Articles of interest

Whilst surfing the waves of the world wide web, I have found many sites of interest to the topic of the superhero genre. Many of these sites or blogs are decidedly cynical towards the superhero genre as a whole - indeed they more slag off the genre rather than show the transformation of the superhero figure. However, the information posted on the pages does offer some useful context about the superhero figure, and can be used to represent how the representation has changed of these mythic figures.

Information below is from:
http://io9.com/5166889/are-superhero-stories-even-a-genre
Grant Morris, the writer of Superman, has this to say about the superhero genre;
"The basic idea of the superhuman is a very malleable one – you can do ‘realistic' superhero stories like say Watchmen, which takes a hard-nosed look at how these creatures might alter the social and political landscape of our own world, or you can – as I prefer to do – position them as archetypes that allow us to talk about the world using the language of symbolism and allegory. There have been ‘realistic' superhero stories, ‘surreal' superhero stories, superhero westerns, superhero war stories, superhero detective stories, superhero horror stories, superhero romances etc"

" I'm not even sure if there is a superhero genre or if the idea of the superhero is a special chilli pepper-like ingredient designed to energize other genres"

"costumed superhero has survived since 1938, constantly shifting in tone from decade to decade to reflect the fears and the needs of the audience. The current mainstream popularity of the superhero has, I think, a lot to do with the fact that the Terror-stricken, environmentally-handicapped, overpopulated, paedophile-haunted world that's being peddled by our news media is crying out for utopian role models and for any hopeful images of humankind's future potential!"


Sad but true I'm afraid. The idea of the superhero is a good one, the article showing the difference between the realistic superhero films - such as Kick ass, Super (two of the films I am looking into for this project) which have the potential to offer the social and political effects such masked vigilantes would have on our society. Perhaps Watchmen is a better example of these two features, but the representation of the superhero in all three movies is the game - gritty, real, and having a feel of an indie movie with it.

However, another way the quote positions the superhero, in direct contrast to the realistic stereotype is the representation of superheroes as a mythical archetype, or as Morris describes it - The current mainstream popularity of the superhero has, I think, a lot to do with the fact that the Terror-stricken, environmentally-handicapped, overpopulated, paedophile-haunted world that's being peddled by our news media is crying out for utopian role models and for any hopeful images of humankind's future potential!"

In such terms, Morris implies that the reason for the popularity of mainstream superhero films is that the media is persuading us of the inequalities of society - of the dangers hidden around every corner, or in the shady corners of our minds; the murderers, and the bad men. In short, it makes us worship these figures as idealised figures of human excellence, giving us superficial hope that there are some who are signs that humanity has a bright future, detracting from the more gritty, and realistic image of superheroes and casting them into the shadows.

 

But this quote also offers us some context by which we can compare between these two, markedly different types of superhero movies, the fact that they represent the shifting in tone from decade to decade to reflect the fears and the needs of the audience. Despite having been around since 1938, it seems this genre has a timeless quality to it - with universal themes that seem to apply to us all. We all want to be superheroes, maybe in our dreams perhaps but such different types of superheroes, one gritty, and the other romantic both have those same qualities - that apply to us all.