If would like to voice your opinions on the new Batman and superheroes in pop culture, please take my poll on Misterpoll.com as part of my university research.
When American culture feels threatened and afraid, we flock to movies with superheroes. The reality that we cannot fix everything that goes wrong, or that we face enemies for which we are no match makes us subconsciously long for "a savior." We know it will take someone with powers beyond us mere mortals. After all, if we could fight such battles effectively we wouldn't need the superhero. Give us characters with special vision, additional senses, and strength that cannot be matched.
Boy, you got to carry that weight a long time!
Posts: 385 | Location: Georgia | Registered: 14 October 2005
Those were some good points made about the relationship between pulp hero fiction and societal problems. One could make a similar argument about how superhero fiction prospered in direct proportion to the proliferation of atomic energy during the cold war. I seem to recall that as recently as the 80's ('recent' being a relative term, of course) there were still superheroes whose abilities were derived from nuclear accidents, atomic energy meltdowns, etc. Your argument about the overall helplessness of society, when faced with utter destruction, is relevant here.
Nevertheless, I look forward to reading the originator's "thesis" on the current superhero trend; I wonder, though, if the current wave of big-budget Hollywood adaptations has as much to do with sociological trends as it does with simple commerce. Financially speaking, superhero adaptations are appealing in that: 1) They have a built-in "audience" who, in most cases, eagerly awaits these releases; 2) said audience is younger and therefore, a highly sought after demographic, and 3) generally speaking, most comic literature contains themes suitable to a general audience.
With this in mind, all it really takes is one superhero movie to nail down all these factors and become a success in order for Hollywood to attempt to duplicate the formula, then the "movement" or "trend" or whatever you want to call it...starts. Tim Burton's quirky, tongue-in-cheek Batman film aside, the best contemporary example of a superhero film that started the current avalanche is probably X-Men.
