Taking in something out-of-context can have some dramatic results. I learned this the hard way with the ever-popular Marvel Avengers movies. I watched the Avengers out-of-order. The first one I saw was The Avengers in 2012. I hated it and considered it nothing more than a overly CG, way too much action, overrated comic book movie. I wrote the whole series of films off. I didn’t need to see them. The next film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that I saw was Black Panther–a significant improvement from The Avengers for sure. Then, I watched Avengers: Infinity War. By the end of this movie, I was both annoyed at the popularity of the universe and utterly confused by the entire plot line.
A Big Mistake
Anyone who cares about the Marvel universe must think I was being a complete idiot for watching these films completely out-of-context. In hindsight, I was. I will never like Marvel as much as Star Wars (I just had to say it,) but now that I have watched almost all of the Marvel movies (albeit in an unorthodox order) I have a great respect for the MCU. Marvel created a cohesive story over 20 films long and that is incredibly hard to do.
I recently re-watched The Avengers after seeing the rest of the Phase One films. With this new context, I found the film incredibly gripping and well-told. It tied in all the preceding movies and made me excited to watch the next film on my list. What made the difference? Context.
The Importance of Context
Here is the deal. We cannot ignore our context in the broad history of the universe. The amazing thing that we have today is access to a vast knowledge of the past unlike any time in history. And yet, I fear we often miss out on what we could learn. Without looking back, it is like watching the Marvel movies out-of-order. Everything feels jumbled together and overly complicated. Nothing makes sense. Yet, in context, the picture is much less cloudy.
This goes beyond just historical understanding. What about your life? Have you ever thought to yourself, “What experiences did my great-great grandfather have that still affect me today?” Maybe. Maybe not. Isn’t this looking at your life out-of-context? So much more gets passed down from generation to generation than just how we look. So much of who we are is determined by our historical context within our family.
A Clearer Present and Future
When we understand that connection to the past and how we got to where we are today, the present makes so much more sense. With that, we can move forward to the future with purpose rather than being constantly confused about our life and the world around us.
I made a mistake. I watched the Marvel movies out-of-order and out-of-context. We don’t need to do the same thing in our lives and in the world.