Superhero Obsession

[JDBowden]

Hey again

The majority of my friends go absolutely bananas when a new superhero movies comes out. The fight between DC vs. Marvel etc.
They just cannot get enough of the comic book characters.

Personally, I loved them too.... when I was 5....

I am kind of in the camp that this modern day fanaticism for superheros is a justification for a lack of a real-world role model. As in, they require something/someone to "look up to" vs. what is within themselves. The quintessential hero to save the day so to speak because they feel their lives are too boring/meager and do not have the "power" to confront difficulties; whether that be internal or external struggles.

Any comments for adults loving superheros to the point of playing literal dress up and buying fake props of top-dollar "limited edition" items? Is it because they lack something internally? Or perhaps something else?

jdb

[AverageBozo]

My best guess is that the superheroes of the fantasy world are idolized as a matter of escapism (boring life, powerless status). Level of maturity, rather than age in years, probably explains the attraction for adults. Then, too, escapism can become like an addiction, and the learned behavior from childhood may carry over into adulthood.

[stevie]

Hey again

The majority of my friends go absolutely bananas when a new superhero movies comes out.

People are stupid. Be happy if you don't share every stupidity of people.

[LuckyR]

Hey again

The majority of my friends go absolutely bananas when a new superhero movies comes out.

People are stupid. Be happy if you don't share every stupidity of people.

Actually people are average, they just appear stupid to you.

[stevie]

Hey again

The majority of my friends go absolutely bananas when a new superhero movies comes out.

People are stupid. Be happy if you don't share every stupidity of people.

Actually people are average, they just appear stupid to you.

Maybe yes, maybe no,

[Pattern-chaser]

The majority of my friends go absolutely bananas when a new superhero movies comes out. The fight between DC vs. Marvel etc.
They just cannot get enough of the comic book characters.

Personally, I loved them too.... when I was 5....

I am kind of in the camp that this modern day fanaticism for superheros is a justification for a lack of a real-world role model. As in, they require something/someone to "look up to" vs. what is within themselves. The quintessential hero to save the day so to speak because they feel their lives are too boring/meager and do not have the "power" to confront difficulties; whether that be internal or external struggles.

Any comments for adults loving superheros to the point of playing literal dress up and buying fake props of top-dollar "limited edition" items? Is it because they lack something internally? Or perhaps something else?

Humans have a very long history of fantasy and fantasising, I think. We have told stories since ... a long time ago. I don't think this is as specific as superheroes, but a more general comment on fantasy, and maybe escapism too. I'm fairly sure that a liking for fantasy is not the wholly-negative thing that you describe.

Yes, there is always the perennial objection to fantasy: 'they can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality'. But this is, I think, a spurious objection. People don't have a problem distinguishing fantasy from reality, although they sometimes retreat into an escapist fantasy, maybe as a result of RL being quite stressful at that time. Their retreat is more like taking a break, though, than a mental health problem.

[Ecurb]

I've boycotted superhero movies ever since I had the misfortune of seeing "The Dark Knight", Christopher Nolan's widely acclaimed Batman film. Why it was widely acclaimed is inexplicable. When Heath Ledger's Joker was captured halfway through the movie, I remember thinking, "Pray to God this means the movie will be over soon."

I suppose the notion of a "secret identity" is attractive. Mild mannered reporter Clark Kent has super powers! I liked comic books as a boy. But the endless fight scenes in the movies have become dull and repetitive. It's as if the trouble and expense of all those special effects wouldn't be worth it unless the fight scene lasts five times as long as it should. (Lord of the Rings movies had the same problem.)

[Good_Egg]

Tales of heroes have always been popular, going back to Beowulf and Gilgamesh.

I think what the question is asking is why stories of costumed heroes with superpowers are currently so much more popular than stories about the heroism of more-ordinary people.

And maybe part of that is brand-building ? All the psychological know-how that gets sheeple to pay ten times as much for a designer-label t-shirt is being used to sell these costumed crusaders.

Brand distinctiveness, brand loyalty, brand recognition - it's all there.

[LuckyR]

What separates comics based superheroes from traditional heros in literature is that most comic book superheroes are misfits and freaks in Real Life. Thus are appealing to those who don't feel like they fit in.

[JDBowden]

I have friends with no kids in their late 30s who spend thousands of dollars to go to Disney World and Harry Potter World... They could not have been more proud and eager to show me their $60 "official" plastic light-up light saber...

[LuckyR]

I have friends with no kids in their late 30s who spend thousands of dollars to go to Disney World and Harry Potter World... They could not have been more proud and eager to show me their $60 "official" plastic light-up light saber...

A lot to unpack here. Is the no kids thing a comment on a lack of success in the relationship arena? As to the vacations I'm not sure if you are trying to highlight the cost or the destination.

[JDBowden]

We all live here in Chile. It is the sheer distance, time, transportation, logistics, price of all of it to simply arrive to Disney. It is not just jumping into mom's mini-van and cruising down I-95 for a few days to go visit Mickey and the Princess.
They chose to simply not have kids. Not a big deal, no one cares.
It is the concept that they are going to a destination designed for and built for, children. Of which, they do not have. So, why go?

They are not the only ones. Going to Universal to see the super heroes. Harry Potter World to pretend to fly on broom sticks.

These are ALL for children. Why are adults into this?

[LuckyR]

We all live here in Chile. It is the sheer distance, time, transportation, logistics, price of all of it to simply arrive to Disney. It is not just jumping into mom's mini-van and cruising down I-95 for a few days to go visit Mickey and the Princess.
They chose to simply not have kids. Not a big deal, no one cares.
It is the concept that they are going to a destination designed for and built for, children. Of which, they do not have. So, why go?

They are not the only ones. Going to Universal to see the super heroes. Harry Potter World to pretend to fly on broom sticks.

These are ALL for children. Why are adults into this?

Got it. Peter Pan syndrome. After all, it's a big, bad, scary world out there. Better to retreat to a safer time.

[Sculptor1]

Hey again

The majority of my friends go absolutely bananas when a new superhero movies comes out. The fight between DC vs. Marvel etc.
They just cannot get enough of the comic book characters.

Personally, I loved them too.... when I was 5....

I am kind of in the camp that this modern day fanaticism for superheros is a justification for a lack of a real-world role model. As in, they require something/someone to "look up to" vs. what is within themselves. The quintessential hero to save the day so to speak because they feel their lives are too boring/meager and do not have the "power" to confront difficulties; whether that be internal or external struggles.

Any comments for adults loving superheros to the point of playing literal dress up and buying fake props of top-dollar "limited edition" items? Is it because they lack something internally? Or perhaps something else?

jdb

The Boys is the best superhero thing out there. It simply asked what would it really be like if there were superheroes - the merch, the politics, the back biting.

[Count Lucanor]

The archetypal hero has existed in art forms since the dawn of civilization. The hero is endowed with virtues and powers that set him apart from the common, mortal man. The modern superhero is in that sense not so much different than the old hero, except that the modern narratives of popular culture tend to emphazise the lowbrow character of the average, common man or woman, that lies beneath the hero's superpowers. In that way the modern consumers can look up to these superheroes as projections of themselves, they represent their desire to stand above the mediocrity of their lives.

Another element that makes the supehero's comic strips and movies so popular is the use of the iterative scheme, which Umberto Eco explains as the hunger and taste for redundance. As in most mass culture products, you basically get the same thing over and over, disguised every time as something new. That's what mass entertainment has always been about. And then you can also put these superhero movies under the "militainment" category, as in these narratives violence is combined with altruism and heroism to solve world problems, and often the supehero is a close collaborator of the police or the military, who are, of course, also members of the "good guys" club.