College of Lake County sociology professors John and Maria Jose Tenuto contrast the definitions of “citizen” and “rogue” heroes. Using examples from comic books and superhero films, they will show how the most popular characters at a given time are a reflection of what the society is experiencing.
During differing decades, such as the 1990s, the culture of the United States has lauded rogue heroes like Batman and Spiderman. At other times, such as the 2000s, citizen heroes have been favored, with Superman and Captain America being prominent. In this fun and engaging multimedia presentation, College of Lake County sociology professors John and Maria Jose Tenuto contrast the definitions of "citizen" and "rogue" heroes, relating the concepts to the ideas of mythologists like Joseph Campbell and Vladimir Propp. Then, using examples from comic books and superhero films, the connection between the real world of wars, economic crisis, terrorism, and political trends are compared to the reel world of superhero characters - showing how the characters that are most popular at given times are usually a reflection of what the society is experiencing. As superhero characters undergo revisions and recreations to connect with various generations, the changes reflect what is going on in the real world - by learning about these fictional characters, we can learn something about our real communities.
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