I read an essay a while back (I can’t remember where) that brought up this issue with all the superhero movies that came out. The person basically said that the movies are weakened by the desire to establish the complete origin story before finally getting into what is actually the main story of the film. I’m sure the author cited Hulk and Spiderman as bad examples.

X-Men is a positive example of what I was talking about: the device of introducing the fictional world through the eyes of a character who is experiencing it for the first time. The first X-Men movie begins with Wolverine and Rogue coming upon the school for mutants already in existence. Tim Burton’s Batman also begins with the character already firmly established in his world (of course, Batman Begins offers an excellent origin story that may be the exception to the rule).

I think you’re right, Danny. There is a strong urge in our culture to start at the beginning. Writers need to be more willing to throw their readers into a pre-existing mythology, then reveal the backstory as is needed.

Your idea about learning history is interesting. I had a conversation with some of my students last year in which they complained about learning history. They asked me, “Why do we need to know what happened in the Cold War?” I explained to them how much today’s world events are consequences of the Cold War. They were very surprised to learn that Osama Bin Laden was trained by the CIA to fight Russia. I think your idea of showing how our present world is a product of historical events is a great one (maybe I should become a history teacher and try it).