America's New Political Fantasy: The Superhero
Last summer, Superman was held in a pocket dimension on the verge of collapsing Metropolis. In 2016, Captain America, the symbol of our nation, was on the run from the government. In 2014, a U.N. body was infiltrated by a Nazi organization that survived from the 1940s. In 2012, the World Security Council dropped a nuclear weapon on New York. None of this is accidental.
TL;DR
- Superhero stories serve as insights into American values and changing times.
- In the 1940s, Captain America promoted pro-military ideology.
- In the 1960s, the X-Men symbolized oppressed minorities during the civil rights movement.
- Modern superhero films critique defense companies, the military-industrial complex, and government bureaucracy.
- The Avengers film shows characters disobeying a U.N. Security Council decision.
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier depicts a U.N.-sanctioned body infiltrated by Nazis (Hydra).