Kathleen Riley
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199534487
- eISBN:
- 9780191715945
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199534487.003.0009
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter examines the philosophical appropriation of Euripides' Herakles by the Modernist writers George Cabot Lodge, W. B. Yeats, and Frank Wedekind. It shows how dramatic interest in the tragic ...
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This chapter examines the philosophical appropriation of Euripides' Herakles by the Modernist writers George Cabot Lodge, W. B. Yeats, and Frank Wedekind. It shows how dramatic interest in the tragic Herakles shifted from his latent psychosis to his latent divinity, his uniquely ambivalent status as theios aner. As a consequence, the madness and filicide gathered significance not as manifestations of the Heraklean psychology, but because they anticipated and affirmed a superhuman destiny. Lodge, Yeats and Wedekindconceived of Herakles as the archetypal Nietzschean Superman, reasoning the madness and murders as an inescapable precondition of self-divinity.Less
This chapter examines the philosophical appropriation of Euripides' Herakles by the Modernist writers George Cabot Lodge, W. B. Yeats, and Frank Wedekind. It shows how dramatic interest in the tragic Herakles shifted from his latent psychosis to his latent divinity, his uniquely ambivalent status as theios aner. As a consequence, the madness and filicide gathered significance not as manifestations of the Heraklean psychology, but because they anticipated and affirmed a superhuman destiny. Lodge, Yeats and Wedekindconceived of Herakles as the archetypal Nietzschean Superman, reasoning the madness and murders as an inescapable precondition of self-divinity.
Ryan Litsey
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781628462388
- eISBN:
- 9781626746831
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781628462388.003.0012
- Subject:
- Literature, Comics Studies
Meanwhile, Ryan Litsey suggests a reading of the Joker as a “Nietzschean Superman.” Applying Nietzsche to his reading of the video game Batman: Arkham City, Litsey argues that the “will to power” – a ...
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Meanwhile, Ryan Litsey suggests a reading of the Joker as a “Nietzschean Superman.” Applying Nietzsche to his reading of the video game Batman: Arkham City, Litsey argues that the “will to power” – a key feature of Nietzsche’s notion of the Superman – “is evident in all things the Joker does.” Suggesting by extension that Batman represents Nietzsche’s “man of ressentiment” – the slave morality to the Joker’s master morality – Litsey offers a careful exploration of the Batman/Joker duality, the applicability of which extends well beyond a single ludic narrative. “Understanding the Joker in this way,” Litsey suggests, “can give us new insight into the appeal and power the Joker has traditionally held for audiences – the attraction of the Superman, latent in all of us, is made manifest in him.”Less
Meanwhile, Ryan Litsey suggests a reading of the Joker as a “Nietzschean Superman.” Applying Nietzsche to his reading of the video game Batman: Arkham City, Litsey argues that the “will to power” – a key feature of Nietzsche’s notion of the Superman – “is evident in all things the Joker does.” Suggesting by extension that Batman represents Nietzsche’s “man of ressentiment” – the slave morality to the Joker’s master morality – Litsey offers a careful exploration of the Batman/Joker duality, the applicability of which extends well beyond a single ludic narrative. “Understanding the Joker in this way,” Litsey suggests, “can give us new insight into the appeal and power the Joker has traditionally held for audiences – the attraction of the Superman, latent in all of us, is made manifest in him.”
Patrick Sims‐Williams
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199588657
- eISBN:
- 9780191595431
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588657.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, Early and Medieval Literature
This chapter discusses a narrative technique, the so‐called Slavic Antithesis', found in Irish and Welsh, but also elsewhere which casts doubt on there being a connection between the Celtic examples. ...
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This chapter discusses a narrative technique, the so‐called Slavic Antithesis', found in Irish and Welsh, but also elsewhere which casts doubt on there being a connection between the Celtic examples. Illustrations are given not only from Togail Bruidne Da Derga, Mesca Ulad, Táin Bó Cúailnge, the Cynddylan englynion, and Taliesin, but also the Finnsburg fragment and Eiríksmál, ballads from Russia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Finland, Ossetia, and even from Superman.Less
This chapter discusses a narrative technique, the so‐called Slavic Antithesis', found in Irish and Welsh, but also elsewhere which casts doubt on there being a connection between the Celtic examples. Illustrations are given not only from Togail Bruidne Da Derga, Mesca Ulad, Táin Bó Cúailnge, the Cynddylan englynion, and Taliesin, but also the Finnsburg fragment and Eiríksmál, ballads from Russia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Finland, Ossetia, and even from Superman.
Aldo J. Regalado
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781628462210
- eISBN:
- 9781626746183
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781628462210.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Comics Studies
This book examines the historical origins and cultural significance of Superman and his fellow American crusaders. It asserts that the superhero seems a direct response to modernity, often fighting ...
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This book examines the historical origins and cultural significance of Superman and his fellow American crusaders. It asserts that the superhero seems a direct response to modernity, often fighting the interrelated processes of industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and capitalism that transformed the United States from the early nineteenth century to the present. Reeling from the destabilizing forces, Americans turned to heroic fiction as a means of explaining national and personal identities to themselves and to the world. In so doing, they created characters and stories that sometimes affirmed, but other times subverted conventional notions of race, class, gender, and nationalism. The cultural conversation articulated through the nation's early heroic fiction eventually led to a new heroic type—the brightly clad, super-powered, pro-social action heroes that first appeared in American comic books starting in the late 1930s. Although indelibly shaped by the Great Depression and World War II sensibilities of the second-generation immigrants most responsible for their creation, comic book superheroes remain a mainstay of American popular culture. Tracing superhero fiction all the way back to the nineteenth century, the book firmly bases analysis of dime novels, pulp fiction, and comics in historical, biographical, and reader response sources. It explores the roles played by creators, producers, and consumers in crafting superhero fiction, ultimately concluding that these narratives are essential for understanding vital trajectories in American culture.Less
This book examines the historical origins and cultural significance of Superman and his fellow American crusaders. It asserts that the superhero seems a direct response to modernity, often fighting the interrelated processes of industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and capitalism that transformed the United States from the early nineteenth century to the present. Reeling from the destabilizing forces, Americans turned to heroic fiction as a means of explaining national and personal identities to themselves and to the world. In so doing, they created characters and stories that sometimes affirmed, but other times subverted conventional notions of race, class, gender, and nationalism. The cultural conversation articulated through the nation's early heroic fiction eventually led to a new heroic type—the brightly clad, super-powered, pro-social action heroes that first appeared in American comic books starting in the late 1930s. Although indelibly shaped by the Great Depression and World War II sensibilities of the second-generation immigrants most responsible for their creation, comic book superheroes remain a mainstay of American popular culture. Tracing superhero fiction all the way back to the nineteenth century, the book firmly bases analysis of dime novels, pulp fiction, and comics in historical, biographical, and reader response sources. It explores the roles played by creators, producers, and consumers in crafting superhero fiction, ultimately concluding that these narratives are essential for understanding vital trajectories in American culture.
Daniel Kremer
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813165967
- eISBN:
- 9780813166742
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813165967.003.0012
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
Furie, setting out to make a Saturday matinee serial style of adventure film, surfaces with the script for Iron Eagle (1986). Funded by the fledgling Tri-Star Pictures, Furie shoots the film in ...
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Furie, setting out to make a Saturday matinee serial style of adventure film, surfaces with the script for Iron Eagle (1986). Funded by the fledgling Tri-Star Pictures, Furie shoots the film in Israel with recent Academy Award winner Louis Gossett Jr. Although critically ripped to shreds, the film succeeds at the box office and also makes money through video sales and rentals. Furie then agrees to direct Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) for Cannon Films. As a result of dire budget constraints and a script he was not allowed to alter without the permission of a difficult Christopher Reeve, the film becomes a disaster of the first order, going down in the books as one of the most notoriously bad sequels in movie history.Less
Furie, setting out to make a Saturday matinee serial style of adventure film, surfaces with the script for Iron Eagle (1986). Funded by the fledgling Tri-Star Pictures, Furie shoots the film in Israel with recent Academy Award winner Louis Gossett Jr. Although critically ripped to shreds, the film succeeds at the box office and also makes money through video sales and rentals. Furie then agrees to direct Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) for Cannon Films. As a result of dire budget constraints and a script he was not allowed to alter without the permission of a difficult Christopher Reeve, the film becomes a disaster of the first order, going down in the books as one of the most notoriously bad sequels in movie history.
Tom Mankiewicz and Robert Crane
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813136059
- eISBN:
- 9780813141169
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813136059.001.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This book details writer-director Tom Mankiewicz's fascinating journey through the ups and downs of being a member of an iconic Hollywood family, the pressures of following in the footsteps of his ...
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This book details writer-director Tom Mankiewicz's fascinating journey through the ups and downs of being a member of an iconic Hollywood family, the pressures of following in the footsteps of his Oscar-winning writer-director father, Joe Mankiewicz and his Oscar-winning writer uncle Herman Mankiewicz, and the expectations of a family and the film community. Mankiewicz carves out his own niche by writing scripts that his dad and uncle never would have worked on because the subject material didn't lie in their comfort zones. Mankiewicz became a script doctor first, rewriting Legal Eagles, War Games, and Superman among others. Then he turned his eye to directing (Dragnet, Hart to Hart) and producing (Mother, Jugs and Speed). His easy-going writing style and lifestyle helped create a unique personality in Hollywood. Studio heads called him Dr. Mankiewicz. He was an integral part of two legendary film heroes - James Bond and Superman. He travelled the world to write and supervise film productions. Mankiewicz worked with, partied with, and dated some of the biggest stars in the business. He tells a funny, sad, inside tale of survival in a rough trade.Less
This book details writer-director Tom Mankiewicz's fascinating journey through the ups and downs of being a member of an iconic Hollywood family, the pressures of following in the footsteps of his Oscar-winning writer-director father, Joe Mankiewicz and his Oscar-winning writer uncle Herman Mankiewicz, and the expectations of a family and the film community. Mankiewicz carves out his own niche by writing scripts that his dad and uncle never would have worked on because the subject material didn't lie in their comfort zones. Mankiewicz became a script doctor first, rewriting Legal Eagles, War Games, and Superman among others. Then he turned his eye to directing (Dragnet, Hart to Hart) and producing (Mother, Jugs and Speed). His easy-going writing style and lifestyle helped create a unique personality in Hollywood. Studio heads called him Dr. Mankiewicz. He was an integral part of two legendary film heroes - James Bond and Superman. He travelled the world to write and supervise film productions. Mankiewicz worked with, partied with, and dated some of the biggest stars in the business. He tells a funny, sad, inside tale of survival in a rough trade.
Neal Curtis
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719085048
- eISBN:
- 9781526104434
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719085048.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
Contrary to the usual connection of Superman to Nietzsche’s Übermensch, this chapter offers a reading of Superman in relation to Plato’s conception of the Good. The connection is made via Superman’s ...
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Contrary to the usual connection of Superman to Nietzsche’s Übermensch, this chapter offers a reading of Superman in relation to Plato’s conception of the Good. The connection is made via Superman’s association with the sun, which Plato describes as the ‘child of goodness’. This is done with a view to addressing the first problem in the theory of sovereignty, namely the legitimacy that seems to appear, as Schmitt argued, out of ‘nothingness’. Sovereign legitimacy has traditionally been attributed to the divine and hence miraculous, a source that persists even in the immanence of democratic rule. In this chapter I link this transcendent moment to Plato’s analysis of the Good to show who Superman is a character that always pushes us towards something better, and in this he is an avatar of social change and an alternative future.Less
Contrary to the usual connection of Superman to Nietzsche’s Übermensch, this chapter offers a reading of Superman in relation to Plato’s conception of the Good. The connection is made via Superman’s association with the sun, which Plato describes as the ‘child of goodness’. This is done with a view to addressing the first problem in the theory of sovereignty, namely the legitimacy that seems to appear, as Schmitt argued, out of ‘nothingness’. Sovereign legitimacy has traditionally been attributed to the divine and hence miraculous, a source that persists even in the immanence of democratic rule. In this chapter I link this transcendent moment to Plato’s analysis of the Good to show who Superman is a character that always pushes us towards something better, and in this he is an avatar of social change and an alternative future.
Tom Mankiewicz
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813136059
- eISBN:
- 9780813141169
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813136059.003.0007
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
Mankiewicz writes his only Broadway show, Georgy!, meets Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman and writes or rewrites five James Bond films including Live and Let Die and Diamonds are Forever. He doctors ...
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Mankiewicz writes his only Broadway show, Georgy!, meets Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman and writes or rewrites five James Bond films including Live and Let Die and Diamonds are Forever. He doctors three big features including The Eagle Has Landed and Mother, Jugs and Speed. Mankiewicz lands the opportunity to rewrite two Superman scripts. He becomes a director as he helms Hart to Hart and ushers it onto a major network. His dad, Joe, retires from the film industry.Less
Mankiewicz writes his only Broadway show, Georgy!, meets Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman and writes or rewrites five James Bond films including Live and Let Die and Diamonds are Forever. He doctors three big features including The Eagle Has Landed and Mother, Jugs and Speed. Mankiewicz lands the opportunity to rewrite two Superman scripts. He becomes a director as he helms Hart to Hart and ushers it onto a major network. His dad, Joe, retires from the film industry.
April D. DeConick
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780231170765
- eISBN:
- 9780231542043
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231170765.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Engages the super hero movies and comics, including Superman; Spiderman; and Doctor Strange.
Engages the super hero movies and comics, including Superman; Spiderman; and Doctor Strange.
Drew Morton
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781496809780
- eISBN:
- 9781496809827
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781496809780.003.0003
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
This chapter examines the historical, cultural, industrial, and technological contexts of stylistic remediation between comics and film. It traces the evolution of these various contexts in relation ...
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This chapter examines the historical, cultural, industrial, and technological contexts of stylistic remediation between comics and film. It traces the evolution of these various contexts in relation to remediation of style by focusing on three film cycles that span from the blockbuster period that began with Jaws in 1975 to the contemporary period. These cycles are exemplified by the Superman films of the 1970s and 1980s, the Batman films of the 1980s and 1990s, and what Bob Rehak has defined as the high fidelity adaptations of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The chapter first provides a brief contextual history of comic books, film, and television before the blockbusters (1934–1968) before discussing the three cycles: Superman cycle (1978–1987), Batman cycle (1989–1997), and high-fidelity cycle (2000–2013). It shows that, during the Superman cycle, realism was essentially favored over the more formally flamboyant trajectory of stylistic remediation.Less
This chapter examines the historical, cultural, industrial, and technological contexts of stylistic remediation between comics and film. It traces the evolution of these various contexts in relation to remediation of style by focusing on three film cycles that span from the blockbuster period that began with Jaws in 1975 to the contemporary period. These cycles are exemplified by the Superman films of the 1970s and 1980s, the Batman films of the 1980s and 1990s, and what Bob Rehak has defined as the high fidelity adaptations of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The chapter first provides a brief contextual history of comic books, film, and television before the blockbusters (1934–1968) before discussing the three cycles: Superman cycle (1978–1987), Batman cycle (1989–1997), and high-fidelity cycle (2000–2013). It shows that, during the Superman cycle, realism was essentially favored over the more formally flamboyant trajectory of stylistic remediation.
Chris Murray
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781496807373
- eISBN:
- 9781496807410
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781496807373.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, Comics Studies
This chapter examines the struggles and minor successes of British comics during the period 1936–1949. In 1936, Disney set up a studio in Britain and launched Mickey Mouse Weekly, the first British ...
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This chapter examines the struggles and minor successes of British comics during the period 1936–1949. In 1936, Disney set up a studio in Britain and launched Mickey Mouse Weekly, the first British comic to use the expensive, full-color photogravure printing process. A year later, DC Thomson launched The Dandy, followed by The Beano in 1938. The success of The Dandy and The Beano marked the end of the era of the boy's weeklies and the beginning of the dominance of comics. The chapter considers the very first appearance of Superman in Britain in Amalgamated Press's The Triumph in 1939 and how British and American comics fared during the war years. It also discusses comics publishing by Gerald G. Swan, A. Soloway, Denis Gifford and Bob Monkhouse, Cartoon Art Productions, Scion, Paget, and Modern Fiction Ltd. The publication of The Amazing Mr X, Britain's first homegrown superhero, is also explored.Less
This chapter examines the struggles and minor successes of British comics during the period 1936–1949. In 1936, Disney set up a studio in Britain and launched Mickey Mouse Weekly, the first British comic to use the expensive, full-color photogravure printing process. A year later, DC Thomson launched The Dandy, followed by The Beano in 1938. The success of The Dandy and The Beano marked the end of the era of the boy's weeklies and the beginning of the dominance of comics. The chapter considers the very first appearance of Superman in Britain in Amalgamated Press's The Triumph in 1939 and how British and American comics fared during the war years. It also discusses comics publishing by Gerald G. Swan, A. Soloway, Denis Gifford and Bob Monkhouse, Cartoon Art Productions, Scion, Paget, and Modern Fiction Ltd. The publication of The Amazing Mr X, Britain's first homegrown superhero, is also explored.
Alaniz José
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9781628461176
- eISBN:
- 9781626740655
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781628461176.003.0009
- Subject:
- Literature, Comics Studies
This chapter assesses the 1992–93 “Death of Superman” storyline—the best known example of superhero mortality and its repercussions in the genre—which serves as a valuable case study in how a ...
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This chapter assesses the 1992–93 “Death of Superman” storyline—the best known example of superhero mortality and its repercussions in the genre—which serves as a valuable case study in how a supposedly death-averse society like late twentieth-century America addressed mortality and bereavement through its popular culture. The storyline offers a compelling snapshot of America's attitudes to grief and the “celebrity funeral” at the dawn of the 1990s—a period when those attitudes were in flux, due in part to the Death Awareness and Death with Dignity movements; the AIDS epidemic, and reassessments of the Vietnam conflict. The deaths of public figures, whom most people have never met in person, have the potential to touch more lives. But whether anonymous or famous, death is experienced as a trauma in a community.Less
This chapter assesses the 1992–93 “Death of Superman” storyline—the best known example of superhero mortality and its repercussions in the genre—which serves as a valuable case study in how a supposedly death-averse society like late twentieth-century America addressed mortality and bereavement through its popular culture. The storyline offers a compelling snapshot of America's attitudes to grief and the “celebrity funeral” at the dawn of the 1990s—a period when those attitudes were in flux, due in part to the Death Awareness and Death with Dignity movements; the AIDS epidemic, and reassessments of the Vietnam conflict. The deaths of public figures, whom most people have never met in person, have the potential to touch more lives. But whether anonymous or famous, death is experienced as a trauma in a community.
Marc Singer
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617031366
- eISBN:
- 9781617031373
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617031366.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Comics Studies
One of the most eclectic and distinctive writers currently working in comics, Grant Morrison (b. 1960) brings the auteurist sensibility of alternative comics and graphic novels to the popular ...
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One of the most eclectic and distinctive writers currently working in comics, Grant Morrison (b. 1960) brings the auteurist sensibility of alternative comics and graphic novels to the popular genres—superhero, science fiction, and fantasy—that dominate the American and British comics industries. His comics range from bestsellers featuring the most universally recognized superhero franchises (All-Star Superman, New X-Men, Batman) to more independent, creator-owned work (The Invisibles, The Filth, We3) that defies any generic classification. This book examines how Morrison uses this fusion of styles to intervene in the major political, aesthetic, and intellectual challenges of our time. His comics blur the boundaries between fantasy and realism, mixing autobiographical representation and cultural critique with heroic adventure. They offer self-reflexive appraisals of their own genres while experimenting with the formal elements of comics. Perhaps most ambitiously, his comics challenge contemporary theories of language and meaning, seeking to develop new modes of expression grounded in comics’ capacity for visual narrative and the fantasy genres’ ability to make figurative meanings literal.Less
One of the most eclectic and distinctive writers currently working in comics, Grant Morrison (b. 1960) brings the auteurist sensibility of alternative comics and graphic novels to the popular genres—superhero, science fiction, and fantasy—that dominate the American and British comics industries. His comics range from bestsellers featuring the most universally recognized superhero franchises (All-Star Superman, New X-Men, Batman) to more independent, creator-owned work (The Invisibles, The Filth, We3) that defies any generic classification. This book examines how Morrison uses this fusion of styles to intervene in the major political, aesthetic, and intellectual challenges of our time. His comics blur the boundaries between fantasy and realism, mixing autobiographical representation and cultural critique with heroic adventure. They offer self-reflexive appraisals of their own genres while experimenting with the formal elements of comics. Perhaps most ambitiously, his comics challenge contemporary theories of language and meaning, seeking to develop new modes of expression grounded in comics’ capacity for visual narrative and the fantasy genres’ ability to make figurative meanings literal.
Aldo J. Regalado
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781628462210
- eISBN:
- 9781626746183
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781628462210.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, Comics Studies
This chapter focuses on the creation of Superman. As second-generation Jewish immigrants, Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's experiences in America differed from that of men like ...
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This chapter focuses on the creation of Superman. As second-generation Jewish immigrants, Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's experiences in America differed from that of men like Burroughs and Lovecraft, combining the realities of urban living, the consequences of the Great Depression, America's entry into World War II, the pervasiveness of ethnic and racial discrimination, and the formidable challenges of acculturating to a society that was violent, oppressive, and culturally distant for their parents. Responding to these realities, Siegel and Shuster engaged the fiction of previous authors in the spirit of appropriation, renegotiating its meanings and employing its forms to express distinctly different ethnic, masculine, and national identities suited to navigating their own particular encounters with American modernity. As the ultimate product of his authors' creative endeavors, therefore, Superman worked towards redefining the ethnic and class requirements of masculinity in America.Less
This chapter focuses on the creation of Superman. As second-generation Jewish immigrants, Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's experiences in America differed from that of men like Burroughs and Lovecraft, combining the realities of urban living, the consequences of the Great Depression, America's entry into World War II, the pervasiveness of ethnic and racial discrimination, and the formidable challenges of acculturating to a society that was violent, oppressive, and culturally distant for their parents. Responding to these realities, Siegel and Shuster engaged the fiction of previous authors in the spirit of appropriation, renegotiating its meanings and employing its forms to express distinctly different ethnic, masculine, and national identities suited to navigating their own particular encounters with American modernity. As the ultimate product of his authors' creative endeavors, therefore, Superman worked towards redefining the ethnic and class requirements of masculinity in America.
Robert C. Harvey
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9781628461428
- eISBN:
- 9781626740778
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781628461428.003.0010
- Subject:
- Literature, Comics Studies
This chapter is about Jerry Siegel's and Joe Shuster's Funnyman, Superman's diametric opposite. The first issue of Funnyman, cover-dated January 1948, hit the stands in early December 1947. The comic ...
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This chapter is about Jerry Siegel's and Joe Shuster's Funnyman, Superman's diametric opposite. The first issue of Funnyman, cover-dated January 1948, hit the stands in early December 1947. The comic book, coming out every other month, lasted only six issues, the last cover-dated August 1848. By then, Siegel and Shuster were already working on its newspaper strip incarnation. The Funnyman strip ran into the fall of 1949 then stopped. According to the New Yorker, it was in about fifty papers in December 1948. Funnyman failed to generate a fan following because the concept of a bigfoot putty-nosed crime-fighter was not appealing to the juvenile buyer, and Siegel and Shuster were not sufficiently engaged in its newspaper strip.Less
This chapter is about Jerry Siegel's and Joe Shuster's Funnyman, Superman's diametric opposite. The first issue of Funnyman, cover-dated January 1948, hit the stands in early December 1947. The comic book, coming out every other month, lasted only six issues, the last cover-dated August 1848. By then, Siegel and Shuster were already working on its newspaper strip incarnation. The Funnyman strip ran into the fall of 1949 then stopped. According to the New Yorker, it was in about fifty papers in December 1948. Funnyman failed to generate a fan following because the concept of a bigfoot putty-nosed crime-fighter was not appealing to the juvenile buyer, and Siegel and Shuster were not sufficiently engaged in its newspaper strip.
Dan W. Clanton
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520291447
- eISBN:
- 9780520965225
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520291447.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter shows that cultural artifacts like “Superman” can be religiously multivalent, that is, different interpreters find various kinds of symbols and themes when examining the same aesthetic ...
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This chapter shows that cultural artifacts like “Superman” can be religiously multivalent, that is, different interpreters find various kinds of symbols and themes when examining the same aesthetic product. To do so, it examines some possibly religious elements within the Richard Donner film Superman: The Movie (1978) in order to demonstrate how some readers/viewers can see Superman as another in a long line of Jewish heroes, while others see him as an obvious Christ figure. It argues that meaning emerges in the complex interaction between interpreter and text, so that meaning is negotiated between certain clues in, and information about, a text, and the experiences and interpretive expertise of the interpreter. Neither the text nor the reader/hearer/viewer is totally responsible for what a given story means.Less
This chapter shows that cultural artifacts like “Superman” can be religiously multivalent, that is, different interpreters find various kinds of symbols and themes when examining the same aesthetic product. To do so, it examines some possibly religious elements within the Richard Donner film Superman: The Movie (1978) in order to demonstrate how some readers/viewers can see Superman as another in a long line of Jewish heroes, while others see him as an obvious Christ figure. It argues that meaning emerges in the complex interaction between interpreter and text, so that meaning is negotiated between certain clues in, and information about, a text, and the experiences and interpretive expertise of the interpreter. Neither the text nor the reader/hearer/viewer is totally responsible for what a given story means.
Darren Hudson Hick
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780226460109
- eISBN:
- 9780226460383
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226460383.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
This chapter focuses on one of the fundamental notions central to copyright—authorship—which has been the subject of prolonged skepticism in a number of arenas. In this chapter, I outline my theory ...
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This chapter focuses on one of the fundamental notions central to copyright—authorship—which has been the subject of prolonged skepticism in a number of arenas. In this chapter, I outline my theory of authorship, that the author of a work is one who has and exercises the power of selecting and arranging elements as constitutive of that work—what we might broadly call the creative or authorial act. Along the way, I work to dispel arguments suggesting that there are no authors, or, alternatively, that effectively anyone having anything to do with a work is thereby an author of that work (two positions with surprisingly robust pedigrees). Case studies include Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Charles Dickens’s The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Sherrie Levine’s appropriation art, and the films Left Behind and Superman II.Less
This chapter focuses on one of the fundamental notions central to copyright—authorship—which has been the subject of prolonged skepticism in a number of arenas. In this chapter, I outline my theory of authorship, that the author of a work is one who has and exercises the power of selecting and arranging elements as constitutive of that work—what we might broadly call the creative or authorial act. Along the way, I work to dispel arguments suggesting that there are no authors, or, alternatively, that effectively anyone having anything to do with a work is thereby an author of that work (two positions with surprisingly robust pedigrees). Case studies include Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Charles Dickens’s The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Sherrie Levine’s appropriation art, and the films Left Behind and Superman II.
Marc Singer
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617031366
- eISBN:
- 9781617031373
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617031366.003.0008
- Subject:
- Literature, Comics Studies
This chapter discusses Grant Morrison’s comic book works in the “Prismatic Age” of the superhero genre. The 2000s was identified as the “Prismatic Age,” because it was during this decade where the ...
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This chapter discusses Grant Morrison’s comic book works in the “Prismatic Age” of the superhero genre. The 2000s was identified as the “Prismatic Age,” because it was during this decade where the practice of writing variants for existing superheroes became widespread. The era was a great way in informing readers and fans about the history of superheroes as well as showing old and familiar characters new treatment. In the “Prismatic Age,” Morrison’s works include All Star Superman, The Flash, and Batman.Less
This chapter discusses Grant Morrison’s comic book works in the “Prismatic Age” of the superhero genre. The 2000s was identified as the “Prismatic Age,” because it was during this decade where the practice of writing variants for existing superheroes became widespread. The era was a great way in informing readers and fans about the history of superheroes as well as showing old and familiar characters new treatment. In the “Prismatic Age,” Morrison’s works include All Star Superman, The Flash, and Batman.
Adilifu Nama
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617038068
- eISBN:
- 9781621039549
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617038068.003.0021
- Subject:
- Literature, Comics Studies
This chapter considers the impact of the lack of black superheroes on both black and white children. It argues that concern over media effects on black children who admire white superheroes is overly ...
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This chapter considers the impact of the lack of black superheroes on both black and white children. It argues that concern over media effects on black children who admire white superheroes is overly simplistic and fails to seriously take into account the fact that audience reception is a more complex phenomenon than is suggested by a strict stimulus-response model of media consumption. It also examines the comic book Superman vs. Muhammad Ali, and Black Lightning, the first black superhero in the DC Comics universe.Less
This chapter considers the impact of the lack of black superheroes on both black and white children. It argues that concern over media effects on black children who admire white superheroes is overly simplistic and fails to seriously take into account the fact that audience reception is a more complex phenomenon than is suggested by a strict stimulus-response model of media consumption. It also examines the comic book Superman vs. Muhammad Ali, and Black Lightning, the first black superhero in the DC Comics universe.
Terence McSweeney
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780748693092
- eISBN:
- 9781474408547
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748693092.003.0005
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter concerns itself with the renaissance of the superhero genre in post-9/11 film and asks what this might be able to tell us about contemporary America. It offers a detailed analysis of the ...
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This chapter concerns itself with the renaissance of the superhero genre in post-9/11 film and asks what this might be able to tell us about contemporary America. It offers a detailed analysis of the key films from the genre The Avengers, Iron Man and Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy.Less
This chapter concerns itself with the renaissance of the superhero genre in post-9/11 film and asks what this might be able to tell us about contemporary America. It offers a detailed analysis of the key films from the genre The Avengers, Iron Man and Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy.
