What Impact Does Superhero Have on Popular Culture - Term Paper Example

 Contents Movies, Stars & Popular Culture 2 Children and Superheroes 4 Stars and Society and Changes to Social Structures 5 Positive Impact of Superheroes 7 Negative Impact of Superheroes 7 Conclusion 9 Works Cited 11 Impacts of Superheroes on Popular Culture and their Impact on Society/Children In every home and amongst all people, one of the undeniably important elements and aspects of life is the impact of major characters in the media. This include various persons of influence who come out as successful persons in what they do as well as some strong and brave persons who are presented as heroes on television programs and other media productions. This include various characters who are packaged and presented to children as exemplary persons that are worthy of emulation. This paper examines the impact of superheroes on popular culture and how this affects persons in society, particularly children Movies, Stars & Popular Culture Society always seems to have ideal personalities that they consider as role models and an epitome of success and the values of the society. Thus, it is common for communities to come up with ideal images and views of persons who are seen to be exceptional and exemplary. Most writers argue that religion and mythology were the first systems and processes through which heroes were crafted and presented to members of the society[Rey12]. This seem to be a reflection of a natural tendency of people to listen to others who present information about exceptional and supernatural persons who come up with a classical exhibition of the main values cherished by members of a given society. Thus, in ancient times, religion and myths provided ways and means through which idealistic personalities like good persons and exceptional persons with spiritual powers to be presented. However, in the 1940s, where the print and broadcast media gained roots, characters were presented in the form of books and other items in motion picture[Bro13]. Thus, a modern variation of mythology was created through which stories were told and illustrated to various members of the society through comic books and other television series where heroes were presented as selfless people who were rescuing and helping people and trying to do great things. There are numerous character traits that seem to cut across the various lives of superheroes presented in the various media systems and processes. The fundamental features of most superheroes in the media are examined in ways similar to how religious characters were presented. Some authors present superheroes as persons who rise to protect the people and/or the fundamental values of the society and community within which the superheroes are presented[Oro12]. These superheroes are presented as persons who love the values of their society so much that they are willing to put their lives in great risk in order to attain the best interest and the best results for the greater good for ordinary people in the society. Popular cultures are the main and fundamental culture and activities that people deem to be attractive and most people indulge in. Superheroes are “persons who seek justice outside the law and the restrictions of the community and society”[Wan10]. Hence, superheroes are important and fundamental persons who defy the many rules and regulations and tilt towards popular culture which is often the de facto processes and procedures that members of the society find to be the most dominant and most important rules in the society. Superheroes are persons with extremely different ideologies and extremely good and strong bodies that are different from others and this is used in a positive way to help people[Ros11]. Children and Superheroes Most of the superhero stories that are presented throughout the various forms of media are done in such a way and manner that they target children. Most comic books, cartoons and other action movies target children rather than adult sections of the society. There are numerous explanations that are put forward for this. Some authorities identify that children have a strong sense of fantasy and this fuels the desire and expectation of children to see such superheroes in order to watch and admire such persons[Wan10]. This fantasy and expectations of children lays the foundation for children to seek and desire to see superheroes, mostly in violent situations where they are able to show and assert their strengths and competencies in the society by bringing some kind of good into the world. Children’s fantasy often leads to some degree of fascination which causes them to enjoy the shows and remain addicted to such images and such stories relating to superheroes. The fantasies of children and adolescents are often presented in these superhero moves through the presentation of these things in a way and manner that blends controversial situations and matters in the contemporary system and process. This helps the producers of these superhero matters to people in an interesting way and manner that these children can identify with and also connect to in order to understand and evaluate the natural consequences of the position of superheroes. Thus, superheroes are such that they are persons viewed as credibly strong and influential persons in the society. This revolves around the fact that they wield an important and strong influence on these persons. The impact of this is that children build a strong impact and a strong connection to these superheroes like Batman and they always remember such persons throughout their lives. Also, children have more free time than adults. And due to this, children are able to spend more time enjoying and getting entertained by the processes and procedures of these superheroes. Thus, the superheroes become the personal heroes of these children in society. This helps them to become entertained and also get some kind of people to look up to and also study in order to build their adulthood and their future. This leads to the formulation of personal values and the building of mental images and views for themselves. This helps in character building and in building a lifestyle that they can connect to. Stars and Society and Changes to Social Structures The social structures of society have changed significantly over the years. Society has become less superstitious and less religious. Hence, children are more socialized and connected to superheroes rather than superstitious figures and religious figures. In the past, prior to the growth of television and mass broadcasting and the huge print media, people spent more time being told stories about heroes in normal conversations and being told about religious and Biblical figures. However, in today’s era, knowing superheroes and attentively looking up to these superheroes is the norm, rather than the exception. This is because superheroes in comics and television are part of the socialization process in most homes and children have unrestricted access to televisions and other media outlets. Thus, children become so much connected to these superheroes as a part of their connection to the structures of the wider society and the community. There is therefore a natural and unconscious process and system through which superheroes become part of the vocabulary and conception of people in society. This implies that there is a strong and permanent relationship between the children of today and the superheroes of the society. Superheroes play a role in shaping the social structures of today’s society. This is because after their replacement of the role of religion and mythology, superheroes are seen in the light of persons who can exhibit the good and best moral systems of society. Therefore, practical social situations of moral significance are presented to children through the activities and processes of superheroes in the media are presented as a means of dealing with affairs and situations in the society and the community. Children are therefore trained and presented with important information and moral standards through the presentation of superheroes in a positive and appropriate light. This is done through the presentation of scenarios and situations in which the superheroes are presented to the children with conflicts and other things and their choices become landmark standards through which children are expected to emulate to become good and responsible citizens of the society and the community. Thus, there is a strong impact and a strong situation in which the minds of children are strongly influenced and impacted by the actions of superheroes through the media. This is because children’s minds are programmed in such a way that they see superheroes as ideal persons in the society that are worth emulating. Hence, the children of today tend to be dependent on superheroes rather than mythical figures and religious figure to formulate their conception of good and evil in the society. Positive Impact of Superheroes In spite of these negative trends, superheroes are the best angles and processes through which the positive moral attitudes and processes of persons in society can be presented to children. This is because in today’s culture, mythology and religion are not the main vehicle through which moral codes are transmitted to children. Thus, to this end, superheroes play an invaluable role of showing children and the next generation what is right from what is wrong. Secondly, superheroes provide a positive view of contemporary situations and matters relating to the society. This is because they are an appropriate agent through which realistic and practical matters can be presented to members of the society in order to help them to understand important aspects of the society and build independent views of the society. Negative Impact of Superheroes Superheroes play various roles in the society. However, they tend to have some kind of negative impact on members of the society. This is fundamentally because they are seen as persons who have extremely strong impacts on the minds of children. Superheroes are negative in the sense that they cause an illusion on the minds of people in the society because they present unrealistic pictures about situations that do not exist in the real society[Ros12]. This creates situations and contexts within which children grow up with views and opinions about things that have a variance with the realities of situations and other matters. This implies that there are social systems and social structures based on situations and contexts that are not real. Hence, superheroes present a negative impact on children which could be misleading. This therefore creates a generation of children who do not seem to know the difference between what is actually right and what is wrong in the real society. Another popular negative view of superheroes is that their activities are often based on stereotypes of violence and other gender-oriented acts and processes. This helps to create a situation where children grow up glorifying violence and negative conflicts and hence, they become poor at dispute resolution and they grow up becoming persons who believe that the use of violence and rough acts are likely to make them turn out to be the stronger persons and more acceptable persons because most superheroes turn out to become persons who use force as and when they have to. Females are often presented as weaker persons in the movies and other shows that involve superheroes because superheroes are almost always presented as persons who protect women[Ros10]. This tends to show women as weaker persons in the society and this makes girls feel powerless and less positive in protecting what is rightfully theirs. This causes a situation where boys build up ego-centered lifestyles that tend to be destructive towards social harmony and the discrimination against girls. In some situations and contexts, some of these superheroes are presented in ways that does not promote social cohesion and racial harmony[Jac12]. This implies that there are situations where superheroes are cast in a positive light whilst some people, particularly minorities are presented as people who have a negative tendency towards everything. A typical example cited in most books is the case of the Vietnam War where the local Vietnamese were cast in a negative light as weak and stupid persons who could not do anything reasonable but just come to face the Americans with inferior weapons only to be shot by American soldiers. In reality, it appears that every superhero in America had a movie in the 1980s and 90s that portrayed his involvement in the Vietnam War. Today, most of these superheroes find themselves in war situations where they are faced with either Arab or other persons from other aggressive societies. These superheroes are presented as super sharp and super fatal persons who can kill these enemies and this presents them as noble persons. However, in reality, there are often many social and cultural matters that come together to define the conflict in question. This is by no way presented to viewers, particularly children. Hence, these children grow up with negative images of minorities. Conclusion Superheroes are persons who present the ideal and the central elements and aspects of what is right and morally acceptable and they are depicted as persons who put their personal interests aside and use their superhuman capabilities to defend the values of the society. Superheroes form the main medium through which the fundamental values and mores of a given society can be transmitted to younger people in today’s world because the media plays a central and important role in socializing children. The role of superheroes provides a positive impact because it helps to educate children and also provide practical and realistic illustrations of the right things people must do. However, superheroes tend to promote stereotypes which could be negative to social harmony and they present information in ways that are not realistic. Hence, they promote violence and macho behavior at the expense of other civilized methods of handling conflicts. Works Cited Rey12: , (Reynolds 7), Bro13: , (Brown 191), Oro12: , (Oropeza 68), Wan10: , (Wandtke 55), Ros11: , (Rosenberg and Coogan 59), Ros12: , (Robin 12), Ros10: , (Rosen 89), Jac12: , (Jackson and Moody 9), Read More