Capitalist Superheroes: Caped Crusaders in the Neoliberal Age

by Dan Hassler-Forest

In the same way that Stallone and Schwarzenegger played film heroes who came to embody the values of Ronald Reagans aggressive conservative agenda in the 1980s, the 21st-century film narratives of Batman, Spider-Man and Superman reflect the policies of the Bush Doctrine after 9/11. This book offers a groundbreaking study of the relationship that exists between post-9/11 American politics and the contemporary superhero movie phenomenon. No other Hollywood subgenre was as consistently popular during the George W. Bush presidency, as films such as Spider-Man, Superman Returns, Iron Man, and The Dark Knight embodied the key contradictions that inform the cultural and political life of the post-9/11 years. By combining in-depth analyses of numerous major superhero films from this era with astute readings of contemporary critical theory, this book offers accessible and academically potent insight into the complex interplay between politics, ideology, and entertainment in the 21st century. (Amazon.co.uk)

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Film, Pop Culture

285 pages, Paperback

First published December 6, 2012

About the author

Dan Hassler-Forest is assistant professor of media and cultural studies at Utrecht University. He publishes widely on media convergence, genre cinema, critical theory, and zombies. He loves playing the ukulele and someday hopes to master the banjo.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I've ever read.

[Chantal · Rating 1 out of 5]

I almost quit this book 10 times and I'm so glad I got it from the library and didn't pay money for this.
A better title for this book could have been "BATMAN (and a few other examples sprinkled in occasionally) and Capitalism/Patriarchy".
How do you build a book on Superheros and Capitalism and then only mention Iron Man like once? briefly? on like 2 pages??
What is it with all these weird jumps to different topics??
I feel like the author was reaching for straws so badly, he must have pulled a muscle at some point.
I was so excited to read this, but it just didn't do much for me.
This book didn't focus on what it should habe focussed on.
It was too broad and too specific with the examples, imo. Like only referencing the Batman in like 90% of the book?? What is up with that?
Oh and Thanks for putting me in a reading slump tho.

[Vivek Singh · Rating 1 out of 5]

http://www.elsewhere.org/pomo/

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Em Capitalist Superheroes: Caped Crusaders in the Neoliberal Age encontrei uma rica fonte para meu trabalho de tese doutoral. No livro, o autor analisa os super-heróis - mais especificamente os filmes de super-heróis- em vista da política neoliberal do governo George W. Bush. O autor,Dan Hassler-Forest traz interessantes iluminações de como os super-heróis e suas características se adapatam e se encaixam no sistema social e econômico gerado e mantido pelo capitalismo neoliberal. Ele desevolve sua análise em cinco capítulos. O primeiro deles analisa as origens dos super-heróis tendo em vista os filmes do Superman, O segundo, o herói quebrado e tramuatizado e os filmes do Batman. O terceiro aborda construção das metrópoles, em especial em filmes como os do Homem-Aranha. Já no quarto capítilo temos as questões de vigilâncias e punição, o Panóptico, teorias herdadas de Michel Foucault e questão de visiblidade analisado à luz de filmes como Watchmen. Por fim, no quinto capítulo, quem entra em cena são os filmes de monstro, zumbis e que retratam o final do mundo, como Cloverfield e o O dia depois de Amanhã. Um ótimo livro que levanta diversas questões a respeito de como as mecânicas do fuincionamento dos super-heróis estão atreladas às dinâmica socioeconômicas do capitalismo neoliberal.

[Pedro Costa · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read that ultimately is bogged down by its placement in time. Would like to see the author revisit the theme with the new context of the booming MCU, failing DCU, the Snowden Leaks, The Trump Presidency and subversions and deconstructions in shows like The Boys and their apparent success

[Mtume Gant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book. If it needs anything is an update since the marvel superhero film boom happened with Avengers and so on. I mean you can use his graphs to easily to understand these films but it would be great to get the specific treatment out there since these films are the most popular maybe ever. But it’s a must read in understanding how these things work

[Emmet O'Cuana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A intelligently written and incisive approach to superhero films and surrounding genre pictures.

http://themomusreport.blogspot.com.au...

At times it feels a little too broad though, perhaps due to the sheer number of texts referenced both as part of Hassler-Forest's analysis and those thinkers brought to bear on the material.