superhero reflection

One of the most enduring aspects of American culture for over 75 years have been the concept of superheroes. from Superman to ant man, we find these men and women in colorful costumes everywhere But why is that? why do we gravitate to these figures? well today, Im going to explain to you what they represent, how they are affecting us today, and how they help shape our future. On June 6, 2013 David Wright of ABC news via Nightline states that “Superheroes are the Greek gods of secular modern life - otherworldly figures able to tackle the problems of this human world.” he also states that superheroes over time transformed to fit our social needs of the time to handle issues that are excessively intense for the common man, making it impossible to handle. they are the embodiment of our hopes and dreams to be better than we are and show us what we can achieve. So do they do in today’s society? well today they have a lot of influence in the world around us. since the boom of superhero culture in films, actors such as Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, and many others decided to reach out more and to the less fortunate and lend a helping hand. in some cases, literally. on may 13th, 2015 Dominique Mosbergen posted an article on Robert downey Jr meeting a young boy who lost an arm and given him a prosthetic iron man inspired arm created by “the collective project” in it’s place. the actor also went as far as raising funds for the Julia’s house, a children’s hospice charity. in promotion to see an early clip of the upcoming movie avengers age of Ultron according to Nick Romano of cinemablend.com. but that’s not all today in the pages of comics, there has been an outbreak of diverse superheroes to better reflect the world we live in today. a teenage Pakistani-American Muslim girl named Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel with the life that has been described as “both an empowerment fantasy and an assimilation story.”-Noah Berlatsky of theatlantic.com. As a young girl with the ability to change her physical appearance, her story speaks to a wide majority of adolescents who has to go through the issues of assimilation into a new culture that can sometimes clash with their own and ultimately teaches the readers to be who they choose to be instead of being someone else. “Being someone else isn't liberating. It's exhausting.I always thought that if I had amazing hair, if I could pull off great boots, if I could fly—that would make me happy.  But the hair gets in my face, the boots pinch … and the leotard is giving me an epic wedgie.”-Kamala Khan. Noah Berlastsk praises this young heroine in stating : “You could see this power as a kind of metaphorical curse, reflecting Kamala's uncertainty; she doesn't know who she is, so she's anyone or anything. I don't think that's quite what it signifies, though. Changing shape doesn't mean that Kamala erases her ethnicity, nor, in the way of Superman, that she is forever split between nebbish and Overman. Rather, in Ms. Marvel, shape-changing seems to suggest that flexibility is a strength. Kamala is a superhero because she's both Muslim and American at once. Her power is to be many things, and to change without losing herself.”-Noah Berlatsky  But what about the negatives? although comics have been helpful for most people: "Popular media generally have a problem with representation. Fictional worlds are often designed both by and for straight white males, and this can subtly affect how audiences view the real world. Comics are no exception, portraying muscular white males, or exaggerated expressions of the female form. But those traditions are being broken. Kamala Khan is one of the most exciting new characters breaking this mold as the new Ms. Marvel!" most recently, however, she has been used as a symbol in San francisco to combat anti-muslim hate speech in America. With heroes like her introduced to a young audience as well as old, she gives people the chance to see a hero of a different light and embrace a culture that is different that their own. I have compiled a few clips in a video I will now present to you. in conclusion, I will lead you with this, superheroes have been around since man has told stories and are still used to this day as our champions of justice and a better tomorrow. one of the most widespread influence of heroes can be seen on screen ever since 1938. Being originally intended for children, the comic book genre has made its way from the pages to the small screen with cartoons and live action adaptations such as superman who teaches children what it means to fight for truth, justice, and the American way and with that, the children take in what they see and view it as a moral obligation to live up to that but why? Barbara J. Wilson, Professorial Scholar and Head of the Department of Communication states that kids around the age of six spend most of their time watching TV than anything else. With this exposure, the message sinks in and the kids become inspired to be like them. Statistics from The National Retail Federation say that 6.8% of children wear a superhero costume for Halloween which is the second highest choice after princesses. Not only does this influence kids to dress like their favorite superhero, but studies also show that kids tend to eat healthy as well as reported by Brian Wansink, the John S. Dyson Professor of Marketing and director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab. “10 (45 percent) of the children selected apple fries after viewing pictures of superheroes and other role models, compared with the 9 percent who chose apple fries during other lunches with no prompts.”-news.cornell.edu.   Superheroes have made children want to do the right thing to the point where some teachers such as Jacqueline Radell, considered in the practice of “superhero play” in the classroom as she concludes: “The children were all very excited about the new classroom props. They embraced the ideas about helping, caring, and being kind they had come up with and their play was creative, cooperative, and organized. Both boys and girls actively participated and were aware of each other’s needs”.-.naeyc.org After years of innocence and childhood wonders there comes a time when the kids start to mature and fall into the burden of the teenage angst.   There Comes a time when kids become adolescents and lose their sweet innocence. Some teens become consumed by peer pressure and bad choices that, as a result, turn into a big issue. It is hard to grow up as a teen in society today. Some feel as if they do not belong due to race, religion, sexual preference and more. In 1963, comic writer Stan Lee noticed a real problem with social equality and that he wanted his next book to star young teen superheroes that fight for equality among people of all kinds that he has called, the X-men. "I wanted them to be diverse. The whole underlying principal of the X-Men was to try to be an anti-bigotry story to show there’s good in every person.”-Comicbook.com Being one of the most popular Superhero franchises, The X-men in films tackle the many challenges adolescents go through in figuring out who they are and where they stand in the world they live in and that whatever the answer may be, it is ok and that they should not feel shame in the life they choose to live. With that being a huge success, other hero show and films began to aim towards adolescence with films such as Spider-man being the “everyday man” type hero teaching teens the struggle of responsibility through common and uncommon life struggle.  Being a departure from common comics at the time, Stan Lee addresses Spider-man’s tone by saying “I never wrote for kids, I wrote for me. Yet at the same time there was a culture that said comics were for either unintelligent adults or young children the exact opposite of Spider-Man’s target audience.” (Stan Lee’s mutants, monsters and marvels, 2002) becoming not an age specific book, but a book that targeted all ages that stayed true in each film. The reason for this connection is due to a core element the character that no other hero at the time had. David Brothers, author at theatlantic.com expresses, “Everyone knows what it feels like to have someone else's expectations sitting on their shoulders, and that's part of why Spider-Man works so well. Often times, Parker's personal drama seemed more dangerous and exciting than the cadre of villains who would do him harm.”-theatlantic.com. Spider-Man’s most famous quote “with great power, comes great responsibility”-Spider-Man. Sam Raimi. Columbia Pictures.tobey maguire 2002. film expresses the fact that everything we do matters in some way, shape or form no matter how small we think our actions are and served as a reminder of our values from a liberal standpoint for adults.