land of imagination
For any South Park fan, the title of this story is a throwback to an amazing episode in the trilogy created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. A quick recap for anyone who missed that episode, the infamous Eric Cartman and Kyle Broflovski have a bet that Cartman can prove that goblins are real. Cartman manages to prove Kyle wrong, and at the same time, the terrorists have taken over people’s imaginations and the imagination is running amok. Like most South Park episodes, there’s always a message, the message is “who are we to judge what’s real or not?” Characters like “Popeye” are fictional but we learn a lot from them, sometimes much more than from real people. I don’t think eating spinach would have been an option in my life if it weren’t for Popeye. For those who do not know Popeye, the character always gained incredible strength to defeat his enemy and save the girl by eating a can of spinach. This cartoon amazed me as a kid and today I can genuinely say “Thank you Popeye” for helping me eat spinach. Today is one of my favorite dishes. As a cartoon addict, I started thinking about the different characters I’ve been watching over the years and how each of them taught me something really valuable. So I decided to share part of my “Imagination” learning journey by introducing some “fictional” characters from a different perspective. Not tight costumes and superpowers, but more about how their struggles were more real than ever and how they dealt with problems and lessons learned. I’ll pick a few of my favorites to show you. “Spiderman and Batman” are the ones I’ll cover.
Chapter 1
The amazing Spider Man
In fact, “Amazing Spiderman”, not only because he can walk on walls and shoot webs, but because with everything he faces, he always finds a way to stay on top. For people unfamiliar with the character created by the most incredible human being Stan “the man” Lee, here is a brief synopsis. Peter Parker is a teenage science genius dealing with the normal problems of adolescence, like getting the girl he wants and being picked on by a bully. After being bitten by a radioactive spider, he became the “Amazing Spiderman”. He gained superhuman strength, “incredible” agility, an ability to punch, and a spider-sense that warns him when danger is coming. But Peter’s secret weapon was always his intellect.
Peter decided to lead the life of a superhero after the death of his Uncle Ben, who taught him that “with great power comes great responsibility.” His life was torn in half when he had to support his high school life while maintaining his secret identity. The lesson that Uncle Ben taught Peter is the hidden message of almost every single Spider-Man story. The power of being an extremely intelligent student and the responsibility to use that blessing to help enrich your life and the lives of others. The power of being able to pick up a car and launch it 10 meters away and the responsibility of saving the world from the villains that are constantly trying to destroy it. So what can we learn from our network head friend? Well honestly, this character is an encyclopedia of lessons, but I’ll pick my favorite Spiderman lesson “Perseverance.” You can see this character struggling every day, from trying to keep his grades up to a part-time job taking pictures for a newspaper to taking care of his Aunt May and saving the world. The level of responsibility and perseverance is a lesson that everyone should follow. Never give up even if you are trying to save the world; or if you can’t start exercising because you’re lazy or can’t get the house you want, never give up. Plan, put a strategy and fight to reach your goal. “Your dreams are your responsibility, channel the power of your mind to achieve those dreams”… From your friendly neighbor Spiderman.
Episode 2
bat Man
I think everyone is familiar with the character “Sherlock Holmes”, a fictional detective created by author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887. The character used logical reasoning and forensic science to solve difficult cases. Batman is the enhanced Sherlock Holmes in the world of comics created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. He is the number one detective in the entire universe, armed with an infinite amount of gadgets (designed by him), a black belt in almost all martial arts, and a monopoly on almost all industrial sectors in Gotham City and some parts of the world. …Not to mention that he is also loved by the ladies like Bruce Wayne. So overall, he’s the guy almost every kid wants to become because he’s the easiest to achieve (theoretically). I’m not going to go into detail and summarize the story of the Dark Knight because I think everyone is familiar with it, but the origin of this character enlightens us with one of the most valuable lessons in life: “You have to face your fears to overcome them. . Bruce Wayne’s life was shattered when his parents were shot in an alley and at his house he fell into a cave that was full of bats causing him to suffer from “chiroptophobia” (fear of bats). After a journey of self-discovery and martial arts training, he returns to fulfill his duty as the hero of Gotham City, but first he must overcome his own fear to become a symbol of terror in the hearts of his enemies… BATMAN! !. Some of my favorite personal traits of Batman are his “attention to detail and strategic thinking.” experience or by handling puzzles created by the devious “Riddler”? So take your time, analyze the problem from every aspect, do your research, consider the options, do the required tests, and formulate a result.
Finally, after revealing Batman and Spider-Man from a different perspective, I’ll leave you with a word from Kyle Broflovski in the same episode of South Park that started all of this “It’s all real. Think about it. Haven’t Luke Skywalker and Santa Claus affected does he live longer than most real people in this room? I mean, whether Jesus is real or not, he’s had a bigger impact on the world than any of us. And the same can be said for Bugs Bunny, Superman and Harry Potter “I changed my life, I changed the way I act on earth. Doesn’t that make them a little real? They may be imaginary, but they are more important than most of us here. And they’re all going to be around here long after we’re dead. So, in a way, those things are more real than any of us.”