Super Heroes and Popular Culture

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Super Heroes and Popular Culture
Introduction
American pop culture is one that has been around for quite some time and has had some of the most profound impacts in the American population. It is a culture that has redefined the way that Americans develop ideas, images, perspectives, attitudes and the aspects of phenomenon. At the heart of the popular culture is the mass media which has been used as the platform to launch and maintain the elements of the culture among the American people. It is a culture that was born in the late19th century and one that has maintained it basic influence in the present times and is bound to have a lot of impacts in the future(Comic Store Heroes). The continuity of the culture relates to the impacts that it has had and continuous to have on the population relative to their reliance on the mainstream media content. It has spread from the entertainment industry, sports, politics, news, technology, language and the fashion industry(McAllister, Sewell and Gordon, 139). As such, it can be said to be one of the most revolutionary cultures that has been experienced in the last century alone, with implications that are far reaching than has been documented(Haugen, 133). It is a culture that set the values, standards and even the expectations of the people. One of the basic elements that have been driven through the culture is that of super heroes(Superheromultiverse.com).
Super heroes
The end of the Second World War brought with it major shifts in the social and cultural aspects within the American society. At the same time, there were developments in the media sector as innovations brought more content to the living rooms. With the exposure to the different elements of the culture and the redefined aspects of the culture following the end of the war, people embraced a new twist of heroes(Haugen 73). The people were seeking new ways to relive the moments of the war, with ideologies that brought their notions of super powers and the ability to bring down the enemies as they emerge. It was a way of generating the same elements of the way, with a different twist where the villainswere quashed under the powerful interceptions of the super heroes(Comic Store Heroes). As such, the culture has created characters that are seen are the saviors of the people and has managed to create a sense of belonging.
Most of the people in America identify with super heroes and their powers, relative to making the world a safer place(McAllister, Sewell and Gordon, 191). This is borne of the fact that,after the war, most of the people developed a sense of belonging to the struggles that their country went through, relative to the attacks and the ability to retaliate. Using the mainstream media, the popular culture has popularized the element of the super heroes in the country the level that it has been adopted in various media content, such as movies, music, comics, books, novels, clothing, toys and quite a number of aspects that people interact with including festivals(Superheromultiverse.com). The level of integration of the super heroes in the popular culture is quite profound and is going to be extended into the future with ramifying impacts on the people as they strive to honor their national heritage through the myths(Haugen, 119). Like most myths, the attachment of the people to whatthey hold important is one of the common reasons that they live on for generations. The super hero myths are likely to live on for many years to come, relative to the fact that they have been heavily integratedinto the culture covering most aspects in the society.
Super heroes in movies
The movie industry is one of the largest economically; raking in billions of dollars in revenue from various productions. At the center of the popular culture is the mass media platform that movies use to popularize certain aspects of their content. Super heroes have been part of the movie industry for quite a long time and have had massive impacts(Comic Store Heroes). In light of the cultural traditions in the movie industry, certain aspects and cultural changes are basically popularized using screen play manipulation(Ryall and Tipton, 246). It is for this reason that television and movies alike have been branded as some of the most powerful tools in the current generations. Aspect such as sexuality and a myriad of norms have been popularized through the movie industry. The use of the super heroes in the movies has also proven to be one of the most lucrative ventures that producers engage in. Relative to the fact that they involve a lot of creativity, the audience simply love to engage and associate with the character, while reflecting on their own lives and situations that they may be facing(Comic Store Heroes).
Characters such as the superman, Spiderman, batman, X-men, captain America and the cat-woman among others have continually evolved to encompass the new trends and challenges that are facing society. At the same time, producers also look at ways of creating scenarios about the future and in other cases about outer galaxies that are less understood(Super Heroes: A Never Ending Battle). Movies in the popular culture have transcended from the pass time activity, into elements that the audience would want to identify with.
Super heroes in novels and comics
Movie production relies heavily on the novels and the creative works of the writers to products casts that can then be turned into the multi-billion dollar productions that grace the screens for millions of people to enjoy.Like the elements of the fork tales, stories, fairy tales and the ancient myths, the stories that are developed in the novels heavily connect with aspects of the people’s history, their present and their future(Haugen, 88). Novels can be seen as the reference points of the modern mythology and also define what is to come in the future. Quite a number of the world renowned movie productions have come from the novels(Superheromultiverse.com). Like the novels, the comics are part of the creative arts with a twist that includes the pictorial presentation of the characters and their stories.
The psychology behind super heroes’ myths
Mythology has been part of the human existence for ages. People will generally attach certain aspects of their culture to the meaningful elements that they would like to see in the society. In the years following the Second World War, Americans like most of the other nations were all stuck in the moment and in the past where wars claimed lives and property and thus crated the need for protectio...