Macbeth

Last night, I went to the Calgary Shakespeare Company's production of Macbeth at the Vertigo Theatre with my mother. It was fantastic! Opening night, and the acting was polished and well performed. The theatre is small and intimate, with everyone seated only feet from the actors, and the directing was superb. Haysam Kadri is superb as Macbeth, and there are many standout scenes. He really captures the madness of the character. I haven't seen Macbeth live before, but I imagine it will be hard to follow after this.

This is the second production I've seen by the Calgary Shakespeare Company, after I saw Othello a year and a half ago. Macbeth was, if possible, even more impressive. If you're looking for an entertaining way to spend an evening over the next few weeks, tickets are available for shows right through to April 16th. But buy them quickly, because they're selling fast. I promise you won't regret it!

My Problem with Spider-Man joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Fair warning, this is one for the nerds (if you hadn’t already gotten that from the title).

When Disney gained the distribution rights to the Spider-Man character last year, I was quite torn about the web-slinger’s impending introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Simply put, I am not excited.

                                     

I don’t claim to be a superhero expert. I’m only loosely familiar with the comic books, and much of my Spider-Man knowledge is based off of the old cartoons. That being said, Spider-Man holds a special place in my heart, as he does with many people, young and old. Seeing the latest trailer for Captain America: Civil War and noting the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I began to think more closely about why exactly I love the character so much.

Spider-Man is, arguably, Marvel Comics’ most successful creation. Since his introduction in 1962, he has entered popular consciousness more than any superhero except for perhaps DC’s Batman and Superman. He’s appeared in countless television shows and cartoons, three separate movie franchises, and innumerable action figures. There’s a Spider-Man ride at the Universal Studios theme park, and the character has appeared as a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Eminem once stated that he was one of his favourite superheroes.

But why is Spider-Man so popular? His powers, while incredibly cool, are not terribly original (strength and agility, flight-like abilities, projectile “weapons”); his costume is striking, yet objectively no more notable than any other colourful comic book heroes such as Iron Man or Wolverine.

Spider-Man’s success comes from the man behind the mask. Peter Parker is the quintessential high school nerd, bullied and lonely, an archetypal character who is incredibly relatable for so many readers. Whereas most other super hero alter-egos (Tony Stark, Bruce Wayne, etc.) are confident – often famous or affluent – adults, Peter is a high school student struggling with all the normal challenges of adolescent life. Spider-Man was one of the first comic books to feature a teenager as the lead hero, which helped it to resonate with the primarily young adult audience. He dealt with real life issues – bullies, relationships, grades – in addition to his crime fighting escapades. Young people could see their own imperfections and insecurities reflected in a lead character who rises above them to become a hero.

In addition to his relatability, Peter’s motivations for becoming Spider-Man are simple yet compelling. When he first acquires his powers, he is largely concerned with using them to make money through wrestling. His reaction is immature, yet it reflects the innocently self-centered knee jerk response many adolescents might have when given the opportunity for quick cash. Likewise, when Peter ignores a fleeing burglar because it wasn’t “his problem,” the seemingly harmless selfishness resonates with the readership. Only when this burglar goes on to murder his Uncle Ben does Peter begin to mature into his abilities, realizing he could have (and should have) stopped the criminal and prevented the senseless death of his uncle. Like so many people as they grow up, Peter comes to realize that his choices have consequences. In this case, his choice not to act resulted in the death of the man he loved most. The effect that the tragic preventability of Ben’s death has on Peter is echoed in the signature line: “with great power, comes great responsibility.” If you can help others in any way, you should. This moral message has been a big part Spider-Man’s popularity, helping him to appeal to so many people for so long.

Which brings me back to my feelings about his joining the MCU. The franchise began in 2008 with the release of Iron Man, and most of the films are currently distributed by Disney. Up until recently, the studio was unable to include Spider-Man in the franchise as Sony held tight to the distribution rights for their own Amazing Spider-Man series. However, a deal made between the two companies last year has given Disney the ability to include the character in their films, hence his appearance in Civil War.

Introducing Spider-Man to an already well established (and quickly wearing out) franchise is a mistake, as it does not give the writers enough to room to flesh out the character’s backstory. Civil War has an ensemble cast that includes almost every major character to have appeared in the franchise up until now. It is simply impossible that Spider-Man will be given a fitting introduction when he is dwarfed by those around him. By throwing him in as an excess character simply because they can, Disney and Sony are sacrificing any chance of properly introducing his backstory and motivations. Consequently, they are sacrificing the richness of the character.

In general, reception to this latest trailer seems to have been strong. People like the decisions that have been made. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take all the Spider-Man I can get. But if there is going to be yet another incarnation of the character, I’d like to see it done right. I wasn’t a fan of Sony’s Amazing Spider-Man movies. As much as I love Andrew Garfield, I don’t think he was right for the role, and the films couldn’t seem to establish what sort of tone they were going for. Yet they at least attempted to include the moral backbone that makes the character so compelling.

A solo Spider-Man film in the MCU is slated for a 2017 release, but the damage will be done by then. The way the character is being introduced represents a blatant money-grab on the part of the studios. Everything about the marketing represents an attempt to get as many people through the box office as possible. I think this is a tragedy, as it compromises the rich appeal of the character.

As always, thanks for reading! Also, I've added an email bar to the side of my website, so if you would like to follow my posts, feel free to add your email address!

On Writer’s Block, Fear, and Insecurity

I’ve been struggling over the past few weeks to come up with the topic of my next blog post. I have a lot of ideas, yet I’ve found difficulty in getting those ideas to coalesce on the page. Whenever I start to write my thoughts down, I find my mind wandering and I’m unable to pin down the issue that previously seemed so clear in my mind. To compound this, I’m constantly distracted by school. With so many papers and readings occupying my mental energy, the temptation to watch Netflix or read trashy thriller novels is sometimes too much. This isn’t to say I’m not doing any writing at all; I’m simply not doing any productive creative writing.

So, today, when I sat down and found myself struggling to find a post topic for the third time this week, I realized I had my topic right in hand: writer’s block.

In many instances, writer’s block is simply a fancy way of saying procrastination – God knows how many times I’ve played Star Wars: Battlefront during times set aside for writing – but this sort of procrastination often originates with fear: fear of failure, fear that your ideas won’t amount to anything worthwhile. It’s disheartening to have a clear image in your head, only to find it unintelligible and poorly composed when put upon the page. Continuing to put time seems almost pointless when the spark of inspiration continually fails to form a tangible product.

I know this is something that any of my writer friends (not to mention artists, photographers, and any other “creators”) can relate to. It’s something we all go through, to varying degrees at one point or another. I’ve gone through many such periods. There have been weeks when I’ve consistently written two or three thousand words a day, only to have that followed by weeks or months of little or no writing at all. This is the nature of creativity. It’s a cycle, wherein the creative juices flow with ease or grind to a painful halt. Rarely is there a middle ground.

Insecurity is perhaps one of the biggest problems that writers contend with.  Often, it is the root cause of writer’s block. What if nobody ever reads your work? Or, worse still, what if people do read your work, only to decide they don’t like it? I think that this constant fear of inadequacy is what stops many writers in their tracks. I often find myself feeling that I am unworthy of the stories I try to tell. Surely there is someone who could do a better job writing my ideas, is there not? Are any of these ideas even original? What will people think?

As a writer, allowing yourself to consciously worry about these things is poisonous. Insecurity grows insidiously, and often starts with questions such as these. You have to simply write without worrying about the consequences. A professor I had last year perfectly summed up the approach I strive for in my writing: “Don’t ever worry about what your reader will think, because nine out of ten things you write will never be seen by anyone but you.” This really struck a chord with me, and thinking about it helps me to write for myself. As much as we would all like to be the next Stephen King or Margaret Atwood, most of us aren’t ever going to get a wide readership. Acknowledging this fact can be strangely comforting.

I’ve found that the key to overcoming writer’s block is to embrace the struggle. Use those fears to fuel new stories and new writing. Write about the insecurity you feel. Let it be a driving force.

During the times I’m not being as creatively productive, I attempt to keep my mind active. I read or reread my favourite books, I listen to a lot of music, and I ponder issues that are important to me. Even if these things do not directly inspire any writing, I’ll often find the ideas and emotions diffuse into later pieces, once the creative wheel has started rolling again. Even as I am not writing, I attempt to stockpile creativity for when I eventually get the ball rolling again.

I don’t claim to be an expert on this topic. There are many reasons for writer’s block and many different strategies for dealing with it. These are just some ideas I’ve come up with after some introspection and discussion with others. I think most of these ideas can apply across the board into all areas of creativity, and I encourage everyone to explore their creative side wherever and whenever they can. Who knows: you might even surprise yourself, just like I did with this blog post!

As always, thanks for reading!

Writing

I've added some new pieces of short fiction to the "Writing" section of this website. For anyone hasn't looked, this is the section where I post my creative writing. The pieces are arranged (mostly) in chronological order, and there are some that aren't too bad (if I do say so myself!). I welcome any and all feedback, and I'd really love it if you guys took a look, as I've worked really hard on them all!