When people say that all superheroes are inherently fascist, they're ignoring the very real reasons superheroes were invented (mostly by immigrant Jews before and after WWII as a warning against fascism), and extremely specific examples of superhero antifascism like this. https://dmv.community/@akuchling/110407861811807513
“What comics and film have in common is they were considered schlock, not-respectable media that were looked down upon, and hence there was an opportunity for Jews to get into these fields – in the creative and business ends – which were open to them, whereas other fields, like most mainstream publishing and advertising, were not.”
There has long been an reluctance in #ComicBooks and #superhero media to mention political topics. Other than #FrankMiller's original #DarkKnight stories, political stances were verboten, back to a #JFK cameo in 1963.
But instead of being viewed as an endorsement of liberal democrat policies by Big Blue, it incorrectly established #Superman as a conformist & establishmentarian.
And as #fascism has taken over establishment #GOP politics, he is now silenced by "bipartisanship."
Definitely true. I was addressing the large corporate #superhero characters of the #DCU and the #MCU, espec #Superman, #Batman, and #CaptainAmerica, as they are the ones discussed most prominently in the articles linked in this thread.
@fraying Hmm. While I very much agree that early superheroes were antifascist, I wonder if it functions unintentionally as a natural magnet for eugenics.
As I'm sure you're aware, a very important part of the late-19th/early-20th century American eugenics that inspired Hitler was the idea that "well gosh darnit, some people are just inherently more capable than everyone else, and that's why they should be put in charge and allowed to do things without criticism".
The hero fantasy itself is built on the idea that the hero's opinions, which the audience is experiencing vicariously as their own, matter more than the opinions of those around the hero. The old superhero comics made the heroes' opinions matter more because they were morally and ethically right, not because they were coming from with superior capabilities. But that type of nuance is easily lost, so it was.
@joemcken@fraying The Pentagon has editorial control over Marvel scripts in exchange for providing military props https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/09/wandavision-pentagon-propaganda-marvel-disney-fbi
"According to research compiled by Tom Secker, a journalist specializing in the relationship between government institutions and the movie industry, Marvel agreed to allow the Pentagon to review and revise the script of Iron Man before its release in return for access to a Air Force base, a F-22 Raptor fighter jet, and other equipment. "
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