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The idea of superheroes has been around for years but it’s an ever-evolving concept. Originally seen as ethereal beings who combatted their sworn rivals, supervillains, they are now developing into more human figures battling everyday villains such as criminals. The main factors that have impacted our changing views of superheroes have been the introduction of female heroes, the introduction of anti-heroes, the creation of a more diverse cast of heroes, and how outside society impacts superheroes. In the future, we hope to see a larger range of diversity not only in the gender, race, and sexuality of heroes but with their moral standing and societal backgrounds.
Loki’s sexuality within the Marvel Cinematic Universe has recently been expanded not through film but as part of the recent tv series, however the original character of Loki in the original mythology and within the Marvel comic books since at least 2008 also with X men providing an insight into civil rights struggles since 1963.
How accurate do you believe it is to say comics represent a forerunner in driving the development of society by providing a critique of societies aspirations and concerns, far more quickly and accessibly to a wider (and often younger) audience than other forms of media
Thank you for your question!
It would be inaccurate to say that comics, as a single form of media, represent a forerunner in driving the development of society. There are many other types of media that are highly accessible such as the movies and TV shows you mentioned before. However, comics are a driving force behind more popular media.
If we take your example of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: every movie, TV show, and mini-series is based on something. It doesn’t simply come out of thin air. The comics that these pieces of media are based on, expand on a wide variety of topics the likes of which will probably never see development into other forms of media. It’s true that comics are far more progressionist than movies which, when trying to appeal to a vast majority, means many of them are overlooked in place of more “traditional” pieces. This is a situation that needs rectifying. The reason they aren’t as popular as they once were, I believe, is due to high prices that the younger audiences wouldn’t necessarily be able to afford. There are, however, a large range of comic apps that allow people to read comics by very talented artists for free. These apps are not advertised enough. I brought up the existence of these apps in class and nobody else seemed to be aware of them.
My point is that comics, while not at the forefront, are a driving force for the development of our society. They provide an influence for the more popular media and pull them along as they develop more and more progressionist views. Comics will always be there for those who wish to see themselves in a hero – we just need to give the more popular media some time to catch up.
With many adaptations both comics and movies already moving to show representation. ( recent marvel movies and shows are a great example .) and meeting significant push back from less tolerant individuals could you see this having a more negative impact on society. For example, individuals feeling forced to see this content using it as fuel to actively stand up against minorities in society or via politics?
Thank you for your question!
What I understand about society is that the more progressive we become, the more the less tolerant will push back: that’s just a fact that we’ve got to accept. So yes, more progressive content may cause a rift in our society between those who are changing with the times and those stuck in the past.
If I may take your last point (and forgive me if this ends up as a rant). What these select individuals seem to forget is that they have free will. If a movie disagrees with your opinion – don’t watch it. If a genre makes you uncomfortable – don’t watch it. If you believe a piece of media goes against your religion or your political standing – just don’t watch it. They have that choice and don’t seem to realize that these progressionist pieces of media are not forced upon them as they claim them to be. Yes, they will claim that they don’t have a choice. Yes, they will use these media pieces as a reason to challenge why certain people have the right to exist. And yes, they will fight and protest and be violent over something that if they had any sense in them, they’d ignore instead of endangering the lives of people who did nothing other than exist.
So to answer your question, yes there will be a negative impact on society. It’s unavoidable.
With everyone having a different perception of what the greater good is do you think anti-heroes give a sense of romanticising crime and antiheroism? Even if they think they are fighting for their perception of the greater good and does this deflect the idea that actions have consequences?
Less tolerant countries with large film markets such as China and Russia often have versions of films that remove any allusion to queer identity, meaning queerness in the original is often relegated to the sidelines of the narrative, in throwaway lines, easily deleted scenes or minimizing queerness through queercoding or queerbating. Do you think LGBTQ+ characters in Marvel and other mainstream superhero films will face a ceiling in how well their queer identities can be explored in their films due to markets abroad, and what do you think of queercoding and queerbating?
Thank you for your question!
I do believe that queer voices will be stifled to appease the “vast majority.” There’s nothing that can be done about this when entire countries, and big ones at that, don’t approve of this content. While they’re exercising their free will by not consuming this content, the effect this has is worldwide and not just in their country. Film studios recognize that these countries provide a lot of funding and take up a lot of their viewership – it’s not about representation it’s about profit.
Queercoding and queerbaiting are two things I have some very strong opinions on so bear with me.
Queercoding, while it can lead to decent representation, is almost completely useless when it’s not elaborated on. If you’re going to suggest that a character is gay then why not confirm it? Why play this game of “are they aren’t they” with the viewers, many of whom just want to see people like them in popular media. Queercoding a character is tolerable when it goes somewhere like it becoming a reveal later on or when they’re shown to have had relationships with someone of the same/different gender. The most important part of queercoding is that any development from it is not forgotten. Take the Loki series for example. Loki is confirmed to be genderfluid on an offhand piece of paper and bisexual on an offhand comment. The queercoding of Loki was finally confirmed but what did Marvel do with this “new” information? Nothing! Instead, they had him snog a female-presenting version of himself (I’ll let you form your own opinions on that). Worst case scenario, a character is queercoded but it’s never confirmed, elaborated on, or anything so it’s left up to fanfiction writers to do what the original writers were too chicken to do.
Queerbaitng is by far the most painful thing a writer can do to their audience. Queerbaiting is worse than queercoding because more often than not, the writers know exactly what they’re doing to draw in the LGBT audience but never confirm anything as to appeal to the less Liberal minded viewers. It’s a constant game of “will they, won’t they” that just frustrates everyone involved. If I may take the latest Supernatural incident that I’m going to try very hard not to use foul language about. Fifteen seasons we fans have sat through. The character of Castiel was introduced in season 4 as a one-off character that wasn’t meant to mean much but the fans loved him so much and he had so much chemistry with one of the main characters, Dean, that they kept him on for the next 11 seasons. Now that was 11 seasons of lingering touches, tender moments, and eye-f***ing that fans had to sit through while nothing was ever confirmed. It was the greatest love story of all time yet everything remained up in the air until the last few episodes of the 15th season. Finally, the fans were given what they wanted when Castiel confessed his love to Dean quickly followed by him dying instantly and never being mentioned again for the last few episodes. 11 seasons we sat through for that. This isn’t just another ship as well. It’s the most written about ship to exist on the internet. Their relationship meant so much to so many people and all we were given for our loyalty for 15 seasons was a slap in the face, a punch in the gut, and salt rubbed in our wounds.
Queerbaiting is for sadists who don’t care about their fans, only the money they make from bigots.
I hope that answered your question!