The 21st Century Superhero: Essays on Gender, Genre and Globalization in Film

by Richard J. Gray II, Betty Kaklamanidou

Overview

Superhero films are one of the most enduring genres of cinema, and their popularity is only increasing in the 21st century. These ten critical essays explore the phenomenon through the lenses of numerous academic disciplines, and cover topics such as the role of globalization in the formation of superhero narratives, the shifting nature of masculinity and femininity in the superhero world and the state of the genre today. Of particular interest is the way these narratives, however fantastic, abstract, futuristic or simplistic, resonate with specific events in the world and function as starting points for discussion of contemporary sociopolitical conflicts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786463459
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	06/20/2011
Pages:	212
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Richard J. Gray II is an assistant professor of French at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. His fields of study include interdisciplinary approaches to French literary studies, language, film, cultural studies, and women’s studies. He lives in Ashland, Ohio. Betty Kaklamanidou is a lecturer in film history and theory in the film studies department at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, where she lives.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vi

Introduction Richard J. Gray II Betty Kaklamanidou 1

Part 1 Globalization

Exceptional Recognition: The U.S. Global Dilemma in The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, and Avatar Anthony Peter Spanakos 15

"You Took My Advice About Theatricality a Bit … Literally": Theatricality and Cybernetics of Good and Evil in Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Spider-Man, and X-Men Johannes Schlegel Frank Habermann 29

Power, Choice, and September 11 in The Dark Knight Christine Muller 46

Part 2 Gender

The Mythos of Patriarchy in the X-Men Films Betty Kaklamanidou 61

Vivacious Vixens and Scintillating Super-Hotties: Deconstructing the Superheroine Richard J. Gray II 75

Evolving Portrayals of Masculinity in Superhero Films: Hancock Christina Adamou 94

Part 3 Genre

Genre and Super-Heroism: Batman in the New Millennium Vincent M. Gaine 111

Super-Intertextuality and 21st Century Individualized Social Advocacy in Spider-Man and Kick-Ass Justin S. Schumaker 129

The Watchmen, Neo-Noir and Pastiche Phillip Davis 144

Smallville: Super Puberty and the Monstrous Superhero Shahriar Fouladi 161

Films and Television Programs 179

Works Cited 187

About the Contributors 197

Index 199

Editorial Reviews

Excellent”—Library Journal; “a stimulating companion to the genre which now rules the cinema”—Crime Time.

From the Publisher

excellent

Library Journal