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A week or so back my wife and I were watching the Disney film Sky High with the nine-year old granddaughter. I rather enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun, and in a way it struck me it was an allegory and rang many bells for me.
The story is about a school for the children of superheroes. When the children first go to the school they are chosen on their own ability as potential superheroes and if they do not match up they are put in the side-kick class or stream. Maybe that is how poor Robin learned to be such an idiot.
In the movie, the sidekick children pretty much end up saving the day when an evil Arch Villain threatens to destroy the school and the superhero parents. When they are triumphant the sidekick kids find they have developed superhero powers after all and no doubt they will be a success in the evil world out there.
Sidekick
So at an early age there is a danger that we will all be classified according to our assumed abilities without a great deal of testing. I was certainly classified as a sidekick in my early days in secondary education even though that I had to be quite bright to get into the school in the first place.
Heroes
Very rough contemporaries of mine who became “superheroes” soon after leaving education were a famous disc jockey cum TV presenter, a popular comedian and comedy actor and an author of an extremely well-known series of comic science fiction novels. If you really press me I might put names to these people but I am not a name-dropper (well, OK, I might be). There was also a well-known politician but I am not sure if he is a superhero or an arch-villain. I guess it would depend on your politics.
Comparisons and success
It is easy for all of us to try to compare ourselves to contemporaries as we get older. Of course many have been more successful than I have in their calling or business. Perhaps others less so. However by hard work and dogged determination we can get there and earn our superhero’s cloak (maybe we don’t want those tight pants).
Success is not measured by fame and nor is it measured purely by money, but what we can achieve, and nearly always by how happy we are and how happy we are able to help other people to be.
For most success is not instant. Usually it involves a hard slog, and often success is in enjoying the game; what we do. Our super powers will come and while we may not be as famous as Wonder Woman or Superman, sheer application will get us there.
What do you think?
You are a mean man Jon Stow for not name dropping, I wanted to know the name of the Disney film. That all went out the window when you were being modest… you sure know how to get comments 🙂
Sorry to be a disappointment, Sarah. It was a good movie for kids and for us too.
The sad thing is I did not know any of the superheroes well, although (here goes) the late Douglas Adams was pretty much my age. There’s one anyway for you. Douglas was a sad loss. Who knows what he might have written and what he could have achieved especially in the on-line world? Still, the tortoises such as I can get there in the end, which is my point of course.
Thanks very much for your comment.