There’s something inspirational about superhero movies. Of course it’s extremely unlikely that any human alive now will ever be a literal superhero, at least in the sense used by these movies. But somehow the portrayal of these characters on screen can be inspiring nonetheless – even to mere mortals.

Everyone has their own favourite hero (or heroes) who inspire them the most. For me that hero would have to be Iron Man – especially the character portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.

I was reminded of this fact again after watching the most recent Marvel movie, Captain America: Civil War*. After watching such films I tend to feel somehow lighter, more free, more empowered. There is no conscious impression of “I can be like that too”, but the general disposition could be described quite similarly. I got the same feeling from a few other movies particularly related to my areas of interest, such as Ex Machina and Her.

That’s not to say I aspire to be “just like” any other person in particular. There are simply some attributes of certain individuals – both in fiction and in reality – that are particularly relevant for me. Perhaps seeing these attributes presented in a fictional setting allows me to derive inspiration from them without getting caught up in the mundane details of reality.

* I still think this wasn’t the best name for the movie – it should have been something like Avengers: Civil War or Captain America vs. Iron Man.