Gender Roles In Superhero Films

When it comes to superheroes, most of them have costumes, nickname, and certain powers that make them unique. The Google definitions of the term “superhero” is “fictional characters with superhuman powers.” In today’s world, there are superheroes who do not have superhuman abilities but use human materials to fight crime. Are those with natural abilities denied the title of a “superhero?”

In her essay, “Superhero Worship” published in The Atlantic Virginia Postrel discusses how people limit themselves to try to become what they are not. Although people view celebrity impact on society as positive, Postrel argues that superhero’s or celebrities limit ordinary people 's lives because they strive to be what they can not.

A hero is universally seen as a selfless individual who puts the needs of others before themselves. Heroes usually hold the same values; honor, nobility, integrity, and strength. Now what happens when a person does not hold those heroic values? What if their motivations did not have good intentions? These are the questions that will be answered using the deconstruction critical lenses. “Today, it is much harder to detach the concept of heroism from morality; we only call heroes those whom we admire and wish to emulate.” (Lebarge web) The Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur has evolved into the modern trilogy of Batman which, when deconstructed, reveals how the selfish motivations of

Children play these games not because they enjoy the violence, but because these cowboys, indians, and superheroes posses qualities that set them apart as ideal citizens. In order for one to have courage, there must be something to fear and overcome, often times that something is represented by violence, either in the form of a war or a violent enemy. But why is this such a big part of the American Dream, and why is it that heroes are so admired?

‘The Incredibles’ is an animated Pixar movie that focuses on two of Metroville’s superheroes who are married-- Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl (add more) The government creates a law stating that ALL superpower activities are prohibited. Consequently, they are obligated to conform to a “normal life” in their society and wind up assimilating to suburban life with their children Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack. After 15 years of living as a civilian and insurance claims specialist, Mr. Incredible decides to take advantage of the opportunity to live the life of a superhero proposed by a mysterious informant. However, it turns out to be a set-up by an adversary who once idolized him in his years as an adolescent. It’s up to his family to save him and the world from any danger that stands before them. In the movie, there are numerous ways the characters are portrayed as based on their ethnicity and power. The film ‘The Incredibles’ depict and display societal issues through the family’s inherited super powers, stereotypes in the movie, and what society defines a hero as.

The concept of a hero has been around for many generations, and the meaning of a hero is defined in ways people grasp its idea. A hero can be a person who has a superpower and is willing to make a personal sacrifice for the benefit of others or can be an ordinary everyday person who just wants to help people out of his or her own heart. Linda Seger’s article, “Creating the Myth,” tackles the idea of a “Hero 's Myth,” and shows the ten steps of how heroes are transformed from an ordinary person to the Savior. On the other hand, Robert B. Ray piece titled, “The Thematic Paradigm,” emphasizes that in modern films, it is either having an “Outlaw Hero or an Official Hero,” which he uses three stages to demonstrates how they are different each other in the way they perform in the society. Further, the article, “Out of Character: Wonder Woman’s Strength Is Her Compassion - What Happened?” by Stevie St. John, explains how Wonder Woman was viewed as a compassionate woman in the 1940s and 1950s, and in the 2000s she changes into a more violent person. In this essay, I argue that a hero is subjective, and is defined by the villain or event that they had to adapt to suddenly.

The portrayal of superheroes in films has changed in terms of their character, appearance, style and strength. Superheroes has been a popular theme in hollywood films since its inception. They are what peoples imagination can only think of. A perfect human being who saves the world .The first time superhero appeared on T.V was “The Adventures of Captain Marvel” in 1941. Superheroes was on the rise within popular comic books in 1930′s to the 1940’s as well in which they were considered the ‘Golden Age of Comic Books’ . Comic books became widespread and popular which translated into making films about them.

Superhero movies have been on the rise lately. These movies are often looked at as entertainment for people who play Dungeons and Dragons and are simply mindless pleasure; however, this is not the case. The reason behind the popularity of superhero movies is more than just the want of the common comic book reader. The superhero movie industry has made a sharp incline in popularity; in fact there are more superhero movies now than ever before. A website called Fights, Tights and Movie Nights listed all of the superhero movies made since the 1980’s by year and these were their findings. In the 1980’s an average of three to four super movies came out a year. In the 1990’s these movies were made on average five to six times per year. In the 2000’s the movies doubled to 12-13 produced on average each year. Today, 2010’s, the average number of superhero movies has again doubled in size with it now resting at twenty-two to twenty-three superhero movies made on average each year. The drastic increase of the number of superhero movies leaves the average movie attendee wondering why they are seeing this spike of superhero movies. The increase of superhero movies can be contributed to a few key factors: the advances of technology in the movie industry, the movie genre’s adaption to be socially relevant, and the characters now possessing more humanistic qualities (Fights…).

Historically American film have been centered on heroes. In Ray’s “The Thematic Paradigm” he states that heroes as have two preset archetypes with certain characteristics. These two archetypes are the family orientated “official hero” and the loner “outlaw hero.” In Segar’s “Creating the Myth” she states that heroes are made by the steps or events that they go through on their way to becoming a hero. This means that to Seger the heroes do not start out as heroes, but as normal people. However, Ray and Seger suggest different ways in which Americans relate to film heroes, they both agree heroes are popular through common experience and relatability.

This source discusses the most popular superheroes and how they relate in their own given time period. It makes connections with the major time periods in and the location of the publications. For my essay I intend to use the time period and publication locations to show relation in the societies culture through their superheroes. This source is also very credible being that the author Joseph Darowski has not only a BA and MA, but a PHD as well. He’s written 15 other books that been published.

Who doesn’t love a good superhero? The perfect figure, the spandex suit, the flowing cape, flawless looks, and the powers we can only dream of having. Superheroes have been around for ages now, leaving an everlasting imprint on our hearts. It is no secret that males dominate the superhero industry; both the heroes themselves and those who create them. Superman, Batman, Ironman, and Spiderman have become the top heroes of all time; there is nothing wrong with them holding the spotlight, but female heroes are underrepresented. There are notable female heroes, but they tend to be drawn with a busty figure that few women are naturally blessed with, and show little emotional rational in fights. Take Black Widow (Marvel) for example, anyone would love for her figure and kick-ass moves. Wonder Woman is our hero of the hour, she has made her way onto the big screen; casting her into the spotlight more than ever. She screams fights for love, promotes peace, is a beacon of hope, and screams feminism. What’s not to love? The new movie released on June 2, 2017, has called more attention to the American-spirited, Amazonian woman than ever before. The movie is the first fully female directed movie, Patty Jenkins brings a great female to the big screen. Although the movie is great and supports feminism, is the movie the depiction of Wonder Woman that should be idealized?

The presence of media is prevalent in our technology savvy lives. Yet with inequality shown in media, we are constantly bombarded with sexist concepts. This issue was specifically exemplified in the movie “The Avengers” where a bunch of superheroes get together to collectively defeat an enemy.

The film industry has created the conventional gender roles of society into their movies. A majority of films have supported some of the male and female stereotypes. In the history of the film industry, the role of men is primarily that of the stereotypical working class man or hero, while the roles of women are primarily portrayed as being somewhat inferior to men. In the 1930s through the 1970s, men held the leading roles in films while women played smaller roles. In terms of jobs, women were given mostly family roles and rarely were shown outside of their homes, while men had successful careers and did many activities outside of home. “Women were shown doing housework and men were the beneficiaries of their work” (“Women’s roles in the

The changes thorough media have led to the decline of the traditional hero archetype. To relate to society throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, television shows and film have had to conform to new standards. In the beginning, any film was

on society and culture. But since the beginning, there has been trend of male dominance in entertainment. This has contributed to gender inequality by not giving young girls strong role models in movies. It has also created ideal gender images that young children and adults feel obligated to follow. In more recent years, with the rise of feminism and gender equality, many have begun to push for changes in movies and Hollywood. Gender inequality in film can be reduced by creating more roles for women, avoiding gender stereotypes such as the damsel in distress, and avoiding oversexualizing women.