Superheroes: Civil Servants or Public Menace? Sworn to protect a world that fears and hates them, the X-Men are unique superheroes. They have not obtained their powers by being “bitten by a radioactive spider or zapped with gamma rays” (Strauss), but rather by a biological mutation: the X-Gene. The X-Men have superhuman powers, traits, and abilities and as a result, humans regard the X-Men with uneasiness, fear, and even hate. Despite this bigotry from the humans, the X-Men come together as a team to protect not only the humans, but themselves from the humans. The X-Men superheroes, as a developing mutant species, has been widely recognized to be a parallel to the American Civil Rights Movement. Despite this underlying theme, the X-Men function …show more content…
Content writers and creators are exploiting this phenomenon of nostalgia for superheroes in order to create social commentary and bring to light social issues. In an interview conducted by Bob Strauss through The Guardian, Stan Lee, the original creator of X-Men and many other loved super heroes such as Spiderman and the Incredible Hulk, publicizes his reasons on creating the X-Men. In the interview, he discloses that instead of creating a conventional super hero everyone admired, he decided to create ordinary people with an X-Gene mutation that gave them super powers so that “other people [would] fear and suspect [them] and actually hate them because they were different” (Strauss). This not only made them unique in formation from traditional super heroes, but also “was a good metaphor for what was happening with the civil rights movement in the country at that time” (Strauss). The 1960s was a turbulent time in the United States with the assassination of beloved President John F. Kennedy, the War in Vietnam raging to new heights as President Lyndon B. Johnson resolved to escalate the war, and the coinciding of the War on Poverty and the fight for civil rights. Stan Lee, aware of the situation decided to create a team of heroes to reflect society’s anxieties and
Inspired by the way comics were able to illustrate the events of WWII I decided to investigate to what extent did comic books influence American perceptions during World War II. Comics turned into an apparatus to exploit racial and social contrasts and outlet for wartime purposeful publicity. The Golden Age of Comic Books portrays a period of American comic books from the late 1930s to the mid 1950s. During this time, present day comic books were initially distributed and quickly expanded in notoriety. The superhero model was made and some surely understood characters were presented, for example, Superman, Batman, Captain America, Wonder Woman, and Captain Marvel.
We are currently living in the Golden Age of Superheroes. They dominate our cultural life, and have become seemingly permanent fixtures in modern media. Since X-Men burst onto the screen fifteen years ago, we have witnessed the release of over forty superhero movies. By 2020 we will have seen the release of more than twenty-five more. Today, the much anticipated film Superman vs. Batman has come to theaters. Though a plethora of superhero movies have been released, it is to the dissatisfaction of many, having long been exhausted by the stories of the Hulk, Batman, and Spider-man. Although I must agree that it is quite easy to get bored with the constant action, and flashing colors of these films, if one looks deep enough into the story they will discover universal themes and metaphors. Though they may be fighting off alien invasions, these heroes are also battling with their personal challenges, challenges which we can
In addition to, revolutionizing characters, Stan Lee made many of his comic books intricate and interesting compared to simple boring comic books in the past. His intricate comics had to do with his...
to evoke pride in every American still used today. Superheroes give an escape from reality that only an average human can only dream of different from the glamour portrayed by Golden Age movie stars;
The vigilante is a reoccurring archetype in American entertainment and can be seen from comic books from the early 20th century to films released in 2010. Robert B. Ray in his piece about the vigilante makes it clear that the vigilante is a large part of American entertainment and culture. The vigilante is one that believes that they are above the law and that the law is inadequate. This idea that the law is inadequate or unjust stems from Henry Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience. Thoreau believes that when the government is unjust, that we should do what we believe is moral or right, even if it means breaking the law. The vigilante often takes violent and dangerous measures to create justice in their world and in doing so raise a moral question about our society. If we often idolize the vigilante in films and comic books, do we do the same with vigilantes that have been seen throughout our history and that are currently “creating justice” in our cities? Although the vigilante is a popular archetype in our entertainment the vigilante is not seen in the same light when it comes to reality, the “real” vigilante in American society is seen as a threat or danger and are disbanded in most cases. This idea poses a serious problem’s to Thoreau’s belief because the negative perception of vigilantes is proof that problems in society shouldn’t be solved by the individual, but through legal and civil means set up by our government.
While walking through my local comic shop, Rocking Rooster, I overheard the shops owners talking about their favorite superheroes. One of the men made a claim that his favorite superhero will always have to be Batman. I thought to myself in no possible way can batman be considered a superhero. When compared to real heroes such as Superman or Wonder Woman, Batman just doesn’t hold up. A real superhero has to have some type of super human ability, face villains with the strength of gods, and always work for the good of the people, not above the law. I have found that it makes much more sense to include Batman in the category of vigilante, as he tends to compare much better to vigilantes such as Green Arrow.
Hughes, Jamie A. "Who Watches the Watchmen?: Ideology and 'Real World' Superheroes." Journal of Popular Culture39.4 (2006): 546-557. SPORTDiscus with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 25 Feb. 2010
Kozma 180 - "The X-Men" Basics of Media Research There are three major objectives of media research: (1) obtain knowledge about the educational or instructional effectiveness of a chosen medium; (2) increase understanding of how media and technology function and what psychological effects they have on a learner; (3) improve the practice of education through the provision and evaluation of better materials, media, procedures and technologies (Salomon, Clark 1-2). Schramm, as cited by Salomon, stated that while all media can teach very effectively, "learning seems to be affected more by what is delivered than by the delivery system." (Schramm, 1977) (Salomon 1). This has become the basis of disagreement among experts.
In our society, certain ideals are held in high regard. Individuals relentlessly pursue these ideals to achieve a perceived perfection. These principles are often depicted in media that further glorifies and establishes a desire to pursue these paragons. In a medium such as comic books, however, these standards and perceptions are heavily distorted by the characterizations and settings. Particularly, the superhero genre absorbs the ideals we strive towards and regurgitates them in an extreme and unrealistic manner. The superhero genre is often reflective of societal changes in ideas and morals. These ideals are then molded into misleading representations that influence the behaviors of viewers. Comic books absorb elements of our society and transform them. For example, as the enemies of America change, so do the enemies of our superheroes. However, the enemies are transformed into supervillains that are extremely dark and villainous. Such characterizations cloud people’s understanding of real threats and enemies affecting our society. Also, to cater to the value that American society places on intelligence, attractiveness, and physical strength, comic books create characters that epitomize these characteristics. Though the represent society’s ideals, these characters manipulate the ideas and convey them back to the audience in an unrecognizable manner. In developing such distorted representations, the superhero genre affects human behavior and perceptions of these ideals.
In the world of comics, two main publishers dominate: DC Comics and Marvel Comics. DC Comics promotes superheroes such as Batman, a vigilante who began fighting crime solely to avenge the untimely death of his parents. He possesses no unique superhuman ability, other than a substantial fortune inherited from his late parents. Yet, the public in the Batman comics still adore their hero. In contrast, Marvel Comics promotes superheroes such as the X-Men, a team of superheroes who possess the X-Gene, a DNA mutation that gives each member a different ability. Under the leadership of Professor X, this team fights to protect their world from evil. Despite the many accomplishments of the X-Men, society persecutes them. In fact, when the X-Men first try to recruit Wolverine, he refuses: "Be an X-Men? Who the hell do you think you are? You're a mutant. The world out there is full of people who hate and fear you and you're wasting your time trying to protect them?" (Housel 140) Because the people view the X-Men as mutants, not humans, they refuse to treat them as equals. Consequently, Marvel's comic series X-Men discusses the philosophical dichotomy of equal human rights versus discrimination, revealing that everyone deserves human rights even if they are different.
The purpose of this paper is to provide the reader with an insight into the Super Hero Series Batman. This crime fighter originally appeared in Detective Comics issue #27 in 1939. It later became a comic book series, a TV series and a movie series. The character Batman is second only to Superman as a Super Hero. Amazingly Batman has no super powers, but he does have a lot of neat crime fighting gadgets. In this paper, we will explore the creation of Batman, his supporting cast of characters both good and bad and the gadgets he used.
...ort the same element that this graphic novel supports. These people rushing to the aid of the woman (Moore and Gibbons XI, 25, panel 7) suggest that a true hero is not always in a costume, and does not always cover his/her face, however heroes are ordinary citizens that put their own issues aside just to help others.
Being a hero means that one can show courage when it comes to facing a problem. It is a person who helps others in many ways, such as a person in danger. In the modern era, the creation of superheroes have become popular when it comes to producing films. Viewers can choose their favorite heroes due to the idea that there a many of them. However, most fans argue which superheroes are better. Two of the most popular superheroes are DC’s Batman and Marvel’s Iron Man. Although Batman and Iron Man are loved by many viewers because of how they help people in danger, they still demonstrate imperfections which can cause viewers to dislike them. However, both superheroes share similarities and differences between themselves. Batman and Iron Man have
Among the highest-grossing movies of all time are numerous landmark films, such as Titanic, Avatar, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Taking their place alongside these cultural touchstones are mammoth blockbusters of a new breed: action-packed superhero epics. Each year, the number of superhero movies due for release seems to grow exponentially. One glance at a list of upcoming movies for this year reveals that the box office is absolutely saturated with superhero films. Some highly-anticipated installments feature heroes already well-acquainted with the big screen, such as Captain America and the X-Men, while others are introducing relatively unfamiliar characters to contemporary movie-going audiences, as in the cases of Doctor Strange and
I can remember when I was the ring bearer at my aunt’s wedding, no more than five or six years old, and being caught on camera talking to my watch in the back of the church. “Everything’s ok here KIT, it’s all-clear”, is what I was saying. No, I wasn’t a disturbed child. I was imitating Michael Night, the normal guy with the not so normal talking car, who always saved the day on the show NightRider. GI Joe, He-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles......I’ve been all of them (Or in my mind anyway). Also, like most kids, I probably could of single handedly kept up one of those toy makers with all of my purchases. I have to wonder though, if I hadn’t watched these shows and played these games, if I would be the same person I am today. Even today, maybe if people didn’t grow up watching Superman, Batman, the Hulk.......we wouldn’t have people who are as courageous as the firefighters and police we have at the World Trade Center right now.