The 21st century Hero genre is propaganda that promotes individualism, capitalism, & the police state; while vilifying environmentalism & collective action. We need to be critical of this bc there are real implications to these messages. Been thinking about this for awhile. https://twitter.com/markpopham/status/1385769910995984385

2-Superhero values used to be different. Older Superman comics had him opposed to capitalism. Now, the central conflict of heroes is self-focused (“who is my dad?” “Who killed my gf?” “I doubt myself.”). Revenge is always justifiable; being harmed grants permission to do harm.

3-In the 20th century, the super-rich were villains (except Batman), but now the Elon Musk types (Iron Man) are heroes. Often, heroes are secretly rich (Harry Potter) or a secret heir (Guardians). Heroics come from individually embracing wealth & power, not from helping others.

4-Environmentalism is especially important to vilify: it is directly opposed to industrialists’ interests. The most popular movies in our country paint environmentalism as a threatening “agenda.” This can shape how our culture views regulations & climate change.

5-Further, in the modern Hero genre, caring about causes (like the environment or rights) is something to be mocked (Hermione in HP) or a central part of a villainous plot (Thanos). Like OP said, it’s not the hero’s responsibility to fix the problem, just police it.

6-Which brings me to a very important objective of the propaganda: to fully embrace the police. Heroes are often cops (or behave like a vigilante cop). This is not an accident and meant to engender viewing an increasingly violent, militarized, racist police force as heroes.

7-Whether this is art imitating life or vice versa, this is beneficial to the selfish, arrogant wealthy technocrats who exploit others in real life (like Musk) as endearing heroes achieving their true potential. Anyone who gets in their way is a jealous loser.

8-These movies are propaganda because they make us accept increasingly exploitative, controlling behavior from the ruling class & their thugs. If we think being a hero = personal wealth/potential, then we’ll view unions negatively, as well as communal, global causes.

9-There are hero stories that value the collective, like Lord of the Rings. The central conflict is to save the communities (& nature) from a menacing industrialist & destroy a symbol of greed. This is an exception to the rule; I don’t think this story would be written today.

10-we need to be critical of the pop culture we consume, especially the all-time most popular genre. What are the messages of these stories? Who benefits from these messages? How are they shaping your (and your kids’) values, especially towards exploitation & policing?