In Focus: Superhero movies and why we love ’em

Home Culture In Focus: Superhero movies and why we love ’em

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Lois Lane’s naivete when it comes to the swoon-worthy Clark Kent’s real identity was first introduced to the American public back in 1938, and it’s still talked about today.

We care not because she’s so pathetically unaware for a journalist, but because she’s never too far removed from our society.

Since the 30’s, the Man of Steel’s strong jaw line and billowing red cape have flown across the big screen at least once every few years or so: he and his fellow superheroes have aged tremendously well.

But how are they still so popular, some may ask, seeing that for decades, these superhero movies have pretty much all had versions of the same storyline: the kind, pathetic underdog builds himself up, becomes almost a hero, loses a minor battle, but then kicks the crap out of the bad guy at the climax. And of course, you can’t forget the inevitable smooch between the hero and the quirky, but super-hot chick who believed in him from the beginning.

People know this storyline by heart, yet it will continue to smash the box office — like the Hulk smashes everything else — because its popularity comes from the fact that it gives us an escape from our ever-graying reality and an entrance into a black and white fantasy.

In reality, “good” and “bad” motives, actions, people…They have this annoying way of blending together and forming an amorphous-like solution: a gross gray clump that cannot be successfully simplified or separated out. It’s close to impossible to define anyone or anything as completely good or completely bad. Black and white doesn’t seem to exist in the real world.

But humans want to define things, separate them, file them away, keep them there. We like black and white.

Today, our gray world includes this war on terrorism. This war is the absolute grayest of gray.

In World War I, there were the villifiable Axis powers. In World War II, there was true evil with the Nazis. In the Cold War, the Russians sucked! But today…terrorism… yeah, he’s an evil….guy? thing? religion?

It scares us. We want a bad guy —one that we know is 100 percent bad. One that can be figured out, solved, destroyed: the Green Goblin, Dr. Doom, Loki, the Red Skull.

Following this notion, the deep roots that these xeroxed storylines have in American cinematography show that human nature isn’t lost after all.

Yes, corruption in this world has boomed as fast as technology did during Clinton’s time in office, but the popularity of these continual remakes and sequels show that people still have a deeper yearning for morality. We still want “good.” We want Peter Parker to win. We need Thor to lift his hammer again. We want Bucky to remember his old pal Steve and return to the good side.

Superhero movies are black and white, cookie-cutter clean, unambiguous. They are the good guys versus the bad guys with the good guys always singing “We are the Champions” in the end.

It seems weird that we’d want a bad guy, but a definite enemy with a definite means of defeat is always better than an ominous one we don’t seem to know how to solve. That’s why Marvel’s 2012 hit “The Avengers” still holds the record for largest opening weekend at a whopping $207 billion. That’s why we’ll continue to pay up to $17 to watch the next big superhero in 3D every few months. We can’t get enough of these mask-wearing, costume-clad, superhuman figures triumphing over evil.

I’m not going to sit here and attempt to color-code this war and our world with you- you can do that on your Friday evening. I’m just saying all this gray is hard on the human brain. Excuse me while I catch the 7:30 p.m. showing of X-Men.

 

Sam Scorzo is a senior studying English and journalism. Co-captain of the Charger cheer team, she is the Collegian’s Sports Editor.