91裸聊视频淟et91裸聊视频檚 do things differently this time.91裸聊视频�
Those are the first words you hear in this month91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淪pider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,91裸聊视频� an otherworldly meditation on multiple realities. The message is clear from the get-go: We have choices. You are you, sure. But wait 91裸聊视频� you might also be you and you and you.
The world is a stressful, sometimes lonely place. But what if things could turn out another way? What if, somewhere, they had? Enter the realm of the multiverse and alternate realities, one of the most glorified pop culture canvases 91裸聊视频� and a repository for the ache and longing of living in an era of uncertainty.
91裸聊视频淭he cultural assumption used to be that the world we live in is the way it is, and that91裸聊视频檚 the only way it could be,91裸聊视频� says Douglas Wolk, who read 27,000 Marvel comics for his book, 91裸聊视频淎ll of the Marvels.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淲hat has happened in culture,91裸聊视频� Wolk says, 91裸聊视频渋s that people are saying, 91裸聊视频榃ell, no. This consensus reality is not how things have to be.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�
The notion of exploring life91裸聊视频檚 twists and turns through alternate timelines has been around for a while, albeit in varying guises.
91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 a Wonderful Life91裸聊视频� sent George Bailey tumbling into a timeline where he91裸聊视频檇 never been born to reveal his true impact. In the decades since, that notion has accelerated 91裸聊视频� a rise in stories that consider events both fictional and real, extrapolating different choices.
What if the South had won the Civil War (91裸聊视频淐SA: The Confederate States of America91裸聊视频�)? What if Germany and Japan had won World War II (91裸聊视频淭he Man in the High Castle91裸聊视频�)? What if John F. Kennedy hadn91裸聊视频檛 been assassinated (91裸聊视频�11/22/6391裸聊视频�)?
Fictional worlds are more malleable. Imaginary characters 91裸聊视频� particularly beloved ones with established stories 91裸聊视频� are toyed with in books, TV shows and movies that airlift them out of one life and into another. It91裸聊视频檚 a canvas that cuts across genres, from rom-com (199891裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淪liding Doors91裸聊视频�) to near-musical (201991裸聊视频檚 Beatles jukebox 91裸聊视频淵esterday91裸聊视频�).
You have the reality where Spider-Man never married M.J. (Marvel Comics91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淏rand New Day91裸聊视频�); the universe where a Ben Affleck Batman never existed but the Michael Keaton Batman stuck around and got old (91裸聊视频淭he Flash91裸聊视频�); and the 91裸聊视频渕irror universe91裸聊视频� of 91裸聊视频淪tar Trek91裸聊视频� that reveals the baser instincts of beloved characters.
91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 a way to explore a problem that91裸聊视频檚 never actually happened in the main story,91裸聊视频� sums up Nic Lemire, a California teenager who co-hosts the occasional 91裸聊视频淢arvel Mondays91裸聊视频� podcast with his mother (a former Associated Press film critic).
One crowning example of multiverse success: The Oscar-sweeping 91裸聊视频淓verything Everywhere All at Once,91裸聊视频� which showed all the different lives Michelle Yeoh91裸聊视频檚 main character might have lived 91裸聊视频� with the point being that across the multiverse, her family remains a family.
These works are united by one theme: There are always possibilities, for better and for worse, and exploring them is entertaining, enlightening and escapist. That91裸聊视频檚 no small thing in a post-COVID world where convulsive change can seem the only constant.
91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e bombarded with things that seem arbitrary, random,91裸聊视频� says Hannah Kim, an assistant professor of philosophy at Macalester College. 91裸聊视频淭he number of difficult developments the past few years 91裸聊视频� the pandemic, political upheaval, effects of climate change, etc. 91裸聊视频� leave the anxiety-riddled person with the nagging feeling that this all could have been otherwise.91裸聊视频�
Exploring the question of 91裸聊视频渨hat if91裸聊视频� continues to be lucrative 91裸聊视频� there91裸聊视频檚 even an entire Marvel show called 91裸聊视频淲hat If91裸聊视频�?91裸聊视频� While multiple universes may start to feel spread thin as a plot device, the trope isn91裸聊视频檛 going away.
After all, if you can remix popular characters while retaining the potential for a reset in a 91裸聊视频減rime universe,91裸聊视频� what is there to lose? Well, there91裸聊视频檚 this: If everything is reversible, how high can the stakes really be?
91裸聊视频淚t narratively lets you have your cake and eat it too 91裸聊视频� you can kill off the character, have an emotional death scene and then bring the character back from another universe,91裸聊视频� says Matt Ruff, whose 9/11 novel, 91裸聊视频淭he Mirage,91裸聊视频� posits an alternate universe that flips aggressors, victims and prejudices.
91裸聊视频淚f everything91裸聊视频檚 possible, the choices are less interesting. The consequences don91裸聊视频檛 matter all that much,91裸聊视频� Ruff says. 91裸聊视频淧art of engaging in the real world is engaging with the fact that there91裸聊视频檚 no magical solution.91裸聊视频�
That, though, may be precisely why the notion resonates. Humans have always wanted to try on other outfits, other outcomes, other lives. Technology has enabled people to obtain most anything from the world91裸聊视频檚 bounty within 48 hours. So why not thousands of stories with thousands of possible endings? What does that do to our relationship with our stories?
91裸聊视频淵ou are looking at a piece of a bigger cultural picture that provides a constant barrage of cultural images that reinforce this idea that we can be better versions of ourselves,91裸聊视频� says Colgate University sociologist David Newman, who has written a book on second chances. 91裸聊视频淧eople want to believe that when we have a problem, the problem is fixable.91裸聊视频�
There91裸聊视频檚 one Marvel Comics offshoot, 91裸聊视频淢arvel 1602,91裸聊视频� in which Earth91裸聊视频檚 mightiest superheroes exist at the beginning of the 17th century.
91裸聊视频淚 posit we are in a universe which favors stories,91裸聊视频� Fantastic Four leader Reed Richards says. 91裸聊视频淎 universe in which no story can ever truly end; in which there can only be continuances.91裸聊视频�
However it might play out, that91裸聊视频檚 a universe full of possibilities. And judging from the past two decades, it91裸聊视频檚 good business as well to keep on asking: What if?
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