“And I Think to Myself – What a Marvel-Ous World” An
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“AND I THINK TO MYSELF – WHAT A MARVEL-OUS WORLD” AN EXAMINATION OF MARVEL STUDIOS’ INFLUENCE AND ROLE IN THE FRANCHISING OF CONTEMPORARY SUPERHERO FILMS By Elizabeth C.A. MacLeod, B.A. (Hons.) A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Film Studies Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario April 2015 i TABLES OF CONTENTS TABLES OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... iv INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... v CHAPTER ONE - ORIGIN STORY: SUPERHERO BUSINESS AND CINEMATIC BEGINNINGS ..................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER TWO - “SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED”: MARVEL STUDIO’S METEORIC MONOPOLY OF HOLLYWOOD .............................................................. 20 CHAPTER THREE - “A FINGER IN EVERY PIE”: CONVERGENCE CULTURE AND THE TRANSMEDIA NARRATIVE OF THE “MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE.” ..................................................................................................................... 54 CHAPTER FOUR - “GREEN WITH ENVY (AND CASH)”: THE FUTURE OF SUPERHERO FRANCHISING IN HOLLYWOOD ........................................................ 77 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 106 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 111 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................. 124 ii ABSTRACT This thesis presents a framework for understanding Marvel Studios’ current domination of superhero franchising in Hollywood and the impact of this domination on the film industry as a whole. Since the turn of the millennium, superhero films have developed into one of the most reliable, and profitable, properties studios can offer in the face of shrinking film attendance. Marvel Studios has established itself as the leading producer of superhero films, culminating in the success of the Avengers (2012) as reportedly the third-highest grossing film domestically and worldwide in the history of the film industry. In a post-Avengers film industry, Marvel Studios, I argue, has created a new standard for the franchising of superhero films, through its strategic exploitation of what Henry Jenkins has referred to as “convergence culture.” In the first chapter of the thesis, the success of Marvel Studios is analyzed in the context of the company’s history in comic book production and marketing in the 1940s, its first attempts at film adaptation in the 1960s, and its bankruptcy in the 1990s. Chapter Two covers the establishment of the current era of Marvel Studios and the success of its franchises, like Iron Man (2008) and the Avengers (2012). In Chapter Three, I analyze how contemporary practices of transmedia and convergence culture have been crucial to the development of Marvel Studios’ “Marvel Cinematic Universe.” My fourth and final chapter examines the future plans of Marvel Studios’ and those of other studios who own rights to superhero characters. The aim overall is to illuminate the ground breaking impact on the contemporary film industry, both creative and monetary, of Marvel Studios and its novel approach to media franchising. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Charles O’Brien, whose guidance, knowledge and support enabled me to create a thesis on a subject that I truly love. Writing this thesis was never truly “work.” I also extend my thanks and gratitude to my panel members Dr. Malini Guha, Dr. Marc Furstenau, and Dr. Brian Johnson. I would also like to thank Diane Berezowski and Rose Greider, who are two sides of the same coin of kindness and compassion, and who always brought a smile to my face during stressful and tense times. I want to thank Michelle MacDonald, née Everist for encouraging me to attend Carleton University. Without her encouragement, I would never have seriously considered studying for my Masters in Ottawa; thank you big sister. Lastly, I thank my parents Donald Alexander MacLeod and Mary Alice Ryan. I would be nowhere and nothing without their unending and immovable belief in me. iv DEDICATION In dedication to M. Eileen Ryan, B.A., M.P.A., LL. B., my Aunt, Godmother, and fellow Carleton University Graduate v INTRODUCTION Superhero comics have often been viewed as “lowbrow” entertainment. Due to their widespread availability, popularity, and low prices, along with their soap-operatic plots and larger-than-life characters, superhero comics have had a somewhat negative stigma associated with them. The grandiosity and fantastical powers of superheroes make it difficult to appreciate the unique enjoyment offered by superhero films, despite the superhero genre’s influence on the film industry and popular culture at large, and the genre’s enormous financial success at a time of crisis in the film industry. These derisive, and at times elitist, prejudices can prevent individuals from enjoying superhero films, and appreciating the unique construction and artistry that goes into their making. Ultimately, the joke is on those who scoff at superheroes, as superhero films have become one of the most reliable and profitable franchises for Hollywood studios and the film industry at large, providing pleasure and entertainment to enormous global and domestic audiences who gladly pay to see pop culture’s equivalent of mythical gods on the big screen. Seriality, multiple creators, long-term continuity, a character backlog, contemporary ties to a deep history, and a sense of permanence are elements that characterize comic book universes.1 Many of pop culture’s earliest franchises drew on comics-derived material. For example, within a few years of his creation in 1938, Superman was appearing in comic books, comic strips, live action serials, animated cartoons, and radio dramas.2 Each of these media platforms contributed to this iconic 1 Sam Ford and Henry Jenkins, “Managing Multiplicity in Superhero Comics: An Interview with Henry Jenkins,” in Third Person: Authoring and Exploring Vast Narratives, eds. Pat Harrington and Noah Wardrip-Fruin. (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2009), 304. 2 Ibid., 304. vi character’s evolution, as did various Superman television productions a few decades later in the 1950s and film in the 1980s.3 Superhero comics, a transmedia phenomenon from the start, anticipated the expansive and immersive world building essential to what has been called convergence culture.4 The works of media scholar Henry Jenkins are crucial in comprehending developments in convergence culture and transmedia storytelling that have become prominent over that past two decades. The main development concerns the integration of multiple texts to create a narrative so large, encompassing and constantly growing, that it cannot be contained within a single medium.5 In convergence culture, each platform in a transmedia franchise allows for the introduction of new parts into the larger narrative.6 A narrative’s world can be expanded and explored across multiple entertainment platforms with any given product providing a point of entry into the franchise as a whole.7 The Wachowskis’ Matrix franchise exemplifies the degree to which a transmedia franchise, a narrative or property can exist across multiple platforms and formats.8 The possibilities are endless as to how an audience can consume a transmedia narrative, which imposes special challenges on those who wish to analyze such narratives. Superhero comics provide the perfect medium for convergence culture and transmedia franchising. Indeed, today’s convergence culture can be traced back to the comics industry in the 1930s and 1940s. Since their inception, DC Comics and Marvel Comics have treated all of their titles as interconnected; characters move across different 3 Ibid., 304. 4 Ibid., 305. 5 Henry Jenkins, “Searching for the Origami Unicorn: The Matrix and Transmedia Storytelling,” in Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. (New York: New York University Press, 2006), 95. 6 Ibid., 95. 7 Ibid., 96. 8 Ibid., 95. vii series and universe-wide events periodically require readers to buy titles that they were not otherwise reading to fully understand their full ramifications.9 Each book approaches the same characters from a different perspective, to thus round out the story in new ways. Each book must satisfy the hardcore fan’s mastery over a complex mythology while trying to remain accessible to first-time readers.10 One could also debate whether superhero comics represent multiple coherent and self-contained genres, or represent character types that play across a range of genres.11 The superhero genre itself took definition slowly, building off a range of related genre traditions, i.e., the detective story (Batman), the science fiction saga (Fantastic Four), the spy genre (Iron Man, Black Widow),