The Line

                This week was the opening of The Avengers which I will say with all honestly caused me to need new pants in more ways than one. As is a tradition of sorts I attended the midnight showing of Avengers with my friends. But this is not just a midnight showing this is getting together several hours in advanced to be a part of what I like to call The Line.

The Line is a mixture of equal parts super nerd and lack of wanting to or needing to be at work. I being of both minds of course was there to take the first spot in line and watch as it grew like a squished up straw you add soda too to see it unfold into something all together completely different. As in the past you will find The Line to bring together people who want to see the movie and know what it is like to be a part of something larger then themselves. This ideology is something that has been around for a period of time that I believe started with the release of the Star Wars Trilogy back in the late 70’s. I myself waited in line not only to get a ticket for some of the showings when it was re-released but also to be one of the first in to get the seats that would make the whole experience like crack to the dying hobo or equally dying rich guy that forgot his wallet in his limo. The effect of the group that gathers is magic in its own way as you can clearly pick out those that are fans and those that are just there to see the movie. The fan is the person or people that are there either dressed in costume, wearing a t-shirt sporting a print from the movie, and/or will not stop talking about the key features of the upcoming movie that they hope are true to the relevant media it is based on.  The other sides of the fence are the people that just want to see the movie these people are great as well but you can tell who they are by their lack of yelling out corrections to other people’s conversations and most likely spend the bulk of their time on their phones/ game systems.

I if you have not guessed I am one of the fans a title I am proud of and wore with great pride as I sat for close to eight hours waiting for the movie to start. As I sat there I could not help but to let my eyes and ears roam across the line as she built to be something grand. As I watched I could see the fans trudging in with their shirts, their costumes, or their shear knowledge on the subject matter. As well I could see the other group coming in to be a part of the madness but be able to walk away from it knowing they could never be that addicted to something. My ears picking up on conversations which I then jumped into, my eyes watching as the one gentleman that choose to be the Hulk looked more like Lance Armstrong after eating bad shellfish but I am sure would rage the hell out of a bike race then go on to become the King of France because we know France would just roll over like poop in a pool. The sights and the sounds adding to the experience of it all truly makes one feel at home standing for hours amongst people called to a quickening of sorts. It is this feeling that I love and hold on too even after the movie is over, which too many people got up from before it was really over, for shame. The feeling of home gathered so richly from something like a midnight showing is something I feel we all need to find in our day to day lives. It can bring us back to childhood and remind us to not take the world or ourselves so seriously as we all read the free comic books we were handed, or in some cases try to keep the large beach balls from hitting the ground.

As the crowds departed dispersing into the night like ghosts finally freed from their hallowed graves by the shrinking of the setting sun I laughed again at the wonder of it all and knew that even as this movie ended there were other pockets of togetherness in places like mine which would carry the feeling on till morning and beyond. As a note I also laughed as I watched Thor and Iron Man ride off into the night on their motorcycles. So I say to all of you, get in line and find your own group of happy people arguing which Avenger or whatever was best. Fling tiny lizards across the theater or even watch in amazement as Han Solo picks up a light saber and manages to beat Vader in a round robin duel set up at the front of the theater. Though I caution you Twilight is not a reason to be in line unless of course you do nothing but try to get the team Edward and team Jacob tweens to break out in a fight. Make sure to have the betting pool in place before hand due to the fact that the point spread is only good if none of the tweens has access to blunt objects and/or a monkey.