Friday, April 18, 2014

The Amazing Spiderman 2 Discussion Guide {a FlyBy Review and Giveaway}

With a house full of boys, superheroes are certainly a part of our lives.  My favorite Superhero has always been (well, maybe not always, but all my adult life anyway) Spiderman.  He wasn't born with superhuman abilities, he didn't spend his way to technological superhero status, nor was he some government experiment.  Instead, ordinary everyman Peter Parker happened to just be in the right place at the right time (or the wrong place?) and he suddenly found himself in possession of superpowers.

Now what?

That's the burning question underlying almost all Spiderman stories.  We're doing a whole lot of literature studies right now, and while all superhero stories, Spiderman included, have great Man vs. Man conflicts (superhero vs. the archvillain) and some have Man vs. Society conflicts (misunderstood superhero fighting against the community), Spiderman almost always features great Man vs. Self conflicts.  Who wins?  Peter Parker wants a normal life, with "the girl" and a good job and people who value him for who he is.  But the role of Spiderman calls out to him, as he knows he can protect people, right injustice, and serve his society.  Usually, the main conflict is that it is impossible to do both.  He cannot have the Peter Parker life he desires and do what he feels called to do as Spiderman.

My kids love Spiderman for completely different reasons than that, however.



With The Amazing Spiderman 2, however, I now have the chance to talk about some of that with my kids.  Because... there is a really cool discussion guide available, and it is simply fantastic.  Here's how it was described to me:
The discussion guide for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a great resource for families to discuss a range of important themes that include the relationship between personal choices and destiny, living a life that counts, sacrificing yourself in service to others, and the nature of power. This guide will help parents start (or continue) conversations with their children that will inspire them to think outside themselves and challenge them to live lives that matter. The conversations that will result from using this guide will reveal that even the most explosive summer blockbuster can leave lasting, positive impacts on its young viewers.
There is a half to full page of commentary and discussion questions (and Bible verses!) for the following topics:
  • The Nature of Power
  • You are Somebody who is Needed
  • Time is Luck and Life is Precious
  • Live Your Own Life and Make It Count
  • Choices and Destiny
  • Sacrifice
We love the tone of this guide, and this has led to some amazing conversations.  I have a couple teens who really do enjoy those deep, thoughtful conversations and debates.  This is some perfect fuel for that.

Are you interested in a copy of the Discussion Guide?  I can send you a pdf copy if you just let me know!

I have the chance to give away a Prize Pack (t-shirt, paper mask and phone case) to one of my readers!  US or Canada only, please.

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising): Many thanks to Propeller, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

My favorite superhero would have to be iron man. He makes all his own gadgets!