
Supermensch: What does the superhero craze say about our own times? - Hooke
https://aeon.co/essays/why-superheroes-are-the-shape-of-tech-things-to-come
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opportune
Way too complicated an explanation. I don’t think it has to do with technology
at all.

I think the reason superheroes are all the rage is that they present usually
simple, uncontroversial content that appeals to the broadest collection of
cultures, ages, and educational/socioeconomic backgrounds - so they maximize
their audience and thus the money they make. It’s simplistic and you don’t
have to think too deeply about it. It doesn’t challenge your notions of
society or speak truth to power. It’s just about good guys fighting bad guys

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klmadfejno
I don't think this is true. Moral ambiguity, anti-government, anti-wealthy
people themes have been pretty prevalent in the movies of late. They're not
especially deep or insightful, but the term comic-book evil seems unsuited to
modern superhero movie villains. They're undoubtedly "better" than what I grew
up with at least.

Large portions of fiction have generally always focused on people who were
superior to others, at least in terms of cleverness, but often physical
ability as well. Odysseus comes to mind. Extraordinary people are simply more
interesting than ordinary ones, especially if your primary goal is to
entertain.

I think the reason comic book superheroes in particular are popular is simply
that they're easy to make and market than something that is less well known
and less established; and from a business perspective, there's synergy in
making lots of movies from the same universe because people like it when
movies come from the same universe.

~~~
scarejunba
Two of the most popular superheroes of today are Iron Man and Batman. They are
literally just rich dudes in rich dude toys. They are the heroes of the story.

Professor Xavier is wealthy af. And he doesn't go around helping just anyone.
His altruism is hecka parochial.

About the only common element is that the government generally sucks at doing
anything. The only thing the government doesn't suck at is having at least one
plucky SEAL/Ranger/Marine team out there that's fighting against the odds.

~~~
klmadfejno
Iron Man and Batman are some of the most intelligent humans in their
universes. Iron Man per the latest marvel films, invented self-regenerating
nanobot armor and time travel. Batman kinda varies in how superhuman his
intelligence is depicted and I haven't bothered to see the last few so can't
comment.

Writing this now I see your point was not that they aren't extraordinary, but
rather the opposite of anti-wealth. I don't disagree, but I'm not claiming
that every movie covers the same ideas either. However, the villains of
Spiderman 2, for instance, are a bunch of Iron Man's lower level former
employees who specifically call out how they got the short end of the
capitalist stick, and how unfair it is that he got the spoils of everything,
and how easy it was for him to dispose of them. The villains of Spiderman 1
are just some construction guys who got shafted by the collateral damage of
the heroes and are trying to make a living wage. Yes; I do recognize the irony
in that both of these working class groups are villains, but they're not meant
to be portrayed as "Evil" for the most part. Again, not especially deep, but
not "I'M GOING TO DESTROY THE SUN BECAUSE THATS WHAT VILLAINS DO!".

The captain america movies, seem particularly keen on the idea that the
american government / law does not define the american ethos.

~~~
scarejunba
Maybe they're just returning to the roots of the word villain from Old French
for a villager/peasant.

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travisjungroth
Superhero stories were always compelling, then CGI got good enough to make
them into movies. I don’t think it’s chance that they got popular shortly
after you got really good visuals of someone getting punched through an office
building. I find that explanation a lot more simple and convincing than the
one in the article.

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bhaak
Superhero stories were put on the screen long before CGI.

The Batman series from 60s come to mind or the Superman movies from the 70s
(and there Superman III is IMHO the most enjoyable with a Richard Pryor that
pulls of a really cool hack).

~~~
travisjungroth
I should have said CGI got good enough to make them into really popular
movies. Or more specifically, that they were able to recreate the same images
that you have in comic books in live action movies. The superhero movies of
the 60s and 70s didn't pull that off.

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Mountain_Skies
Another possibility is that superhero movies are expensive and complicated to
make. Tools for making video entertainment have empowered a much larger number
of people with the ability to create content. While many fan films and amateur
productions are still poor in quality, others now match or exceed what
Hollywood put out just decades ago for a fraction of the cost. Instead of
trying to compete with these low cost productions, moving into mega
blockbusters where the small guys can't follow keeps Hollywood's product
unique.

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michelpp
Joseph Campbell's work The Hero with a Thousand Faces dives deep into the
mythology of heros across many groups:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hero_with_a_Thousand_Faces](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hero_with_a_Thousand_Faces)

We've been doing this for thousands of years. Movie fiction is just one facet
of how humans are compelled to hero worship at all scales of communities
whether political, fictional, sports, or careers.

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aSplash0fDerp
I was going to mention the hypocrisy of media and how conflicting narratives
on hero worship are compounding mental health problems for younger
generations, but you summed it up pretty well.

With the glut of false/fabricated idols, the entertainment industry seems to
be playing catch-up on niche hero's to suit every demographic.

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adrianN
Superheros weren't invented in the 20th century. We just used to call them
differently. They used to be gods or their offspring.

~~~
neves
Do you pray for Wonder Woman?

~~~
adrianN
Did the Greek pray to Herakles?

~~~
bhaak
Yes. Some did.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heracles#Cult](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heracles#Cult)

Although if instead of the verb "pray" you use the verb "worship", the
distinction between ancient heroes/half gods and modern day super heros
becomes much smaller.

~~~
krapp
>Although if instead of the verb "pray" you use the verb "worship", the
distinction between ancient heroes/half gods and modern day super heros
becomes much smaller.

It doesn't. No one is actually _worshipping_ modern superheroes. No one
believes superheroes actually exist, or ever existed, and can intercede on
their behalf they way they might angels or other deities.

~~~
bhaak
> It doesn't. No one is actually worshipping modern superheroes. No one
> believes superheroes actually exist, or ever existed, and can intercede on
> their behalf they way they might angels or other deities.

I'm not sure the latter was something that the ancient people thought
possible. If somebody you worship actually exists or existed, is of little
importance to the impact they have on the lives of humans.

Fans build shrines for their favorite characters, take them as rolemodels,
draw strength from their stories, discuss them as if they were real persons.

Fictional characters often influence people much more than real people.

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Apocryphon
There's probably a less lofty, more mundane pop cultural answer for this: the
generation that grew up on Saturday Morning superhero cartoons are now
tastemakers, and the mainstreaming of nerd culture and fandom has incentivized
studios towards making big budget live action versions of what used to be
consigned only to cartoons on TV.

Also, while superhero movies are as old as Christopher Reeve's Superman films,
or perhaps Republic serials, the mainstreaming of nerd culture and fandom has
also created a public that's more open to elaborate world-building and lore in
their summer blockbusters. So while superhero movies used to be more self-
contained, now we have these sprawling multi-film sagas giving the studios an
excuse to churn out multiple pictures a year.

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Isamu
>Looking at it this way, the popularity of superhero culture among aficionados
of new technological entrepreneurship seems obvious. It’s a culture that
celebrates individual agency at the expense of the collective.

Ah there you have it, superheroes are popular because they are anti-
collective.

>But the superheroes also demonstrate what a peculiar kind of divinity this is
– shorn of the spirituality that is supposed to define our relationship to the
divine. The divine power that the technological future offers devotees is
purely material. And the doors of that technological heaven will be opened
only for the elect who have the material means to enter.

And we learn that superheroes are anti-spiritual, materialistic and only work
for the elite 1%.

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jacquesm
Superheros are just angels or demi-gods with a more exciting story behind
them. Miracle workers, they look like us to some extent but have superpowers.
It's the same old story in a new dress.

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ajkjk
I feel like the popularity of superhero narratives isn't because people
particularly love those stories; it's because they're easy to make them
decent. The public just wants good, enjoyable stories. The creators figured
out that superhero stories are pretty reproducibly effective, so they keep
making them.

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jeffadotio
> Übermenschen – machine-men, aerialists and space-bound conquistadors –
> tantalised philosophers and beguiled fascists

Articles like this seem to take advantage of the misunderstanding of Nietzsche
without directly endorsing it. The actual concept of "ubermensch" would have
no place in this article.

The term was coined by Nietzsche and referred to a futuristic human who was
raised without the influence of religion or superstition and without having
interacted with anyone who has such influences. In his view these people would
be liberated from what he saw as the oppression of Christianity (and other
Abrahamic religions), which he felt encouraged people to accept meekness,
suffering and poverty in exchange for a pleasant afterlife. He called
Christians "preachers of death" and encouraged people to abandon complacency
for a "will to power". It is an appeal to a superior type of person but it is
intended to encourage rational cultural development. The term itself has
nothing to do with technology or ethnicity.

By now everyone knows that his work was bastardized by the Nazis but many seem
to prefer the controversy of the Nazis' version over what he actually wrote.
He spoke out in defense of the Jewish people and even stopped doing business
with and publicly rebuked a publisher who was an anti-Semite. We have gotten
really good at remembering the hateful and forgetting the rational.

~~~
AnimalMuppet
I don't think Nietzsche quite fits this context. "Will to power" without
meekness, suffering, or poverty seems to fit a super _villain_ more than a
superhero.

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uk_programmer
It wouldn't be it was/is a fad? In the 2000s there was literally a zombie
movie coming out every week it seemed. In the UK there was load of movies
about the UK "underworld" e.g. Football Hooligans, Drug Dealers, Gangstars and
Illegal fights (Layer Cake, Snatch, Rock and Rolla, Green Street, Football
factory, The Business and my favourite Sexy Beast).

There is generally a new film genre that does really well and people copy it
chasing the money as people tend to want more initially until it is played
out.

~~~
pessimizer
The title refers to it as a "craze." I don't think using the synonym "fad"
adds anything. The question is "why this fad, now, rather than a different
fad, now?"

~~~
uk_programmer
What did zombie movies say about the 2000s? Nothing really.

Christopher Nolan’s dark night trilogy proved that these films can make money
and be critically acclaimed.

Also is it really a craze? Christopher Reeves Superman was pretty popular so
was Spider-Man and the Hulk when I was a kid. There were loads of movies and
tv shows in the 80s and 90s with super heroes. I actually can't remember a
time when they weren't popular.

The only difference now is Marvel is raking in at the box office. Is anyone
else actually making money? DC aren't.

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AtlasBarfed
Individually we are small, powerless people (one in billions) being faced with
insurmountable existential challenges (global warming, etc).

~~~
AnimalMuppet
Not just large challenges. We are faced with a society so big that we feel
that nothing we do can make any difference. We feel powerless. Hence the
appeal of individuals powerful enough that they can, individually, make a
difference.

