Movie Moment

Movies and television speak to me in a way that no other medium can. The visual elements twined with music lift me to a place I couldn't go otherwise. A place that, oddly, is quite spiritual, emotional, and more real.

Yesterday I went to see Man of Steel again. I didn't like it the first time (too many jumps backward and forward) but realized I wasn't in the proper mood for it when it was first released, so I decided to give it another go.

I'm so glad I did.

Much better the second time, and only two little quirks I wish had been changed.

But that's not the point.

The point is that I experienced that rare moment of spiritual connection, that enigmatic outside presence dipping into my reality for just a moment.

Superman is standing by Lois, ready to give himself up to the Kryptonians to protect Earth.

"Thank you for believing in me," he says.

"It didn't matter in the end," says Lois, sure that she's losing him.

"It mattered to me," says Superman.

I cried.

It felt so much like the something Stu and I shared. I recognized his intelligence, his dazzling genius at telling stories. I believed in him. And I regret so much that he was never able to share that gift with the world.

But I felt like he was speaking to me through that exchange. And I am comforted.

I hope we get to talk about the movie some day. He was really looking forward to it. It was his dream cast, and he watched that trailer over and over and over again.

I always told him he was built like Superman (I even wrote a nerdy love song about it).

Stu was my Superman. And his symbol is hope.