"In Brightest Day, in Blackest Night..."

Am I in love with Ryan Reynolds?

Well, let me think about it for a minute or two.  You see, I went to see Green Lantern recently and was a little surprised by how thoroughly I enjoyed myself.  The movie itself wasn't particularly new in any way, although it did have some clever aspects to it.  The acting was - well, it was a superhero movie, so there were some outrageously cheesy lines (and deliveries), but overall it was fine.  It's not going to win any awards, and I'm sure the critics aren't too impressed.  In spite of all that, well, like I said: I really loved it!

I was immediately struck by how the heroes were powered by the Force of Will, and the villain was "an entity of Fear."  It's such an interesting concept, and yet somehow makes perfect sense: We are only held back by fear.  Without fear, with our will, we are able to accomplish anything.  (Well, not really anything, I guess.  I can't just pull a giant racetrack out thin air.)   But really, doesn't it make sense to think that "will is the driving force that powers us"?  One character even says that "will is the strongest force in the universe," and that when it is harnessed it can be used to power entire planets. 

I like that concept.  I like the idea that we are in control of our actions.  How very autonomous of me, right?  But really, it gives me a little bit of peace to think that the only thing keeping me from doing something that I want to do is, well, me.  Okay, so money can be tight, and obviously I have to go to work so I can pay my bills.  But when it comes down to it, if I decide I want to go to Harry Potter Land I can - I just have to come up with a plan to save for it.  If I decide I want to go back to school, I can.  If I decide I want to go sky-diving, I can.  There are so many things I have always said I wanted to do but somehow over the years they just haven't happened.  I never quite got around to them, or something else always came up.  And while the excuses - or "reasons," as I called them - were always good, I have been bothered by a little voice in the back of my mind that whispers, That's not why...You're just scared.  That's why.  This idea that my own will can give me the power to do these things - that it can give me the power to overcome fear - is one I like to have in my head.


Obviously seeing superhero movies is good for me. 


But Will vs. Fear cannot be where the thoughts stop, because for me, as a Christian, well, that isn't the end of the line.  Do I have my own will?  Yes!  I absolutely do.  Is my will the driving force that powers me?  My answer would have to be, "yes...to a certain extent."  But even that meshes with the movie.  The ring is what gives the Green Lantern his power; without it he is just a guy.  Hmmm...that sounds familiar.  Except, in my life, the Thing that powers my will is really a Being. 

There is a lot of talk in the movie about accepting the fact that you are afraid, but then overcoming it - courage.  Acknowledge the fear, but rise above it.  Don't engage it.  It makes me think about what my parish priest has said about it Christian life: it isn't about how few times you fall, but rather how many times you stand back up.  There is a moment in the movie when Paralax (the "entity of Fear") is battling Hal (the Green Lantern) and seems to be winning - as usually happens when the superhero and villain face off.  Paralax feels Hal's fear - my stomach clenched: would Hal actually lose? - and begins whispering to him.  "I can feel you weakening.  I feel your fear.  I am going to win.  There's no way you, an insignificant human, can beat me.  I will destroy you and your entire world..." He goes on and on.  How many times have I heard the same types of whispers in my head?  "I can feel you weakening.  I feel your fear.  I am going to win.  There's no way you, an insignificant human, can beat me.  I will bring you down.  I will keep you in despair.  You will never be able to stand up from this..."  It's odd how similar the whispers in the movie are to the whispers we all hear in real life.  And then Hal does something to beat the fear far enough back that he can get out of his crouched position and stand up: he recites the Green Lantern Oath.

In brightest day, in darkest night no evil will escape my sight.
Let those who worship evil's might beware my power...Green Lantern's Light!!

It drowns out the whispers.  It deals a harsh blow to fear.  I have something I say in those moments, too: Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.  Over and over and over again.  It drowns out the whispers.  It helps me stand back up.

Now, I wish I could say that these parallels I found between the movie and my spiritual life were the only reasons I enjoyed the movie - other than pure entertainment, I suppose.  But if I am honest I have to admit they weren't.  So what else could possibly have drawn me into the movie? 

Ryan Reynolds.

Or, more specifically, his tush. 

I know, I know...All that talk about my spiritual life and here I am, admitting that I kept getting distracted during the movie by something as physical and superficial as a nice butt.  So much for keeping my eyes on the prize. 

But, and I may be wrong to think this way, I don't think it's a terrible thing.  I don't necessarily think that it discredits what I said before.  I think it's absolutely amazing and awesome - in the true sense of the word - that we, as humans, are created to have those "higher" and noble emotions and feelings (love) but are also created to have baser and more primal feelings (lust).  And maybe I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that my feelings toward Ryan Reynolds more closely resemble the latter - after all, I haven't met him and I don't actually know anything about him, so there's no way I could love him - but I do think that it was okay for me to send up a silent prayer a few times during the movie.  Lord, thank You for Your amazing creation.  I really appreciate it.  Then I would have to try to bounce my thoughts back to the actual movie. 

So I guess the official answer to the question I asked at the beginning of this post - Am I in love with Ryan Reynolds? - would have to be, "No.  I'm not.  But I really, really appreciate him."  And really, I think that's okay.  After all, I had other things to think about after the movie. 

I kind of love this.  The Oath is part of what makes it so great.

Photo cred unknown.