Quick lesson about superman. He is basically perfect. He is virtually indestructible, fast enough to turn back time, super strong, can fly and has impeccable morales. Sounds awesome for a superhero, right? Well, the difficulty with superman is that he is boring, there really isn’t a great threat to his safety, he can turn back time, so there is no threat to anyone else and you know he will always do the right thing because he has amazing morales. So here we have Kryptonite, Superman’s weakness (although he is also technically weak against psionic powers and such, but you get the point). With Kryptonite, Superman could die, there is tension and threat.
The basic theme to this is that humans tend to like stories, heroes and even villains that are complicated, that need further exploration and understanding. We need both light and dark, Otherwise it isn’t really a story at all and we don’t learn or grow.
Yes, I did see Iron Man 3, and I liked it. It has all the good bits of a superhero movie, laughs, love, things that blow up, death, retribution, etc. it has an interesting story, because our hero is vulnerable and complex, as are our villains. No/one is simple good or bad, everyone is a little of both. (Except Pepper Potts who is always awesome)
The real reason for my discussion of complexity actually relates to our visit to the Creation Museum which is a centre dedicated to promoting the view that the bible is exact fact, the earth was created about 6000 years ago, evolution is a sham and all of the ills of the world are caused by ignoring gods word as it is written in the bible.
First things first, the set up of the museum is not bad, they have some pretty good a animatronic humans and dinosaurs, the exhibits are well presented and the protection values are pretty good. However, a few issues with the setup. You are encouraged to attend a short movie first, which in in a special effects cinema (which always means they shoot you in the face with water and shake your chairs). You are then allowed into the exhibition space. The space has only one path and no exits. Due to the requirement to attend the movie first you are in the space with about 300 other people, many of them children with worksheets. You don’t really feel like you can look at the exhibition in your own time, nor explore very well. Also, the children were very poorly behaved. They did not see to mind getting in the way of other visitors or covering the text panels with their worksheets.
Now, to the content of the museum. It is weird. Most museums challenge you to think things through, or to explore or find out more. The purpose of the creation museum seems to be to convince visitors that the bible is exact historical fact and anyone who doesn’t believe that is on the path to hell. I am all for people promoting their own beliefs, however the creation museum goes a step further and portrays basically everyone who doesn’t believe them, including other Christians, as arrogant, brainwashed idiots. The film at the start shows teachers as disrespectful and unable to prove the scientific theory of what they are discussing. Throughout the exhibition the text panels frequently portray the opposing arguments incorrectly.
Essentially the basis of the museum is that if you listen the bible, life has purpose. Believing in an evolutionary path to present day, means that life is random and without purpose. I think many people who believe in the scientific explanation of life also believe that life is a wonderful and purposeful thing. I also think that portraying the answers to life as – whatever god says is right, ignores some of the great mysteries and complexities of life, that make stories so great.
We also visited a place which is mostly about light in a more literal sense. This American Sign Museum. The museum showcases a range of archetypical signs from the pre-neon period to present day. They have an area called Main Street which showcases some large and well-preserved examples of neon signs.
Lastly we visited the world’s largest children’s museum in Indiana. The museum is across several levels and includes areas for small children up to early teens. The museum is very well presented and certainly has lots of space. There are exhibits on dinosaurs, science around you, Egypt, geckos and superheroes. The museum also has a really awesome clock in the foyer. The museum is excellent, however I was expecting a bit more interactivity for the amount of funding they have. I was expecting inspired, but I did get a solid museum.
50statesofyay 