Though they have been often thought of as juvenile reading material, comic books have often told socially relevant stories throughout their 75 years of history. Beneath the form-fitting spandex and the fantastic powers, are actually intelligent tales packaged in an appealing and accessible way. Superheroes have not only captivated the readers with vibrant colors and action packed adventures, but they have also enlightened the audience on the very issues that may be affecting them.
Being the 21st century, superheroes have transcended their comic book origins and entered the world of film in order to cope with an increasingly electronically-oriented society. One thing that they may maintain that may prove to be beneficial both on the pages of a comic or the silver screen is the powerful social commentary. However, with something like this, it goes without saying that boundaries have to be made. Though incorporating issues may exhibit a movie's intelligence, they aren't for everyone.
Through this piece, I hope to compile a list that outlines what good a social backdrop can provide for CBMs and also the required criteria that have to be met in order to tell such a story.
The Benefits
They Provide Escapist Thrills That Hit Close To Home
The inclusion of prevalent issues in superhero stories is nothing new. In fact, it's been comic tradition since the 1930's! Oftentimes, the most successful superheroes have thrived because their stories reflected the time period they were conceived in - in effect, resonating with the audience. Superman and Batman were created during the Great Depression - a world in need of hero. Captain America was obviously the awe-inspiring all-American who would prompt action during World War II. Namor dealt with the problem of pollution and threats to biodiversity. Spider-Man represented the newly found teenager persona of the baby boom generation who, themselves, were trying to find purpose and facing real problems . The X-Men mirrored society on their changing attitudes toward racism. The Hulk was a cautionary tale to the dangers of nuclear technology during the atomic age. Watchmen questioned America as a superpower in the Cold War and how we put ourselves at the mercy of nuclear weapons. The list goes on.
To me, the success stories of the aforementioned heroes are an indication of what people found alluring in these stories. Unlike certain fantasy stories, the heroes don't trivialize problems, or bring you to a new world where those problems don't exist. Superheroes force the reader to remain in the ugly side of the world. However, they are still able to achieve escapism by tackling these real issues and triumphing over them. Contradictory to the implications of the word, the "escapism" came from readers wanting to see the problems solved rather than actually "escaping" and running away from them. The icons thrived off the unique and realistic escapism in the comics. To put that into film would rejuvenate an interest in what drew people to comic books in the first place.
The Films Are Effective Tools For Informing
For the most part, comic book films have been met with positive reception, both critically and financially. While their nature as explosive big budget action packed films is enough to lure a large audience in, the act of telling good stories makes them crave more. Because most comic book films fulfilled the urge for action and good stories pretty well, comic book movies have become quite in demand. This may account for the influx of superheroes in movies recently.
Seeing as the genre has become so profitable and so successful, it makes sense to believe that the films can influence the millions that watch them. Like the comic book medium that they originated in, superhero movies are viable sources of communication because they appeal to such a wide demographic. When the films delve into social. political, or personal issues, thought is provoked among the audience, which in turn, may hopefully raise a lot of awareness for the masses of people who watched the film.
Though, admittedly, the inclusion of such issues will not do anything to actually solve the issue, the best and the only thing social commentaries can do, is to bring the problem to light. What these stories should be, are merely catalysts for thought, and for that matter, it should be sufficient. Comic book great, Denny O'Neil (
Batman: A Death in the Family), phrased the role of comic book influence in a manner which I can't replicate in sincerity.
" If a kid is aware of these problems from age four, and grows up being aware of them, and is a smart kid, maybe he will figure out answers that people of my generation couldn’t. We never offered solutions to any social problem; we gravitized them."
It's a Way to Keep Them Relevant and Reinforces Their Role
(This ties in to my last point to some degree so I apologize if there is any redundancy. )
Comic books, as many fans would say, are the modern day equivalent of a morality play. Though comic books were most likely created with the intention of simply telling an imaginative tale, more often than not, their stories included an underlying moral message. While the kids bought into the books for the exciting action and the adventure, the adults allowed, and at at times, encouraged the reading of such material for its literary and educational value.
There were times in history - mainly in the Golden Age and Bronze Age of Comics - where comics books became more than just entertaining fictional narratives, but rather a conduit for idealistic messages and ideas that the writers and even the government wanted to spread around. Captain America, for instance, not-so-subtly spread war time propaganda in an effort to prime nationalistic attitudes. A special issue of Batman, called
Batman: Death of Innocents, was ordered by the U.S government, themselves, with the intention of prompting action against land mines.
Superheroes are symbols of empowerment meant to strengthen our resolve to make the right decision. Their nature as representation of ideals lend themselves to being role models. At those times of distress, the superheroes, all of a sudden, start to become more relevant again. That's because they had a newfound purpose in society - they filled a role that no one or no thing can do better.
When you make the heroes tackle something real like an issue, they become more tangible. Their purpose as role models becomes more apparent as
we are reminded of the problems that tell us that we do need heroes in our world. In doing so, they fulfill (albeit fictionally) the role of hero that we actually require in our present time of need. Through their stories (and hopefully movies), they pave the way to justice and they show us how to act amidst the important issues that we should start taking action upon.
Limitations
The Issues Should Be In Context
Obviously, comic books and films are two very different mediums with differing criteria of which their effectiveness is based. That being said, there are some things that will sit well in the pages of the comic book, but not so much on the big screen.
For example, the one-shot Batman comic which I mentioned earlier,
"Death of Innocents" was a special issue comic book that addressed the concern of land mines. Basically, the writers brought Batman to the (fictional) desolate war-zone of Kravia. In an attempt to rescue a friend's daughter from the dangerous conditions she's exposed to, Batman goes on a search to find and save Sarah Orbley. Ultimately, he fails as Sarah gets killed by a landmine disguised as a Yo-Yo.
For comics, who have the privilege of having multiverses, one-shots, non-cannon stories, alternate realities, and that other jazz; it's perfectly fine to put Batman in those off-beat stories. In fact, those stories can be really touching and renowned even though it doesn't follow the main narrative. However, as of right now, movie franchises work differently. The movies, on the other hand, and understandably so, are limited to one franchise at a time, and they have to tell coherent and very focused stories. Picture this: Having Christopher Nolan's Batman dealing with the land mine issue while tackling Bane and Talia Al Ghul. Though I may be wrong, I do not think this will work.
I reckon that a good way to tie a social issue into a movie neatly without being too distracting, would be having the having the antagonist stand for the social issue. In this manner, not only is the hero fighting the villain physically, but he is also fighting against his ideals - in effect standing against the issue. This approach most likely ensures that the problem won't be trivialized into a distracting subplot and it also makes sure that the writers aren't sacrificing superhero storytelling to simply accommodate a certain message.
A good example of this working would be Iron Man - my first experience in caring about terrorism. Obadiah Stane, though not a terrorist, allows terrorism to prosper because it is to his benefit. He continues illegally dealing the weapons because it earns him a valuable profit. Tony Stark, on the other hand, won't let this fly after his experience with terrorists. Not only does the film depict the vileness of the issue by showing its consequences on Tony and the people in Afghanistan, but it also hopes to inspire action upon the concern by showing someone standing up against it. This was done all while telling a good story!
The Issues Should Be Something That The Hero Has No Control Over
All stories are based on conflict. It's what gives them interest. However, for heroes so terrific, so powerful, and larger than life, it is easy to undermine the severity of issues that mortals struggle with. Superheroes, though like us, were blessed with extraordinary abilities that allow them to solve more "human" problems with relative ease. This, basically, can ruin the essence and thrill of conflict that the story oh so heavily depends on.
Superman doesn't deal with drug dealers or pimps in his stories. No. In fact, he, like any other hero, deals with problems more appropriate to his capabilities. He fights intergalactic monsters and interstellar warlords. Why? The reason being that only such creatures will give Superman an interesting challenge - he is picking on people his own size. The scale of the issue being included should also follow this principle or else it will simply be like Superman dealing with a thug.
Iron Man and Speedy dealt with alcohol and drug addictions respectively in the comic books.Despite their strengths and abilities, it was entertaining and it made sense because those addictions resulted from inherent character flaws and weaknesses. They couldn't control such a thing. By having a hero be pit against a concern that he/she will have a difficulty overcoming not only makes an interesting conflict point, but it also allows for a much rewarding payoff after the eventual triumph. Most importantly however, doing so will depict the issue in a manner that adequately captures their importance and severity to our society.
Don't Be Too Dependent On Social Commentaries For Critical Reception or Profitability
History has proven that good messages do not always translate to warm reception or good sales.Despite their well meaning and good intentions, social comentary-dependent comic books in the 60s-80s haven't always succeeded in recognition or profitability. There is a notion that history repeats itself and if this holds true, then social commentary-reliant comic book movies may also be doomed to fail.
In the 1970s there was a lot of conflict of war,drugs, racism, you name it . The editors of DC at the time thought it would benefit sales if they capitalized on the real-life events and put them into the comic books. The reasoning behind the decision was that people would buy into such stories because they were intelligent and enlightening. The result was a self consciously relevant, social-commentary-heavy series called Green Lantern/Green Arrow. The two titular heroes dealt with real problems like aboriginal rights, racism, and drugs.
Though, for the most part, it was well received critically, the good intentions failed to impress with its sales figures. Good stories cannot last if money isn't driving it to continue. A possible explanation as to why sales didn't increase was hat despite its relevance, it takes more than a reflection of the world to earn a profit. People come to media such as comic books and movies to be entertained, and not for the sole purpose of learning. It is very possible that
Green Lantern/Green Arrow didn't provide the entertainment value that people were looking for by reading comics.
Social commentaries aren''t necessarily interesting because they relate to the real world, it just pure coincidence that the issues being addressed happen to be interesting. Judd Winick, an established comic writer whose dealt with social issues in his stories, had this to say about the priorities that need to be set for a comic story.
"First and foremost, is the story.You can’t, you know, bring in socially relevant stories or come up with agendas or what not, just for the hell of it. It's more about looking at the characters, then figuring out, what will be an interesting story to tell? And a lot of times, those interesting stories are ones that actually reflect upon what goes on in reality."
A Good Thing To Keep In Mind
As mentioned earlier, the comic book medium was created with the mere intention of telling a fantastic tale where the protagonist is a terrific individual who uses his/her abilities to fight evil - possibly having a moral along the way. With that in mind, it is not a necessity to include social commentaries in their stories if it will impede the larger than life appeal and fun storytelling that fans and others have grown to love so much in comics. Such stories aren't tailored to all heroes, and if the source material or the nature of the character doesn't allow for it, then don't incorporate social issues. Yes, it may provide the audience with a realistic grasp on the story and it may make the story more "intelligent", but there is nothing wrong with telling a simple and fantastic story that the comics were meant to tell in the first place.
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