Superheroes Harmful to Boys' Mental Health ...
Eric Shapiro - NY Press 8/16/2010
Superhero fans no doubt remember the dark days when the Comics Code restricted the expression of the medium’s greatest creators based on the flimsy argument that the medium led children astray with its portrayal of violence and sex. These days, the censorship crusaders (also known as media watchdog groups and attention whores) have turned their attention to new vices like videogames and TV. But that doesn’t mean superheroes aren’t still harmful to our youth!
At this weekend's annual convention of the American Psychological Association, researchers pelted everyone’s favorite caped crusaders with a barrage of bullshit: “Today’s superhero is too much like an action hero who participants in non-stop violence; he’s aggressive, sarcastic and rarely speaks to the virtue of doing good for humanity. When not in superhero costume, these men, like Ironman, exploit women, flaunt bling and convey their manhood with high-powered guns.” (Quote from Jezebel)
If this description of superheroes is any indication, these “researchers” obviously haven’t done their research. Pretty much every single superhero movie features heavy-handed moral sermons about “doing good for humanity.” Spider-Man’s motto is “With great power comes great responsibility” and Peter Parker is certainly no alpha male. In X-Men, mutants are a metaphor for oppressed minorities. Iron Man talks about disarmament. Bruce Banner has to control his anger or he’ll turn into the Hulk. The Fantastic Four preach family values.
Today’s superheroes spend a great deal of time whining about their psychological problems; that’s not being macho. I also fail to see how superheroes “exploit women.” Most of them are monogamous to the extreme, far more so than real men with the equivalent level of fame. The only superhero that has anything in common with the prior description is Iron Man and even his exploits are quite tame. He is shown to associate with multiple women, but he certainly doesn’t exploit them, unless exploiting is another word for fucking, which happens off-screen anyway. The fact that these psychologists would use the word “exploiting” tells you something about their view of female sexuality. Then again, it’s more likely that they just haven’t watched many superhero movies and they’re talking out of their asses.
Yes, superheroes are often aggressive, occasionally promiscuous and sometimes even *gasp* masculine. Kind of like actual males. There seems to be a tendency in psychological circles to degrade masculinity. Will they not be satisfied until Iron Man invents a device to breastfeed his children? Would it be better if they were all perfect angels who did the right thing all the time? A positive role model who is perfect is no role model at all. He’s a saint. And how many adolescent boys try to act like saints? Making superheroes into saints would be the best way to nullify any positive impact their movies might have.
For a less biased report on superheroes and boy's mental health, check out Jezebel.com.
Superhero fans no doubt remember the dark days when the Comics Code restricted the expression of the medium’s greatest creators based on the flimsy argument that the medium led children astray with its portrayal of violence and sex. These days, the censorship crusaders (also known as media watchdog groups and attention whores) have turned their attention to new vices like videogames and TV. But that doesn’t mean superheroes aren’t still harmful to our youth!
At this weekend's annual convention of the American Psychological Association, researchers pelted everyone’s favorite caped crusaders with a barrage of bullshit: “Today’s superhero is too much like an action hero who participants in non-stop violence; he’s aggressive, sarcastic and rarely speaks to the virtue of doing good for humanity. When not in superhero costume, these men, like Ironman, exploit women, flaunt bling and convey their manhood with high-powered guns.” (Quote from Jezebel)
If this description of superheroes is any indication, these “researchers” obviously haven’t done their research. Pretty much every single superhero movie features heavy-handed moral sermons about “doing good for humanity.” Spider-Man’s motto is “With great power comes great responsibility” and Peter Parker is certainly no alpha male. In X-Men, mutants are a metaphor for oppressed minorities. Iron Man talks about disarmament. Bruce Banner has to control his anger or he’ll turn into the Hulk. The Fantastic Four preach family values.
Today’s superheroes spend a great deal of time whining about their psychological problems; that’s not being macho. I also fail to see how superheroes “exploit women.” Most of them are monogamous to the extreme, far more so than real men with the equivalent level of fame. The only superhero that has anything in common with the prior description is Iron Man and even his exploits are quite tame. He is shown to associate with multiple women, but he certainly doesn’t exploit them, unless exploiting is another word for fucking, which happens off-screen anyway. The fact that these psychologists would use the word “exploiting” tells you something about their view of female sexuality. Then again, it’s more likely that they just haven’t watched many superhero movies and they’re talking out of their asses.
Yes, superheroes are often aggressive, occasionally promiscuous and sometimes even *gasp* masculine. Kind of like actual males. There seems to be a tendency in psychological circles to degrade masculinity. Will they not be satisfied until Iron Man invents a device to breastfeed his children? Would it be better if they were all perfect angels who did the right thing all the time? A positive role model who is perfect is no role model at all. He’s a saint. And how many adolescent boys try to act like saints? Making superheroes into saints would be the best way to nullify any positive impact their movies might have.
For a less biased report on superheroes and boy's mental health, check out Jezebel.com.