Superheroes Archetypes and Film
By Meredith the older + Meredith the younger (MEREDITH Fuller MEREDITH Price) a two-part review reflecting THEN (70s plus) and NOW (2022) followed by a third section: a visit to Costume Wonderland for their retail insights into the phenomena of Superheroes.
Peter Malone, Life Member of Australian Association of Psychological Type & film reviewer for over 55 years, gave a recent talk to a group of film lovers with an age range of 17 to 85.
Led by Peter as he posed questions, 20 of us discussed several themes, summarised here, while viewing some trailers and posters from the 1970’s to the present. Superhero films provide text and texture, and, unlike earlier simplistic story lines we are increasingly finding that some of the very recent films have no resolution and supporting characters are more nuanced – echoing our current times. I am delighted that females are increasing – we are wanting amazons and significant women, independent of men, not only the masculine titans. How about including more gender fluid characters; better mirroring our LGBTQI+ society?
Peter notes that,
“Superhero films began proliferating in the 1970s, with Christopher Reeve as Superman 1978, alongside ‘Star Wars’ in 1977. This was life changing cinema.
Omni type films elicit various responses – there is something for everyone: conflict, villains, shadows, war, romance, right and wrong, good and evil, spirituality and religious dimensions. In ‘Star Wars’ Robots and AI appeared with personalities (R2D2, C3PO) and people were enamoured of this artificial intelligence integration.
But for decades there were few female Superheroes. Wonder Woman and her little sister appeared, but very few others. ALIEN in 1979 had the first truly central heroic female role played by Sigourny Weaver. At long last in 2022 we are beginning to see more women and ethnic groups.
The 1970’s was a particularly significant decade for cultural history change. We were dealing with the aftermath of the Vietnam War with films like The Deer Hunter. The Godfather and the horse’s head in a bed.
Archetypal material pierced our unconscious, with Darth Vader’s voice penetrating us. The decade of the 70’s and New Age and Carl Jung’s influence emerged with archetypal material. Superheroes are loved in all countries and cultures – what purpose and meaning do they represent for us?
Most Superheroes are extraverted action figures, with a few introverts such as Batman as the exception. Interestingly, Peter Malone notes, in terms of the box office, young people haven’t responded as well to Batman. He doesn’t have superpowers but uses strategy and thinks. Why aren’t younger people responding as well to Batman films – is it too complex, too political, too many issues? Other Superheroes are better likened to Warriors without so many layers. Batman is unusual as he traverses both big picture strategic thinking as well as the here and now warrior action; unlike the Justice League films that don’t offer this opportunity for duality of using sensing as well as intuition.
Who are the most popular Superheroes today? Not surprisingly in our narcissistic times, many are drawn to the most sexy, attractive actors such as Chris Hemsworth. Do our stages of growth impact on the certain types of films we are drawn to and the particular actors we prefer?”
Is it true that there is a marked difference in the way older people experience the genre compared to young people? Peter noted that younger people are less interested in talking about the film than older. Is this the case? What impact has COVID had over the last several years? Are younger people now wanting to talk about the films they have just watched because they do not wish to talk about the pandemic or lockdown?
Consider the Superheroes that you are drawn to and what is your unconscious wanting to convey to you?
While writing up my notes after our discussion event, I came across Alan Moore’s 2016 interview with Raphael Sassaki, and felt that he made some interesting points about superheroes in TV and film:
“It draws together many threads of the core American sickness reflected by Hollywood.
I’ve ALWAYS hated Superman in a way I can’t describe; just despised him in an intense, immoderate way since I was a child. Was sick quite often with a chronic illness, and here’s this grown man literally powered by the sun choosing to live a small life beating up street criminals. HATED him.
“I think the impact of superheroes on popular culture is both tremendously embarrassing and not a little worrying. While these characters were originally perfectly suited to stimulating the imaginations of their 12 or 13 year-old audience, today’s franchised übermenschen, aimed at a supposedly adult audience, seem to be serving some kind of different function, and fulfilling different needs.
Primarily, mass-market superhero movies seem to be abetting an audience who do not wish to relinquish their grip on (a) their relatively reassuring childhoods, or (b) the relatively reassuring 20th century. The continuing popularity of these movies to me suggests some kind of deliberate, self-imposed state of emotional arrest, combined with a numbing condition of cultural stasis that can be witnessed in comics, movies, popular music and, indeed, right across the cultural spectrum. The superheroes themselves – largely written and drawn by *creators who have never stood up for their own rights against the companies that employ them*, much less the rights of a Jack Kirby or Jerry Siegel or Joe Schuster – would seem to be largely employed as cowardice compensators, perhaps a bit like the handgun on the nightstand.
I would also remark that save for a smattering of non-white characters (and non-white creators) these books and these iconic characters are still very much white supremacist dreams of the master race. In fact, I think that a good argument can be made for D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation as the first American superhero movie, and the point of origin for all those capes and masks.”
We invited participants to turn up as their favourite Superhero. As I removed my costume (The Plague Doctor – well, I am a psychologist so of course I’ll pick something obscure and weird. Although my psychologist/film maker husband came as his favourite JOKER, one WonderWoman and several Clark Kents morphing into Supermans) I came across another fascinating quote:
Seth Godin on The Age of Choice
“When abundance showed up, first in manufactured goods, then in information, it all seemed like a simple win. More of what we want, thanks. But of course, more of too many things is too much. We are leaving the age of information and entering the age of choice. Not just choosing what we’ll consume, but who we will become. Who will we connect with, lead, trust, honor, dignify, isolate or believe?
And how will we choose to walk through the world and what will we leave behind…”
Does this help us to understand why we’re turning to Superheroes?
Archetypal material has pierced our unconscious, with Darth Vader’s voice penetrating us. The decade of the 70’s and New Age and Carl Jung’s influence emerged with archetypal material. Superheroes are loved in all countries and cultures – what purpose and meaning do they represent for us?
Is it true that there is a marked difference in the way older people experience the genre compared to young people? Peter noted that younger people are less interested in talking about the film than older. Is this the case? What impact has COVID had over the last several years? Are younger people now wanting to talk about the films they have just watched because they do not wish to talk about the pandemic or lockdown?
Consider the Superheroes that you are drawn to and what is your unconscious wanting to convey to you?
Is there a generational difference in how we select and experience Superhero films?
In a fitting parallel process, Meredith the Older hands over to Meredith the Younger in this article
Section Two by Meredith Price, Character writer for Role Plays and Reviewer
It’s never easy going to a talk where you feel like a fish out a water, like Aquaman on land. That’s a fish pun for all of you out there reading this, but by the end, I was swimming through the water like Aqualad. Sorry I got you again.
Hello and I’m the other Meredith who is writing this piece. I haven’t been on the Earth to have experience as much as others, but I definitely don’t feel that changes my validity in this discussion.
I think it’s not a secret that the Superheroes of today that are generally revered can feel like it is only one gender and true unfortunately that is the case for most of the big franchises, but since the age of TV streaming came to play it’s slowing changing the game.
More than ever Women are getting highlighted as the heroes, with shows like Wandavision, Ms Marvel been released and upcoming titles such as Ironheart, who uses her knowledge to reverse engineer Tony Stark’s suit or the series on Okoye that hasn’t been determined and that’s just Marvel, I didn’t even mention DC yet. A quirky and fun series on Harley Quinn by the actor who played Penny on Big Bang theory Kaley Cuoco or Stargirl or Batwoman or Supergirl. But I guess the question after these examples, is it enough?
Depends on who you ask. True there is a valid argument that shows how Women can’t stand on their own without having some original tie to the male version. Supergirl has to be tied to her Cousin, Iron Heart, has to be tied to Tony Stark. Batwoman not that I’ve seen it yet, so yes, I can’t completely comment but I would presume there is a component of the series of her trying to make her own path instead of Batman.
I think a question to ponder instead is, what is responsible for the lack of female icons in Superheroes? Is it today where society is still not able to change or was it the past that built the foundation. That’s the question that needs to be addressed in my mind. Because true new characters are being created all the time but most of the ones that are on Hero or Villain TV shows have source material from the past.
So, in my mind, if you as the consumer feel outraged that things haven’t changed, then you have two options. You can continue feeling outraged, or you can write something yourself. Because at the end of the day, writers are spending time to create new ideas for you, so you might as well rock out to it.
However, before everyone gets a pitchfork, we need to address the elephant in the room when it comes to Superheroes. There are two words I’d like to explain to you that will help in this next line of thinking. The word canon, meaning written in stone. So it is canon material that Wonder Woman has a lasso of Truth or that Tony Stark created an Iron Man Suit.
What I do, and what many others do, for me even before the pandemic is transport myself into a fantastical world filled with characters from practically every TV character and Movie character you can think of. From the latest Game of Thrones show to a Marvel superhero you can pretend to be anyone of your heroes.
The beauty of it, is that you can steer away from canon material and partake in what is called “Fanon” material. Meaning if you see a character on TV that is canonically straight, you as the roleplay writer, or author can make that character a different sexuality, race, you can change the canon material. But as many well-versed roleplay writers know, you can’t change it too much because some canon material is sacred. Anyway, I am veering off topic.
The point to me is whether we have changed enough when it comes to sexuality and gender representation while it is a valid question and I hope we continue to explore it, something that I feel is far more important is the fact that the younger generation is leading the charge putting more importance on streaming. I noticed in the talk that are lot of individuals didn’t even like Superheroes and that to me is the real shame, because as spoken above by both Merediths, they can showcase and tell us more about themselves than just a hero posing in a cape.
Section Three: Interview with COSTUME WONDERLAND by Meredith + Meredith
L to R: Staff Sofi ‘Witchy Poo’, Penny ‘Vintage 60’s/70’s’,
Yvette ‘Harley Quinn – bad girls are the most popular, go girl power!’
Meredith ‘The Plague Doctor’ and Louise ‘Glenda the Good Witch’
A strong emergent trend of our times is embracing Superheroes and Archetypes by not only watching films but becoming them; people of all ages are selecting Avatars, using costumes to have fun at events, and the shy are transformed to embody every aspect of their personalities with various Alter Egos.
Couples and individuals are dressing up for so many events as well as lifestyle with role plays –
Parties, Cosplay, Work Breakups, Year 12 dress ups, October Fests, Halloween, Purim Festivals, and Birthday celebrations.
We interviewed the owner and staff of bustling COSTUME WONDERLAND (911 Nepean Highway Bentleigh), the biggest costume hire/sale shop in Victoria. Yvette began working with her mother when she was 16 and now runs this amazing fast-paced shop with staff of all ages, from 19 upwards. “We love being naughty and we’re realising that you don’t need to drink to have fun,” they explain.
“My parents always held parties and loved having fun. My mother first sold Yates seeds, and she dressed up as a Giant Tomato. 36 years ago, a costume shop owner urged her to buy it when she retired. We’ve had to move 3 times as we keep running out of room. Back then, everyone wanted Pirate and Wench costumes. But now, it’s the Superheroes; Disney and Marvel and Netflix favourites.”
This is a fun shop where they love helping people choose if they are unsure. If they don’t have something you want, Yvette will get it or make it. Other shops are usually cramped and smelly with little customer service. Here, they are high quality cleaners; disinfect, wash, and iron everything after hire. Specialising in voluptuous figures, they’re noting a trend for buying rather than hiring, including accessories.
“Coming here in itself is fun; it’s not like we’re running a Morgue!”
Most hired/purchased:
- Superheroes, especially if the actor is good-looking/sexy
- Star Wars: Obi One, Luke Skywalker, Chewbaccer, Manderlorian
- Harley Quinn
- The Joker
- Catwoman
- Jack Sparrow
- Peaky Blinders
- Children Disney Princesses and Ninjas
Meredith Price can be contacted meredithprice92@gmail.com
Costume Wonderland 911 Nepean Highway Bentleigh. HIRE OR PURCHASE with masses of accessories
Open 5 Days: Monday 10 – 6, Tues Closed, Wed 10 – 6, Thurs 10 – 7, Fri 10 – 6, Sat 10 – 4, Sunday Closed. You get the costume for 3 days, and they’re very kind to poor students
