how may the superheroes be the reflection of american history?
TRANSCRIPT
How may the superheroes be the reflection of American history?
By Alexandre Korda
Superheroes are the gods of American mythology. They are the incarnation of those who wed like to be: pioneers and heroes. Their creation is a kind of American art.How may the 1930s heroes still be topical? An interview of Andy Warhol in the 60s is interesting. The journalist asked: you, Rosenquist and Lichtenstein are working all independently. Doesnt seem curious to you that you look at the world in the same way? and he answered I think we just read a lot of comic books. The comics influenced the Americans, they evolved since their creation to be closer to the people, to be what they need. So we can decipher the American history behind the evolution of the comics.
The Golden Age
1938 - 1954
1935Superman came from another planet, he is an immigrant who will become an uncontested symbol of America. This is the very structure of the USA.
1939
Bob Kane and Bill Finger created Batman to compete with Superman, the only hero without any superpower, the opposite of Superman.
1941
The fear of the Nazis grew. So two Jews created a character able to fight against the Nazis:
1941
The fear of the Nazis grew. So two Jews created a character able to fight against the Nazis: This was a great tool for propaganda
1941
The war was a problem to the Supermans stories because he could stop it in one day if he wanted. So the drawers found an excuse to put Superman aside:
1941
Clark tried to enlist, but during the visual test he read the board behind the wall instead of the board in front of him thanks to his supervision. So he was exempted.The war was a problem to the Supermans stories because he could stop it in one day if he wanted. So the drawers found an excuse to put Superman aside:
1941
In the end, they said that America didnt need Superman to win the war.
After the Japaneses surrender in 1945, America had real heroes and the superheroes were losing popularity. Heroes like Captain America didnt have reason for being anymore.
1950
The superheroes were sharply criticism, Superman was accused to represent an aggressive racial superiority. Churches and groups of citizens boycotted the superheroes.Then, the free violence and the monsters were deleted in the comics. Superman stopped fire and bring back some cats. He was adopting the easy post-war way of life.
The Silver Age
1955 1970sThat is the end of the Golden Age, only the beginning of the superheroes. Now, they will evolve significantly during the Silver Age.
1960
1960, we are now in a new era: the space exploration, the nuclear energy, the scientific progress. But the fear of the cold war and the atomic war very close too.
So a new kind of superheroes came quickly. They were no Supermen from another planet, but normal people which one we could be identified.
1960
They had a new feature too:
some personal trouble
1960
They had a new feature too:
some personal trouble
1960
They had a new feature too:
some personal trouble
1962
This is the superhero you could be
Stan Lee
1962
He is a heroHe hates his life
1962
DC comics updated his heroes with a new look and a new personality
1963
The 22 November 1963, national tragedy, President Kennedy was murderedFour months later, Stan Lee resuscitate a hero who used to bring the bigger ideals and the trust of the USA:
1963
1960
During the Pop Art time the first Batmans comic books were remake in an actual context.
1964
Martin Luther King fought to the humans rights, against the racism.
1964
The first coloured people appeared in Marvel.
1966
And the first black superheroes
1966
1970
DC gave rise to this problem too
1970
1970
1970
1970
1970
During this period, the question of the gender equality raised.
DC create a new Wonder Woman: without power and sexy.
1970
But this wasnt appreciate by the women because it could mean that Wonder Woman would never be equal to Superman. Moreover she became a sex objectWe can see on this example the compressions difference about feminism between man and woman at this time.
1970
Then came the movie.
1971
Criminality raised. People are afraid to take metro, they felt that they could be shot at any time.
This atmosphere appears in the comics too.
1972
Usually, the hero saved the girl, but this time the rescue failed and the hero kill the woman he loved trying to save her.
1972
Comics characters can die too ?!
1973
Against the laxity of the 70, antiheroes, like the Punisher, became more and more popularAfter the Gwens death, heroes seemed weeks. People turned themselves into a new solution: the antiheroes
1974
During the Watergate scandal, people thought that the Punisher would settle the problem.
1974
Captain America became the Nomad.
A hero without homeland.
BRONZE AGE
1970s - 1986The superheroes are now in cinema, on the TV, in the video games, everywhere There are a part of the pop culture
1978
The first full-length feature film of Superman with Christopher Reeve produced by Warner Bros bring the trust in superheroes back after Watergate
1980
The public has grown, superheroes had to grow too.
Some get married, some get children, some died and are replaced
1986
Batman become more violent, more sombre to match with an adulthood public.
1989
2016
1980
The acceptation of the differences appears.
Marvel creates the X-Men. They represents the discriminated minorities. The moral in this stories is that we shouldnt hate someone because of his differences and we shouldnt be ashamed of being different.
1980
1980
2013
MODERN AGE
1986 2016+The heroes will unleash their potential like never before.
1992
A new kind of comics, more violent, became popular.
1992
In the 90s, the scriptwriters of Superman decided to kill him. They wrote a fight during 11 numbers finishing with his death.He was too nice for the time who claim more and more violence.In fact, the sales were multiplied by 12.
1993
1993
1993
2001
The most tragically event of this century highlighted a new threat: the terrorism.
2001
Marvel published a special story where Spiderman failed to save the twin towers. The idea was to show that the real heroes at this moment were the emergency services and the volunteers who helped to save people. Even the superheroes were admiring them.
2001
2001
After that, the heroes used to fight against invisible threats who could appear anytime (like Ras al Ghul in Batman Begin).
2005
Which part of your liberty are you ready to leave in exchange for you security?
2007
Today, we can find people who like superheroes even though they didnt read any comics.
We can find people who dress up to fight crime in real life.
Barack Obama confessed that he is a fan of Spiderman and Batman. Superheroes are a social phenomenon now!
2007
The S in the Supermans suit is a symbol of hope now.
2007
War, radiations, Racism, criminality, terrorism, the superheroes always made their return at each event which we were afraid of.
Bibliography
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ivsp_-pTtnQreport about the subject itself.
http://courses.unt.edu/efiga/5680PDFs/aiken_2010.pdfarticle about a teacher who teaches history with comics books.
books :
Comic Books and American Cultural History: An Anthology
Des comics et des hommes : Histoire culturelle des comic books aux Etats-Unis
Alexandre Korda
http://www.mines-stetienne.fr/