Representation and Agency of Aging Superheroes in Popular Culture and Contemporary Society

The figure of the superhero has always been regarded as an iconic representative of American society. Since the birth of the first superhero, it has been shaped by the most important historical, political, and social events, which were echoed in different comic issues. In principle, in the superhero...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Valentová, Kateřina
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universitat de Lleida (UdL)
Repositorio:Repositori Obert UdL
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.udl.cat:10459.1/71486
Acceso en línea:https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11010018
http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/71486
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Cultural and literary gerontology
Aging and society
Agism
Popular culture and comics
DC superheroes
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spelling Representation and Agency of Aging Superheroes in Popular Culture and Contemporary SocietyValentová, KateřinaCultural and literary gerontologyAging and societyAgismPopular culture and comicsDC superheroesThe figure of the superhero has always been regarded as an iconic representative of American society. Since the birth of the first superhero, it has been shaped by the most important historical, political, and social events, which were echoed in different comic issues. In principle, in the superhero genre, there has never been a place for aging superheroes, for they stand as a symbol of power and protection for the nation. Indeed, their mythical portrayal of young and strong broad-chested men with superpowers cannot be shattered showing them fragile or disabled. The aim of this article is to delve into the complex paradigm of the passage of time in comics and to analyze one of the most famous superheroes of all times, Superman, in terms of his archetypical representation across time. From the perspective of cultural and literary gerontology, the different issues of Action Comics will be examined, as well as an alternative graphic novel Kingdom Come (2008) by Mark Waid and Alex Ross, where Superman appears as an aged man. Although it breaks the standards of the genre, in the end it does not succeed to challenge the many stereotypes embedded in society in regard to aging, associated with physical, cognitive, and emotional decline. Furthermore, this article will show how a symbolic use of the monomythical representation of a superhero may penetrate into other cultural expressions to instill a more positive and realistic portrayal of aging.MDPI2021info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttps://doi.org/10.3390/soc11010018http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/71486reponame:Repositori Obert UdL instname:Universitat de Lleida (UdL)InglésReproducció del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11010018Societies, 2021, vol. 11, núm. 1, article 18cc-by (c) Valentová, Kateřina, 2021info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/oai:repositori.udl.cat:10459.1/714862026-06-24T12:42:17Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Representation and Agency of Aging Superheroes in Popular Culture and Contemporary Society
title Representation and Agency of Aging Superheroes in Popular Culture and Contemporary Society
spellingShingle Representation and Agency of Aging Superheroes in Popular Culture and Contemporary Society
Valentová, Kateřina
Cultural and literary gerontology
Aging and society
Agism
Popular culture and comics
DC superheroes
title_short Representation and Agency of Aging Superheroes in Popular Culture and Contemporary Society
title_full Representation and Agency of Aging Superheroes in Popular Culture and Contemporary Society
title_fullStr Representation and Agency of Aging Superheroes in Popular Culture and Contemporary Society
title_full_unstemmed Representation and Agency of Aging Superheroes in Popular Culture and Contemporary Society
title_sort Representation and Agency of Aging Superheroes in Popular Culture and Contemporary Society
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Valentová, Kateřina
author Valentová, Kateřina
author_facet Valentová, Kateřina
author_role author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Cultural and literary gerontology
Aging and society
Agism
Popular culture and comics
DC superheroes
topic Cultural and literary gerontology
Aging and society
Agism
Popular culture and comics
DC superheroes
description The figure of the superhero has always been regarded as an iconic representative of American society. Since the birth of the first superhero, it has been shaped by the most important historical, political, and social events, which were echoed in different comic issues. In principle, in the superhero genre, there has never been a place for aging superheroes, for they stand as a symbol of power and protection for the nation. Indeed, their mythical portrayal of young and strong broad-chested men with superpowers cannot be shattered showing them fragile or disabled. The aim of this article is to delve into the complex paradigm of the passage of time in comics and to analyze one of the most famous superheroes of all times, Superman, in terms of his archetypical representation across time. From the perspective of cultural and literary gerontology, the different issues of Action Comics will be examined, as well as an alternative graphic novel Kingdom Come (2008) by Mark Waid and Alex Ross, where Superman appears as an aged man. Although it breaks the standards of the genre, in the end it does not succeed to challenge the many stereotypes embedded in society in regard to aging, associated with physical, cognitive, and emotional decline. Furthermore, this article will show how a symbolic use of the monomythical representation of a superhero may penetrate into other cultural expressions to instill a more positive and realistic portrayal of aging.
publishDate 2021
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2021
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11010018
http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/71486
url https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11010018
http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/71486
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Reproducció del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11010018
Societies, 2021, vol. 11, núm. 1, article 18
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv cc-by (c) Valentová, Kateřina, 2021
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
rights_invalid_str_mv cc-by (c) Valentová, Kateřina, 2021
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Repositori Obert UdL
instname:Universitat de Lleida (UdL)
instname_str Universitat de Lleida (UdL)
reponame_str Repositori Obert UdL
collection Repositori Obert UdL
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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