I’m writing about The Fantastic Four! More of a surprise to me than anyone - except maybe Tod. I don’t know much about the Marvel Universe but how could I not get swept up in it after all these years? Thinking about the characters and wondering if this set of archetypes is something people pick to identify with - like they do with the houses of Harry Potter. I’ve overheard some very real conversations about whether someone is a Slytherin or Hufflepuff. Not being a Harry Potter connoisseur either, I’ve definitely consulted ChatGPT to determine my “house,” punching in personality traits and hoping it figures it out for me.
As the summer wraps, it’s hard not to catch Marvel fever. I may even get myself a bucket of popcorn and a Fantastic Four slurpee this weekend and settle in. I’m fascinated by the concept of the Invisible Woman. Initially called the Invisible Girl. Love the “woman” update. And that they made it her superpower.
As a woman of a certain age - a phrase I just had to look up after writing it. Originally translated from the French “femme d’un certain age,” it referred to women who reached maturity and decided younger men were the answer. Tres bon! When the English got hold of it somehow it morphed into spinster. Bummer. Regardless of how you understand it, whether you’re schtupping young men or over 50 without a young paramour, there are many women out there who bristle at the thought of the Invisible Woman being any kind of superhero. Becoming an invisible woman after middle age is their cri d'coeur.
If you do suffer from feeling invisible after 50 - give or take a decade - maybe Stan Lee et al were feminists after all. Because turning this into a superpower is at the very least…empowering. Especially when she can render other people invisible. At least that’s happening in some universe somewhere.
Naturally, I love this. I love anything that takes a perceived weakness and turns it into strength. A seemingly hopeless situation that transforms to, if not art, then at least something outside ourselves so it doesn’t feel hopeless. Or better still, to even be able to find a sense of humor about.
Forever seeking inspiration, this has me thinking. As the academic year kicks off, even for those of us well past living by that calendar, maybe we can try this. Our own personal post-grad curriculum. To take our “invisibility,” whatever that is, even if for you it feels literal, and find a way to harness it and transform it to something that makes us feel good.
So many come to mind for me. My sensitivity around all kinds of foods for one. Why not use this to start creating food - see how I didn’t even use the word “cooking,” there - that’s good for me and doesn’t taste like sand? Or maybe I could find a sense of humor about how intense I am about every word of every sentence I write - there has to be something I can do with this - stenographer perhaps? I’m hoping to find something to do with my obsessiveness about perfect coffee too. Curious, what is your thing that feels like a life sentence that you might be able to make your superpower? I’m serious. I’m interested. Dani@laughteroncall.com or @danikleinmodisett on all socials.
