[No Spoilers]
Watching Avengers Endgame was quite an event in and off itself. I haven’t seen this kind of hype for a movie since The Matrix trilogy. Interestingly, this is happening in tandem with another hype event — the final season of Game of Thrones. It would be fitting if there was a crossover that could combine the power of both. An, End of Thrones, if you will.
However, after watching the final Infinity Saga story I am left with an intense sense of disappointment. And this is not a review of the movie itself (if you liked Infinity War, you’ll like this), and there are no spoilers in what I am about to discuss.
In the previous Avengers film we were finally introduced to Thanos and his mission of making the biological load of the universe lighter. The filmmakers, and numerous online essayists, made the point that Thanos was a compelling villain because his cause existed in a grey area between outright good and outright evil.
There was a twisted humanitarian thought process behind his actions — make the universe a better place by reducing the population. Let’s be honest; each of us has wished there was a way to reduce the human population load on this world. That’s why Thanos was a relatable villain in the most discomforting way.
Yet, in Endgame, we never deal with the morality of the infamous Snap. We don’t meaningfully debate the fallout of the disintegration scene at the end of the last movie. Everything just boils down to a thudding good slug fest. Yipee!
No, not yippee. This is a gigantic missed opportunity.
The MCU has great power. 22 movies with a legion of fans who will watch everything, every time, over and over. The characters have mingled among us. We root for them more strongly than we root for most real life heroes. And, yet, even after 50 hours of collective cinema runtime, the earth’s mightiest heroes couldn’t spare the time or thought to do good any way other than by using their fists?
Before you get all offended by my snowflake expectations, let me clarify that I definitely looked forward to a slugfest myself. I know these are action films, meant to delight us with loud noises and gymnastics, and I love all of that. So, no, I didn’t expect there to be a townhall debate with Thanos looking for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.
What I did want, is a brief, teeny-tiny mention of the fact that the Snap has made it requisite upon each of us to solve the same problem (overburdened natural resources) through individual actions.
For those of you who have watched the movie, you will be aware of a certain 5-year interregnum period that takes place (don’t worry, this is still not a spoiler). Wouldn’t this have been a time for heroes to lead by example and build a new model for humanity? For them to urge large scale changes in society by encouraging people to rise above racial and sectarian differences and embrace the lessons of this disaster?
Instead, they wallow in self-pity, drink beer, go on murderous rampages, cut off from society. The only hope they hold on to is the possibility of revenge. With all their power, knowledge, wealth, and goodwill, none of them is moved beyond their own immediate concerns. Things go so far as to have one character rebuke the appearance of whales in the Hudson River as an insufficient silver lining. Really?
Really?
Forgive me for my insensitivity, but when there is a chance that with the remaining population humanity could eradicate poverty, discrimination, climate change, and the mass extermination of other species, is it not worth spending two lines of dialogue on the matter?
And, I’m not even saying the other half should be forgotten and their ashes used to build bricks. Bring them back, please definitely do. But, also include a bare minimum throwaway line like, “Once we’re all reunited with our loved ones, things can never be allowed to go back to the way they were. The only way to prevent another Thanos Snap, is by solving our problems on our own. Not through war, but through collective action.”
Okay, fine. I’ll admit that sounds cheesy, but if Captain America said it, with his puppy eyes and heart-melting charm, you wouldn’t think so. You’d go out to a garden right then to pick up litter.
And, it’s not that these films don’t have a role to play beyond just to entertain. That’s why it is such a big deal when they introduce black heroes, women heroes, queer heroes, and so on. We are inspired by them, and we look up to them. Because their moral compasses still work, while the ones in our real world have stopped working long ago.
And that’s what I really regretted the films didn’t capture. That heroes aren’t only for war time. Those are weapons. Instead, they are meant to inspire us to be the best versions of ourselves. To be our own heroes, and not look for big government, or big military, or big muscles, to solve our problems.
You can’t fight an alien invasion with good deeds. But, if those aliens think we’re stretching our planet beyond her means, then perhaps hammers, guns, and shields aren’t the best weapons for that fight.