Maria Eloisa Nuguid
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN, USA
mnuguid@purdue.edu

Abstract

To suggest a learner-centered insight into popular culture, I analyzed the power of water as an active character in the film Avengers: Endgame through an Indigenous lens of ways of knowing and being to contribute to existing efforts of decolonization. I made cross-cultural connections between the film and Claudia Eppert’s chapter in Fields of Green about water’s role in situations of reconciliation and renewal. My exploration was also inspired by the model called “Learning by Observing and Pitching In” (LOPI) by Dr. Megan Bang. After watching the film, I identified several scenes where water plays an active role among several main characters: Clint (Hawkeye), Natasha (Black Widow), Thanos, and Tony Stark (Iron Man). I then suggest that water comforts and lifts Clint from his sadness as he is rewarded with the soul stone through Natasha’s sacrifice and death. Water triumphantly consumes Thanos’ ship in the final battle. Water carries Tony Stark during his funeral. I also apply the concepts of double stimulation and third space to describe the complexities and histories of the characters in the film. I chose Avengers: Endgame while I was coincidentally learning about the meaning of water in an Indigenous curriculum graduate course; I noticed that water was in the background throughout the scene which prompted me to explore the relationship between what I was learning and the film. Through my professor’s encouragement to write about my analysis, she was supporting student-centered learning where I could make connections among Indigenous epistemologies that I learned in her class and my interests in pop culture. Two goals of this analysis are to 1) encourage students and educators to explore and consider Indigenous ways of knowing in their curriculum and 2) support learner-centered interests where students can make connections between class content and their lived experiences.

Keywords: Indigenous epistemology, film, culture

In Indigenous epistemologies, water is living (Bang et al., 2015; Eppert, 2009) and is part of more-than-human life (Bang, 2015). I suggest that water is present and active during scenes of renewal, loss, and reverence in the film Avengers: Endgame (Russo & Russo, 2019). In a popularized series that has been critiqued for reductive representations of colonization, I offer an analysis to contribute to existing efforts of decolonization. Potential problems of adopting Indigenous ways of knowing without the actual presence or contributions of Indigenous peoples in pop culture include misinterpretation and misrepresentation of Indigenous people and their values. Additionally, attempts to include Indigenous people in pop culture without learning about their ways of knowing and values often result in performativity and inauthentic representations. Informed by the work of Professors Megan Bang, Mary Hermes, and Kris Gutiérrez, this exploratory piece bridges pop culture and the relationship with water within Indigenous ways of knowing to gain new perspectives on the Avengers.  By seeing water as an active character, potentially new insights into relationships between characters and a deeper impact of select scenes may be gained. In the book Fields of Green, Eppert (2009) describes water as “a primary site for reconciliation and renewal…and reverence in our relations with others and the world” (p. 6). In Avengers: Endgame, I notice that water is present in scenes of reconciliation and renewal. The film begins with half of the population having disappeared when Thanos dusted them, and it is the Avenger’s goal to bring them back through time travel and acquiring the infinity stones. Characters experience challenges, growth, and loss on their own paths of reconciliation, integrity, and reverence in the film that inform their relations with water and with each other (Nuguid, 2022).

Two lenses that I use include double stimulation and third space (Nuguid, 2022). In the context of Indigenous epistemologies, Megan Bang describes double stimulation as a recurring event that addresses the complexity of a problem, the history that has produced the problem, and the space that it opens (Bang et al., 2016). In Avengers: Endgame, I argue that double stimulation appears in death and battle scenes and is most apparent in the final exchange between Steve (Captain America) and Sam (Falcon); I also argue the new space that double stimulation opens is third space (Nuguid, 2022). In learning environments, third space refers to “a place where two scripts or two normative patterns of interaction intersect, creating the potential for authentic interaction and learning to occur” (Gutiérrez et al., 1997, p.372). By considering water as an active character in Avengers: Endgame, I suggest that learning occurs when water interacts with the characters. When characters are involved in death and battle scenes, the interactions and tensions of such scripts are all catalysts for entering third space (Nuguid, 2022).

Scene 1: Clint and Natasha’s sacrifice for the soul stone 

Water comforts and lifts Clint (Hawkeye) from his sadness as he was rewarded with the soul stone through the sacrifice and death of Natasha (Black Widow). Clint slowly emerges from a pool of water with the soul stone after Natasha’s death (Russo & Russo, 2019). Double stimulation (Bang et al., 2016) applies to the complexity of sacrifice for the soul stone, the history of who was sacrificed in the past for the soul stone, and the history of friendship that Clint and Natasha share. Natasha’s death was a sacrifice that Steve alluded to in the beginning of the movie, stating that the Avengers need to do “whatever it takes” to accomplish their goal, the retrieval of these infinity stones and bringing back those who were dusted. To confirm this connection, Natasha echoes Steve and says “whatever it takes” while trying to sacrifice herself in order for Clint to get the soul stone (Russo & Russo, 2019). An accomplishment, renewal of hope, pain of loss, and depths of sacrifice are present together in this scene.

Scene 2: Thanos’ spaceship sinks 

Water consumes Thanos’ ship as a sign of victory, alluding to Thanos’ losing the final battle. During the final battle, Captain Marvel appears from the sky, and Thanos’ ship sinks in the water (Russo & Russo, 2019). Thanos’ sinking ship represents the collapse of his power and history of destruction. Simultaneously, the emergence of Captain Marvel, a powerful female figure, represents a cultural shift towards hope. In the direction of third space (Gutiérrez et al., 1997), I define one script as Thano’s culture and the other script as Captain Marvel’s representation. I suggest that the interaction with water is the third space, the site where both Thanos’ culture of destructive power interacts with Captain Marvel’s cultural shift towards hope. The learning (Gutiérrez et al., 1997) that occurs is inspired by Captain’s Marvel’s victory that communicates to The Avengers that winning the final battle is achievable.

Scene 3: Tony’s funeral

Tony’s death is monumental in this movie; water carries Tony at his funeral. The following quote from Fields of Green beautifully captures that moment: “After, in the presence of still waters, you can rest in the white light, in the grace of wings” (p. 53). The culmination of Tony’s role as a friend, father, partner, and as the iconic Iron Man results in a funeral scene where his arc reactor (power source from the Iron Man suit) is placed on a floral wreath, floating on the water at his residence (Russo & Russo, 2019). During this scene, all of Tony’s family, including The Avengers, and almost the entire cast is shown, standing on the land, reverently watching him float away (Russo & Russo, 2019).

Double stimulation describes how everyone was arranged on the land. The arrangement was like a diamond shape, where Tony was at one tip of the diamond, the cast filled the middle of the diamond, and at the other tip of the diamond was Captain Marvel (Russo & Russo, 2019). Captain Marvel and Tony Stark as both heads of this diamond are an example of double stimulation, the beginning and the end. Tony’s death represents the end, and Captain Marvel represents the beginning (as some would argue that she marks the beginning of Marvel).

Both the physical and conceptual spaces that Tony’s death reveal are third space. Physically, water that carried Tony’s arc reactor is third space. One script is the culture of leadership figuratively represented by Tony’s arc reactor, and the other script is the new culture of power represented by Captain Marvel’s presence at the top of the scene. Thus, water is the zone where Tony and Captain Marvel’s cultures of power interact. Lastly, the learning associated with this third space is portrayed through the respect that Tony’s family and friends show in realizing that Tony would give up his own life to reunite the population. Tony’s sacrifice, love, and courage were all catalysts or scripts that brought back the population.

Scene 4: Captain gives his shield to Sam

In the final exchange between Steve (Captain America) and Sam (Falcon), double stimulation occurs as Steve hands over his shield to Sam. In the scene, Steve has time traveled and returned as his elderly self. He is sitting on a bench and looking out at the water, holding his iconic Captain America shield (Russo & Russo, 2019). The following exchange takes place as Steve hands over his shield to Sam (Russo & Russo, 2019).

Steve: Try it on…how does it feel?

Sam: Like it’s someone else’s.

Steve: It isn’t.

Sam: Thank you. I’ll do my best.

Steve: That’s why it’s yours.

The double stimulation embodies a pivotal switch in a position of power, imposter syndrome, and anxieties. By handing Sam his shield, Steve is giving Sam his position of power as Captain America along with his trust that Sam is the right person for that role. The double stimulation, defined by the shield’s complexities and historical implications, gives Sam the choice to accept or decline the shield; therefore, Sam’s choice represents third space. Sam’s choice to either accept or decline Captain America’s shield is third space. Within Sam’s choice lies a complex web of historical and emotional burdens like imposter syndrome and representation of a non-dominant power. I interpret Sam’s line, “It’s someone else’s” as his hesitation due to the responsibilities and social and political implications of possibly being the first Black Captain America. Some parts of Sam’s identity are informed by his friendship with Steve, culture as a Black man, culture as a Black superhero, and his family. Sam’s identity and America’s reaction to their possible first Black Captain America are all interacting in the third space that is Sam’s choice to accept or decline the shield. The show The Falcon and The Winter Soldier that further explores Sam’s life after receiving Captain America’s shield.

Conclusion 

Water is a force in the film, Avengers: Endgame, that presents itself during scenes of tension, struggle, reconciliation, integrity, and reverence. Water comforted and lifted Clint from his sadness as he was rewarded with the soul stone through Natasha’s sacrifice and death. Water triumphantly consumed Thanos’ ship in the final battle. Water carried Tony Stark to his funeral. Through Eppert’s (2009) chapter in the book, Fields of Green, and concepts of double stimulation (Bang et al., 2016) and thir  hi d space (Gutiérrez et al., 1997), I made cross-cultural connections between Avengers: Endgame and water. My goal is that my analysis encourages students and educators to explore and consider Indigenous ways of knowing in their curriculum and support student-centered learning by connecting curricular content to lived experience.

References

Bang, M., Faber, L., Gurneau, J., Marin, A., & Soto, C. (2016). Community-based design research: Learning across generations and strategic transformations of institutional relations toward axiological innovations. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 23(1), 28–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/10749039.2015.1087572

Bang, M., Marin, A., Medin, D., & Washinawatok, K. (2015). Learning by observing, pitching in, and being in relations in the natural world. In Advances in Child Development and Behavior (Vol. 49, pp. 303–313). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.acdb.2015.10.004

Eppert, C. (2009). Remembering our (re) source: Eastern meditations on witnessing the integrity of water. In M. McKenzie, P. Hart, H. Bai, & B. Jickling (Eds.), Fields of Green: Restorying Culture, Environment, and Education (p. 6, pp. 191-210). Hampton Press.

Gutiérrez, K. D., Baquedano-Lopez, P., & Turner, M. G. (1997). Putting language back into language arts: When the radical middle meets the third space. Language Arts, 74(5), 368–378.

Nuguid, M. E. (2022). An analysis of water in Avengers: Endgame. Proceedings of the Learning Sciences Graduate Student Conference 2022, (pp. 77-78). Bloomington, IN. https://www.lsgsc.org/proceedings

Russo, A., & Russo, J. (Directors). (2019). Avengers: Endgame [Film]. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Author Bio 

Maria Eloisa “Lisa” Nuguid is a Filipino-American San Francisco native, daughter of immigrant parents, and fluent speaker of Kapampangan, an indigenous Filipino language. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics at San Francisco State University and is pursuing her PhD in Mathematics Education at Purdue University. Lisa’s research interests are in embodied cognition, meaning-making facilitated by body-based movement, and identity. Her current research explores how teachers’ instructional movements like gestures align with and communicate their identities in the classroom; this research also resonates with teacher-noticing. Lisa is a research assistant for Girls Excelling in Math and Science (GEMS) at Purdue. She plans to extend her research to facilitators of informal learning spaces. Informal spaces are meaningful to Lisa because they allow students to have fun with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) activities while creating community and opportunities to identify as doers of STEM.