It was during a busy afternoon in May that I found myself staring in awe ate the large crowd in front of the cinema's ticket booth. I watched as strangers pulled out wads of fifty and twenty peso bills, eagerly waiting for their turn to purchase tickets for the famous movie, The Avengers. As I dragged my feet to fall in line with the crowd, a simple question formed in my mind: Why are Filipinos so hyped up over superheroes? As I tried to answer my own question, I began to see a common Filipino trait. Filipinos are fond of superheroes because they are DEPENDABLE. Filipinos are fond of superheroes because they are the ones who step up when no one else does. Last, and worst of all, Filipinos are fond of superheroes for the simple fact that, when things go wrong, they are there to take the blame.
For their extraordinary skills, superheroes are seen as dependable saviors. In movies, when an airplane falls from the sky, all the passengers would just look up, and from the clouds, as if by magic, Superman would appear. He would be able to land the plane safely, no one is harmed and Superman would exit the same way he entered. In reality though, we all know that Superman or any of the other Marvel heroes would not appear just out of nowhere for the simple reason that they do not exist. In the real world, people are left to deal with their problems. They are forced not only to step up when problems arise, but also to be responsible for their actions. For years and years, Filipinos watched movies of Superman, Spider Man, Iron Man, and all the other superheroes. For years and years, instead of being inspired to be the heroes they see in movies, Filipinos wait on other people for the simple reason that they believe they are too ordinary to be special.
"Be the change you want to see in the world" Growing up, I have always heard quotations similar to this one. However, it was only in that busy afternoon in May that I realized its true meaning. When our personal planes, our problems, crash down from the sky, we have no right to just stand there and wait for the red cape to appear. It may sound harsh and cliche, but truly, no one can save us unless we find a way to save ourselves and land our own planes. Lastly, I could say that even the superheroes we watch on television started out as ordinary people who had the courage to step up and be extraordinary in their own way.
