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Cross-Cultural Psychology
The Rise of Superhero Culture and Why It Matters
Beyond entertainment is the hope for salvation from global problems.
Posted July 29, 2024 Reviewed by Hara Estroff Marano
Key points
- Superheroes have become a major part of popular culture in recent decades.
- Their popularity goes beyond entertainment, as they represent hope in the face of rising global challenges.
- We are each responsible for the world we create and must find inner strength to overcome our global problems.
The last few decades have seen the rise of the superhero in our popular culture. It all started back in the 1980s with the original Superman movies that starred the late Christopher Reeve. Then came the original Batman movie starring Michael Keaton. There was a lull in the 90s and early 2000s, until Marvel Studios decided to bring the whole Marvel universe to the big screen with the advent of the first Iron Man movie, starring Robert Downey Jr.
In the second installment of new Batman movies, the Dark Knight had one of the biggest opening weekends of all time and was hailed as the greatest superhero movie ever made. The latest edition is Deadpool & Wolverine, which has already grossed many millions of dollars.
Collectively, superhero movies have grossed billions of dollars and have entertained millions.
But why are they so popular? They have enormous budgets, cutting-edge special effects, excellent screenwriting, and seem larger than life. However, is there more to superhero culture than meets the eye? Let’s dive deeper into this.
If you look at all movies of this genre, there is a common theme: a villain who wants to plunder and pillage and spread fear. The quintessential villain from the Dark Knight is the Joker, played by the late Heath Ledger, who was not seeking money or power but just wanted to spread destruction and chaos.
The movie dives into the Joker’s past, and what we learn is that he had an alcoholic father and a troubled mother. Essentially, he was traumatized, and his experiences transformed him into what he becomes in the Dark Knight. His actions are simply him lashing out at a society that did not help him when he was going through his darkest times.
There are similar themes in other superhero movies. One thing common to most villains is that they have grandiose egos that lead them to believe that they are in the right and everyone else is in the wrong. Look at Thanos from Avengers: Infinity Wars and Avengers:Endgame. He was seeking to end half the life in the universe because he believed it was overpopulated and, in his mind, this was the right thing to do.
So why does any of this matter? If you look at the real world today, it is populated by leaders whose egos are so big that they believe that they can do no wrong and are solely in the right. Look at the regional conflicts going on around the world—Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Palestine—and at the militia groups in various African countries that are fighting their governments. It is the innocent men, women and children, who get caught in the crossfire of these conflicts and who truly suffer. Despite the efforts of humanitarian and relief organizations, there is ongoing suffering in the various conflicts.
In fact, many of the world’s problems can arguably be boiled down to uncontrolled ego that seeks power and wealth. This is true of organized crime organizations that sell illicit drugs and sex slaves; it can also be said of greedy corporations whose products are produced in factories that employ labor at minimal wage and deplorable conditions and pollute the environment, destroying delicate ecosystems.
This is where superhero culture comes in. I believe that the popularity of the superhero is rooted in the false hope that someone else will save us and solve all our problems.
If this were not true, more people would be standing up for justice for victims of war, victims of human trafficking and slavery, victims of the global illicit drug trade, and the delicate ecosystems being destroyed. Don’t get me wrong. There are individuals around the world who are striving to bring awareness and change on these issues, however, the efforts are few and far between.
Each one of us is responsible for the society and the world that we live in, and every intention we have and every action we take deeply matters. No superhero is coming to save us, and it is up to us to be the change that we want to see in the world.
It is easy to become disheartened with the corruption that abounds in society at all levels. We have more power than we can imagine, individually and collectively, and we can take steps towards real change.
We need to stop looking for someone else to save us and solve our problems.
Our common future depends on each of us taking responsibility not only for our own well-being but for the well-being of humanity. If we do not look after each other nobody else will, which is the main lesson we should take from the superhero culture. however entertaining the superhero movies, they should not leave you with false hope of an external saviour.
