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We are living in the Multiverse Age--not just Marvel movies, either. DC, theater, TV shows, and last years best picture winner, "Everything Everywhere All At Once"--they're all focused on the multiverse. So why are we--and giant corporations obsessed with this idea? And is this concept weighting down shared universes and making people feel apathetic? We explain.
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Written by Colton Ogburn ( / coltonogburn )
Hosted and co-written by Ryan Arey ( / ryanarey )
Edited by Harriet Lengel-Enright, Randolf Nombrado, Andrew Finkenstaedt, and Lee Mazzio
#Multiverse #MCU
we aren’t just living in the Multiverse Saga of the MCU, we’re living in the multiverse saga of movies in general. The multiverse is everywhere, but why? I thnk understanding our culture;s obsession with the mutlievrse tells us a lot about the media we consume-which also tells us a lot about ourselves.
So e a closer look at why multiversal storytelling has been so popular as of late-why it's been hit and miss-how this genre has secretly been around for decades.
Multiverse appeal
Now the multiverse is nothing new. It’s been featured in comics, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mr. Destiny, Rosanne, Fringe, Community-and even the classic Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. [clip]
Doug: Now say do what now?
Yeah, the writer Scot Roseann pointe dout that It’s a wonderful life is the first multiverse film-and it's the perfect example of what makes these films unique. It explored the concept of alternate realities, parallel universes, and how choices and one's own existence can drastically change life as we know it. [clip]
To understand why we’re in the multiverse age, we have to answer the questions: what’s so appealing about the multiverse in the first place? Why do we, as humans, wonder and dream about these parallel realites?
Things like nostalgia, 2nd chances, do-overs, and what-ifs are something we all ponder late at night when we’re trying to fall asleep. What if I’d studied a different major? What if my preferred political candidate had won? What if someone close to me hadn’t passed away? What would my life look like? [mr destiny clip] And all of those what-ifs essentially boil down to the same question-what if somewhere out there there’s a version of me who’s happier?
Doug: Wow that got heavy.
Well I mean think about it buddy, the past 8-ish years of real life have felt like we’re not living on “the main timeline.”
Doug: What do you mean?
Well think about it, the guy from Home Alone 2 became President. We had a global pandemic like something straight from a movie. The Capital was invaded by an extremist mob. The government is actually acknowledging the existence of UFO’s. Not to mention David Bowie, Prince, Harambe-
Doug: Okay I’m convinced, call the TVA, let's prune this thing.
Well hey don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t been all bad. But I do think that a large number of people are finding themselves looking back to what they view as simpler times.
Regardless of your political party, everyone seems to be unhappy in America right now, so the one thing wvevryone cam agree on is that we’re all wondering-what if?
This question, “what if,” is the central conceit of last year’s best picture winner, everything, everywhere, all at once. That film demonstrated that the multiverse could be an exceptional storytelling tool to explore character. But now, looking at the multiverse mess of the Flash and the MCU, it make sme wonder, what went wrong? Did they take it too far? [clip, I may have gone too far in a few places.]
Multiverse in hollywood
To some fans, the multiverse once felt like a fun new way to tell stories on an even grander scale-but is now becoming yet another Hollywood gimmick that audiences are growing tired of. [clip, everyones got a gimmick]
In film, we’ve always understood the concept of different cinematic universes. For example, audiences have always understood that Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland are all Peter Parker and Spider-Man. But we also understand that each are reimaginings of the character that exist separately from one another-well until now. [clip]
The introduction of multiversal storytelling makes anything possible. All three Peters Parker can swing around together, Patrick Stewart’s Professor X can meet Doctor Strange, Scott Lang can be a head in a jar in a zombie apocalypse. [clip]