OK, I'll hold my hands up and admit I wasn't sure which direction to take my gratitude challenge posts when I first started. But it kind of grew organically to end with an article on my wife.

When you consider my previous posts, and account for this, the final one of the challenge, Family is what I would say links them together.

Your spouse is the foundation to which you build your family onto.

With all successful marriages, compromise and understanding are a necessity – to continue the analogy, they are the bricks and mortar of your home.

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Made refugees in 1974, my parents lost their home and all their possessions.

1974 was also the year they were married. Just shy of four weeks later, they had to flee their home from the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Some honeymoon! To this day they still haven't had a honeymoon.

My parents are Greek Cypriots. They were introduced – arranged in some way – and three weeks later they were celebrating their wedding day. I publish this post today because it is also their anniversary. 46 years strong.

Being immigrants isn't easy for anyone. It certainly wasn't for them. They have faced racist abuse with death threats and messages to go home (they kept this from us, as any parents would, for some time). But one particular memory I have that only scratches the surface of their negative experience is when I was a child. My parents, with four boys, were looking to upgrade their house to give us a little more space. We went for a viewing and liked the property. But my dad has a thick accent and spoke to my mum in Greek during the viewing. That didn't go down well with the home owner. When my parents wanted to put in an offer, the estate agent had to break the news to them that the home owner in no uncertain terms wanted to sell to a 'foreigner'.

I have suffered abuse and taunts as a child growing up – bullied in school. Ridiculed because of my name. Come to think of it, all my brothers were bullied at some point for the same reasons. I was born and raised in the UK. I consider myself British, but I staunchly defend my heritage because it helps to define who I am. If I don't, it sullies the efforts of my parents and their hardship.

Racism: Disgraceful. Disgusting. Deplorable.

My parents work hard – never once did they stand in a dole line for a handout. Becoming working citizens of the UK, they paid their taxes and never missed a payment on their mortgage.

My dad was a barber – retired now. Mum was a hairdresser – gave up the job to be a doting housewife and look after us boys. They lived to ensure we had a stronger footing in life than they did.

I played footy as a kid – love the game. I played for local football teams and it was my mum who took me to all the matches. My mum was basically a taxi service for the four of us. To wherever. Whenever. My mum would always step up. Mum's really are the driving force of a home. It's like in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the man might be the head, but the woman is the neck, controlling the direction of where the head goes.

Incidentally, if you have seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding, then I can categorically tell you the stereotypes are real! I have a brother and so many cousins called 'Nick' – it's tradition to name your children after your parents. And as my dad is one of nine children, there's plenty of opportunities for this to unfold. I was named after my granddad on my mother's side.

Like I touched on earlier, my dad has a terrific old-school work ethic. Never took a day off sick either. Took the plunge eventually later on in his career to run his own barber shop. This was a huge deal for him – the risks were great – with a family to provide for. It worked out.

You could say this work ethic was also a hindrance, as it tends to give you a conservative outlook on life – not wanting to take financial risks early on. He had opportunities to purchase a second house in the late 1980s on more than one occasion. He chose not to remortgage, as he was the sole provider and if anything happened to him then we would be landed with the subsequent debt. We all know what happened to property prices – they went boom! He says he regrets not buying the house, but that's all in hindsight and wouldn't change the way things are now.

However, that's not the point here. This is about my dad ensuring we had a roof over our heads. Clothes on our backs. Food on the table. For reasons I imagine have to do with them both living in poverty as children, my parents can be forgiven for not wanting to chance on the prospect of positioning their own children in a similar situation.

My parents are traditional – if I was analytical here, I'd say they still live in 1974. It's as though time for them stopped that fateful day. They had to start from the very beginning in another country. They had visited the UK prior to the invasion so it seemed like the right place for them to find new roots.

I learn from my parents – how to do things. But, probably more importantly, how not to do them. There's always a lesson to learn from your elders. They make decisions that they believe best serve their children.

I'm proud of my parents. And, like in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, I too live next door to them!

#coilgratitudechallenge

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This edition of Movie Quotes is brought to you by 'A GONE IN 60 SECONDS PRODUCTION'

I thought I'd slightly alter proceedings by focusing on just one film with multiple quotes pulled from it.

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Pop quiz hot shot! Yes, that's right, SPEED (de Bont, 1994). If you're a fan of either Keanu Reeves or Sandra Bullock then you'll absolutely love this – it's a blast from start to finish.

Supported by Dennis Hopper and Jeff Daniels, the film's strength is in its high-concept. It's difficult not to be swept up in the euphoria of the thrills and spills that transpire over its almost 2hr run time.

It contains one of the more ludicrous stunts that needs to be seen to be believed, but you won't care. You'll be cheering them on as they keep the bus from dipping below 50mph.

And to ensure you enjoy the ride all that more, you'll be taken in by Mark Mancina's rousing score, as the action builds and tension ramps up.

If you haven't seen it then find it! If you have seen it then tell me you don't want to watch it again now?!

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My experience of siblings has always meant it was about unity and togetherness. But now, as we age, I'm thinking it stands for tolerance.

I'm one of four brothers. And we do get on well. That's me on the left as you see it (I was kind of inspired by Ken Melendez and his post featuring a photograph of him with his brothers)

There'd be times where we'd fight and bicker. But mostly there were times where we'd play and laugh together.

Where we now have technology at our fingertips to keep us occupied, we instead relied on utilising physical objects and imagine a world where they came to life.

As there were four of us, we'd split into two teams – my older brother and me against my two younger brothers – they are twins after all so that made sense. We'd play football in the back garden and wreck the grass (my dad spent many hours tending to his grass). We knew we were gonna get it, but at the time, we didn't care. We had fun for a couple of hours and that was enough to make any telling off worthwhile.

Of course, scuffed up grass wasn't just it – my dad also liked his greenhouse. But on the odd occasion – more times than not, we'd break the glass with a stray kick of the ball. When it happened, we knew playtime was over so we hid in our rooms in anticipation for when my dad would come home.

But this isn't about my dad – we were a handful. Not quite the NickelNDime handful, but we had our moments!

We'd take a bucket of toy soldiers and share them out. Build barricades with odd items such as shoes, toys and any other smallish contraptions we could find. The rules were simple – you can hide your soldiers behind the items, but part of it must be visible to the opponents eye. From there we'd take it in turns to throw an eraser at each other's army. I loved this game.

Then there were the times where we'd get on each other's nerves – many things were thrown in anger. Hard things that would have made serious damage had any of us been able to throw straight. A 'double A' battery launched from 5 yards springs to immediate mind, which missed my head by an inch. But these times were few and far between.

Of course, there were also the board games. Boy were we competitive. Ever played Risk? Chances are you might be familiar with this story then. The game was decided on the roll of dice. You amass hordes on your land and begin the process of completing your mission by invading the neighbouring countries and their armies. All you have to do is roll higher than the opponent. Well, the blood boiled over so many times it almost ended up with fists flying, as well as the board being flung across the room. Game over. We all refuse to play Risk with each other now, such was the emotion involved and the negativity that came with it.

I guess the point is, I have fond memories of my brothers growing up for which I am thankful for. But, as we went our separate ways and met our better halves, so too did the sense of togetherness. I'm not for one second expecting we stand on each others feet, but we don't really talk half as much as I would like. Perhaps I need to take responsibility for that – I talk to Nick, my older brother more than I do the twins. The twins talk to each other more than they do us.

The twins do have names. But we always call out to them as twins. Funnily enough, if we were all out together and I called for Mario, I'd get no response. If I called out to Andreas, he too wouldn't respond to his name. But, if I call out 'Twins', they both turn in acknowledgement!

I guess it's like when we were younger and we'd split into two teams. We still are two teams I guess.

As we grew older, so too our ideologies. And I guess that's where we'd slowly see the foundations beneath us begin to shift, and in turn create new boundaries. These boundaries I like to think of are comparable to that board game Risk. Only there are no dice to determine outcomes, only our tolerance levels to help keep us in check and in our own space.

I love my brothers despite inevitable changes that happen over time. And it's not all bad I suppose, otherwise we wouldn't be living 10 minutes from each other.

#coilgratitudechallenge

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A Demigod must come to terms with her newly found powers and save mankind from Ares, the god of war, before it's too late.

Just when you think the superhero genre is about to end its cycle, along comes another to reignite the fires and burn bright. Wonder Woman is one of those that has shimmied and swayed around a tiring group of stale dance routines with panache and impeccable choreography.

While Marvel and Disney refused up to this point to acknowledge the immense presence of female directors and female led superhero films, Warner Brothers took the plunge and handed over for the first time in Hollywood film history a $100 million budget to a woman.

Her name is Patty Jenkins. She delivers an origin story for Diana Prince to unleash unto the world her superhero identity, Wonder Woman.

Theorised by Steve Neale, genre films need to reinvent themselves or else become stale and lose its audience. Difference is key to surviving, but you must not neglect your fan base either, so familiarity must be factored into the formula.

The same but different.

There are many ways in which you can add difference to a film, such as combining genres to create a hybrid. Another way is to explore atypical representations of characters according to the context of its time period.

In Wonder Woman, a female hero was very much long overdue. Despite film versions of Catwoman and Elektra, neither of those films explored their character through a female lens.

To apply further context, Hollywood is still very much a patriarchal institution. Films tend to be viewed from a male perspective with gratuitous shots of the female body.

From left to right: Dr. No; Star Trek into Darkness; Transformers (imagesacquired from IMDB)

Women's bodies are dismembered to accentuate their femininity and sexual prowess. They become items for male pleasure. There are plentiful more examples than of those shown in the strip. And even more so featured in advertisements.

The danger is it normalises how women should view themselves, and how men expect women to behave. It's a dangerous concoction that has contributed to a toxic environment in our society.

Coined in the 1970s as the 'male gaze' by theorist, Laura Mulvey, Hollywood has rarely shown any interest in equalising the gender balance. Despite some improvements with the acceleration of female driven action projects, until there are more women behind the camera, the representations of women will always be skewed.

THEMYSCIRA

The home world's of superheros are always a prerequisite of the genre, and Wonder Woman was to be no different, other than the fact this would be the first time anyone will have seen it, as envisioned by Jenkins.

The wide shot establishes the equilibrium of the film on the island. It depicts an unspoiled island free of men and lush with greenery. What is most important here is the representation of women.

They are warriors. They can do all that men can. And they are seen in full armour, wielding swords.

The medium close up shows us Diana as a young child. She looks down on the action while her elders train to protect the island from potential invaders.

The interesting aspect about the image is that it depicts a child who aspires to be like those she sees. This is key. Jenkins understands what it is for young girls in society today to have role models and behaviours to look up to. They must be positive ones, for our actions as adults leave an impression on our children. In this instance, we are offered a viewpoint from a female perspective, not one of a man.

The shot reverse shot has Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) sink into the abyss, staring up toward Diana. Notice how Diana is silhouetted by the light behind her to depict a halo-like effect? This is certainly a message of positivity, giving birth to her as a beacon of hope within the film.

The respective angles, high on Steve and low on Diana, positions their place as character types. One is in distress and the other is the rescuer.

Moments later, after Diana plucks Steve out from his predicament, the angles repeat the motif – Diana is viewed from a low angle to represent her as the dominant figure. The hero. Steve is shown from a high angle to depict his vulnerability.

Consider once more Neale's genre theory. Action films have familiar character types – heroes and damsels – clearly depicted by this scene. However, there is a difference from what we would expect and that is the hero being female and the damsel in distress is the male.

Even more interesting is to appreciate the casting. Chris Pine is very much the big name draw in the film – he has starred in countless films where he plays the lead. To position himself as the damsel once again flips the genre on its head to offer the spectator something different. And as such, gives us a film that is as much unique as it is entertaining. It is no wonder it succeeded commercially and critically.

A further nod to Neale's observations can be appreciated here whereby Diana intervenes to save Steve once more, this time from a bullet. Those of you eagle-eyed enough will notice this is a familiar scene first shown in Superman (Donner, 1978) where Clark Kent saves Lois in similar fashion.

NO MAN'S LAND

The following sequence is the first time we view Wonder Woman in full costume. It is a sequence worth exploring and one that offers us a long awaited representation for all young girls the world over to admire.

Diana pleads with Steve to cross No Man's Land. He is insistent that no man can cross it. It is a defeatist attitude – not of the hero we want when women and children are suffering. In as much as he would like to try, she accuses him of choosing to do nothing.

Diana chooses instead to do something. To be the hero the world needs. The colour grading changes in this, a significant moment, when she reveals herself as Wonder Woman. The palette is more vivid from the previous reverse shots of them arguing. We are entering a new realm. A realm where a woman is about to show the world what she is capable of.

Climbing out from the trenches, Jenkins chooses to show the spectator Wonder Woman's iconic costume – though dismembered, it is not to showcase the female body in terms of her sexuality, but to highlight instead the iconography associated with this superhero in the same vain we have become accustomed with Superman's logo.

This is such a glorious long shot. It has us view Wonder Woman as we would want of any hero. Walking into battle as a brave and courageous warrior.

Exploring the mise-en-scene and cinematography, you can see behind her the clouds have parted, as though to offer us a biblical reference to when Moses led the Israelites to safety after God parted the Red Sea.

Immediately as a result, we view Wonder Woman with God-like powers to position her as saviour to mankind.

The land all around her is desolate and dark. There's an absence of life, depicting destruction led by man. There are clear opposites at play here whereby man is viewed negatively and a destroyer of the world, and woman is shown to lead and usher in a new dawn for our times irrespective of the period the film is set in.

As Wonder Woman rushes across the muddied terrain, a series of low angles are inter-cut to reinforce the heroism and to signify to the spectator her as a beacon of aspiration.

The composition of the two shots position Wonder Woman as a protector, as she holds off the German onslaught . A long shot first shows her take a stand of defiance – she digs in to reveal a medium close up, as the intensity of the situation is supported through a rousing score by Rupert Gregson-Williams (a film's score is so important in supporting meaning, and this one I hope you search for and listen to).

The high angle on Wonder Woman taking on all the gunfire highlights not necessarily a vulnerability, but more to my mind, just what type of superhero she is. One that is fearless and trailblazing in a depiction of a female superhero not seen on the big screen before.

Jenkins' take on the genre is one that is unique and observes Neale's theory to a tee. We can't help but support the thrilling sequence of action with fist pumping fervour.

Patty Jenkins has an incredible vision for directing action. I bet there are far more women out there, in the industry today, and a generation of future female filmmakers who are chomping at the bit to be offered an opportunity to direct action driven genre films.

They deserve their chance to prove themselves in as much way as men have been offered to stake their claim to the genre.

Wonder Woman 1984 is scheduled for release on October 2020. You can check out the trailer by clicking the link on its title.

- All images except where indicated within the article are screen grabs taken from the film.

- Main banner image in header is from unsplash by Timothy Eberly

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You can follow me on Twitter @BurntEnds88

Click on the links to read more Film Archives posts:

Captain Fantastic (Ross, 2015)

Fight Club (Fincher, 1999)

L.A. Confidential (Hanson, 1997)

Shaun of the Dead (Wright, 2004)

Moon (Jones, 2009)

Double Indemnity (Wilder, 1944)

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