I enjoyed our debates about the good and bad of super hero culture. It makes sense to study it as the super hero market is booming; constantly having remakes, influx of comic books, prevalence of video games. It is a dense theme to study, full of intrigue and questions. The interesting aspect that these characters can both incorporate negative and positive messages makes the super hero world full of greys instead of black and whites. We see gender roles and norms being challenged and contested. With our obsession, it also reflects in the popular media with certain shows, like Toddlers in Tiaras and any type of show featuring house wives, where the women have princess like tendencies. It challenges both the comic book themes as well as when we talked about the issue of wealth and popular culture; the disparity between our fascination with the poverty stricken to the lavish and ostentatious of the rich. These can be breeding grounds for debate between the harm this can cause and also the possible benefits, too.
With male super heroes, more often than not we see this male character as honor bound, regulated by ordained laws and rules, sometimes as reasons to go against those constructed laws, use of violence to stop violence, ironically, emotionally devoid/detached and always the savior of women. It constructs a role model for little boys that can give them strong tendencies and backbone but also can reinforce archaic thoughts on gender roles and norms. The emotionless male, incapable of expressing themselves, always brooding, has to look like a "badass", can be taxing to us, as men. I find it frustrating that men are nearly always depicted in movies, games, television and so on as strong, but emotionally detached figures. And if they have any remote since of emotion, they are instantly gay. Straight men cannot have emotions? And what does it say to gay men that they are stereo typically labeled as flamboyant with their emotions? Probably outright offensive.
I find myself artsy, reflective on my thoughts and emotions, not particularly "manly" and aggressive in that respect. So I wouldn't be surprised if I come off out right gay to some. It's completely absurd, but it happens. Many norms that males fall under, I simply have no interest in, and perhaps it is how the media depicts us straight men, especially of my age. Media depicts me as a cold wall, hard to sympathize for, constantly drinks and parties, watches football and so on. I couldn't be further from that norm. Men are capable of showing emotions and they do not have to be gay to express the way they feel. Gay men are not always "girly", flamboyant etc; they can be super manly too, have "bro" time, pound 6 packs and have a blast watching football. And much like how I could feel about women's take on how popular culture and how they are depicted, I find it a necessity to fight for my difference, to say that these norms are absurd. Women are not over sexualized, stuck in a different reality where they are a princess and must be pampered and what not (which the media seems dead set on).
I definitely sympathize for their cause as I have a cause to fight, too. A straight man can fight for gays. A straight man can also be very in touch with his own feelings without being gay. There is nothing wrong with being gay. He doesn't have to be a devoid wall. He shouldn't be judged on his masculinity from what his hobbies are. The idea of both masculinity and feminism is utterly idiotic. Being versatile in both roles, strange as the thought is, has allowed me to appreciate both causes. We are all our own superhero, it is our choice into which we like to see our own heroic characteristics as.
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