Written by Ritwik
On 20th July 2019, Avengers: Endgame broke Avatar’s ten year record to become the most successful movie at the global box office. It grossed 2.79 billion USD worldwide and is a beloved film, but what made it so popular? And how have these movies impacted us?
Over the last decade, we have seen the growth of many things: technology, social media, streaming, meme culture, and of course superhero films. For many people, the 2010s was the first decade when they began being culturally involved. Should they look back at this decade, they are sure to remember the growth of superhero movies during this time.
Many people believe that the superhero movies fad began way back in 2002 with Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man. But it was only in the last decade that superhero movies went from strictly PG-13 to worldwide sensations. Even now, however, many people are repulsive towards superhero movies assuming them to be a variant of the same story. They believe all these movies to be “White man bestowed with powers saves the world and his female love interest from a morally evil man”. This stereotype no longer exists. Movies like The Guardians of Galaxy showed how a group of misfits came together to become a family; Black Panther was the first superhero movie to show cultural diversity; Wonder Woman showed us the story of a female warrior. Deadpool and Logan broke the notion of superhero movies being strictly PG-13 movies, as both the films were R rated movies. Not only have these films been critically appreciated, they were also major crowd pullers. The filmmakers put forward new and different stories, and the audience supported it.
Superheroes aren’t just confined to movies, and now most popular streaming sites have a host of TV shows and series. Shows like The Flash, The Punisher, and Arrow became really popular. Marvel and DC aside, there have been many famous superhero movies like The Incredibles, Big Hero 6 and Captain Underpants, which were made by other production houses. And if you thought that superheroes only belong to Hollywood, then you need to look around the world to realize how wrong you would be. Superhero movie culture exists in many countries like China, Russia, Malaysia, Japan and India (yes Shaktimaan). Japan has countless anime based on superheroes, some of the popular ones being My Hero Academia and One Punch Man. Even Gohan from the immensely famous anime Dragon Ball Z has been a superhero “Great Saiyaman”. But the most famous superhero anime has to be Ultraman, the anime first produced in 1966. Ultraman was recently also given a reboot, and its newer version found its way to Netflix with extremely positive reviews.
This massive rise in popularity has made superhero movies one of the most significant sources of revenue for production houses. Creating mediocre films would not have got them any revenue, though. The bars have been set extremely high, compelling filmmakers to put forward their best creation each time. But the immense popularity for superhero movies isn’t just to do with good story and acting, and there are many more factors involved.
“It’s a very delicate time right now on Earth, and a lot is going on that is pretty frightening,” said Michael Shannon, who played General Zod in Man Of Steel. “It would be nice to believe or think that there was somebody that could protect us from that. Man Of Steel is a very relevant movie.”
From terrorist attacks, over-population, rising crime rates, the threat of financial collapse, infectious viruses, or just traffic congestion, our world is constantly in a state of disarray. And in times like these, people enjoy escapism, they seek to be engaged in something which makes them believe there’s still some humanity and good left.
Superheroes have extraordinary powers and strengths at their disposal. However, they still have a human side to them and go through tough times too. This emotional connect is very relatable for the audience. From Bruce Banner’s anger management issues and loneliness to Magneto’s disturbing past, the viewers can identify with such experiences. But what impresses the audience and makes them gain respect for the characters is seeing them choose the morally correct decision each time, in spite of their own personal loses. As Uncle Ben rightfully told, “With great powers, comes great responsibility.’’ Superhero stories often deal with death and loss, evoking a sympathetic reaction from the audience. Whether it’s the memory of watching his parents die haunting Bruce Wayne or an out of time Steve Rogers trying to find his place in this new world, all heroes have had their fair share of traumatic events, but what gives people hope is the strength of their character, allowing them to overcome such experiences to do good.
“There are no rules,” said legendary comic-book writer Stan Lee. “A film has to be a good film, whether it’s from a comic or not. If you’re doing a screen version of a bestselling novel, the essential thing to think of is, ‘What made it a bestselling book? What was the element that the public liked?’ Then you make sure that you keep that element in the movie.”
While the outside world does play a big part in creating a story, so do the ones making the movie. Many filmmakers who have directed films in the genre are unashamed comic book fans and grew up obsessed with superhero stories. Superhero movies now are much more comic accurate than before and have kept the original characters intact.
“I don’t know if you realize how hard it must have been to make X-Men,” said Stan Lee. “Here are a few characters, each one with a superpower, and they’re all so much bigger than life. How do you get an adult audience to accept this? And yet the director, Bryan Singer did it in such a way that even people who weren’t comic book fans were able to enjoy the movie. He made it intelligent, and it could have been silly in the wrong hands. I was very impressed.”
Stan Lee wasn’t wrong about movies being silly in the wrong hands. There was a time when low rent production companies like the infamous Cannon Films buying up the rights to superhero characters on the cheap. Not aware of the rich history of Spider-Man — which they bought off Marvel — the company had ridiculously envisioned the role as a half-man, half-tarantula mutant.
Meanwhile, producer, Jon Peters, during the pre-production of a failed Superman movie in the nineties had his own version of Superman. Peters didn’t want Superman to wear his suit as he didn’t think of it as masculine and allegedly told the director. “There’ll be no flying, and he has to fight a giant spider in the third act.” From having Mario Puzo write the script for Superman: The Movie to having directors like Christopher Nolan, Sam Raimi and Bryan Singer, there sure has been a significant improvement.
Even with a great mind at the helm, it is vital to be able to create the filmmaker’s imagination. Technology has revolutionized movies and has a big hand in making superhero movies reach the level they are today. With the help of such advancements in technology, filmmakers can put forward their imagination and don’t need to settle anymore. CGI (Computer-generated imagery) and has helped create stunning visual effects. From the beautiful kingdom of Atlantis in Aquaman to the Reality Manipulation in Doctor Strange, superhero movies are looking more and more life-like. CGI is responsible for the creation of films like Avengers: Endgame and Thor: Ragnarok. One could argue that if not for such technology, these movies wouldn’t have seen the light of day.
One would be incredibly wrong to assume that these kinds of movies don’t have any impact on its audience. Entertainment aside, these movies stir wonder and debate among us. As superhero movies continue to break stereotypes, there arises a visible change in the mindset of the vast audience. Ten years back, if someone told you that a superhero movie would deal with topics like sexism and poverty, you would not believe it; it would seem as unlikely as Drax achieving invisibility. But superhero movies have taken strides towards creating action-adventure flicks that aim to not only entertain but also encourage reflection upon the issues that plague modern society. Black Panther demonstrated the effects of racism; Captain Marvel explored how sexism can affect a person’s life; Spider-Man: Homecoming showed how poverty can drive people to extreme measures.
One of the newer releases, Joker, generated much talk around it. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, it was a completely different movie compared to the other films in this genre. The movie revolved around the origin of the much popular villain, Gotham’s Joker. The film soon gathered a considerable fan following among general audiences, applauding how the movie was so real and dealt with actual-world issues. The movie depicts the ill effects of hopelessness and depression, and how the vast economic gulf has created two classes in society. The film highlighted how Arthur Fleck, the protagonist of the movie, suffered from mental illness and was a constant sufferer on the hands of society. The movie resonated a lot with the audiences and has spread quite a lot of awareness among the general public regarding mental health. However, that wasn’t the end of it. The movie was also one of the most talked-about movies of 2019, and many believe that Joker does a poor job of promoting violence and terror, using mental illness as an excuse. People thought that the movie unintentionally promotes the message that mental illness serves as an excuse for committing crimes. The buzz generated around it divided people into many groups with each asserting their take on the movie. A study relating homicide rates and poverty was also called as the Joker effect after the release of the film. At the end of the day though, Joker is nothing but a compelling wake-up call that implores us to be kind to one another day-to-day.
Superhero movies have also catapulted interest among younger audiences to take up film making as a career option. With the growth of visual effects and animation in superhero movies, so has the interest in those fields as career prospects. But it’s not just film-making but also the characters in the films inspiring career choices. Back in the ’40s when Captain America was created and popularized, many American youths were inspired and joined the army. Similarly seeing an electrical engineer Tony Stark become Iron Man encourages children to pursue sciences and emulate him. Likewise seeing Carol Danvers as a pilot in the air force sparks an interest in that profession.
However, the rise in popularity is not without concern. With almost 20 years of high class of superhero movies and especially the glorious past ten years, how long it will be able to continue?
Marvel boss Kevin Feige has been asking himself this very question for many years now.
“I’ve worried about that since I first started at Marvel fourteen years ago, after X-Men 2, I started being asked, ‘How long can this last?’ I always thought: I think that it’s going to last a long time, as long as they’re all different, and as long as they’re unique. If every movie had just been a kid in his bedroom putting on a mask and fighting crime, we wouldn’t be making many more of them. Thankfully, the Marvel characters are all so unique, and we have thousands and thousands of styles to draw from. Could they all be movies? Probably not. But as long as they’re interesting, we can keep doing them for a long time.”
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