How Box Office Superheroes Reveal American Spiritual Beliefs.

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Richard Clark

Richard Clark is the Founding Editor of Christ and Pop Culture. He is also the managing editor of Gamechurch and a freelance writer for Unwinnable, Paste, and other outlets. He lives with his wife in Louisville, KY and has a MA in Theology and the Arts from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
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3 Comments

  1. Boo… *sigh* I am hard-pressed on every side.

    Are there people out there who are so out of touch with pop realities that they think people like heroes because they see what they need? Or is it just that they want so badly to interpret these things in light of Christ that they fudge the picture to make it fit? I personally vote for the latter because that’s where the evidence seems to point, but I’ve been wrong before.

    People love Batman, Spider-Man, James Bond, and the other super-heroes out there not because they want a hero, not because they want to be rescued. People love the idea because they, in that fantasy-based suspension of disbelief, want to identify with the hero. They don’t want a hero that is better than them, but a hero who is the best of them (in a mythological sense). People like the Batman because he is freaking cool, because he’s tough, because he’s in control. Because despite the shambles of his life and the mess of his personal sense, he goes out there and does awesome. And he does awesome in a way the viewer can respect.

    Kids dress as heroes, not victims.

    Super-heroes say nothing to society’s desire for a saviour, for a hero who is not themselves. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills.

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