I am an avid supporter of comic books. I think its an excellent medium with countless artistic possibilities, and Hollywood's current trend in comic-based films (300, V for Vendetta, From Hell, Sin City, Hellboy, Ghost World, to name a few) is a pretty good indicator that the rest of the world is finally starting to catch on to it. Now, admittedly I am more a fan of the independent, non Superhero stuff (I'll take Fantagraphics and Drawn & Quarterly over DC and Marvel any day), but then there is Watchmen.
The big question Watchmen asks is, what if superheroes were real? The characters are psychologically disturbed and fragile (some, arguably, even sociopathic). They are confused about their identity and their place in the world, and have opposing objectives for saving it. A few of the central heroes are even gay (or rumored to be). The objective of my paper is to explore the book's deconstruction of super heroes and the super hero genre.
First, it is essential to identify the purpose and identity of a superhero within our culture. What do we conceive as characteristic of a superhero? What value/purpose do they have within our society? Simply, to deconstruct a superhero, one must first have a working definition of what a superhero conventionally is. We briefly explored in class the term "hero", and the expectations that come with the application of the word. I wanted to expand upon that idea.
As one can imagine, it has been difficult finding usable academic journals in support of this topic, so my current list on my annotated bibliography is a tentative one. One article I found is about an art exhibit with a focus on revealing how superhero comics have mirrored society's history from WWII to present day. This could provide a good starting point in terms of cultural significance, so that is going in the maybe pile. Another article discusses the glamorization of superheroes, and another how the concept of a superhero has evolved through television, film, and (of course) comic books.
Things are coming together and I will be digging deeper to find better working sources. Like I said, difficult topic in terms of finding the right stuff, but well worth it for what has the potential to be a really great paper (i hope). At this point, we're only in the beginning stages. Any suggestions are appreciated.
5 comments:
I like where your idea is going, and even though you might not be able to find a lot of academic sources to back you up I can tell you that the definition of a hero is a hotter topic today than it was when Watchmen first came out.
I'm reading a recent storyline from Catwoman (which is actually pretty awesome) and it explores how sometimes it's okay to kill someone if it saves others. Yet many times people have told Batman to just kill The Joker because if not he'll keep killing others and getting away with it but killing is against Batman's ethics. And those are two superheroes who live in the same city.
The editor of DC actually stated recently that he wants each individual superhero to have a distinct morality. Batman may not kill, but he will torture people to get information (which Superman wouldn't ever do). I can find you the interview where he said that if you like.
When exploring your topic I think it's important that you focus on the ending of Watchmen. It really tells the reader the status of each character's morality.
And if anyone besides Spencer is reading this: yes, I realize this is why I don't have a girlfriend.
thanks, i appreciate the input. if anyone in this class is my go to guy for this topic, it is most definitely you. Definitely send me a link to that interview. Finding out more about what DC and Marvel writers and editors do in terms of defining Superheroes would be a helpful way to start, as they are the ones primarily responsible for the genre in the first place. This was incredibly useful.
Yeah, sorry, no clue where I found that interview. But the source material speaks volumes on its own. I definitely point you in the right direction that way. And if comics are allowed as secondary sources then you are all set in that department by far.
P.S. I don't really have my finger on the pulse of Marvel but I can definitely tell you that Spider-Man and The Punisher have completely different morals.
I know I am like a week late to commenting. But this is an amazing topic. I also love comic books, and the watchmen. I don't have a lot to really add in terms of constructive or useful comments... but things that popped into my head when reading your post was the kind of de-centered way in which The Watchmen is written (with the use of newspaper articles, written parts, and the black frieghtor) may be worth investigating, also the monster that Dr Mannhatten is creating and what that says about reality... I don't know the answer, but I think it ties into your topic because he is pretty amoral and sees a horrible monster that (could potentailly really kill lots of people) as a solution to unite the world and make superheroes useless.
As far as the comment on the punisher goes, that is totally true. In the civil war series other marvel characters call out the Punisher as being crazy,an assassin/murder and they don't want him on their (the good?) side.
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