Sunday, February 12, 2012
Superheroes in Pop Culture
Growing up, I never really paid any attention to superheroes. I was involved in my own world of Barbies, everything and anything that was pink and wearing dresses 24/7. I had no siblings, male or female, to lure me into the world of superheroes and my parents aren't big into them either. Sure, I noticed when boys on the playground and later in junior high and such were wearing superhero apparel, but I never gave it a second thought. Now that I'm older I realize how HUGE superheroes are in today's culture.
I had been noticing more and more, but what really hit the fact home was something I saw this weekend. I was with my roommates at Shopko and we were perusing the Valentine's section for fun and I picked up some of the bulk Valentine's that you used to buy in elementary school and distribute to everyone in your class. What was different about these was that they were Captain America themed. And right next to them were Spiderman ones. And next to them Ironman and Batman. And so on. There were nearly as many superhero Valentine options as there were pink princess options. And it hit me. Superheroes are a BIG deal. This class has made me begin to realize that more and more too, but now everywhere I go, I see superheroes in our popular culture. People get superhero tattoos, wear superhero shirts, name their children after superheroes (Nicholas Cage), and write songs about them. Look anywhere and there are bound to be references to superheroes. It just never fails to amaze me how our culture has latched onto the idea of superheroes and has never let go. The past ten years have seen at least a dozen new superhero movies. They have lasted for over seven decades and I'm curious to see what the future holds for them and how much longer they will be such a driving force behind pop culture.
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I started noticing how frequently they show up since being in this class myself! You found some great examples, I love the lollipop. It is crazy that there are so many places you can find superhero references.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way! I never watched the cartoons and I feel like I know absolutely nothing about them. I agree with you on how you are starting to realize how they are popping everywhere, or just becoming more apparent. I was watching something on tv and I guess they are starting a new series for comic book collectors. Superheroes are literally everywhere.
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting that you never really got into superheroes as a kid. I am the oldest with a little brother, so you would think that he would be into barbies and whatnot...NO! I was the one getting sucked into Batman and Robin and hotwheels. So coming from two different girl perspectives of growing up, you can definitely see that the preference of superheroes is probably more based on exposure from parents while growing up.
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting to read your perspective, since you did not have much exposure to superheroes growing up. I am very interested in hearing your reactions to much of what we will be reading and discussing in class, then, since you will have a fresh perspective on many of the ideas and issues.
ReplyDeleteWhat is Nicholas Cage's kid's name? Mentioning Nicholas Cage makes me laugh because I recently went and saw Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and his dialogue is pretty terrible.
ReplyDeleteHis son's name is Kal-El
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