I'm sure you know by now that my sweet Sophie is going off to school on Thursday. I'm probably going to end up talking about it a lot, so bear with me. One of the things we are doing this week is binge watching Marvel movies. She has been into them for a while now, and she really wanted to share them with me. Other than Iron Man and Black Panther, I hadn't really seen much. Now I'm really into them too, and it got me wondering why we get so immersed in stories.

These Marvel movies aren't the only ones we are obsessed with either. We are also crazy about Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings. With Harry and LOTR it’s the books as well as the movies. We went to midnight viewings of the last 3 Harry Potter movies. There are definitely people more over the top than us but not many.

Some people think it's just a distraction. Some people think it's silly to get so involved in a story. I'm gonna tell you why they're wrong.

Just right off the bat, distraction is not a bad thing. In fact it's a good thing. Like alcohol, food, sex, and everything else on the earth, you can overdo it, but a certain amount of checking out is fine, perhaps even wise. For those of us with anxiety and depression issues, it's probably necessary. In case you've been in a cave for a really long time, the world is pretty much a train wreck. It's ugly. There's a lot of violence and meanness. There's a lot of ignorance and blatant absurdity. We are in major cultural transition. I believe good things are blooming, but the changing of the guard is awfully ugly. For those of us who care deeply about our planet, other humans, and animals, it's a stunningly painful time. Taking care of ourselves is crucial if we are to keep moving forward. Getting lost in a story helps a lot of us.

It feels so good to watch a superhero come in and save the day or some nerdy kids do magic or my badass general/princess/warrior/heroine of my childhood come up with a brilliant plan or beautiful King Aragorn lead brave, devoted friends into epic battles of good vs. evil.

Also. It's awesome that these kinds of movies are so well done these days. The characters have more depth. They're more human and accessible. They make mistakes. They have flaws. They aren't perfect (this is why I don't like Superman). Iron man has PTSD. Hawkeye is hearing impaired. A lot of them have tragic pasts, but at the end of the day, I'm in it for the happy ending. There's a lot of grief along the way sometimes, but in the end the bad guys are defeated. In the end the hero’s journey was worth it. That's nice, especially when the real world doesn't seem to work that way sometimes. It's good to feel like truth and justice will prevail at the end of the day. At least on some planet.

Next, these movies are often used to comment on real issues. I'm not a huge fan of Star Wars Episode III: The Return of the Sith. Lord knows it was way better than episodes I and II, but the fall of Anakin just kills me. However, this is the movie where Palpatine becomes Emperor. He makes this speech about bringing peace and safety to the galaxy that is hauntingly familiar. This is when Queen Amidala notes, “So this is how democracy dies, to the roar of thunderous applause.” It's almost frightening the similarity to what is unfolding right now.

Harry Potter movies talk about bullying, deception, and people in power pretending to be something other than what they are. Marvel movies dig into poverty, colonialism, racism, American arrogance, governmental deception, and mental health among other things. Lord of the Rings is very clearly about the dangers of evil demagogues and their nefarious followers.

Last but not least. Representation matters.

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This is a huge one for me. Black Panther rocked the box office, not only because it was an amazing movie but also because it offered really important radical representation. The movie portrayed a wildly different vision of African people than what is normally seen in the movies while taking sharp and important looks at US racism, colonialism and its impacts, and our responsibilities to one another. It matters that black children have a powerful, badass superhero. It matters that a young black girl sees black warrior women and a sassy black girl genius. It matters to Stan Lee, and one of the reasons it began to matter to him was that he and his wife were turned down when they sought to adopt a child because one is Jewish and the other Catholic. After that experience, he committed to promoting all kinds of diversity in his comics. He has rocked it.

It matters that one of the Avengers has a disability. It matters that little girls will get to see Captain Marvel and Black Widow movies.

So, sit down and read a book or watch a movie. You don't have to be doing something all the time. Check out for a bit. Nurture yourself. Get lost in a story. Let the good guys win for a minute.