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In touch / Check-in

This week a single joint offering linking the reading to the latest news and global issues, and connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues for young people.

Stories of hope

Context

• The latest Marvel film, Spider-Man: No Way Home is a hit, grossing over $1billion in just 12 days.
• Tributes have poured in for real-world hero, Desmond Tutu, who died on 26 December aged 90.
• This year’s Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, presented by Jonathan Van Tam (JVT) and a host of scientists who have been involved in the fight against Covid, describe the challenges, successes and hopes of the scientific research.

 

Reflection

Have you seen the new Spider-Man film yet? A lot of people have! It’s currently the highest grossing film of 2021 having already taken $1billion globally - I think it’s fair to say that people love Spider-Man and the Marvel Universe. One popular lockdown activity was to try and watch every Marvel film in chronological order. Back in 2020 that was 23 films - not to mention the various TV show spin-offs. You certainly need to carve out a chunk of time to do the whole lot!

But perhaps the more interesting question than have you seen the new Spider-Man film yet, is why have you been to see the new Spider-Man film? The Marvel Universe contains some undeniably dark forces, the villainous Mysterio to name one. But I don’t think the appeal of the films is to do with the villains, it’s all about the heroes. Although they are often flawed and difficult, the Marvel heroes are relentless in their pursuit of a better world: they are all ultimately reaching for the light. In the nativity story, it was the wise men who searched for the light. They followed the star which would eventually lead them to a child who represented hope in a dark world. And the great thing about these ancient heroes is that the hope they found is still with us today. It’s hard to battle the forces which oppress our world and most of us lack superhero skills. But we can all hold onto the hope of the child the wise men found, because with him we have hope for a better world, hope for the future.

 

Questions for discussion

• What hope do stories such as those above – real life, fictional and/or biblical – inspire in you?
• Is there something special about people who inspire hope by calling out/standing up to ‘dark forces’ in the world? Is there someone in your local community who does so, perhaps without any obvious or public recognition?
• JVT says science is a team game. How could we build hope for the future by working better together?

Fiona Dorman taught English in secondary school for 20 years and is currently working as Bristol Cathedral education officer and as an educational consultant.

 

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