The superhero genre has undoubtedly become the most profitable genre of all time. Providing the audiences with a variety of films, packed with a talented pool of actors, and showcasing mind blowing action andeffects, it is a new form of movie magic for the present day audience.
But we also live in an age where we are experiencing superhero fatigue, with viewers being fed the same formula over and over. A film is and should always have story as a priority whilst being judged, a notion most audiences have seem to have forgotten these days. A film’s story with it’s characters constantly developing towards a closure of an arc, subtle themes, and a cohesive narration, helps make the movie watching experience all the more better, and this applies to superhero films as well.
Despite the overabundance of superhero films, only a handful have been able to capture the minds of audiences when it comes to a thematic narrative, leading to a fun but a simultaneously smart film as a final product.
X-Men and it’s sequel, are primarily remembered for generating the audience interest in superhero films, leading to where we are in the present. However, it has deep seated political and social commentary. The mutants in the film are segregated and feared from the general human population, referencing the racial and ethnic separation the world had seen in the past. The military opposition faced by the mutants reflects the violence that was meted out to the blacks in the 1960s.
The Dark Knight Trilogy, as I talked about in my previous posts, is the most referential of superhero films post the 9/11 period. The depiction of terror acts and the subsequent attempts to counter it through strikes and surveillance, are a direct reference to the American War on Terror following 9/11.
Coming on the topic of surveillance, Captain America: The Winter Soldier features the plot of a sinister terror organization plotting to assassinate people across the globe through a surveillance device. The surveillance motif matched with the one portrayed in The Dark Knight, but was extremely topical at the time of the film’s release as Edward Snowden had come out to the world exposing the NSA’s acts of surveillance on citizens. The film’s sequel, Civil War, continues a similar political motif, this time centred around the notion of political regulation on the activities superheroes.
Zack Snyder’s Watchmen, Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice sees superheroes struggling with their identities and responsibilities in a world getting used to the idea of superpowered individuals. Snyder also introduced a religious motif in the latter two films, with multiple Jesus allegories revolving around Superman and his actions being compared to that of God.
Wonder Woman, set during the First World War, looks at the psychological effects and moral detachment that soldiers go through, whilst their mindsets are being manipulated by those in power, who don’t respect the sacrifices the soldiers make.
While being direct in it’s references, superhero films also have been subtle or downplayed the references which act as subplots or motivations for certain characters in the films. Avengers: Infinity War and Aquaman, both released in 2018 both saw subtle commentary on environmental degradation and aquatic pollution, which acted as a form of motivation or goal for the film’s villains.
The recently released Captain Marvel also portrays downplayed commentary on the conquering and ruthless nature of imperialists during the colonial era.
In such a manner, superhero films have not only become a showcase for entertainment, but also for certain mature themes that transcend and diversify the genre.
Texts of A Pop Culture Buff 