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DC cinematic universe : a celebration of DC at the movies
From the trailblazing 1940s movie serials that first put Batman and Superman on the silver screen to the Caped Crusader's swinging 1960s escapades and the iconic 1970s Superman, to the state-of-the-art 21st century reinventions of the Dark Knight, the Man of Steel, and Wonder Woman, this book provides an indispensable guided tour of DC cinema history. See how DC's characters, locations, costumes, and weapons have been adapted from page to screen and evolved over the decades. Witness some of the world's finest actors, such as Academy-Award winners Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Christian Bale, Nicole Kidman, Joaquin Phoenix, Viola Davis, and others transform into the Super Heroes, Super-Villains, and supporting cast for their times. Go behind the scenes and discover little known facts while poring over stunning movie stills, character and set designs, and storyboards.
BOOK
Bending steel : modernity and the American superhero
“Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound . . . It’s Superman!” Bending Steel examines the historical origins and cultural significance of Superman and his fellow American crusaders. Cultural historian Aldo J. Regalado asserts that the superhero seems a direct response to modernity, often fighting the interrelated processes of industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and capitalism that transformed the United States from the early nineteenth century to the present. Reeling from these exciting but rapid and destabilizing forces, Americans turned to heroic fiction as a means of explaining national and personal identities to themselves and to the world. In so doing, they created characters and stories that sometimes affirmed, but other times subverted conventional notions of race, class, gender, and nationalism.
The cultural conversation articulated through the nation’s early heroic fiction eventually led to a new heroic type—the brightly clad, super-powered, pro-social action heroes that first appeared in American comic books starting in the late 1930s. Although indelibly shaped by the Great Depression and World War II sensibilities of the second-generation immigrants most responsible for their creation, comic book superheroes remain a mainstay of American popular culture.
Tracing superhero fiction all the way back to the nineteenth century, Regalado firmly bases his analysis of dime novels, pulp fiction, and comics in historical, biographical, and reader response sources. He explores the roles played by creators, producers, and consumers in crafting superhero fiction, ultimately concluding that these narratives are essential for understanding vital trajectories in American culture.
eBook
Anatomy of the superhero film
\"This book addresses what a superhero body can do by developing several 'x-rays' of the superbod's sensoria, anatomic structures, internal systems, cellular organizations, and orthotic, chemical, or technological enhancements. In short, these x-rays offer what we might describe as a metamorpho-physiological approach to the superheroes in feature films, theatrical cartoon shorts, and Netflix television series. This approach examines the ways in which the 'substance' of superheroes, which includes their masks, costumes, chevrons, weapons, and auras, extends into the diegetic environment of the film, transgressing it, transforming it, and corporealizing it, making it emblematic of the shape, dimensions, contours, and organismic workings of one or more of our major organs, members, orifices, fluids, or cell clusters. Thus the superhero film, as this study claims, works to make us more aware of the mutability, adaptability, modifiability, and virtual capabilities of our own flesh.\"--Cover page 4.
Book
The Comic Book Film Adaptation
In the summer of 2000X-Mensurpassed all box office expectations and ushered in an era of unprecedented production of comic book film adaptations. This trend, now in its second decade, has blossomed into Hollywood's leading genre. From superheroes to Spartan warriors,The Comic Book Film Adaptationoffers the first dedicated study to examine how comic books moved from the fringes of popular culture to the center of mainstream film production.
Through in-depth analysis, industry interviews, and audience research, this book charts the cause-and-effect of this influential trend. It considers the cultural traumas, business demands, and digital possibilities that Hollywood faced at the dawn of the twenty-first century. The industry managed to meet these challenges by exploiting comics and their existing audiences. However, studios were caught off-guard when these comic book fans, empowered by digital media, began to influence the success of these adaptations. Nonetheless, filmmakers soon developed strategies to take advantage of this intense fanbase, while codifying the trend into a more lucrative genre, the comic book movie, which appealed to an even wider audience. Central to this vibrant trend is a comic aesthetic in which filmmakers utilize digital filmmaking technologies to engage with the language and conventions of comics like never before.
The Comic Book Film Adaptationexplores this unique moment in which cinema is stimulated, challenged, and enriched by the once-dismissed medium of comics.
eBook
Marvel Studios : all your questions answered
Who exactly are the Guardians of the Galaxy? What's the best order to watch the films in? And are Iron Man and Captain America friends or enemies? If you've ever mixed up the different Thor movies, or you get confused by which Avengers villain is which, fear not! Marvel Cinematic Universe: All Your Questions Answered is the book for you.
Book
Hot Pants and Spandex Suits
The superheroes from DC and Marvel comics are some of the most iconic characters in popular culture today. But how do these figures idealize certain gender roles, body types, sexualities, and racial identities at the expense of others? Hot Pants and Spandex Suits offers a far-reaching look at how masculinity and femininity have been represented in American superhero comics, from the Golden and Silver Ages to the Modern Age. Scholar Esther De Dauw contrasts the bulletproof and musclebound phallic bodies of classic male heroes like Superman, Captain America, and Iron Man with the figures of female counterparts like Wonder Woman and Supergirl, who are drawn as superhumanly flexible and plastic. It also examines the genre's ambivalent treatment of LGBTQ representation, from the presentation of gay male heroes Wiccan and Hulkling as a model minority couple to the troubling association of Batwoman's lesbianism with monstrosity. Finally, it explores the intersection between gender and race through case studies of heroes like Luke Cage, Storm, and Ms. Marvel. Hot Pants and Spandex Suits is a fascinating and thought-provoking consideration of what superhero comics teach us about identity, embodiment, and sexuality.
eBook
The Marvel cinematic universe : an official timeline
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is vast, incredibly varied, and richly complex. Different worlds, different timelines, countless characters. This is the guide to that universe. Created in close collaboration with Marvel Studios, it will frame the MCU's biggest events: what happened, when, where, and why. Follow the entire story of the MCU from before the Big Bang to the Blip and beyond. Along the way, learn more about the evolution of the Iron Man armors, the hunt for the Infinity Stones, and the formation of The Multiverse.
BOOK
Superhero Grief
Superhero Grief uses modern superhero narratives to teach the principles of grief theories and concepts and provide practical ideas for promoting healing.
Chapters offer clinical strategies, approaches, and interventions, including strategies based in expressive arts and complementary therapies. Leading researchers, clinicians, and professionals address major topics in death, dying, and bereavement, using superhero narratives to explore loss in the context of bereavement and to promote a contextual view of issues and relationship types that can improve coping skills.
This volume provides support and psychoeducation to students, clinicians, educators, researchers, and the bereaved while contributing significantly to the literature on the intersection of death, grief, and trauma.
eBook
Ink-stained amazons and cinematic warriors : superwomen in modern mythology
\"Women have been led to believe that superheroes and heroism are not for them, and that they are little more than love interests, or sidekicks who stand by their supermen. This is a false proposition argues Jennifer K. Stuller, as she uncovers the true history of how superwomen are represented in popular culture. She reveals how, from Wonder Woman to Buffy Summers, Emma Peel to Sydney Brislow, Charlie's Angels to The Powerpuff Girls, the female hero in modern mythology has broken through the boys' club barrier of tradition for shining, if all too brief, moments. The book details the notable differences in how women and men are represented as heroic in modern myth. Love and compassion, spies and sexuality, daddy's girls, and the complicated roles of superwomen who are also mothers are all explored. The spotlight is also turned onto men and women who have created modern myths with a strong female presence and Stuller concludes by speculating on the future of gender representation in superheroic myth. A useful appendix offers resources for further information about feminist fangirl blogging, activism, and fiction, and the book features a glossary of modern mythic women.\"--P. [4] of cover.
Book
Dressing up with Disney and Make-Believe with Marvel: The Impact of Gendered Costumes on Gender Typing, Prosocial Behavior, and Perseverance during Early Childhood
Wearing costumes is a common experience during early childhood and is often important to sociodramatic play. Costumes tend to be highly gendered for both girls and boys (such as princess and superhero costumes). However, there is very little research on the impact that wearing costumes has on gender-differentiated behavior, such as toy preference, prosocial behavior, or perseverance during early childhood. The current study included 223 U.S. children, aged between 3 and 5 years-old. Children were assigned to wear either a gendered, counter-gendered, or gender-neutral costume, and they then took part in three gender-related tasks. There was no impact of wearing costumes on any task for girls. However, boys preferred feminine toys significantly more when wearing a neutral costume when compared to a masculine-typed one. Additionally, boys were significantly less likely to help when wearing a masculine-typed costume compared to a feminine-typed costume. There are several implications of these findings that are discussed in the paper. Parents may wish to purchase a wide range of costumes for their child for sociodramatic play, particularly for boys. Therapists could also potentially use costumes during play therapy to discuss gender issues. Additionally, costume producers could consider marketing a wide range of costumes for children as opposed to largely focusing on gendered ones.
Journal Article