Posted by Leah Singerman
Have you ever thought about why people love superheroes so much? If you haven't before, you will now.
We got our first heroes (as we know them now) in comics last century, and as time has gone on they've ventured more and more into Hollywood. Maybe that's just because Hollywood has finally figured out how awesome superheroes are, but this video from the PBS Idea Channel tells us that maybe there are some other reasons too. We know it's long, but the last 5 minutes are more like bloopers so you don't have to watch them. Check it out.
So the idea is that we create superheroes that reflect what we as a society want and/or need. Makes sense- of course you get Captain America during WWII. We also think it's really interesting how heroes tend to reject new and different things during wartime. Probably as history removes us further and further we'll see even more patterns like that.
So then what does it mean that now heroes are moving into the mainstream? They're not just for us awesome people who love comic books anymore. Now they're marketed toward everyone. Aside from the fact that it earns more money, what could it be? Is this a sign that things today are worse than ever and now everybody needs more heroes?
What do you think about all of this? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @DweebCast.
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