Monthly Archives: July 2012
Superheroes of the 21st Century: A Turning Point
A little boy is three years old and is with his family visiting Niagara Falls. It’s like any other day full of tourists taking a gander at the pure grandiosity of the waterfalls. Then, on that warm summer day, that young boy makes a break for the railing of the falls. Immediately, the mother sees her child gunning for the edge and sprints to catch the soon-to-be-punished for a very long time boy. She saved him from going over the edge of the waterfalls and when she frantically asked him why, he replied, “Well, Superman saved a kid when he fell over Niagara Falls.” The motive: wanting to meet Superman.
Comic Con 2012 just finished its annual gathering in San Diego, complete with your neighbors whose lifelong dream is to be a superhero. To be fair, who doesn’t wish he or she were Superman or Thor or Wonder Woman or Batman or Cat Woman or He-Man? Even just holding a light saber (insert chills and feeling a power unlike you’ve ever felt before) and the full belief of being Luke Skywalker…Anyways, last year the biggest movie stars were Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig and of course, the one and only, Steven Spielberg. All were there promoting “Cowboys and Aliens.” For this year’s crowd, Christopher Nolan’s films had one of the upper hands with the movie fanatics. The hype surrounding the release of “The Dark Knight Rises” just one week away and an exclusive first glimpse of 2013s “Man of Steel” contained some of the highlights of the conference. Nolan’s Batman took an already dark Bruce Wayne and stripped him down to an even more raw caped crusader in a Gotham more directly tied to a world we live everyday. To elaborate, his Batmen movies are not filmed so much on sets as just filming at locations in a major city. But is this more true to reality setting good for superheroes?
Anyone who has seen Nolan’s two (and soon to be third) Batman films and/or has googled “Man of Steel” knows that his versions showcase a darker and again, more raw look at Batman and Superman personally as well as with regard to his surroundings. Is this good? My first impression of Clark Kent/Superman was portrayed by the best actor that will ever play the part (my opinion), and that of course being Christopher Reeve. His version had one clear difference to Nolan’s interpretation and it’s very simple. The “S” for Reeve is significantly brighter than what Henry Cavill is set to sport to the world in summer 2013. This is not just a minor costume change, but the large contrast on how Christopher Nolan and his team envisions this cherished All-American super hero: darker and more human. I always thought that superheroes were above the fray of us mere humans and that that was why we looked up and admired the man flying through the skies in a red cape holding onto the woman he just saved from a falling helicopter on the top of a skyscraper in New York city. Should Superman fans of years past be concerned?
From Bruce Wayne & Batman to Clark Kent & Superman, Christopher Nolan has reinvented both characters and their respective worlds for a new generation. For those seeing them for the first time, he will leave a very impressionable imprint in their minds of what to expect with these super heroes and for others to compare with movies/classics of the past. Pre-Nolan, the settings for superhero movies had elements of suspended belief and whole worlds created for the audience. With Nolan, the viewer is seeing more of the streets they walk everyday (especially in “TDK”) and heroes who appear to be more like us with flaws as well as sharing some of our vulnerabilities for getting seriously hurt by the bad guys.
One scene that comes to mind in “The Dark Knight” is when the Joker forces Batman to choose who he will save: Harvey Dent or Rachel? In a split second decision, he goes for Rachel, leaving Harvey’s rescue in the hands of Commissioner Gordon and the Gotham police. Except that the Joker tricked Batman and Harvey is saved by Batman, barely. Rachel doesn’t make it. In one of the following scenes, the sky is a blueish colored overcast with a gloomy mood overwhelming Wayne’s penthouse windows as he dwells on his decision. It’s as if the audience shares and can even feel the bone-chillingly cold emotional moment with the reflective Bruce Wayne. He couldn’t save everyone…he couldn’t save the day. He was human, like us. It all felt very real.
Without a doubt, this generation is seeing famed super heroes Batman, and the full Superman reboot in a year, through a new lens. I wonder though if people are seeing these new versions as a natural evolution of the characters and simply the next chapter of their stories or as the new status quo? Do fans want the more epic and personable saviors or the heroes who get knocked down, but have that super-human quality that always gives them that push to overcome even the most insurmountable obstacles to save the day in a world ultimately filled with optimism for good?
Fans of superheroes are at a turning point and must determine how we will see the man flying faster than a speeding bullet as well as the caped crusader in crime-ridden Gotham city: with us or above us?
Eight Years Later & We Look to the Horizon
Just weeks into my freshman year at college in Connecticut this girl who lived just two doors down from me quickly peeked her head into my dorm room and said, “Hey Jimmy, friend me on facebook!” Confused, I searched for ‘facebook.’ The homepage came up and it needed my e-mail and a password. And that is how college started for me: I was a first-year member of the Facebook Generation.
Mark Zuckerberg and his Harvard friends/roommates changed social media forever in their dorm room. Launching in 2004, thefacebook.com was new, yet simple. Just as “The Social Network” amused, it was initially great because it was a cool, new way to communicate with our fellow students and was especially beneficial for us on the more shy side of ‘talking’ with girls without making formal dates for every quick or random conversation throughout the day. Like I said, it was new and very cool. Each time you saw a “1” by the message or friend icon, you wondered if it was from that girl you just met in the back row of anatomy class not twenty minutes earlier (true story). There was a thrill to this new site. As Zuckerberg said in the movie, “We don’t even know what it is yet…that’s a priceless asset I’m not willing to give up.”
Now, everybody and their grandmother knows what it is. Enter the problem. The problem with the stock is not surprising as everybody is discussing and analyzing its ceiling of capabilities. Facebook is not a traditional Fortune 500 company and has a likewise CEO. It’s unique and while advertisements may be a major part of the business side of things, any loyal member knows the experience was never about the ads. It can still be used for great benefit for companies and individuals, but more so for communication and interaction.
So, what’s next?
Are we truly an app generation? How much personal information do we want to post and/or have on the internet? Do people of all ages want to be on or off the ever-expanding electronic grid with cell phones included? Do we like being so connected all the time?
Taking a step back and looking at the development of the new and big ideas that changed our culture, it seems apparent that whatever is next in line (and something is) needs elements of simplicity and mystery. The capacity for growth, expansion and improvement should be open, yet narrow with a focus.
Facebook was new and cool. Its premise was simple and at the same time engaging with seemingly endless possibilities. “We don’t even know what it is yet…that’s a priceless asset I’m not willing to give up.” This and phrases such as “friend me” or “facebook me” will most likely be the starting points and expectation drivers for the next big wave. Facebook is still a good-sized wave and will be around for time to come, but what is that big wave just on the horizon? Will it be social media 2.0 or something completely new?
I know something big and new is coming because that is the American tradition of big sky-big idea dreamers. Until then, start drawing on your dorm room window and think big, plain and simple.
The Value of the Dollar is Rising in the American Restaurant
We live in the era where a bag of skittles costs $1, a trip to the movies forces one to contemplate his or her finances and best of all, a large…I mean a venti, at Starbucks is almost $2.00! Who else remembers, “The best part of wakin’ up is Folgers in your cup.” Making our own coffee…it was a simpler time then.
The point is everyday expenses have skyrocketed well beyond reality. We laugh at our grandparents and parents for speaking nostalgically about getting a $.10 hamburger and an ice cream cone for a nickel…Today, it really gives new meaning to the term “The Greatest Generation.” Fear not, this is not an article about business finances related to the rising costs of food. This is about how White Castle has set the food trend that is here in to stay in America for a long, long, long time.
White Castle is famous for its sliders. Small burgers that alone may not be completely filling at around $.45 apiece, but when ordered in packs of four or more certainly can cure a hungry appetite. This is where we are now. Americans are in the “Slider Era.” I don’t mean that every food item will be a small burger, but the slider concept is alive and well and has taken on all sorts of variations. From burgers to lobster roll sliders, restaurants all over are creatively adapting. Chefs of all kinds have realized more than ever that their bottom line is directly linked to their customers. Eating out together today more closely resembles eating out together as a family going to McDonald’s when the Golden Arches first shined bright in suburban Chicago, Illinois, with the Dollar Menu as one example. To be clear, this is a great thing! We are in this together, and restaurants are stepping up.
From White Castle to a sushi joint to Ed’s Lobster Bar Annex in the lower east side of New York city, people are becoming increasingly aware that sharing a few small plates or appetizers together is more fun (economically and socially) than always ordering a large meal and an expensive drink. Order smaller items, but more of them.
At Yogi Perogi in Grandview, Ohio, each perogi ranges from $1.75-$2.50. With just two or three, that’s easily lunch. That not only could be a new lunch spot, but also an expanded palate, as was the case with me. With all prices relative to its location and quality, a lobster roll slider at Ed’s Lobster Bar Annex in NYC is $5, three lobster tacos are $12 and a lobster burger slider is $5. Again, three of these plus an order of fries ($6, but remember it can be split if you’re eating out with friends or family…and it’s quite a few fries) are sufficient for a meal. This is all especially good when you realize the signature lobster roll alone goes for $27.
Simply put: Less is more.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 