Super Me!

Had a weird dream just a few nights ago.

I was a Superhero in an alternate reality.

Yup, you read it right the first time.

Only I can't recall what super powers I possessed. And I didn't wear garish costumes or donned colourful spandex tights. It would've been a god-awful sight if I was garbed in such striking attire, especially since I have all the curves at the wrong places!

Anyway, the most vivid fragment I can recall: I was a member of some superhero league (much like Justice League which was made up of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern etc.) in an out-of-Singapore modern day setting (e.g. Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight) and I was the only female in the group.

Strangely enough, I had a young daughter but was a single mum trying to eek out a living (as a teacher?) and keeping my double identity a secret. No details about whether Superhero Me was divorced, widowed or even married (ooooooo, scandalous!)

In a particular scene, I remember kneeling down next to my daughter's bed, stroking her head and watching her while she slept peacefully. Then I stood up and walked out to join the others for a mission. Blurry details followed and the next thing I knew, I was awake and my head was spinning. I immediately tried to go back to sleep so that I could continue dreaming because I was curious to discover how the "story" ended.

Alas, I wasn't able finish the dream so I really have no idea what took place. I did have some impression of combat moments and images of skyline nights. Typical superhero-crime-fighting scenes.

Why this dream even took place, I have absolutely no idea. But I suspect it's got everything to do with my Film Theory and Criticism class. For the past few months, I've been lecturing on topics like film form and narrative structures, stylistic elements like Mise-en-scene, Cinematography, Sound and Editing. And each week, I screen a film that best exemplifies the lecture topic. Naturally, I get to choose the films I like to watch so Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and Tim Burton's Corpse Bride are definitely in the list.

Plus, I've been pouring over the students' film journals and read their observations, comments and analyses of various movies. A fair number wrote on superhero comic to film adaptions like Ironman, Hulk, Wolverine, Spiderman, Batman etc.

Perhaps that inspired my subconscious realm, jolted my imagination and transported me to another universe where I can *finally* have some power and control over my life.

Oh wait. Maybe THAT's my super power. To magically remove the cankerous influences and force them out of existence. Ha! That explains quite a bit :)

All I can say is that the brain works in mysterious ways. I'll admit that this lucid dream inspired and revitalised me, and awakened a sense of euphoria which had lain dormant in my soul for the last few years.

Now, if only I can go back to sleep and continue where I left off...