The Superhero In Us: The Love For Comic Book Movies

Let me preface this by saying that I completely stand by Martin Scorsese and his statement regarding the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Back in October of 2019, the acclaimed director gave an interview to Empire magazine right before the release of his film, The Irishman, and stated that these films “are not cinema.” “Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being,” he went on to say. After immense backlash from Marvel fans and from the films’ directors and actors, Scorsese released an Op-Ed in The New York Times a month later, providing explanation to his claim. He wrote, “Cinema is an art form that brings you the unexpected. In superhero movies, nothing is at risk”...and have I to agree. However, the sheer popularity of these films (and superhero movies, in general) does give fodder to a discussion as to why these films continue to break box office records and have been ingrained in pop culture in the last decade.

From its shaky beginnings with Iron Man (2008) and The Incredible Hulk (2008), the Marvel Cinematic Universe has exponentially grown over the years, having released 23 feature films till date and raking in billions at the global box office. Yet, if these films are not cinema in its truest form (which they are not), what makes audiences repeatedly come rushing to the theaters to catch the latest installment? The answer: there is more to these films than just a constant deluge of CGI.

Acknowledging and putting aside the abundant toxic masculinity that plagues the MCU films (a lengthy discussion in and of itself) and the saturation of CGI usage, the humanistic and idealistic characteristics that these films promote play with our brains in an interesting way. The storylines and emotional turmoils that many of the superheroes in these films face are things that all of us have experienced at least once. In a fun and care-free way, superhero films provide us with a look into our own inner self while also granting us with a sense of hope and ability to overcome life’s struggles. In their study titled, “Summer Blockbusters: A Thematic Analysis of Super Heroes and Villains” (2018), Hiranya Malik, Parul Tiwari and Surbhi Kumar posit that “In a world where one is constantly consumed by the humdrum of daily life, people often go to the movies as a means of escaping their realities. These characters may be fictional but all of them have distinct patterns of thinking, behaving and solving (or creating) problems.” If dissecting piece by piece, the decisions and actions that each of these characters take, one recognizes the similarities between their thought processes and those that affect our everyday thinking. Audiences around the world turn to these films to invigorate a feeling of joy, excitement and overall hope that they, just like their superhero role models, can also tackle roadblocks that come at them.

If we take a look at each characters’ backstory, we can observe the traumatic upbringings or toxic lifestyles that many of them have experienced. For example, Tony Stark can be categorized as an alcoholic, Peter Parker has lost many important people around him, and of course, the most famous one, Batman witnesses the murdering of his parents at a very young age. These experiences threw these characters into a turmoil and brought them, irrespective of their socio-economic backgrounds, to a low point in their lives. However, by putting on their superhero garb or by gaining powers, it allowed them to face their issues head-on and change their lives for the better. By being a superhero, it provided them an outlet to shift their focus from personal obstacles to those that are putting the world at risk.

In fact, not only do these characters juxtapose their personal dilemmas with us, but their “imaginary” environments also reflect the “realistic” environments that we live in. In her study titled, “Of Amazons, Humans, and Batmen: Superheroes and the Affectual Dynamics of Loneliness” (2019), Emily Scherzinger compares the political environment of Gotham City to that of our real world. “In the later versions of Batman, the superhero mirrors the sentiment of contemporary American people struggling under the now full-fledged neoliberal paradigm, or as Ann Cvetkovich describes, ‘the affects associated with keeping up with corporate culture and the market economy, or with being completely neglected by it’". She points out how Batman and The Dark Knight stories have sustained so many years not simply because of the comic books’ writing and films’ acting, but because of the inherent corporate greed and political turmoil that so perfectly mirrors that of the environment in our actual world. Scherzinger further goes on to mention that, “in Batman Begins, Gotham City is not only a visual representation of the affectual dimensions of capitalism, as every wide image of the city features grey, mundane urban cityscapes, but is also consistently personified through characters' descriptions of the city as ‘depressed’, effectively taking on the alienation and pain that the citizens of Gotham experience.” This alienation and pain also transcends to many backstories such as Peter Parker’s and that of Diana when she leaves the comforts of Themyscira.

These instances that present the vulnerability of these characters and the dramatic surroundings they inhabit mimic the same issues many of us have gone through, whether it be loneliness, the loss of a loved one, toxic behaviors, or the loss of hope in our systematic government. Furthermore, these films use superheroes and their defeat over evil as vehicles to promote moralistic ideals that we can all, irrespective of our cultural background, relate to. Christian Russell and Paul Leslie mention in their study, “Heroic Moments: A Study of Comic Book Superheroes in Real-World Society” (2019), that "the dedication, self-sacrifice, and vigilance of Batman and Captain America suggest to readers that being a hero does not necessarily mean having superpowers or wearing a costume. Instead, being a hero can simply mean being a good person.”

Even though I still stand by never regarding these films as cinematic masterpieces, I do have to disagree with Scorsese's claim that the characters do not inhibit emotional and psychological experiences that relate to both those in and outside of their world. I cannot disregard its impact and significance in film history and the ideals its promotes in overcoming your obstacles.

Sources:

Malik, H., Tewari, P., & Kumar, S. (2018). Summer Blockbusters : A Thematic Analysis of Super Heroes and Villains. The Learning Curve, 7, 67–71.

Russell, C., & Leslie, P. (2013). Heroic Moments: A Study of Comic Book Superheroes in Real-World Societ. Explorations, 8, 121–131.

Scherzinger, E. (2019). Of Amazons, Humans, and Batmen: Superheroes and the Affectual Dynamics of Loneliness. Panic at the Discourse: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 1(2), 51–61.