Originally posted on mythicramblings.com on Jan 4, 2017.

I know 10 Cloverfield Lane came out something like five years ago. Or four months.  I saw the first Cloverfield way back in 2008. In theaters…and I didn’t get motion sickness. Yeah, that’s right. I’m pretty badass.

Regardless, I followed the news surrounding 10 Cloverfield Lane with a building interest. It was being called a “spiritual sequel” to Cloverfield. Back in 2008 Cloverfield didn’t strike me as being particularly important to film history (except it totally was the harbinger of kaiju films, a topic I explored in my 2015 PCA presentation). The film was a fun watch, but there wasn’t much in it thematically that I thought could be built into another film, much less a franchise. I mean, a spiritual sequel is wholly based on themes and motifs, rather than actual plot. So what ties the Cloverfield films together?

In Cloverfield we follow a group of friends who are in New York City when a mysterious monster attacks. In 10 Cloverfield Lane we see a woman deal with a potential captor in a potential alien attack living in a definite bunker. Now, if it was any other film, these people would be the ones who randomly have just the right set of skills to go ahead and stop their monsters from destroying the world. Instead, the group of friends are just trying to find their friend (they do, then die) and the woman is just trying to figure out the truth (her captor is in fact crazy, but the alien attack was also real – the bunker remains TBD).

There have been many films featuring people who find themselves in improbable disaster situations, rising to the occasion and finding the strength within to persevere. Take the premise of Cloverfield for example. “Person needs to find loved one.” National treasure Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson goes through every sort of disaster to get his daughter in San Andreas. Like, every.type.of.disaster. Will Smith seeks Vivica A. Fox in Independence Day.

But what makes this films different from the Cloverfield franchise is that San Andreas and Independence Day  feature people who are capable. The characters in these films are familiar with almost every obstacle they encounter. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (you gotta use his full name) can drive every vehicle he encounters. Will Smith, Randy Quaid, Jeff Goldblum, and Bill Pullman all have the resources to meet up at Area 51 — and deliver the most rousing speech humanity has ever heard along the way.

Outside of the mysterious monster attacks, the Cloverfield franchise doesn’t feature characters like that. They just don’t. Sure, they follow people who become heroes of their own little stories. But these people don’t affect the larger world in any way. In fact, they are the extras in San Andreas or Independence Day. They’re just in the background of a bigger story, living their own lives and being thoroughly confused. The key here is that the “bigger story” is what we as viewers would normally be watching.

Turns out both films play with a plot that I’ve wanted to see for a very long time. It’s a storyline that I find to be hilarious. You ready for it? Okay, picture this: you’re on your way to the bank. There’s some traffic, but whatever, this is New York. You get to the bank and you’re waiting in line for the ATM when BAM, a piece of a random building falls on the guy in front of you! Turns out you’re in The Avengers! And your city is being demolished by aliens.

The rest of the movie follows you as you run into a shelter, wait out the fight, call your mom to let her know you’re alright, and fill out a statement about the guy you saw killed by the rubble. Then you have to fill out insurance paperwork about your apartment that was wrecked in the fight and while your boss may be understanding about why you couldn’t come into work that day, the fact remains that you never got that report out to the client and Janice in Accounting don’t give a fuck.

I have no idea when I first started imagining this, but I now can’t help but think about the lives of the people who are wandering around in the background of blockbuster movies. How are these people affected by the events that have totally disrupted their lives? These are the people our heroes have sworn to protect, yet so little attention is given to them. At a certain point, the grandiose scope of blockbuster films loses focus of what’s actually at stake. This is exactly the criticism that was hurled at Man of Steel after its release.

I think I speak for many viewers when I say that the mass destruction at the end of Man of Steel was uncomfortable to watch. Buildings and entire city blocks were demolished … and we never knew if people where evacuated. In a post 9/11 world, that sort of urban destruction is going to be felt slightly differently. Thanks to amateur videos from bystanders of 9/11 and other countless attacks and disasters witnessed since, we now understand in an intimate way the experiences and immediate horror of an attack, not to mention the impacting damage that lasts years later.

Most of mythology has praised extraordinary and inhuman abilities. From Gilgamesh to Paul Bunyan, larger-than-life, stronger-than-human, and totally-badass traits have been our ideals. The stories we’re used to seeing are not as interested by another character’s life being interrupted by someone exhibiting these traits. Yet, as evidenced by criticisms of Man of Steel and Hollywood’s subsequent reactions, viewers are starting to get increasingly interested with the responsibilities after these blockbusters final battles.

Both Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Captain America: Civil War are preoccupied with this notion of who is responsible and how to exhibit discretion. While they each handle this to various degrees of success, they atone for their past cinematic sins against humanity by creating ideological conflicts. They try to say sorry for their destructive battles…by having more battles.

And that’s why the Cloverfield films are so refreshing to me. Screw all the heroes that take it upon themselves to fight the monsters, who can self-righteously throw themselves into a fight without any regard for those around them. I don’t care about the people in a zombie apocalypse who find it within themselves to run really fast and can shoot guns. I don’t care about those in a natural disaster who have the right connections to get planes and shit. I want to root for the people who are just trying to dodge the debris. Because that would be me – probably dead within the first few hours and only alive through dumb luck.

I don’t think I’m the only one. The Cloverfield franchise injects humour and weirdness into the traditionally serious, morally clear-cut situations we’re all so familiar with. They show reactions that are totally relatable to how real people would act. This shift speaks to re prioritization of daily life over epic battles. We’ve seen the Waste Land, and we’d rather stay home.

Big blockbusters are starting to give a voice and justice to those people, and even their own show! Powerless looks to be like a fun show that pokes fun at the un-super in a superhero world. But if one of the main characters end up having a secret superpower, I swear to God I’m going to….probably still watch it.

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Well, that post was a hot mess (just like 2016, amirite). My resolution for 2017 was to get back to my passion projects. So that means publishing as it was, FINALLY, and not using editing as an excuse anymore.

The main reason why I wasn’t writing is that I am a lazy person at heart. I amaze my loved ones with my laziness. Honest! People are always telling me, “I thought I had seen the laziest creature ever when I saw a sloth doped up before surgery in Costa Rica, but you have created a whole new standard.”

But, in my defense, I actually got a job. Like, a big person job. I’m a brand strategist at a design agency. (That might be most unintelligible sentence I’ve ever written…and I have a Master’s in Mythology.) Basically I help create the story a brand wants to keep at its heart and then my coworkers design how that story visually comes to life. I get to use mythology and study cultural trends. I can’t talk about the clients we have, but let’s just say that they’re kinda cool.

It’s been an interesting transition that has been rewarding, but the result is that I have been really drained. I’ve been to Paris twice in 2016 for a total of 2.5 months for work. I’ve gone to conferences and client workshops and have even started writing for my agency. I’m not sure yet if I want to link to those pieces, so I won’t just yet. Keep y’all in suspense a bit longer….

I’ve also been low-key pursuing popular culture studies. Last March I was at ACLA‘s annual convention at Harvard where I spoke about the casual fan’s experience (because casual fan’s are legit, yo!). That was amazing. The ACLA conference had a “stream” set up that I had never really experienced before. Basically, the panel is comprised of 12 people who all show up at the same time over the course of the conference’s three days and usually four people speak each day. This creates a longer discussion between the panelists (and audience) where multiple connections are drawn. We each had differing topics (religious experiences, animated films, and Sherlock) but it was fascinating to see how most of the presentations connected. I don’t think I’ll be attending ACLA again due its heavily academic orientation, but it was still a wonderful experience.

Immediately after that I of course went to PCA in Seattle! I spoke about…Fresh Off The Boat and its forceful remythologizing of racial identity through rap and 90’s culture. Fresh Off The Boat is one of my favourite shows. I think it’s so smart in its pointed approach to breaking down racial stereotypes. I loved the anger and energy of book, and while the show certainly doesn’t carry that forward, I still consider it a game changer.

I also no longer have blue hair. After two years, it was getting to be a lot to maintain. But I do now have…red rain boots. So, you know, same difference.

It feels good to write again. I’d love to continue doing this blog, in whatever shape it takes. I’ve decided to dedicate a certain amount of resources to it this year. 2017 Resolutions, here I come. Thanks for reading!