… you might be reading too much into a silly superhero. He fights a man with mechanical tentacles named ‘Doctor Octopus’. He has an enemy who is literally just a stage magician called ‘Mysterio’. There are several animal-people. One villain is literally made out of sand.
The MCU is one of the biggest moneymakers in Hollywood. It is literally Disney’s flagship media line and curiously when they attained Spider-man from Disney, the first thing they did was pull Spidey out of poverty and put Aunt May on the Avengers payroll.
It may not be that deep in the comics, but it’s still teaching kids the way to fight crime is to punch them in the face, break their legs and put them in an impacted and inhumane prison system.
Just like Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Dan Quayle taught us we should do as they were subsidiIng the prison industrial complex and pushing the War on Drugs.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t enjoy Spider-man. I read Spider-man as a kid and my grandson does today. He also fantasizes about punching baddoes in the face, and I can only hope he’ll realize that’s fantasy before his first real encounter with law enforcement.
Alright but 99% of my memories of superheroes as a kid weren’t them fighting crime, but them fighting supervillains, which is generally the main draw for kids.
It still instills a dynamic that the best way to solve disputes is by force and that some parts of the public are undesirable by fiat.
Given the current affairs of the US in which half our federal officials are trying to outlaw trans folk, I’m hyper-aware that this is a bad message to give.
It still instills a dynamic that the best way to solve disputes is by force
How often is it that superheroes start the violence? Or are you suggesting that smiling as your teeth are knocked down your throat should be the reaction, here?
and that some parts of the public are undesirable by fiat.
… given the predilection of comics for redemption arcs, antiheroes, the struggle of being different, and the fucking X-Men, I’m gonna have to press X to doubt on that.
Given the current affairs of the US in which half our federal officials are trying to outlaw trans folk, I’m hyper-aware that this is a bad message to give.
You’re hyperaware that a message that isn’t being sent is bad. Okay. I’m very aware that Teletubbies advocating genocide is bad. Good thing that’s not at all relevant.
How often is it that superheroes start the violence? Or are you suggesting that smiling as your teeth are knocked down your throat should be the reaction, here?
Here in the US, law enforcement escalates to force far more often than they encounter someone who is already aggressive, so it raises a question why villains in comics so consistently engage first?
The propaganda is in what is implied. Redemption arcs are the exception not the rule, and the implication is that most villains don’t get redeemed.
Now maybe it’s because they know their audience wants to see brightly colored supers knock the tar out of each other, and that might be true, but in the context of police work or vigilantism, it does paint human civilization as a lot more violent than it is. How often do heroes see violence break out during their day to day life (rather than, say, tracking it by police radio?)
I get that you don’t want your hobby criticized too sharply. Still, have you seen Spider-man stopping Proud Boys from harassing a drag queen? Have the avengers interposed themselves between a BLM demonstration and the police armed with CS-gas and riot munitions? (I really don’t know if they’ve done these things. I’d be delighted to see right-wing culture wars cross into the MCU, but Disney has their own opinions about their right to continue capitalizing.
Here in the US, law enforcement escalates to force far more often than they encounter someone who is already aggressive, so it raises a question why villains in comics so consistently engage first?
… because superheroes aren’t cops?
This is not in any way a normal reaction to a image of a woman in a catsuit called Black Cat singing showtunes from the musical Cats.
Except that superheroes fight crime that’s vigilantism or law enforcement. And yes, when they were fighting crime, the police did have a (well cultured) reputation of restraint, all the while releasing dogs on civil rights protestors. And yes, police in the comics were Andy Griffith police, not even COPS police.
Take your hangups somewhere else.
Feel free to block me if you truly think I’m being hyperbolic. I’m far from the first person to make these observations, though.
… you might be reading too much into a silly superhero. He fights a man with mechanical tentacles named ‘Doctor Octopus’. He has an enemy who is literally just a stage magician called ‘Mysterio’. There are several animal-people. One villain is literally made out of sand.
It’s… generally not that deep.
The MCU is one of the biggest moneymakers in Hollywood. It is literally Disney’s flagship media line and curiously when they attained Spider-man from Disney, the first thing they did was pull Spidey out of poverty and put Aunt May on the Avengers payroll.
It may not be that deep in the comics, but it’s still teaching kids the way to fight crime is to punch them in the face, break their legs and put them in an impacted and inhumane prison system.
Just like Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Dan Quayle taught us we should do as they were subsidiIng the prison industrial complex and pushing the War on Drugs.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t enjoy Spider-man. I read Spider-man as a kid and my grandson does today. He also fantasizes about punching baddoes in the face, and I can only hope he’ll realize that’s fantasy before his first real encounter with law enforcement.
Alright but 99% of my memories of superheroes as a kid weren’t them fighting crime, but them fighting supervillains, which is generally the main draw for kids.
It still instills a dynamic that the best way to solve disputes is by force and that some parts of the public are undesirable by fiat.
Given the current affairs of the US in which half our federal officials are trying to outlaw trans folk, I’m hyper-aware that this is a bad message to give.
How often is it that superheroes start the violence? Or are you suggesting that smiling as your teeth are knocked down your throat should be the reaction, here?
… given the predilection of comics for redemption arcs, antiheroes, the struggle of being different, and the fucking X-Men, I’m gonna have to press X to doubt on that.
You’re hyperaware that a message that isn’t being sent is bad. Okay. I’m very aware that Teletubbies advocating genocide is bad. Good thing that’s not at all relevant.
How often is it that superheroes start the violence? Or are you suggesting that smiling as your teeth are knocked down your throat should be the reaction, here?
Here in the US, law enforcement escalates to force far more often than they encounter someone who is already aggressive, so it raises a question why villains in comics so consistently engage first?
The propaganda is in what is implied. Redemption arcs are the exception not the rule, and the implication is that most villains don’t get redeemed.
Now maybe it’s because they know their audience wants to see brightly colored supers knock the tar out of each other, and that might be true, but in the context of police work or vigilantism, it does paint human civilization as a lot more violent than it is. How often do heroes see violence break out during their day to day life (rather than, say, tracking it by police radio?)
I get that you don’t want your hobby criticized too sharply. Still, have you seen Spider-man stopping Proud Boys from harassing a drag queen? Have the avengers interposed themselves between a BLM demonstration and the police armed with CS-gas and riot munitions? (I really don’t know if they’ve done these things. I’d be delighted to see right-wing culture wars cross into the MCU, but Disney has their own opinions about their right to continue capitalizing.
… because superheroes aren’t cops?
This is not in any way a normal reaction to a image of a woman in a catsuit called Black Cat singing showtunes from the musical Cats.
Take your hangups somewhere else.
Except that superheroes fight crime that’s vigilantism or law enforcement. And yes, when they were fighting crime, the police did have a (well cultured) reputation of restraint, all the while releasing dogs on civil rights protestors. And yes, police in the comics were Andy Griffith police, not even COPS police.
Take your hangups somewhere else.
Feel free to block me if you truly think I’m being hyperbolic. I’m far from the first person to make these observations, though.