NovelSisters

I got to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier this past week. I’ve been holding off writing a post about it, since my sister doesn’t want me to spoil the movie for her. But I think I’ve thought about the movie long enough, that now I want to say something. Hopefully it doesn’t spoil anything for her or anyone else…

First off, this was a great movie. If you enjoyed any of the other Avenger movies, you’ll enjoy this one too. There’s plenty of action, intrigue, and still a few laughable moments that make it a classic Marvel movie.

However, what interested me the most in this movie, was how a person born in the early 20th century viewed all of the changes to the world. I think since we live in it and have grown up in it, the way the world works just feels normal to us. But to this character, several things popped out as strange or even wrong.

Some of the biggest wrongs had to do with national security, freedom, and protection. When Cap finds out that SHIELD is preventing threats by killing terrorists before they act he points out, “I thought the punishment was supposed to come after the crime.” He also states quite harshly, “This isn’t freedom, it’s fear!” when he finds out the extent that SHIELD will go to keep order and protect people.

I think if we took a step back and looked at what’s going on in the world, we’d also notice some things to be concerned about. I for one was quite surprised when I went to a college seminar about privacy in the 21st century and realized just how little of my life is really private. Advertisers can learn so much about me just from information found on the internet, that they can personalize all of the adds I see. Even doing a Google search of myself can result in some surprising finds.

Recently I’ve become more aware of the negative consequences of our digital age and how much time is spent interacting with screens. So many things are on screens now; TV, phone, computer, and tablets, just to name a few, that it can be hard to get away from the digital world and engage in real face-to-face conversation. Even if I do get some actual human contact, it can oftentimes be interrupted by texts, updates, or some other kind of message.

It can be a bit overwhelming when I really sit down and think about it, but most of the time I think this is just “normal,” and go on with life. But even if there’s nothing I can really do to change how the world works nowadays, I can still be more aware of what’s going on, and maybe more careful about what I post on Facebook, or how much time I spend with a screen.

So I know this was a bit of a rabbit trail, but it’s what I started thinking about after I saw this movie. If you haven’t seen it, go check it out, and if you have, let me know your thoughts.