The number three holds a special significance in the world of Spiderman. Throughout the comics, movies, and animated series, the number three is closely tied to magic and important events in Spiderman's life. One example of this can be seen in Spiderman's iconic suit, which features a prominent spider symbol with three legs. This symbol not only represents Spidey's arachnid powers but also symbolizes the magic and mystery that surrounds the number three. Additionally, the number three is often connected to significant relationships in Spiderman's life. One of the most well-known examples of this is the love triangle between Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, and Gwen Stacy.
Then it occurred to me that the computer and YouTube make it possible to excerpt those one or two moments (each usually lasting no more than ten minutes), and to connect the clips directly with the points I wanted them to illustrate. Additionally, if students missed the point, and wanted to see the clip again, I could simply show it again, with nothing lost. In most cases, all that was necessary to get a good discussion going was to ask, “What did you see?”
Movies such as Romero, Wall Street, Traffic , and even comedies like Bulworth , and The Distinguished Gentleman found their ways, at various times, into my syllabi. They typically can grow their own food, repair their machines, take care of animals, and just make do and survive in ways that would soon become apparent to all of us if the electricity stopped working for a few days.
One of the most well-known examples of this is the love triangle between Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, and Gwen Stacy. This complex dynamic adds a layer of depth to the story and highlights the magic of the number three. Furthermore, Spiderman's rogues gallery is filled with numerous trios of villains.
“Magic Glasses:” The Marginalized Know Better (Pt. 3 in a series on critical thinking)
So far, my argument has invited readers to recognize a hierarchy of truths, viz. that ethnocentrism is superior to egocentrism, world-centrism is superior to ethnocentrism, and cosmic-centrism ranks above world-centrism. Most academics are reluctant to recognize that hierarchy. As thorough post-moderns, they advocate what Ken Wilber calls “aperspectival madness.” It holds that every perspective is as good as any other.
By rejecting such insanity, the task of critical education becomes helping people move from one stage of awareness to a higher one – specifically from ethnocentrism and its invalid dominator hierarchies to world-centrism with its more valid growth hierarchy, and to (at least) acquaintance with the notion of cosmic-centrism.
And it’s here that I find the concept of “magic glasses” (which will figure in the title of my book) relevant to the task at hand. Baba Dick Gregory uses the phrase to refer to the perspective conferred by movement from ethnocentrism to world-centrism. According to Gregory, such advance is like donning special eyewear that enables one to perceive what is invisible or absurd to those without them.
Magic glasses, the Baba warns, are both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that eyesight through magic glasses is fuller, and more evolved – more worthy of human beings. The curse is that those without the glasses will consider their wearers insane or worse. The hell of it is that glassless folk cannot be persuaded unless their independent growth cycle enables them to do so.
So, Gregory points out, the magic glasses come with three inviolable rules: (1) once you put them on, you may never take them off, (2) afterwards, you can never see things as your tribe says they’re supposed to be, but only as they truly are, and (3) you can never force anyone else to wear them.
My own experience confirms Gregory’s insight. It suggests that our lives’ journeys, our lived experiences, achieving critical distance from families and cultures, along with our encounters with great teachers, can all help us gain higher levels of consciousness better able to grasp more evolved levels of critical thinking.
In my own case, exposure to critical thought as explained, practiced and stimulated outside the U.S. during my graduate studies in Rome and across Europe helped me gain distance from U.S.-fostered ethnocentrism.
But so did what I learned in former European colonies like Brazil, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Israel, and India. Thinkers and activists there gradually raised my critical awareness that the Global South’s “alternative facts” about economics and history underpin any critical thought worthy of the name. I was actually privileged to meet directly with people like Paulo Freire, Desmond Tutu, Maria Lopez Vigil, Dom Helder Camara, Miguel D’Escoto, bell hooks, Franz Hinkelammert, Helio Gallardo, and Enrique Dussel, and Rubem Alvez.
All of them taught me that the Global South and impoverished perspective tends to be fuller than its developed world counterpart.
Think about that for a moment. Those of us who are rich and/or comfortable actually have very limited experience and awareness. Our communities are pretty much siloed and gated. As a result, we can live without consciousness of the poor at all. Wall Street executives rarely really see them. The poor are located in other parts of town. Most even in the middle class never enter their homes or schools. The comfortable have no immediate experience of hunger, coping with rats, imminent street crime, living on minimum wage, or cashing in Food Stamps. Even if they notice the poor occasionally, the comfortable can quickly dismiss them from their minds. If they never considered the poor again, the rich and middle class would continue their lives without much change. In sum, they have very little idea of the lived experience of the world’s majority.
That becomes more evident still by thinking of the poor outside the confines of the developed world who live on two dollars a day or less. Most in the industrialized West know nothing of such people’s languages, cultures, history, or living conditions, whose numbers include designated “enemies” living in Syria, Iraq, Somalia or Yemen. Even though our governments drop bombs on the latter every day, they can remain mere abstractions. None of us knows what it really means to live under threat of Hellfire missiles, phosphorous bombs or drones. Similarly, we know little of the actual motives for “their terrorism.” Syria could drop off the map tomorrow and nothing for most of us would change.
None of this can be said for the poor and the victims of bombing. They have to be aware not only of their own life’s circumstances, but of the mostly white people who employ them, shape their lives, or drop bombs on their homes. The poor serve the rich in restaurants. They clean their homes. They cut their lawns. They beg from them on the streets. The police arrest, beat, torture and murder their children.
If the U.S., for example, dropped off the planet tomorrow, the lives of the poor would be drastically altered – mostly for the better. In other words, the poor and oppressed must have dual awareness. For survival’s sake, they must know what the rich minority values, how it thinks and operates. They must know more about the world than the rich and/or comfortable.
Even in practical spheres of daily living, the marginalized and poor know more. They typically can grow their own food, repair their machines, take care of animals, and just “make do” and survive in ways that would soon become apparent to all of us if the electricity stopped working for a few days.
That’s why when the poor develop “critical consciousness,” their analysis is typically more comprehensive, inclusive, credible, and full. They have vivid awareness not only of life circumstances that “make no difference” to their comfortable counterparts; they also have lived experience of life on the other side of the tracks.
For me, benefitting from the perspective of the world’s conscientized majority, and reading their philosophers, theologians, activists, and social analysts has turned my own perspective upside-down. It has changed my understanding of history, economics, politics – and especially of theology and God-talk.
Such upside-down vision will be the heart of my book on critical thinking. It has suggested the following truth criteria: (1) Reflect Systemically, (2) Expect Challenge, (3) Reject Neutrality, (4) Suspect Ideology, (5) Respect History, (6) Inspect Scientifically, (7) Quadra-sect Violence, (8) Connect with your deepest self, (9) Detect Silences, and (10) Collect Conclusions.
Over the next weeks, I’ll try and develop each of those “rules for critical thinking.” But before I get there, I want to tell you more about “fake news” and my own journey.
(Next week: Plato’s Fake World)
Magic glasses, Gregory warned, are both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that eyesight through their lenses is fuller, and more evolved—more worthy of human beings. The curse is that those without the glasses will consider their wearers insane or worse. And the hell of it is that glassless folk cannot be persuaded unless their independent growth cycle enables them to do so.
For instance, the notorious Sinister Six, which consists of Vulture, Electro, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Mysterio, and Kraven the Hunter, is a group that Spiderman frequently battles against. The presence of these villainous trios adds suspense and excitement to the narrative, emphasizing the magical nature of the number three. In conclusion, the number three holds a magical significance in the world of Spiderman. From the design of his suit to the relationships in his life and the foes he faces, the number three is intricately woven into the fabric of his story. This adds an element of intrigue and symbolism that enhances the overall Spiderman experience..
Reviews for "The Magic of Threes: Spiderman's Legacy in Comic Books"
1. John - 2 stars - I was really disappointed with "Magic surrounds the number three for Spiderman." The storyline was convoluted and confusing, and the connection between magic and the number three felt forced and unnecessary. The characters lacked depth and development, and the dialogue felt cliché and uninspired. Overall, the film failed to deliver a compelling and engaging Spiderman adventure.
2. Sarah - 1 star - "Magic surrounds the number three for Spiderman" was an absolute mess. The plot was all over the place and it seemed like the filmmakers were trying to cram too many elements into one movie. The magic aspect felt shoehorned in, and I couldn't understand why the number three was given so much importance. The action scenes were underwhelming and felt repetitive, and the pacing of the film was incredibly slow. It was a waste of my time and money.
3. Mark - 2 stars - I had high hopes for "Magic surrounds the number three for Spiderman," but unfortunately, it failed to meet my expectations. The movie relied heavily on special effects and CGI, but lacked a cohesive and compelling story. The attempts to introduce magic into the Spiderman franchise felt forced, and the number three was given too much significance without any clear explanation. The film also suffered from weak character development and lackluster performances. Overall, it was a disappointment for fans of the Spiderman series.