Doxacon AAR

Well: hanging out with the Orthodox geeks was fun. Think I'll do it again!

What did I learn? I learned that Uzbek comfort food is delicious. I learned that, supposedly, the Greek Orthodox have money, but the Slavic and Arab Orthodox don't. And I learned that even Greek and Slavic Orthodox Christians don't consider themselves white. Yep, that's right: at lunch, I was referred to as the "white girl" by everyone at my table. I wasn't offended; I thought it was hilarious.

And the talks? There were several common themes to chew on:

First, there was much discussion on what I will dub The Problem of Superman. See, when Superman was first conceived, he was meant to be messianic. But in the (I think correct) view of the two Superman enthusiasts who spoke, today's writers and directors are no longer able to wrap their minds around the character because our culture has been stripped of any conception of the transcendent and/or God-like. We are better, said speakers argued, at writing heroes who rise from below; our moral imagination is now too flat to handle heroes who come down from above.

Not that there's no value in the rise-from-below sort of hero, of course. In post-talk discussions, it was clarified that heroes like Tony Stark can be bridges to evangelization too (especially since all the flaws Tony has to overcome in his story are quintessentially modern flaws) (oh yes, an essay from me is in the offing). Indeed, we came up with a really intriguing notion: heroes like Superman fulfill the need for the transcendent, while Marvel heroes like Tony fulfill the need for hagiography. Heroes like Superman echo Christ; the heroes in the Marvel stable echo the saints.

The MCU echoes the Cloud of Witnesses? Yeah, I'm going to play with that.

Obviously, the people involved with the MCU have no idea they were doing this. And that brings us to the second common theme: the fact that we live in a post-Christian (not un-Christian) society that is still haunted by Biblical ideas. In what turned out to be my favorite presentation, the following question was asked: how do the Avengers know that they are right and Thanos is wrong? The answer is unconscious Christianity. Even Hollywood can't completely escape the consequences of a foundational theology that declares God is a Community of Persons and that human beings, made in the image of those Persons, are therefore each of infinite value.

The above speaker was clearly disappointed that the Avengers don't make this more explicit (aside from Cap coming close with "we don't trade lives") and was disturbed that, in some scenes, our heroes use the Thanos-style utilitarian calculus themselves. He pointed to this as evidence that the MCU's Infinity Saga wants to say something important but simply lacks the language to do it coherently. But personally, I'm not so sure he's 100% right on this score. After reflecting on this on the long ride home, I think the climax - Tony's immolating himself for the sake of the universe - is the answer our presenter was looking for because there is nothing - and I mean nothing - utilitarian about that move. Indeed, Endgame spends large swaths of time hammering home that very point. Tony, to put it succinctly, has a lot to live for at the moment he dies. That he chooses to die anyway is itself a rebuke of Thanos. So sure: maybe the Avengers waffle when they try to argue with Thanos about the particulars of right and wrong. But maybe we can let Tony's actions speak louder than anyone's words.

Feel free to discuss further below. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts!