Task 16: First Draft

“Am I not supposed to have what I want? What I need? What am I supposed to do?” (Peter Parker/Spiderman) Does the superhero genre continuously create repetitive and formulaic films to promote ideologies? With particular references to Spiderman 2 (Raimi, 2004)

Spiderman 2, a film which went on to achieve great commercial and critical success, earning over $780 million worldwide,[1] has still repeated the typical conventions a superhero genre owns. From the early 1930s, with blockbusters such as ‘The Superman,’ (Siegel and Shuster) leading on to the 1966 ‘Batman’ (Martinson) along with their sequels, there has been a continuous narrative order theorised by Todorov; in addition there has been the repetitive use of the character roles, such as the male protagonist, however for the more contemporary films such as ‘Catwoman’ (Motif, 2004) there has been a role reversal where the audience are shown a female playing the protagonist of the film and fighting with the villains. In spite of this, these ‘superhero’ films are constantly producing and directing these films which can also be stated that these large, big budget institutions are persistently including these conventions to promote ideologies, especially as these films are targeted at a younger audience.

The main and predominant feature, which this genre has repeatedly used, is the proppian style characters. The characters used in this genre are similar to Disney’s classic fairy tale film - being “one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world”2 it is clearly noticable that the Disney style has greatly influenced large institutions such as Columbia pictures (1924, and producers of Spiderman 2). This has become aware by the similar characters such as the protagonist of the film also known as the “hero” Spiderman/Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), the antagonist or the “villain” as Dock Ock (James Franco) and the heroine or known as the “princess” MJ (Kirsten Dunst). The princesses are shown as passive and helpless. These roles have been seen in previous Disney films such as “Cinderella” (1950) and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937) where the heroine or princess depends on the male and seeks for her prince charming to rescue her from misery and desolation.

Another convention the superhero genre holds is after the hero saves the world from the enemy, and “the heroine is to be the reward for the hero”[3], which is reinforced by Propp’s 32 basic categories of action. In the previous historical film “Superman” (1933), Clark Kent saves the world from destruction; he is then rewarded with his reporter and then marries her. Due to these Hollywood movies adapted these roles, the second most successful film industry in the world “Bollywood” has now put this consistent theme into practice, this is been aware in one of the latest and first ever superhero genre where “Bollywood Gets a Superhero of Its own”[4] - “Krrish” (2006), it imitates the roles where the protagonist “Krishna (Hrithik Roshan) saves the world from a megalomaniac scientist, Dr Arya (Naseerudin Shah).” [5]

The narrative structure has been emphasised in the film, Spiderman 2 follows the structure Todorov suggests where there is equilibrium, disequilibrium and a resolution, this is seen in every superhero film. The preferred reading of this could be that the society we live in is reinforcing this structure, it is used in films, however as this genre is targeted a younger audience (5 – 17) these films are portraying a fixed and unchanging society which should be buried into the new generations’ mind to keep the social norms in place.

Furthermore, another theory that has been a dominant one in the superhero genre in historical texts and contemporary ones is the “good vs. evil,” this theme so called leads the narrative. The theory has been suggested by structuralist philosopher Claude Lévi-Strauss; he states how much of “the world is described in terms of opposites or in simpler terms – Binary Oppositions.” [6] The binary oppositions have been heavily portrayed in the films; this is seen in the film serial “Adventures of Captain Marvel” (1941) where Captain Marvel defeats the criminal mastermind called the Scorpion. Similarly in “Batman”, the duo Batman and Robin defeat the four most powerful villains (Joker, Penguin, Riddler and Catwoman); and of course in “Spiderman 2”, Spiderman defeats the mad scientist “Doc Ock”. The good characters (heroes) are clearly identified by the audience’s firstly by the way the camera looks at them, and we as the audience sympathise with them as we see them when they are struggling and in pain; in contrast the villains or the bad characters are noticed by their personality, for instance in “Spiderman 2”, the villain Doc Ock has been represented with aggressive features with a deep voice tone and the non diegetic sounds used during his scene are terrifying and disturbing that the “structuralists use to powerfully form and organize human thought and culture.”[7]

An interesting and common aspect used in the superhero genre is the double role of the hero, this has been noticed numerable times such as “Batman”; he is Batman and Bruce Wayne; in “Superman” where Superman is also Clark Kent; “Spiderman” Spiderman and Peter Parker and even Bollywood have used this subject in “Krrish”, Krishna is also the superhero Krrish. A reading for this could mean that “a secret identity that protects the superhero’s friends and family from becoming targets of his or her enemies.” [8] Aswell as the identity being a secret, another conventions used in many films is showing that when the superhero is in his normal everyday life, he is seen as working independently somewhere else, mainly as a journalist or a reporter, this is shown in “Superman” where Clark Kent is see as a “mild-mannered reporter”, likewise in “Spiderman”, Peter Parker works as a photographer for a newspaper. This suggests how these superheroes are closely linked to the media in which mostly they hear news about a superhero who is rescuing civilians however do not have a clue who and where he is.

Another theme used, which is common in this genre is a motivation, this is commonly used and links to Todorov’s theory where there is a disequilibrium or a problem that the superhero need to fulfil to feel better and also to satisfy the audience watching. Types of motivations would include “responsibility” which is mainly used in Spiderman, because he is their to take revenge for what happened to his uncle, a “strong belief in justice and humanitarian service” which is used in Superman or a “love interest” which is used in almost all the films which may attract the female audience or as society has changed, then men also like to see some romantic elements to the film. These ideologies promoted could suggest that maybe these films are meant to change society in terms of gender roles and challenging the stereotypical roles, which were used in previous years to reinforce patriarchy and misogyny.

One of the conventions, which have been reinforced since the 1930s up till now – the 21st Century is the existence of “active male and passive female”,[9] theorised by Laura Mulvey, this can bee seen numerously. In “Spiderman 2” a scene which shows the passivity of the heroine is when the heroine, MJ is kidnapped. The role of the female is really passive where she has no strength to release herself after being held captive by the villain and she cries for help and the male hero then comes to rescue her and take her away. Also in this particular scene, M.J is positioned in such a way where the camera is at a low angle and she is wearing a revealing dress and she is soaked with water and is tied up to a long pole, this scene may link with Mulvey's theory as the pole may be represented as a phallic object which will release anxiety of the “male gaze” and prevent castration. This scene could suggest that the female character is positioned in a passive role; this can also be called a sadistic sequence where the audience [predominantly males] is positioned to fulfill their sadistic desires of seeing a woman in pain also known as “THE-DAMSEL-IN-DISTRESS”, which also links to the misogynistic and patriarchal society.

In other superhero films such as “Batman”, Bruce Wayne is romantically lured by Catwoman to tie him into a trap; however these women are in simpler terms described as the “whores” as they have the qualities of being “sexual, amoral and sinful.” [10] Gauntlett described the how “films in the past had tended to give men all the primary clever and resourceful roles” [11] this can supported with the fact that there is a “role reversal within the blockbuster mainstream” [12] and can be seen in films like “Charlie’s Angels” (2000) and the typical superheroine genre – “Catwoman” (2004). In these films, the females are challenging the typical roles which had been labeled on them from previous year and before the rise in feminism in the 1970s.

In Charlie’s Angels, the heroines are not the typical princess that are passively given to the hero after his hard work, however they are seen as multiskilled, clever and beautiful young, independent women who are physically involved in violence and male style action which celebrates the gender equality. Similarly in Catwoman, Halle Berry is the protagonist of the film and is playing the superheroine, the first leading heroine was first seen in the film “Alien” (1970).

However, Hollywood mainstream movies especially the superhero have still not challenged the patriarchal society, maybe because there are very few women whom are directing the film. In 2001, 6% of women directed films, this is a great achievement which means that there should be a rise in the present year, however this means that there is still 94% of male directors which means that the men are obviously going to dominate the industry and sexually objectify women and be the subject to the male gaze, this can be seen in “Catwoman”, even though she is the protagonist of the film, she is still sexually provocative and subject to the male gaze due to her tight fitting costumes, her sexually luring features and her bright red lips which connote passion and romance and mainly as she is remembered in the film Batman where she has a role of a femme fatale.

Due to these signals, we are clearly shown and are demanded to accept the fact that even though we still live in a contemporary society, Mulvey’s theory still exists on a large scale, which may suggest that patriarchy and misogyny remains valid and these male directors are promoting ideologies to keep hegemony in position and the status quo.

An oppositional reading could suggest that in the previous films,men were shown not to emotionally show or express theor emotions, however this could be argued that in contemporary society, “men in Hollywood films today tend not to be the seamlessly macho heroes which we saw in the 1980s” [13] Analysing the success of the superhero genre, it is still noticable that this genre still holds these ideologies, this is proven due to the success of the films; such as Batman with its huge success after the hit tv serial; Superman, and of course the Bollywood movie Krrish. Another fact to celebrate is that there is normally an argument that only women are subject to the male gaze and are sexually objectified throuhg variuos aspects, primarly their costumes that are tight fitting and provocative and revealing, however the superhero films show the protagonists/hero dressed in tight, fitted clothing with various body parts revealed which could challenge Mulvey’s theory that not only is there a male gaze and but a “female gaze” also, this could be backed up in previos films such as Batman, Superman and Spiderman, where theyr are sexually appaling and is actually attracting the female spectators. This could also be reinforced with more contemporary films such as the new James Bond film “Casino Royale” (2006) where James Bond is seen coming out of the water which make make him sexually desirable and attractive. This celebrates the fact that there is now a start of a female gaze which shows that feminism has reached success.

However the question still remains that why are the superheroine films in decline and if directors challenge and produce these films, they are are a faliure at the box office of “$40,202,379” [14] this shows the diffrence of how even in contemporary society, women are still ment to be shown as sexually objectified princesses with a passive role and can not lead a successful film and lead to a success. In the 1980s, “Supergirl” (1984) “performed poorly at the box office and failed to impress critics or audiences” [15] it was a huge flop due to the new experince of feminism and the rise in the 1980’s, it can also be argued that the filmaker Jeannot Szwarc is really a french film director, which comes to show how other country directors challenged the sterotypical roles and made a superheroine film to attract audiences, but this just comes to show how the audiences do not see superhero films showing a female protagonist which again links to Mulvey’s theory of the male spectator feeling castrated due to an absence of a phallic object.

Another convention which is seen in the superhero genre that could be argued is a convention to promote ideologies are the on going sequels. Sequels are used for almost every mainstream superhero film. This can be seen in previous films such as Batman since 1966, there has been such as Batman, The knight Rider and the contemporary 2005 Batman Begins; simlarly like Spiderman there are many such as Spiderman the film, 1, 2 and now even 3 which will be released during mid 2007; it has now been imitated by Bollywood in Krrish, the first film being “Koi Mil Gaya” (2004) and the following sequel Krrish, this shows how amaing and what great power these films have that they are being greatly admired by its target audience espaecially the young children. It could also “suggests that audiences passively receive the information transmitted via a media text, without any attempt on their part to process or challenge the data.” [16] The hyperdermic needle suggests this theory which in this case is quite relevant and valid.

An oppositional reading could be that maybe these films are being produced to change society in other ways, such as having the decline in relgion, because in these films there is no representation of religion, which actually could be suggested that the superhero genre is maybe producing these films to finish religion and these superheroes should instead be worshipd instead of God. An example to show this is how the film titles have animal names related to satan such as [Spider] man, [Bat] man and also the semiotics portrayed in the films are maybe shown to be evil such as the hand sign used in all of Spiderman’s films –the two devil horns, this could be suggested that maybe these films have an evil side to them and are there to corrupt the young audience. This is seen everytime Spiderman is out in danger and releases his web, he then performs this act and the web is released which connotes evil and danger.

This film genre has become increasingly popular since the start with films such as the Adventures of Captain Marvel, Spiderman, Superman and Batman, however this has now become even more popular and attravctive maybe due to the technological changes such as special effects and visual effects which makes these films highly respected and an amazing film to watch especially for the younger target audience, as these types of films attract them. This genre falls into many hybrid genre’s such as fantasy, action, sci fi and light romance.

As Levi Strauss suggests that the world represents good and bad and binary oppositions, another reason why the superhero genre is becoming increasingly popular is the fact that how the world is under threat, after the 9/11 and the rise in hatred, war and terror; this could suggest that these films are being showed so that the audiences are aware that binary oppositions still remain in todays society and we have to challenge the enemy which is why the main structure of the films are good vs. bad. An exaple could be seen in Spiderman 2 when the villain Doc Ock quotes, “the power of the sun, in the palm of my hand!” [17], this connotes revenge and how the villain and enemy is ruining the world. This I believe is preparing the younger audiences on how to chellenge the villains in the world and to create moral panic or maybe some aspects of propaganda that the western world is under threat which means that it is the younger audiences duty to fight to save the world from destruction.

Taking this into account, the superhero genre has many conventions which is showns that the film has a repetitive and formulaic aspect which maybe promoting ideologies such patriarchal values and the status quo, however the ideologies promoted could also ahave apositive reading that maybe the repetition of these films suggest that it is creating moral panics to make audiences aware of how the world is becoming a more dangerous place and is greatly under threat due to the war on terrorism. Perhaps as Hollywood mainstream films are producing these films to entertain as well as educating the audiences gives a result that other large institutions such as Bollywood are now also producing superhero films to make audiences aware of the danger increasing in the world. It is also suggested that the superhero genre is greatly influenced from Disney films such as the proppoian style characters, which means that there are many aspects that the superhero genre takes from other genres. However the success in the superhero genre especially Spiderman 2are now at a great level of success that there are sequels being made to attract the audiences to watch and learn from the films.

Word Count: 3,000

Bibliography

[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man_2
2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walt_Disney_Company
[3] Letts Revision Worksheet (p92)
[4]http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/movies/11chopr.html?ex=1307678400&en=53ef94c48a3b5ba2&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krrish
[6] Letts Revision Worksheet (p. 92 &93)
[7] http://www-as.phy.ohiou.edu/~rouzie/307j/binary.html
[8]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superhero
[9] Mulvey, Laura – (1975, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema)
[10] Letts Revision Sheet
[11] Media, Gender and Identity (p. 64)
[12] Media, Gender and Identity (p69)
[13] Media, Gender and Identity - David Gauntlett (p. 66)
[14]http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=catwoman.htm
[15] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supergirl_(film)
[16] http://www.mediaknowall.com/alevkeyconcepts/audience.html
[17] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0316654/quotes