The Obsession With Superhero Movies

In 2017, five of the 10 highest grossing films were about superheroes, as are three of the best five so far this year. Films such as Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War have shattered box office records and caught the public's love.

People switch to superhero entertainment during hard economic struggles. Superman made his debut during the Great Depression. Superheroes function as an escape route for people during their hard times. People also wanted to be reminded about the good in society. superheroes display virtue in the face of the worst humanity has to offer. Additionally, superhero origin stories often deal with death and loss, which can evoke a sympathetic reaction from the audience. Whether it’s Bruce Wayne being haunted by the memory of watching his parents die or Superman wrestling with the loneliness his powers and Kryptonian heritage create, heroes have no shortage of traumatic experiences. But what sets them apart and what gives people hope is that the strength of their character and morality allows them to overcome such terrible experiences to do good in the world.

People looka up to superheroes as beacon of humanity and selflessness. Heroic stories have also been an integral part of our culture, especially in Greek and Roman literature, and modern superheroes such as Batman can be thought of as continuing that tradition. Like achilles, Superman portrays charectersitics of the ideal man and inspires the masses towards his brand of ideology of a man. In a fallen world full of evil and misfortune, people cling to superheroes as symbols of virtue that conquer both villains and their own weaknesses, giving a glimmer of hope in a frequently dark world.

Superheroes are the escapism that is needs by the human psyche. The limited nature of the human lives are a dissatisfaction to many and the desire to be much more than a human is something which is pre-established in the psyche of each and every man.

It is believed that superhero genre is nothing more than just a fad. Just like the Westerns died pretty early due to its limited perspective, despite being the portrayal of every persin’s fantasy, even superheroes will fade away pretty soon. There doesn’t seem to be much of a scope for development of more innovative ideas for any superhero. One day, even humans will become exhausted from the desire of being a larger than life character and will find solace in being a human. The limited vision, which is also the USP of the genre, will serve as the scythe which will terminate its own existence over time.