IN THE CLOSING scenes of Marvel’s original Guardians of the Galaxy, we find our heroes in a tight spot. The group — escaped science experiment Rocket Racoon, giant sentient tree Groot, assassin Gamora, ex-convict Drax, and mercenary Peter Quill — have been grudgingly working together to protect a powerful artifact from falling into the wrong hands. Because they’ve each been pursuing their own agendas instead of working together, they are close to failure. It’s up to Quill (Chris Pratt), to convince them to start working as a team.
“I look around at us, and you know what I see?” he asks them. “Losers.” Noting their incredulous faces, Quill qualifies, “I mean, like, folks who have lost stuff.” He’s right; each of these tentative allies have experienced loss, trauma, and unresolved grief that taught them not to trust others.
These characters have become self-reliant as a survival mechanism, hardening themselves against vulnerability. But Quill’s words make them realize it’s time to let each other in for their own sakes, and the sake of the greater good. As Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) says, “I have spent my entire life surrounded by my enemies. I will be grateful to die among my friends.”
Guardians of the Galaxy, directed by James Gunn, turns 10 this year. Its impact on superhero movies is huge: The film introduced a self-referential humor and voice that Marvel Studios has aspired to replicate ever since. Guardians’ sharp humor and ’70s pop soundtrack have become commonplace in science fiction movies and TV, but its true enduring appeal comes from its message about our need for connection and how humility and selflessness are vital for a community to succeed. Those themes also have surprising resonance within Christian communities, reminding us to consider how we make space for each other, our needs, and our skills.
As theologian and anti-Nazi dissident Dietrich Bonhoeffer notes in Life Together, Christian community begins as a utopian dream, which gets challenged when we discover not everyone shares our perspective. “A community which cannot bear such a crisis, which insists on keeping its illusion when it should be shattered, permanently loses in that moment the promise of Christian community,” he writes. In other words, to go from idealized dream to functional reality, we can’t assume we’re all on the same page; we must embrace differences and see the places where our priorities overlap and diverge.
Guardians of the Galaxy illustrates this as its characters learn to work together and forgive each other when they make mistakes. The film’s understanding of community — religious or otherwise — isn’t sugar-coated. But it also echoes the communities we form with each other, and the potential they have for good.
Abby Olcese is a freelance film critic and writer based in Missouri. You can find her on Twitter @abbyolcese.
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