminds me of an essay I wrote: Easy vs. Right.

# September 28, 2020

In Love

The great thing about MJ is, when you look in her eyes and she's looking back in yours, everything feels not quite normal. Because you feel stronger and weaker at the same time. You feel excited and at the same time, terrified. The truth is, you don't know what you feel except you know what kind of man you want to be. It's as if you've reached the unreachable and you weren't ready for it.

Sony Spiderman 1

Leap of Faith

Miles Morales: When will I know I'm ready?
Peter Parker: You won't. It's a leap of faith. That's all it is, Miles. A leap of faith.

Sony Into the Spider-Verse