Superheroes as society's mirror
The New York Times (registration may be required) would like us to think that the way a new exhibition on the evolution of superheroes at Montclair Art Museum is being displayed does reflect society, I'm sure, but, the following parts really cast a shadow of a doubt over just how honest this exhibition is:
The show is about as up-to-the-minute as a comics fan could hope. It begins with the birth of Superman in June 1938 and ends with the death of Captain America in March 2007.Boy, putting that on display has got to be reason enough not to go visit! Because if that's what they're going to consider "art" then something's got to be wrong here.
More recent developments continue to underline how superheroes reflect political realities, whether it’s the Justice League’s questioning President Lex Luthor’s decision to invade the fictional nation of Qurac in 2003 or the continuing schism among Marvel’s heroes after being ordered to register their identities and abilities with the government. That debate began last year and will affect the group for some time to come.A better question might be, "what roles are they being made to play now?" And the answer to that is overly politicized roles replete with anti-war rhetoric that have also largely deprived them of any real development in their own worlds. Alas, the NYT is not going to discuss subjects like those, if the superheroes are being forced to act in too many politicized storylines, and thus, nothing is accomplished by this propaganda article.
The future of heroism is what Ms. Stavitsky hopes visitors will weigh at the conclusion of the exhibition; specifically, she said, “What kind of role should superheroes play now?”
Labels: msm propaganda, museums
