Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist

The 21st Century Superhero in Film as an Expression of Contemporary Utopia

Name: Wim Dijksterhuis Student Number: 10650636 Address: Phone Number: Supervisor: dr. Assimakis Tseronis Second Reader: dr. Maryn Wilkinson University of Amsterdam: Media & Culture, Master Thesis Filmstudies Date of Completion: 03-02-2015 Word count: 22.897

2 Abstract

The last decade is marked by unprecedented individual freedom, but also by anxiety and a feeling of insecurity. In this same period, superhero films have been met with substantial commercial success and popularity. Different from their predecessors, the superheroes in these films have become complicated characters that show anxiety, fears and doubts. This thesis is concerned with the relation between the individuality of the contemporary superhero character in film, and individuality in contemporary society. Its main research question is: How does the increased complexity of the 21st century superhero character in film reflect cultural fantasies and anxieties regarding individualism in contemporary society? It answers this question by introducing insights from sociology and philosophy: In a case study of the popular Iron Man trilogy, the concept of safety utopia is used to demonstrate how the 21st century superhero character reflects a specific contemporary utopian desire that not only overcomes the negative state of contemporary individual anxiety, but aims for the balance between maximum individual freedom and a maximum feeling of safety.

Keywords: Superhero, 21st century superhero film, safety utopia, moral discontent, anxiety, individualism.

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4 Table of Contents Introduction ...... 7 1. On genre and superheroes ...... 12 1.1 What defines the superhero film genre? ...... 12 1.2 Convergence and high concept Superheroes (1970’s – 2000) ...... 15 1.3 The superhero film in the new millennium (2000’s – 2010’s) ...... 16 2. The two-sided contemporary superhero ...... 20 2.1 Superheroes as powerful individuals ...... 21 2.2 The complex superhero ...... 24 3. The individual in contemporary society ...... 28 3.1 The selfish individual ...... 29 3.2 The anxious individual ...... 32 3.3 Overcoming anxiety in the superhero film ...... 34 4. 21st century superhero films as expressions of utopia ...... 37 4.1 Vitality and Safety ...... 38 4.2 Utopian desire ...... 40 4.3 The safety utopia in the contemporary superhero film ...... 41 5. Case study: the safety utopia in Iron Man ...... 44 5.1 The Iron Man trilogy ...... 44 5.2 Iron Man as a vital character ...... 49 5.3 Anxiety and moral discontent in Iron Man ...... 54 5.4 Overcoming anxiety through vitality ...... 58 5.5 The utopian promise of technological progress ...... 60 5.6 Becoming the ideal individual ...... 63 Conclusion ...... 64 Acknowledgements ...... 67 Works cited ...... 68

5 6 Introduction

You will give the people an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders.

(Jor-El, Man of steel, 2013)

We live in an age of unprecedented individual freedom. We have ample choice in almost any field, such as education, food, lifestyle, nightlife and political party. People in the Western world have never been so rich and healthy, education is on the rise and criminality is in decline (Bregman 2014, 19). In other words: the world we live in seems in many ways to be an ideal one. However, our era is marked by depression and anxiety. The demise of ideological frameworks, the attacks of 9/11, terrorism and the 2008 credit crisis have made many contemporary individuals anxious, at times not feeling safe (Boutellier 2004, 18). It is in this context, the first decade of the 21st century, that superhero films have come to dominate Hollywood blockbuster production. The superhero film made its unexpected return with Bryan Singer’s X-Men (2000) and experienced mainstream commercial success with Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man (2002). Since then, superhero films like Iron Man (2008), The Dark Knight (2008), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), and The Avengers (2012), have been among the most commercially successful films in their respective years. In total, more than fifty live-action superhero films have been produced between 2001 and 2014; of which fourteen appear in the one hundred highest all-time American grosses.1 Many of these are part of franchises with commodities ranging from toys to videogames. Superheroes, like those in the films of the 1970’s, have traditionally represented the ideals associated with individualism. They were often represented as warriors, entrepreneurs

1 These are: Marvel’s The Avengers ($760 million), The Dark Knight ($534 billion), The Dark Knight Rises ($448 million), Iron Man 3 ($409 million), Spider-Man ($403 million), Spider-Man 2 ($373 million), Spider- Man 3 ($336 million), Guardians of the Galaxy ($329 million), Iron Man ($318 million), Iron Man 2 ($312 million), Man of Steel ($219 million), The Amazing Spider-Man ($262 million), The Incredibles ($261 million), Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($259 million). Batman (1989) features at place 82 in the list with ($251 million). The number of superhero films to appear in the one hundred highest worldwide grosses is seventeen. This count only includes big-budget superhero blockbusters. The information above is found in Boxofficemojo.com.

7 and patriarchs that could rely on their power as an individual to overcome any obstacle (Ryan and Kellner 1988, 220). In contemporary superhero films, the characters are not only depicted as powerful individuals, they are also shown as burdened and conflicted. As Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek states, contemporary superhero films can be seen as part of a ‘humanization trend.’ Much like the ‘ordinary individual,’ superheroes are depicted as human beings with their own fears and anxieties. Many of the films “dwell in detail over the uncertainties, weaknesses, doubts, fears and anxieties of the supernatural hero, his struggle with his inner demons, his confrontation with his own dark side, and so forth” (Žižek 2009, 37). It seems that there are two sides to the representation of the contemporary superhero character: the films offer an ideal of powerful individuals and yet these superheroes are also burdened, conflicted and anxious. Considering the humanization trend in superhero films in the context of contemporary individual anxiety, it is interesting to further explore the superhero character in the contemporary superhero film. Is there a connection between the ideals the contemporary individual strives for and the depiction of the superhero in the popular superhero blockbusters? Like Jor-El, Superman’s father, suggests in the citation above: do superheroes reflect a utopian ideal? The relation between film and ideology has often been studied in the field of film studies. In their book Camera Politica, Michael Ryan and Douglas Kellner study the relation between ideology, politics and American film. They argue that these relations can work in two directions: films reflect societal values through their cinematic representations; while at the same time they project values for the spectators through these representations.2 In other words: film can reflect the ways society thinks about itself and contemporary socio-cultural events, while it can simultaneously offer ways of thinking about them. Thus, films thus do more than merely reflect reality; they become part of it. The authors call this ‘discursive transcoding’: films transfer discourses between fields, making them part of the discourses that construct reality, collective ideals, morals, and so on. This can allude to a specific historical period, but also to contemporary reality (1988, 1-12). The recent surge in production and popularity of the superhero film has not gone unnoticed by academics. Scholars from fields such as film studies, cultural studies or even popular geopolitics have done research on the popularity of this genre, have sought to

2 Ideology is understood here as the system of underlying ideals and principles that form the basis of structures in contemporary society, for instance politics or economics. Or as Ryan and Kellner put it with regard to film, a “metaphoric way of representing the world that is linked to a particular way of constructing social reality (Oxford Dictionary; Ryan and Kellner 1988, 15).

8 establish its generic boundaries, ascertained its role as a commodity in a neoliberal context, and drawn connections between the films and contemporary socio-political events. In the fields of film studies and popular culture studies, several academics have explored the relation between the superhero film and contemporary society. John Shelton Lawrence and Robert Jewett show in The Myth of The American Superhero that superhero films offer important clues about the ‘tensions, hopes and despairs’ within contemporary American culture (2002, 5). This is similarly asserted by Rich Gray and Betty Kaklamanidou, editors of the volume The 21st Century Superhero: Essays on Gender, Genre and Globalization in Film. They maintain that as “iconic figures of the American pop culture mythology,” superheroes in superhero films can be seen to reflect anxieties caused by contemporary socio-political events of the last decade (2011, 5). Their bundle includes contributions by Johannes Schlegel and Frank Habermann, who discuss individual morality in superhero films, and Vincent M. Gaine, who considers their status as a genre. Important is the work of film and cultural scholar Dan Hassler-Forest, who has written Capitalist Superheroes: Caped Crusaders in the Neoliberal Age. In his detailed analysis of contemporary superhero films he shows how the 21st century superhero character can be seen as the clearest articulation of neoliberal ideology in popular culture (2012). The superhero characters in the films connect to individualism in contemporary society, as the studies of Gray and Kaklaminodou, Schlegel and Habermann and Hassler- Forest have pointed out. While the scholars show that this connection exists, the question what it entails remains one to be further explored. It is this aspect of individualism in contemporary society and the popular superhero blockbusters that this thesis will examine in more detail. By using the insights of the aforementioned scholars and combining them with insights from sociology and philosophy, this thesis connects the individualism of the 21st century superhero character with two important contemporary views on the individual and its role in society. The first one is the view of objectivism as introduced by Ayn Rand, which holds that the individual is powerful and should be independent from anyone (1987, 848). The second one is the view on individualism as described by philosophical movement of postmodernism, which holds that the contemporary individual is defined by an anxiety, moral discontent and a crises of agency (Boutellier 2004, 34; Hassler-Forest 2012, 42). This thesis will use the concept of the safety utopia, as introduced by criminologist and sociologist Hans Boutellier, in order to connect these views on individualism with the individualism of the 21st century superhero character. He argues that there is a dominant utopia in contemporary society: The safety utopia, which aims for the balance between

9 maximum individual freedom and safety. This utopia implicitly guides political and cultural discourse, and provides a utopian ideal that individuals can aim for (2004, 2, 38). The main research question of this thesis will be: How does the increased complexity of the 21st century superhero character in film reflect cultural fantasies and anxieties regarding individualism in contemporary society? In order to answer this question several aspects have to be taken into consideration: how can the superhero film genre be defined? How is the superhero character represented in contemporary superhero films? And what are the fantasies and anxieties related to individual freedom in contemporary society? The hypothesis of this thesis is that contemporary superhero films connect to individualism in contemporary society in the process of discursive transcoding. That is, by reflecting parts of society they offer it ways of thinking about itself, in this case especially regarding individualism. Moreover, superhero films depict a specific contemporary utopian desire that not only overcomes a negative state (contemporary individual anxiety), but aims for the balance between maximum individual freedom and a maximum (feeling) of safety. In order to look at how the 21st century superhero film genre reflects specific elements of contemporary reality, the first chapter will explore the superhero film genre. It will show that the economical context of Hollywood has been influential in how the genre has developed and how it can be defined. Building on the insights of Steve Neale, Rick Altman and Hassler-Forest, it then argues that the genre should be approached as an open category, of which the boundaries are not easy to define. With this in mind, the chapter then offers a definition of the superhero film genre based on Altman’s semantic/syntactic/pragmatic approach. The second chapter explores one of the essential characteristics of the superhero genre: the superhero character. Based on research from Gaine, Schlegel and Habermann, it argues that these films show what will be called a two-sided individualism: on the one hand they continue to uphold the belief in the power of the individual, while on the other they show more complex and conflicted superheroes. The third chapter then focuses on the contemporary individual. What are the fantasies and anxieties of the individual in contemporary society? It shows that there are two main perspectives on individualism in contemporary society. On the one hand there is the ideology of objectivism, which supports a view of the strong and independent individual. On the other hand the philosophical movement of postmodernism foregrounds a view of individual anxiety and a crisis of agency. These two views will be considered in the light of the two-sided individualism of the superhero character. This consideration shows that a new concept is

10 needed to study the two-sided individualism of the superhero character. The fourth chapter will introduce the concept of the ‘safety utopia’ to study the 21st century superhero film. Dutch sociologist and criminologist Hans Boutellier introduced this concept in his book The Safety Utopia: Contemporary Discontent and Desire as to Crime and Punishment. The concept is best defined as an individual utopian desire for the convergence of ‘maximum individual freedom’ and ‘optimum protection’ that has risen out of the indefinable fear that characterizes the contemporary individual. The chapter will explain how the concept can be used to study the superhero in the 21st century superhero film (2004, 2). The two views on individuality in contemporary society can be connected with vitality and safety, which can guide an analysis of the 21st century superhero film. The fifth chapter does so, and offers a case study of one of the most successful superhero blockbuster franchises of the last decade: the Iron Man trilogy. This chapter illustrates how the concepts of safety utopia – vitality, the need for safety, moral discontent and the risk society – can be applied to the analysis of a concrete film of the superhero genre. In this way, it shows how the increased complexity of the superhero character in the 21st century superhero film reflects contemporary fantasies and anxieties regarding individualism in contemporary society. The conclusion then reviews these findings and examines the hypothesis that has been given in the introduction. It shows that while the case study demonstrates an articulation of the safety utopia, there are some problems yet to be researched. These questions will be presented in recommendations for further research.

11 1. On genre and superheroes

I’m here to fight for truth, and justice, and the American way.

(Superman, Superman: The Movie)

Superman, the first superhero, was introduced on the pages of the first issue of Action Comics in 1938. After the character’s immediate success, superhero characters started to appear in other comics. Because of their success superhero narratives soon spread across other media, like radio and film serials; well-known examples include Captain America (1944) and Superman (1948). In this way, superheroes became an unmistakable part of American popular culture. The first superhero flew across the cinematic skies in Superman: The Movie (1978). From 1978 onwards, Hollywood continued to produce blockbuster superhero films, many films have since followed which together can be considered as a genre (Coogan 2013, 1-2). This chapter will explore the notion of such a superhero film genre. It will show that the genre is tied to the context of the post-classical age of Hollywood. In this context, superhero films are continuously exploring and expanding generic boundaries. This chapter will therefore argue that superhero genre should be approached as an open category, of which the borders shift and are continually altered. This signifies that the way the superhero character is depicted, and the way it reflects cultural fantasies and anxieties, is similar across the different films in the genre. The first section will explore questions of genre and how the superhero film genre can be approached and defined. The second section describes the early development of the superhero genre in the context of post-classical Hollywood while the third does the same for the 21st century superhero genre. Together, these sections show that the genre can best be approached as an open category. In doing so this chapter provides relevant context for the following chapters and shows that while its generic borders are constantly shifting, superhero films can be grouped together in a genre.

1.1 What defines the superhero film genre?

To understand the group of films labeled as the ‘superhero film genre’ and why they are connected and, one must start with a consideration of the concept of genre. Of origin, ‘genre’

12 is a French word, which translates to ‘kind’ or ‘type.’ As such it can be understood as a term used to indicate a certain type – or category – of literature, music or film. This rudimentary definition is deceptively simple, as is demonstrated by its use in a range of disciplines and fields: genre theorists have interpreted the term in different ways, to different ends (Oxford Dictionary; Neale 2000, 17-20). In film studies the term has been mostly used to study commercial film and Hollywood cinema. In the introduction of the edited volume Genre Reader IV, genre scholar Barry Keith Grant argues: “Genre movies are those commercial feature films that, through repetition and variation, tell familiar stories with familiar characters in familiar situations.” In addition they “encourage expectations and experiences similar to those of similar films we have already seen” (2012, xvi). He continues to argue that commercial genre films make up the large part of the body of films that have been produced in the history of the film medium, in contrast to the more studied and much smaller body of art films. Genre films are produced by Hollywood, following certain formulas that are varied and exploited to gain commercial success. Grant identifies certain aspects that form a genre. These aspects are the repetition and variation of generic elements, audience expectations and experiences, and the influence of Hollywood (Ibid). Recent approaches to genre have foregrounded their status as open categories. In Genre and Hollywood, Steve Neale reasons that genres should not be viewed as having eternal or essential features; these features should rather be viewed as changing in their historical context. In approaching genre, it is thus important to pay attention to variation and change within genre and its development through time. Genres tell familiar stories with familiar characters in familiar situations, but there is still much variation between certain time periods of a genre and the different films of a genre in these periods. Films add, change or subtract certain elements to the genre in which they belong. They can also combine generic elements, leading to hybrid films or even hybrid genres. Viewed from this perspective, Neale argues that genres “are best conceived of as processes” (2000, 204). When speaking of the ‘superhero film genre’ a singular approach to it is not immediately apparent. This is reflected in scholarly work involving superhero films. In his book on Hollywood genre, Barry Langford argues that blockbuster franchises like Spider- Man and X-Men are dominated by “effects-laden SF spectaculars” (2008, 182). In a study on the fantasy genre, Katherine Fowkes argues, on the other hand, that the “recent Spider-Man movies lean heavily toward fantasy” (2010, 123). These observations point to the notion that films featuring superhero narratives belong mainly to other film genres – for instance science

13 fiction or fantasy. As the subsequent sections in this chapter will show, it might however be more productive to think of the superhero film genre as a separate genre. This genre can best be seen as an open category, incorporating hybrid films with elements of multiple genres. Dan Hassler-Forest adopts a similar perspective in his book Capitalist Superheroes. He points out that the superhero character is “a flexible and adaptable figure” that unites a large group of texts. This group is very diverse but does show certain similarities and ‘common tendencies’ that can be used to group them together in a genre (2012, 14). Defining this genre means not only looking at producers or consumers of texts but at the “complex process of interaction between constantly changing groups of interacting users” (2012, 16). If the insights of Neale and Hassler-Forest are combined, it can be reasoned that a suitable approach to the superhero film genre as an open category should be one that recognizes and addresses the interaction between these users. The influence of these groups (both the demands of the audience and those of producers) leads the genre to expand its borders. For this reason, Rick Altman’s approach to genre serves well to define the superhero film genre. Altman’s semantic/syntactic/pragmatic approach features three levels. The semantic level refers to the semantic elements, or building blocks of a genre (characters, settings, locations, and so on). The syntactic level refers to the structures in which these building blocks are arranged (certain plot structures, narratives). Altman later added the pragmatic level, this level entails that texts can be considered as part of a genre when they are written and talked about as belonging to that genre (Altman 1999; 207). Using Altman’s approach for the superhero genre, Hassler-Forest argues that films can be seen as part of the superhero film genre when they are identifiable on these three levels. Semantically superhero films feature superheroes, costumes, masks, superhuman powers, etc. On the syntactic level they feature plots in which superheroes save a world, city or community from evil. And finally, on the pragmatic level they should be written of and talked about as part of the superhero film genre (2012, 16).3 One of the common tendencies of the superhero genre that Hassler-Forest points to is that they are (almost without exception) big-budget blockbusters. These blockbusters are commodities, centerpieces of franchises. Perhaps superfluous to state, these commodities

3 This definition of the superhero genre is neither exclusive, nor does include films that have some similarity with superhero films. For example: while the Hulk in The Incredible Hulk does not have a costume or a mask, it is a part of the superhero genre because it is talked of in this manner. On the other hand, Harry Potter, the protagonist of the eponymous franchise, could be seen as having (magic) superpowers; he also saves the wizard community from evil, time and time again. However, on the basis of the pragmatic level the Harry Potter films cannot be considered as part of the superhero genre.

14 have to be profitable for their producers. Considering this, it seems that the essential generic elements of the superhero genre are to a certain extent dependent on and defined by their status as commodities. A further consideration of Hollywood’s post-classical age in the following sections shows how their status as blockbusters influences the construction of the superhero film genre.

1.2 Convergence and high concept Superheroes (1970’s – 2000)

Superman: The Movie marked the beginning of the first wave of superhero films. At the same time, it marked the beginning of a new age of Hollywood blockbusters. According to film historians Kristin Thompson and David Bordwell, this new age was marked by a ‘megapicture mentality’ (2010, 666). In the late 1970s and early 1980s, studios began to focus their attention on high-budget films filled with stars and special effects, usually released around Christmas or summer holidays. The success of these films was no longer only decided by its box office success but by the combined revenues of a franchise: its video release, CD soundtrack, tie-in merchandising and other licensing deals (2010, 487). This new mentality is illustrated by the way Superman: The Movie was produced: the leading roles were played by big stars like Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman, visual effects were emphasized and the film was launched accompanied by a string of merchandise. This approach paid off: Superman was the most successful film in 1979 and its merchandise created millions in revenues. The success of the film paved the road for other superhero blockbusters like Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995) and Batman and Robin (1997) (Thompson and Bordwell 2010, 487). This period in Hollywood history is known as ‘post-classical Hollywood’ or ‘New Hollywood.’ In this period ‘high-concept’ filmmaking became popular. Film historian Richard Maltby further elaborates on high concept filmmaking. He asserts that during the 1980 and 1990s, the convergence of the major Hollywood studios made it easier for them to access and distribute to global markets, which lead to a stable revenue growth. The best strategy to ensure these revenues proved to be the high-budget film. These films provided franchise options, which in turn provided a safe-fail if the films failed at the box office: Losses could be compensated by the revenues from secondary markets. High-budgets were however only available to high-concept films (1998, 35-37). A high concept film has a “straightforward, easily pitched and easily comprehended

15 story” (1998, 37). To appeal to an audience as wide as possible, the stories more often than not featured multiple action sequences, emphasized special effects and famous actors portraying protagonists with muscular bodies. High concept films emphasized spectacular visual elements like action sequences and CGI (computer generated imagery). Like the studios that produced them, the look and narrative of high concept films converged as well. As Maltby states, they relied on “the replication and combination of previously successful narratives” (1998, 37). They reproduced visual and narrative elements from each other, leaving just enough variation to make them commercially viable on a global scale. In other words: why change a winning recipe? Viewed from an economical perspective, the superhero films of the 1980s and 1990s were an ideal fit in a new age of Hollywood production. This position has only improved during the recent wave of superhero films, which started with the X-Men (2000, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2014) and Spider-Man (2002, 2004, 2007) franchises.

1.3 The superhero film in the new millennium (2000’s – 2010’s)

Viewing superhero films as high-concept films in the context of post-classical Hollywood can help explain why superhero films have been produced with such frequency over the last decades. Hassler-Forest argues that the commercial characteristics of the superhero have made the genre so prevalent in contemporary Hollywood. Their marketability as a “branded, recognizable commodity,” which appeals to large audiences, has ensured a comfortable position in the age of postclassical Hollywood (2012, 18). In addition to their status as commodities, popular geopolitics scholar Jason Dittmer argues that two ‘interconnected elements’ perform a decisive role in the heightened centrality of superhero films in Hollywood: The increased reliance of Hollywood on the summer blockbuster, and the ‘evolution’ of special effects (2011, 119). Together, these elements contribute to the ever-expanding borders of the genre. Because of steadily increasing budgets, the need for a summer blockbuster to succeed has increased. The budgets of summer blockbusters increased even more in the 2000s. In 2002, Spider-Man had a budget of $139 million; in 2007 Spider-Man 3 nearly doubled that number to $258 million. Now, if a blockbuster fails a whole studio might go bankrupt. Dittmer shows that this happened after the box-office failure of The Golden Compass (2007). It led to the forced merger of Time Warner with Warner Brothers pictures. Because of the potential devastating effects of box office failure, studios rely on genres and narratives that

16 have proved themselves to provide audiences that are predicable in size and demographic structure (2011, 120). Superhero films give the studios what they want: Their narratives attract youthful audiences with their thrills, whilst appeasing to older and more nostalgic audiences as well. In addition, they offer ‘archetypal characters’ that have a long history of popularity, licensing and other franchise and sequel potential (2011, 119).4 The second element that adds to the centrality of the superhero genre in contemporary Hollywood is the increasing sophistication of special effects. Like film scholar Scot Bukatman asserts, “it’s no accident that this wave of superhero films followed the development of ever more convincing CGI technologies” (2011, 120).5 Dittmer observes that the special effects of the films are constantly evolving in a race to meet audience expectations. More personnel and budget is spent to increase the realism of the special effects. The audience expects that the heroic feats of superheroes using their superpowers are portrayed as realistically as possible, leading to increasing ‘unreal’ special effects in the summer blockbusters. These factors lead to a self-intensifying circle: studios give higher budgets to films in order to satisfy audience demands, to eventually gain higher profits. To meet audience demands for the next summer blockbuster, even more must be invested in special effects, leading to higher budgets, and so on.6 According to Dittmer, superhero films thus drive the industry forwards, leaving it to appear ‘addicted’ to the genre (Dittmer 2011, 120). While Dittmer asserts that production budgets are rising and special effects are playing an increasingly central role, another film theorist has described the influences of other genres on the superhero film genre. In Genre and Super-Heroism: Batman in the New Millennium, Vincent M. Gaine expands on generic elements from other genres in the superhero films, which he calls ‘influences’ and ‘borrowings’: genres that feed into the superhero film genre and elements that surpass the borders of it. Focusing mainly on the skills and resources of Batman in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, Gaine shows that the films incorporate elements of other genres. To give two examples: The first act shows Batman practicing his martial arts skills in several ‘training sequences,’ which echoes martial arts films like Kill bill (2004) and Rocky (1976) (2011, 115). And rather than developing his technological gadgetry himself (like he did in earlier Batman films), Bruce Wayne goes to Lucius Fox at the Applied

4 Moreover, the narratives of superhero films can be repeated over and over again, as the latest iteration of the Spiderman shows: only seven years after Spider-Man 3 the franchise was rebooted with The Amazing Spiderman (2014). 5 CGI stands for Computer Generated Imagery. 6 This reliance on high-budget summer blockbusters has lead ‘Movie Brats’ George Lucas and Steven Spielberg to predict the end of Hollywood as we know it. They sketch a doom scenario in which half dozen $250 million films flop, changing the industry forever. This will result in price variances, where ‘you're gonna have to pay $25 for the next Iron Man, you're probably only going to have to pay $7 to see Lincoln’ (Hollywood Reporter).

17 Science division of Wayne Enterprises to obtain military prototypes that were never put into development. This echoes the role of Q as equipment master for agent 007 in the James Bond franchise, part of the spy thriller genre. Q gives 007 gadgets of which he often demonstrates the use. These sequences are repeated in Batman, for instance by Fox showing the use of the Batmobile (2011, 116-118). These two examples are a few of many, which, according to Gaine, “indicate the existence of an identifiable genre, yet one, that can stretch and mutate” (2012, 114). If the assertions from Dittmer and Gaine are combined, it can be ascertained that the increased financial pressure on studios to meet audience demands for the next superhero blockbuster, leads to the production of films that incorporate many generic elements from other genres. This in turn confirms Maltby’s assertion that high-concept films replicate and combine previously successful narratives. This observation can be underlined with a statement from Kevin Feige, producer and president of Marvel studios, which he made in the 2014 documentary Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe:

We love all of our movies to stand apart. And we love that Guardians of the Galaxy is a full on action-adventure, science-fiction film, and that we have techno- thriller elements in the Iron Man films. The new Captain America film The Winter Soldier is a political thriller. So, we don’t believe that the superhero film genre is a genre onto itself. We love taking subgenres and taking them together and then adding the superhero elements into other genres of film.

This statement is remarkable, because the president of the largest superhero film production studio made it. It indicates that studios themselves do not see the superhero genre as distinct from other film genres, and seems to underline the notion that superhero films are characterized by the incorporation of many generic elements from other genres. In addition, it seems to contradict the notion of a superhero film genre as separate from others. It can however be interpreted otherwise in the lights of the observations made by Maltby, Dittmer and Gaine: superhero films can be seen as commodities that cross borders between genres, incorporating elements of other genres to make the films as attractive to an audience as wide as possible, so that they create as much revenue as possible. What can better be asserted, in contrast to Feige’s statement, is that Maltby’s assertion has become even more relevant for the superhero blockbuster in the digital age.

18 The observations from the scholars cited in this chapter give rise to the thought that the superhero genre is too diverse to be designated as a separate genre. However, like Hassler- Forest asserted in the first section, the superhero is a flexible figure in a diverse group of texts that does show common tendencies. There is some degree of similarity between the films; some elements are more likely to be found in superhero films than others. It is for instance more likely that the films borrow elements of the martial arts film or spy-thriller than it is for superheroes to burst into a musical-like song. Superhero films share certain semantics and have a similar syntax. In this way, the genre can be seen to include the science fiction and fantasy elements Langford and Fowkes see in the superhero films, or the martial arts and spy thriller elements Gaine identifies in them. Through a consideration of their history in the context of post-classical Hollywood, this chapter has shown that the superhero film genre is best approached as an open category that incorporates elements of many genres. Due to increased financial pressure and the continuing success of the films, the superhero film genre is constantly shifting and expanding its borders. One of the most recognizable semantic elements of the superhero genre then is its protagonist: the superhero. The next chapter will examine this character type in the 21st century superhero film.

19 2. The two-sided contemporary superhero

I believe there's a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady, and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams.

(Spiderman, Spiderman 2)

This statement from Spiderman in the recent Spiderman franchise shows an idealistic belief in the power of the superhero to overcome obstacles through strength and pride. These characteristics are reminiscent of the characteristics Ryan and Kellner identify in the filmic superheroes of the first wave. They argue that these superheroes represented the ideals associated with individualism through their depiction of superheroes as warriors, entrepreneurs and patriarchs (1988, 220). This chapter will focus on the individuality of the superhero character in the 21st century superhero film. This individuality partly corresponds with the ideals Ryan and Kellner observed in the first wave of superhero films, yet the superheroes in the second wave have taken on new layers of complexity. The 21st century superhero films depict multi-faceted superheroes. While they, like their 20th century predecessors, continue to show strong individuals, they also show their weaknesses, fears and anxieties. While these characteristics could be seen as opposing each other, this chapter argues that they should rather be seen as complementary. That is, 21st century superheroes in film are characterized by what I call a ‘two-sided individualism.’ Not only do the films emphasize the positive aspects of the superhero such as a traditional American belief in the power of the individual, they also show their negative characteristics. It is in this way that they connect to contemporary individual fears and anxieties – as I will expand on in chapter 4. The first section will expand on the depiction of superheroes as representations of the belief in the power of the individual, and show how these narratives are viewed as modern myths. The second section will then complicate this perspective. Guided by recent research from Schlegel and Habermann, Gaine and Hassler-Forest, the section will show that besides being depicted as strong individuals, the superheroes are also characterized by their fears, doubts and anxieties.

20 2.1 Superheroes as powerful individuals

The word ‘superhero’ can be divided into two parts: ‘super’ and ‘hero.’ Super means above, over or beyond, in this case referring to the superpowers of the character. A hero is someone “who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities” (Oxford Dictionary). According to this definition, a superhero is an individual with superpowers, who uses them to demonstrate good qualities, for which a community admires him. Working from the field of comics studies, Peter Coogan has drawn up a more specific definition of the superhero. In an attempt to define the character with its long and eventful history – including the recent superhero film wave – Coogan argues in Superhero: The Secret Origins of a Genre that the superhero is best defined by three characteristics: a mission, his powers and his identity. A superhero is:

A heroic character with a selfless, pro-social mission; with superpowers— extraordinary abilities, advanced technology, or highly developed physical, mental, or mystical skills; who has a superhero identity embodied in a codename and iconic costume, which typically express his biography, character, powers, or origin (transformation from ordinary person to superhero); and who is generically distinct, i.e. can be distinguished from characters of related genres (fantasy, science fiction, detective, etc.) by a preponderance of generic conventions. Often superheroes have dual identities, the ordinary one of which is usually a closely guarded secret (2006, 30).

According to Coogan, a superhero typically has a pro-social mission in which he fights against evil. This mission must fit into the presently accepted ‘mores of society’ and not be for personal gain (2013, 31). A superhero has powers, but according to Coogan they need not necessarily be supernatural – Batman and Iron Man for instance do not have supernatural abilities, but they are considered as superheroes because they feature the other two main characteristics. A superhero uses his powers to pursue his mission, often wearing a costume and a mask; these two aspects form the hero’s identity. The characters often have codenames – Spider Man, Superman, Batman – that serve to hide their real world identities (2006, 30). Coogan’s definition again shows that the relation of the superhero to a community or society is important. This community can be diegetic, part of the fictional world a film represents. But, as has been commonly argued in recent academic and popular writing,

21 superheroes are as much admired (in one way or another) by the community who watches, or better consumes, superhero films in 21st century. Several authors argue that after the events of September 11th and the ensuing War on Terror, superheroes provided a comforting escape from reality. For instance, Kenneth Muir, author of Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film and Television argues: “We all wanted desperately to believe that good can defeat evil, and, perhaps more to the point, that there is a clear line differentiating these opposing philosophies,” and later he states that “immediately following September 11th, superheroes became comforting and safe, like creamy vanilla ice cream, reflecting pure American values and innocence” (2004, 7). Similarly, Liam Burk argues in Superhero Movies: “If cinema represents for many the great escape then, with horrors on our doorstep, the idea of taking that journey with heroes who can turn back time and always save the world seems like a tempting prospect” (2008, 13). Authors like Burk and Muir thus view superhero films as invoking nostalgic notions of pure American values, referring back to a time that the divide between good and evil was still readily apparent. To undertake the cinematic journey with a hero is comforting and escapist, it distracts from a reality marked by the events of 9/11. With this assertion, Burk points out an important aspect of the superhero narrative: the journey the hero undertakes. The concept of the ‘hero’s journey,’ was first coined in 1949 by Joseph Campbell. In his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces he argues that all the major world mythologies share a similar narrative structure. The typical journey of the hero follows a structure of separation-initiation-return, a rite of passage. A hero departs from his common day life to a region of ‘supernatural wonder,’ he encounters fabulous forces there, some aiding him, others testing him (1949, 30). At the pinnacle of his journey he encounters his gravest challenge, over which a decisive victory is won. Leaving the supernatural behind, the hero then returns from this region of wonder to “bestow boons [helpful things] on his fellow man” (ibid). Campbell identifies this journey, also known as the monomyth, as universal and timeless, transcending individual cultures and periods of time. Examples of this plot can be seen throughout the ages in different cultures. It can be seen in the story of Jezus, but also in Prometheus stealing fire from the gods. The fairy tales of the Grimm brothers are examples, as is the story of Buddha. Indeed, the pattern can also be seen in superhero films. In their 2002 book The Myth of the American Superhero, John Lawrence and Robert Jewett argue that this pattern is repeated throughout in American popular film, but with some alterations. They call this narrative pattern the American monomyth. The basic formula of it goes as follows:

22

A community in a harmonious paradise is threatened by evil; normal institutions fail to contend with this threat; a selfless superhero emerges to renounce temptations and carry out the redemptive tasks; aided by fate, his decisive victory restores the community to its paradisiacal condition; the superhero then recedes into obscurity (2002, 6).

While the similarities are obvious, the difference with Campbell’s concept is that the American monomyth expresses a lack of faith in the government and a reliance on the power of the individual. On the contrary, Campbell’s monomyth emphasises the relation of the hero with his community, he takes his social responsibility to protect it and provide for it. In Lawrence and Jewett’s concept, evil can only be overcome by lonely and selfless individuals who rescue an impotent community, often through extreme violence. They recognize that the monomythic hero is characterized by his individualism; he essentially operates outside or on the borders of society. The community on the other hand is characterized as passive and impotent. The American superhero enters the community from outside, does what is required of him to save it and then leaves, not to be seen by its members again (Lawrence and Jewett 2006, 6-8).7 This depiction of the individual is not only repeated in the 21st century superhero film; the power of the individual has become the focus of it. In the introduction to the edited volume The 21st Century Superhero, Gray and Kaklamanidou argue that the main narrative theme in 21st century superhero films is that of the ‘cult of the individual’ (2012, 25), that is a focus on a powerful individual who succeeds against all odds. The theme was originally introduced by film scholar Daniel Franklin as one of the themes that are most often featured in American film: A courageous individual succeeds against overwhelming odds without anyone’s help. He is often opposed by the government, which is depicted as oppressive. By showing how an individual overcomes obstacles against all odds, the theme “promotes a dynamic, vibrant, and creative society” (2012, 25). Gray and Kaklamanidou argue that this theme is presented with some alterations in superhero films. They state that the films do not show ‘resilient’ and ‘resourceful’ ordinary individuals but rather special individuals with

7 Indeed, recognizing the emphasis the American monomyth lies on the violent power of the individual in spite of the community, Lawrence and Jewett criticize the un-democratic aspects of this narrative structure. Often these superheroes operate against or in spite of democratic institutions. These superheroes convey the belief that society can be saved not through reliance on the government, but by trusting loner individuals.

23 superpowers – like Batman, Superman, or a group like the X-men. In addition, they argue that the films do not show a vibrant and creative society in the way that other films like Erin Brockovich (2006) and Schindlers List (2003) do. Instead, the aim of the superhero films is for viewers to admire the strength of the superhero as individual, who can overcome any challenge, no matter what personal difficulties he has or what society thinks of him. Gray and Kaklaminodou argue that in this way the films confirm the American ideal and belief in the power of the individual, which also entails that the government should have limited authority (2012, 5). To briefly reiterate, Muir argues that the films represent pure American values and a clear divide between good and evil, while Burk states that they provide a comforting escape from a harsh reality. Lawrence and Jewett show how the films foreground a depiction of the superhero character that emphasises the (violent) power of the individual, often in contrast to that of the community. According to Gray and Kaklaminodou the viewer is left to admire these individuals, who seem to triumph over every obstacle. What unites the assertions of the scholars cited above is a foregrounding of the aspects of the superhero character that emphasise a belief in the power of the individual. This is the first side of the two-sided individualism of the 21st century superhero in film that this chapter describes. This view on the superhero character is however problematized by insights from other academics, as I discuss in the following section.

2.2 The complex superhero

Recent scholarly work on the 21st century superhero film shows that the superhero has taken on layers of complexity. In contrast to an emphasis on their ability to overcome every obstacle as an individual, the superhero characters are shown questioning the Manichean divide between good and evil, as burdened, conflicted and at times not even heroic. These assertions point to the second side of the two-sided individualism of the 21st century superhero, which emphasizes the negative characteristics of the character. It is good to elaborate on the place of the Manichean divide between good and evil in older films. In his definition, Coogan argues that the superhero fights a pro-social mission against evil – the ‘mission’ characteristic. What is considered to be good or evil in this mission is dictated by the existing mores of society. It seems that Coogan assumes that it is clear to the superhero what is evil or good. This is indeed true for the superhero films of the

24 first wave. In Superman: The Movie, the eponymous character is portrayed as a godlike savior who seems to be incapable of doing evil. His arch-enemy Lex Luthor on the other hand is clearly evil; this is illustrated by his evil plan: he wants to destroy the American West Coast using a nuclear missile, so that he can gain financial mastery over the United States. Reacting directly on the earlier quoted Muir who also detects this divide, Johannes Schlegel and Frank Habermann observe that it is precisely this clear distinction that is being questioned in recent superhero films (2012, 29). Schlegel and Haberman argue that in recent films, superheroes and their enemies can be seen to wield a different set of morals, which do not so obviously belong to the good or evil side. The scholars illustrate this with the example of Rha al Ghul, the antagonist in Batman Begins. Al Ghul is not depicted as an intrinsically evil character. In the first act, he trains Bruce in martial arts, teaching him a utilitarian system of morals and developing a teacher-mentor relationship with him. When Bruce later refuses to follow this system to the extreme by destroying Gotham this relationship is broken. Only later, when Bruce Wayne becomes Batman, they become enemies. Al Ghul plans to evaporate a chemical fear-inducing gas in its waterways so that the city of Gotham will be consumed by fear. While this plan seems similar to Lex Luthor’s, Al Ghul follows a system of utilitarian morality. Al Ghul genuinely believes that by following his utilitarian system of morals and by destroying Gotham as a consequence, he is doing a good thing for the world. This is an unconventional moral system, but a system nonetheless. Batman on the other hand is not characterized as a purely good character. Like Al Ghul he, too, uses fear as a weapon to terrorize Gotham’s criminal community. And especially in later films, some of his actions become questionable. He can for instance be seen torturing the Joker in The Dark Knight (Schlegel and Habermann 2012, 30-31). Based on these observations, Schlegel and Habermann raise a fair question: what really separates this villain from the hero? Their proposed answer to this question is that in the 21st century superhero film, the difference between good and evil does not necessarily exist. Rather, it is ‘performatively’ generated (2012, 31). To put this in other words: what is evil (Rha’s Al Ghul) and what is good (Batman) is constructed through storytelling. The films still depict Batman as a good force battling the forces of evil. However, if judged solely by the actions of villains and superheroes, this distinction is not really apparent, but blurred. Partly because the good/evil distinction between hero and villain is blurred, 21st century superheroes are at times not heroic. In line with his consideration of the 21st superhero film genre as incorporating elements of many other genres (as explained in the first chapter),

25 Gaine argues that the crossing of borders is also constitutive for the character type of the superhero. Superheroes cross a number of thresholds such as those between legality and criminality, authority and anarchy and justice and oppression. Together, these thresholds form a social and physical space, which Gaine calls ‘liminal.’ This term is derived from the Latin word limen, which means threshold. The term refers to a transitional stage or to something that exists on both sides of a border. This space then features tensions and contradictions (2012, 111). Like Schlegel and Habermann, Gaine elaborates on this concept by a case study of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. One of the thresholds Batman crosses is that between justice and oppression. Gaine argues that in the films, Batman’s role is initially to assist Gotham’s justice system and law enforcement. He therefore has a liminal status in which he exists on the borders of justice and oppression: he is an illegal and violent vigilante but he delivers criminals into the hands of the justice system (2012, 120-124). Slowly Batman crosses this threshold between justice and oppression. Gaine argues that because he crosses this border, Batman slowly becomes oppressive – the tension between justice and oppression starts to show. Because of his successful cooperation with the justice department, he is able to decimate organized crime in Gotham. In this contradictory role, Batman commits acts that are not heroic. The methods Batman uses eventually include torture and the spying on the entire city of Gotham. Indeed, these are not the ‘outstanding achievements or noble qualities’ that are associated with heroism (Oxford Dictionary). Thus, Gaine argues: “By becoming part of the establishment, Batman has ceased to be a hero,” as the character himself observes with a known saying: “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the victim” (2012, 127). The assertions made by Schlegel, Habermann and Gaine connect with the humanization trend that Žižek observes in contemporary superhero films. The scholars point to aspects of the superhero character that can be seen as human characteristics: weaknesses, a confrontation with the dark side of the hero, and doubts about what is good and what is not. These characteristics form the second side to the two-sided individualism of the 21st century superhero character. This chapter has shown that there are two distinctive sides to the superhero character in the 21st century superhero film. The question that arises out of this two-sided individualism is: why is such a distinction present in the films? Building on the insights of Hassler-Forest and other theorists, the next chapter will show that the two sides of the superhero can be

26 connected with two opposing views on the individual and its role in contemporary society.8 I would like to conclude this chapter with a quote from Joe Quesada, head of Marvel’s Creative Committee, who argues in Marvel Studios: “I think what resonates with these characters of popular culture … is their humanity. That you see yourselves in our characters.” Like Quesada suggests, superhero films might reflect aspects that characterize their spectators.

8 It is good to note that this does not mean that these superheroes have crossed the line between Good and Evil and have become oppressing and torturing villains, as Schlegel and Habermann state: “recent superhero film does not allow for presupposing such a ‘clear line’ – and neither does it for abolishing that distinction totally” (2012, 31).

27 3. The individual in contemporary society

We have been raised with the thought that not society, but we ourselves are makeable. Success is a choice. As a matter of fact, failure is too. (Bregman 2014, 21)

In his book Gratis geld voor iedereen, historian Rutger Bregman gives a cynical account of contemporary Western society. In contemporary society the dominance of the great ideologies is over, as churches and other collectives slowly dissolve and the modernist belief in the progress of society has fallen to cynicism. In the resulting freedom from moral and ideological frameworks, the make-ability of the individual has become the focal point of our society – the belief that everyone is special and can make his own success is omnipresent (2014, 21). Bregman argues that the downside to this belief is that failure is seen as a choice too (i.e. lost your job? you should have worked harder). The causes of the problems of the collective (unemployment, discontent and depression) are consistently localized in the individual. Bregman reasons that the result of this is that behind the belief in make-ability there lurks ‘a pool of uncertainty’ (2014, 20). Never before have so many young people undergone treatment by a psychologist, never before have so many antidepressants been taken, and never before so many young employees suffered from burnouts (2014, 21). In this context of the belief in make-ability of the individual and the resulting uncertainty, it comes as no surprise that the 21st century superhero blockbuster films have proved to be appealing to immense audiences. The previous chapter has shown that superheroes in the 21st century superhero film show a two-sided individualism. Like the contemporary individual, superheroes are conflicted and burdened. The difference is that superheroes are able to overcome every challenge and triumph in the end, in this way they connect to contemporary fantasies and anxieties. This chapter will further substantiate these ideas by connecting the two-sided individualism of the 21st century superhero with two important contemporary views on the individual and its role in society. In Bregman’s description two distinct views on the individual and its role in contemporary society can be distinguished: One that foregrounds the power of the individual and another that stresses the individual discontent and anxiety that arises out of contemporary individual freedom. These two views will be further explored in this chapter. The view of

28 objectivism and its connection to postmodernism will be the focus of the first section. Objectivism is the philosophical movement that was founded by Ayn Rand. She argued that the individual should foremost follow his own needs and desires, be strong and independent – he should be free to act out his ‘selfish’ interests. Objectivism has in recent years been described as the ideological fundament of postmodernism – the economical and political discourse that has radically intensified in post-9/11 Western society (Achterhuis 2010; Hassler-Forest, 2012). The concepts of moral discontent and the crisis of agency – concepts that are part of the philosophical movement of postmodernism – will be the focus of the second section. Postmodernism holds a cynical view on the freedom of the individual in contemporary society. The demise of the Grand Narratives (the fading collectives and ideals Bregman refers to) is not seen as liberation but rather as a cause for anxiety, moral discontent and a crisis of agency. The postmodern perspective has been used to criticize contemporary society for its moral freedom and to criticize the dominant paradigm of neoliberalism (Achterhuis 2010; Hassler-Forest, 2012). The third section then explores the connections that have been made between contemporary views on the individual in society and the representation of the superhero character in superhero films. Scholars like Umberto Eco and Hassler-Forest have reasoned that the films offer a fantasy of overcoming the crises of agency of the postmodern man. The section shows that further research needs to be done to explore the connection between the two-sided individualism of the superhero character and the two opposing views on individualism in contemporary society.

3.1 The selfish individual

In the years following 9/11, the discourse of neoliberalism has radically intensified in Western society. According to social-geographer David Harvey, neoliberalism holds that “human well- being can best be advanced by liberating individual entrepreneurial freedoms and skills within an institutional framework characterized by strong private property rights, free markets, and free trade” (2005: 2). In order to achieve this, it strives for deregulation, privatization and a minimal government. Since the Cold War, this system has become increasingly influential. In response to the attacks of 11 September 2001 and during the ensuing War on Terror, the neoconservative Bush administration further intensified deregulation, privatization and other

29 neo-liberalist policies. The political and economical discourse of neoliberalism has become so all pervasive that it has become the only conceivable paradigm (Hassler-Forest 2012, 11, 28). Since the credit crises started in 2008, the scientific validity of this paradigm has however been increasingly questioned. In his book De utopie van de vrije markt (the free- market utopia), Hans Achterhuis argues that neoliberalism is as much informed by utopian thought as the other –ism’s of the 20th century – socialism, communism and fascism.9 Neoliberalism promises a utopian world if its economical policies are followed. Achterhuis argues that this neoliberalist utopia is most clearly described in the 1957 book Atlas Shrugged, written by philosopher Ayn Rand. Indeed, it is through the work of Rand and her philosophy of objectivism that the underlying ideology of neoliberalism becomes clear (2012, 7). The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z, edited by Harry Binswanger, gives a fascinating insight into the philosophy of Rand. With objectivism, she wanted to offer a philosophical system encompassing metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, esthetics and political philosophy. Rand believed in an objectively knowable reality that is understandable through human rationality. In this perspective, following one’s own interests is not a subjective choice, but objectively the most rational option – in contrast with altruism (Rand 1986, 657- 659; Achterhuis 2012, 17). Selfishness, to put one’s own interests above the interests of others, is the central concept in objectivism. All ethical systems in history consider altruism a virtue and selfishness a vice. Rand argues that exactly the opposite is the case. Altruism limits the potential of men and views them as “sacrificial animals and profiteers-on-sacrifice, as victims and parasites” (1986, 842). Selfishness holds that every man is an independent entity with an absolute right to his own life, derived from his nature as a rational being. Man can only be free if he follows his own interests, rather than following those of society. Any form of society can be achieved only through the recognition of these rights. Rand’s vision on individuality is personified in Howard Roarke, the protagonist of her 1943 book The Fountainhead.10 Roarke is a brilliant young architect who relentlessly follows his own ideals

9 This observation was originally made by John Gray in his book Black Mass. Gray shows that the project of Milton Friedman and the Chicago Boys, the intellectuals of neoliberalism, had more to do with utopian thought than ‘pure’ science. According to Galt, the Chicago Boys aimed to restore the purity of free-market thinking with the system of neoliberalism, but did so in a fundamentalist manner, which ultimately led to a ‘modern parody’ of the classical economy (2012, 7). 10 It is interesting to note that The Fountainhead was recently adapted to a play by Toneelgroep Amsterdam, with much success. It is ironic that the theatre spectators – traditionally a group of people that have a leftist political persuasion – love watching Rand’s vision come to life.

30 and desires, he is a loner who does not depend on anyone and holds the sole rights to what he created (i.e. a painter does not create his art for the masses, but does so because it is essentially beautiful). Others do not make his original work; he will not take notice of their opinions or be dependent on them (1987, 848). Technology plays an important part in Rand’s philosophy. Rand believes that intelligent, super-entrepreneurs drive societal progress and shape the course of history. Through the course of history these ‘Atlasses’ have provided food, taught other people to study nature in a rational way and how to develop technologies to subdue her (Achterhuis 2012, 19). These individuals often have a creative talent: they invent new technologies, built new architecture, write new work, and so on– they create. Atlas Shrugged emphasizes the importance of technological progress: Several new technologies and their advantages play an important part in the book. The book thus shows a utopia in which (individual) technological innovation propels society forwards (Achterhuis 2012, 68). Rand also explicitly describes individuals who do not have the characteristics of the selfish individual. If an individual does not has the characteristics describe in the previous paragraphs, or depends on society or others to provide for him, he is depicted as cowardly and weak. Rand uses the term ‘second-handers’ to describe them. These are people who do not follow their ego but seek self-esteem through others. These people do not think, work or produce but give the impression of doing so. They live ‘second-hand’ (Binswanger 1987, 826). This section has shown that the dominant political and economical paradigm in Western society is informed by an ideology that foregrounds the power of the individual. The influence of Rand’s work has been noticeable over the last decades; it is for instance seen in her pupil Alan Greenspan, who was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank from 1986 until 2006. The monetary policies of this bank have a worldwide influence – and Greenspan’s refusal to intervene in the free markets has intensified the global credit crisis (Achterhuis 2012, 5). Rand’s utopian image of the individual can also be seen in the ideal of the make- able individual that Bregman describes. The idea that individuals are capable of constructing their own lives, or responsible for failure to do so, is very objectivist in nature. The next section will look at the second view on individualism, the problems that the ideal of the make-able individual causes. This can be most clearly explained by using insights from the philosophical movement of postmodernism, which sees contemporary individual freedom as a source of anxiety.

31 3.2 The anxious individual

In its broadest sense, postmodernism is a movement that reacts or departs from modernism. As the term ‘postmodernism’ was first used in 1970s, sociologist Hans Boutellier argues that it might have become somewhat dated. He does however see it as adequate to emphasize the difference from the period before it. Following Polish-British philosopher Zygmunt Bauman, he argues that postmodernity can best be defined as ‘modernity without illusions’ (2004, 18). The loss of illusions refers to the abandonment of the great ideological narratives at the end of the 20th century. The trinity of authority, religion and morality were seen as disciplinary and full of obligations. Their abandonment was therefore seen as a liberation. However, after the secularization of the 1960s and 1970s, and the commercialization and business spirit of the 1980s and 1990s, Boutellier argues that the need for morality has returned (2004, 17). The postmodern individual does have moral views, but these are no longer part of a grand ideological framework, or a higher agency (God). Therefore, the individual searches for new frameworks. In his search, the postmodern individual could choose any system. And indeed many systems are tried; this can be seen in the renewed interest in religion or the call for decency. But still morality is not found in these frameworks; Man is seen as morally ambivalent and morality itself as conflict-ridden. Contemporary morality is more characterized by “experiencing ambivalence than in embracing moral plurality” (2004, 20). Boutellier argues that in the context of this great moral freedom the postmodern individual is characterized by moral discontent: a feeling of ambiguity and uncertainty. The freedom of ideological frameworks has not led to liberation, but rather to ‘vague indefinable feelings’ (2004, 18), moral freedom is often perceived as oppressive. In present day society, moral norms are no longer embedded in institutions and ideological values are no longer coherent. The postmodern individual must rely on himself, or as Boutellier expresses it he “has pretty much come to be of his own, and all he has nowadays are the social frameworks and networks he moves in as an individual” (2004, 18). Boutellier sees moral discontent as keeping in line with the concept of the risk society. Sociologist Ulrich Beck originally coined this concept in 1986. Beck’s premise is that in modernity, technology has developed so rapidly that it has lost control over its own risks. The risks Beck means are the atomic, chemical, ecological and gene-technological risks. Examples are weapons of mass destruction, pollution due to industrialization (like smog), or the genetic modification of crops. These are risks that “unlike earlier dangers, are not linked to any specific time or place or social class, cannot be attributed to rules of causality, blame and

32 responsibility, and cannot be compensated or insured” (2004, 33). Where the economy was earlier dominated by the producing enough to ensure prosperity, it is now dominated by efforts to reduce and control these omnipresent risks. Policy in the risk society is based on the possibility of a disaster. The risk society is a powerful concept that has been expanded to other areas of life – also by Beck himself. Technology, morality, love, marriage, and so on are areas of life that are dominated by Risks (Boutellier 2004, 34). The presence of these risks has profound consequences for the postmodern individual. The individual living in a risk society is living a life full of risks based on permanent potential danger. The omnipresent and all-pervasive risks do not allow an individual response because they affect everyone. Like the previous paragraph indicated they cannot be outrun, will not simply fade away, do not have clear instigators and the individual cannot protect himself from them. A feeling of anxiety and insecurity, caused by all-pervasive and omnipresent risks, reinforces moral discontent. These risks thus feed into the moral discontent Boutellier identifies (Boutellier 2004, 34). To reiterate: postmodernity is characterized by a loss of illusions, abandoning the belief in (technological) progress. Other works in postmodernism foregrounds the highly mediated nature of contemporary life, which results in a crisis of agency. Following philosopher Fredric Jameson, Hassler-Forest states that the way in which the individual experiences society is marked by “a new realm of image reality,” that mediates everything the individual experiences, for instance through television or the Internet11 Another potent example of this is the ‘unreal’ special effects and CGI that Dittmer observed in the 21st century film, as described in the previous chapter. These effects create a sense of realism, and are perceived as such by their spectators, while they are not real at all. This new cultural logic feeds in to a sense of loss of identity of the postmodern individual, the crisis of agency. While the individual in modernity was “feeling displaced within a mechanized, increasingly fast- paced social sphere” the individual in postmodernity experiences a “more fundamental loss of any sense of identity” (Hassler-Forest 2012, 42). Anxiety, moral discontent and the crises of agency are concepts in the philosophical movement of postmodernity that indicate a different view on individuality from Rand’s utopian vision. The crisis of agency and moral discontent can be seen as two connected concepts drawing from postmodernism. Both of these concepts have a different perspective on the individuality of the postmodern individual. The individual in contemporary society is

11 This concept is reminiscent of Baudrillard’s hyperrealism and can be interpreted as the loss of the ability to distinguish between what is real and what is not in a world that is dominated by media.

33 faced with omnipresent risks that he cannot influence, and at the same time he lacks the ideological or moral bases from which to approach these risks. In addition he is marked by a crisis of agency due to the mediated and discursive nature of society. Indeed, while Rand’s individual is reflected in the ideal of make-ability, the ‘pool of uncertainty’ Bregman refers to reflects the aspects that postmodernity identifies in contemporary society. The 21st century superhero then combines these conflicting views on the contemporary individual and offers a fantasy of overcoming the crises of agency and moral discontent.

3.3 Overcoming anxiety in the superhero film

In the introduction to this thesis, I referred to several authors who have made connections between contemporary individualism and superhero films. In fact, many of the authors cited in the previous chapters hold that the 21st century superhero film reflects cultural fantasies and anxieties that are characteristic of contemporary society. This section will expand on the work of Umberto Eco, who sees the crises of agency reflected in the superhero films of the first wave, and Hassler-Forest who sees it reflected in the films of the second wave. In doing so, it will show that questions remain about what this connection between the 21st century superhero film and contemporary cultural anxieties means. Already in 1972, semiotician Umberto Eco saw the needs and fantasies of postmodern man reflected in superhero narratives like the Superman-comics and Superman: The Movie. In his article The Myth of Superman, he argued that the decision-power of postmodern man is taken from him, because he has no means of production:

Individual strength, if not exerted in sports activities, is left abased when confronted with the strength of machines which determine man's very movements. In such a society the positive hero must embody to an unthinkable degree the power demands that the average citizen nurtures but cannot satisfy (1972, 14).

What Eco alludes to here is the crisis of agency, and the superhero must embody the fantasies of the powerless postmodern man to overcome it. This can most clearly be seen in the double identity of the superhero. The alter ego of Superman, Clark Kent, is portrayed as an ordinary citizen with whom the spectator can identify. As Eco states, through this identification the postmodern man hopes that one day, “from the slough of his actual personality, a superman

34 can spring forth who is capable of redeeming years of mediocre existence” (1972, 15).12 In this way the films provide a fantasy of overcoming the crisis of agency. Following Eco’s assertions, Hassler-Forest argues that the superhero in the 21st century superhero film continues to reflect this fantasy of overcoming the crises of agency. The superhero remains an empowering figure in a world where consumers are defined by a crisis of agency. The superhero is capable of surpassing the limitations of contemporary individualism, which are expressed in cultural anxieties and fantasies (2012, 135). Working from Marxist critical theory, Hassler-Forest argues that it is the superhero character in the superhero films of the post 9/11 period, that most clearly reflects neoliberalist ideology. The superhero character offers the ‘strongest distillation’ of fantasies, discourses and anxieties that have shaped neoliberal capitalism since 9/11 (2012, 11). In his long and detailed analyses of 21st century superhero film, Hassler-Forest detects a multitude of cultural anxieties that are alleviated and fantasies that are resolved. These include the representation of traumatic origin stories as connections to the War on Terror (Batman, X-Men, Iron Man). Or the fantasies and fears associated with the postmodern metropolis, which superheroes can freely navigate and control – in contrast to the contemporary individual (Spider-Man, Batman). The anxieties associated with the culture of surveillance and control are alleviated by the superhero’s justified usage of surveillance technique (2012, 99, 112, 200). The Dark Knight addresses anxieties around postmodern finance by Batman beating The Joker, a character who can be interpreted as represented economical chaos. Even Batman’s fight against crime can be placed in this context. He only fights criminals on the street; he does not try to change Gotham’s corrupt police force or political system. He is thereby merely protecting private capital – real societal change is never accomplished (2012, 138). While some of the fantasies and anxieties that Hassler-Forest detects in the above examples connect with contemporary individuality it is clear that his analysis remains focused on how the ideology of neoliberalism is reflected in the 21st century superhero film. He does not deepen his analysis of individualism in contemporary society and the way its fears and

12 Important to the analysis of Eco is that the films are able to offer this fantasy by the constructing a ‘narrative stasis’. That is, they keep the past, present and future in a hazy state – omitting any details from the film and blurring temporal boundaries. This can most clearly be seen in the way that the superhero character never changes. While there might be some small changes to his appearance, Superman and his alter ego Clark Kent never really change, they are eternal contrast to each other. The Superman narratives focus on the present while they have essential, timeless, mythical qualities. Due to this narrative stasis the viewer adopts a passive ‘childlike subjectivity’ which serves to enforce nostalgia and it makes the essential and timeless characteristics of the narrative more compelling. The viewer trades in his agency for admiration of the superhero character, with whom he identifies (Eco 1972, 8, 15-19).12

35 fantasies are reflected in the 21st century superhero film. The observation that superheroes provide the fantasy of overcoming the crisis of agency seems to suggest that the characters merely connect to the side of the superhero character that shows their power to overcome every obstacle, while the second chapter has shown that there are two distinct sides to the superhero character in the 21st century superhero film. To better understand how and why these films reflect contemporary cultural fears and anxieties surrounding individualism through their depiction of the two-sided superhero, an additional perspective on the superhero film is needed. A perspective that takes into account both the two-sided individualism of the 21st century superhero, and the two views on individuality in contemporary society. The next chapter will offer such a perspective. Boutellier and Bregman indicate that there is a real experience of individual anxiety in contemporary society, motivated by the risk society and the loss of ideological frameworks. Both of these authors then argue that to overcome or lessen this anxiety, utopia is an important concept for society. Bregman argues that society needs new ideals and utopias to strive for, while Boutellier signals that there already is a utopia in place. This utopia aims for a world in which individuals overcome moral discontent, and at the same time are free to carry out their extensive life projects. This ‘safety utopia’ guides political thought and action, and it is reflected in the 21st century superhero in film.

36 4. 21st century superhero films as expressions of utopia

Superman offers an ideal for ‘ordinary individuals’ to strive for. This is illustrated by the mission Superman’s father gives to him (as quoted in the introduction to this thesis). Jor-El suggests that, while it might take time, this ideal is achievable. However, the ideal individual that Superman embodies is characterized not only by superpowers, but also by a lack of anxiety, moral discontent and the crises of agency. For the ordinary contemporary individual, who is characterized by all these aspects, the ideal to become Superman is therefore a utopian one: an image of a perfect individual who does not exist. Using the insights of Hassler-Forest as a basis, this chapter will explore a different perspective on the 21st century superhero film: the reflection of a specific contemporary utopia, the safety utopia. The previous two chapters have shown that the 21st century superhero film features superheroes that show a two-sided individualism and that these two sides correspond to two views on the individual in contemporary society. This chapter will add to these assertions that by depicting the characters in this way, 21st century superhero films reflect a specific kind of utopia that focuses not on a model for society, but a model for the individual around which society revolves. This utopia connects to the two-sided individualism of the superhero, and the two perspectives on the individual in contemporary society. Boutellier coined the concept of this utopia in 2004. The safety utopia is best defined as a utopian desire for the convergence of ‘maximum [individual] freedom,’ called vitality, and ‘optimum protection,’ or safety, that has risen out of the indefinable fear associated with moral discontent and the risk society (2004, 2). Rather than being an explicit ideal, this utopia has become implicit and became a guiding ideal in political discourse and individual action. Not only is the concept of the safety utopia able to encompass the different views on the individual in contemporary society and can it show that the 21st century superhero film reflects contemporary fantasies and anxieties; it also provides a possible explanation as to why they do so. The first section will expand on the concepts of safety and vitality. The second section looks at how the desire for an optimum balance between these concepts leads to a utopian desire. The third section discusses how this concept can be used for an analysis of the 21st century superhero film and offers concrete aspects for such an analysis.

37 4.1 Vitality and Safety

Boutellier defines the safety utopia as the “unattainable pursuit of an optimum link between vitality and safety” (2004, 44). Hence, two aspects are central to this utopia, the need for vitality and the need for safety. This section will expand on them and make some alterations so that they can be used to study the 21st century superhero film. The word vitality means ‘lifelines,’ ‘life force,’ or ‘high-spiritness.’ It thus indicates a way of experiencing life that puts emphasis on energy and a positive attitude (Oxford dictionary). Boutellier uses it to describe what he calls an unprecedented experience of individual freedom, which is sought after in contemporary society:

Vitality is a common denominator for numerous phenomena characteristic of contemporary society such as the dominance of the market with its emphasis on having a good eye for business, being willing to take risks, and competing. Or one might bear in mind the temptations of quick, expressive and visceral activities in the youth culture and the media, and the worlds of sports and popular entertainment (2004, 2).

The term vitality thus indicates a broad spectrum of individual characteristics that are associated with the freedom of the individual in contemporary society. It can be understood as incorporating Bregman’s description of the contemporary individual, Rand’s ideal of the selfish individual and the neoliberal emphasis on the individual. The idea that every individual is special and ‘make-able’ is a central aspect of the experience of individual freedom. Likewise, the ideal of the selfish individual who relies on his own ability to compete and takes risks contributes to vitality. In addition, the concept encompasses a broader range of vital activities, which include individual freedom in nightlife (‘partying’), on the labor market (freelancers and job-hopping), or the experience of unprecedented sexual freedom. This cultural vitality arises partly out the freedom from ideological and moral frameworks described above. But there is a downside to it. The postmodern individual ‘pays a price’ for his vitality: identity uncertainty. He expresses this in anxiety and a sense of being unsafe. As Boutellier argues “the experience of not feeling safe is central to the psychological habitus of postmodern man” (2004, 36). What results out of this unprecedented vitality then is moral discontent and a desire for safety. It is necessary further expand on ‘the desire for safety.’ For this thesis it can best be

38 seen as ‘the desire to overcome anxiety.’ As Boutellier works from a criminological perspective, safety is a central concept in his study. While it is evident how the concept of safety returns in his field, it is less so in popular culture and film. As the definition of vitality cited above shows, the desire for safety stems from the anxiety that results out of the risk society and moral discontent. That is, this anxiety causes a desire for safety. The desire for safety should thus be seen as a desire to overcome the anxiety sketched in the previous chapter. An important aspect of Boutellier’s concept is that the desire for safety and vitality are paradoxical. Contemporary moral freedom has led to very liberal individuals that do not have any illusions but do feel anxiety and the need for safety. There lies a great paradox in this simultaneous desire for safety and unprecedented individual freedom. The cultural vitality gives the individual all the space he needs, and this results in a longing for protection and safety (moral discontent). By being free, the individual feels an increased need for protection, as Boutellier states:

Vitality and safety are two sides of the same coin: a liberal culture that has elevated self-fulfillment to the true art of living also has to make every effort to stipulate and maintain the limitations of individual freedom. A vital society generates a great need for safety and thus comes up against an undeniable paradox: if liberal freedom is to be unreservedly celebrated, its boundaries need to be set (2004, 2).

This paradoxical situation can be clarified by the following example: If the individual gains more freedom, he also has an increased feeling of insecurity. If this feeling is resolved by more protection, regulation and so on, the freedom of the individual will have decreased again. This in turn leads to an increased need for freedom, and so on. Boutellier argues that this paradoxical situation has led to all kinds of tensions between safety and vitality in different areas of life. Examples include the tension between a very liberal sexual morality (of which pornography explores the borders) and the call to punish those who go to the extreme of this liberty (child molesters), or the demand for quality control over food in the context of extreme consumerism in order to guarantee what Boutellier calls ‘safe freedom,’ the balance between safety and maximum vitality. This tension can also be seen in the individual. As an example Boutellier names the practice of bungee jumping, which illustrates ‘safe freedom’: a death defying expression of vitality that is in fact safe because it has been tested by relevant

39 authorities (2004, 8). We want maximum freedom, but we want it to be safe. Vitality and the need to overcome anxiety are thus the two aspects that are central to contemporary individual life in the risk society. The friction between these two aspects has led to an accompanying utopia: the desire for a balance between safety and vitality.

4.2 Utopian desire

The concept of utopia dates back to 1516, when Thomas Moore introduced it in his book Utopia. The word is based on the Greek ou ‘not’ and topos ‘place.’ It is an imagined place in which everything is perfect. Boutellier argues that the safety utopia is the utopia of our time. That is, it is a world we dream of and project into the future as a counterpart of existing reality. This fantasy world is motivated by dissatisfaction with the world we live in (2004, 36). Since the Second World War, the concept of utopia has been subject of heavy critique. To use this concept in academic research its meaning and use must thus be clarified and defended. Boutellier, Bregman and Achterhuis all point out that the concept of utopia has become almost synonymous with dystopia. This is because the twentieth century has often been viewed and criticized as the century in which several utopias were put into effect, with terrible results. Fascism and communism were based on utopias, but soon turned into nightmares. Famous philosophers such as Karl Popper, Hannah Arendt and postmodern philosophers have exposed the totalitarian nature of utopia and tried to eradicate its use. This view was even expanded to Western welfare democracies, as Foucault argued that they could be seen as utopian experiments aiming for creatable societies.13 Combined, these critical perspectives discourage the usage of the term. A dream of a utopia will turn into a nightmare, the creed goes (Bregman 2014, 23; Boutellier 2004, 37). There are however two kinds of utopias, which differ significantly. The first one can be seen as a systematic description of a utopia: the ‘blueprint’ utopia. This kind offers a detailed and systematic description of an ideal society. In turn this society is often governed by strict rules. The second kind of utopia can be characterized as a rough sketch. This is what Boutellier calls ‘utopian desire,’ that is, not a dream for totalitarian power but a desire for something that does not exist in real life, shaped more along the lines of rough ideals (2004, 23). It is the blueprint utopia that has led to the reigns of terror in the twentieth century and to

13 This idea of creatable societies is in fact partly the basis for the idea of the make-able individual (see also footnote 9).

40 the subsequent condemnation of the concept of utopia. And it is this kind of utopia that Popper, Arendt and the philosophers of postmodernism have tried to expose after the Second World War. Boutellier argues that especially the 1990’s, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, can be characterized as anti-utopist – indeed modernity without illusions. Utopian desire does not impose strict rules but offers only a desire for change. It is something that Boutellier calls ‘an autonomous human faculty. The desire for the non-existent is precisely what makes it possible to transcend the obviousness of the existent’ (2004, 37). If anything, Bregman’s recent call for the establishment of new utopias underlines Boutellier’s assertion that people want to have ideals to long for, something to strive for. With the condemnation of utopian system thinking, utopian desire has also been condemned. It has been pushed out of intellectual and public discourse, and its disappearance has made way for other ideologically charged paradigms – like neoliberalism.14 Its disappearance from intellectual and public discourse does not mean that utopian desire has disappeared. Indeed, it can be argued that academics have for a certain time been blind to utopias that exist in society, as illustrated by Achterhuis’ description of the neoliberal utopia – which existed from the very onset of neoliberalism. Boutellier argues that utopian desire has gone ‘underground,’ it has become an implicit utopia (2004, 38). That is, while it is not explicitly mentioned in forms of discourse, it does guide political and cultural discourse and provides a utopian ideal for individuals to strive for. According to Boutellier, this implicit safety utopia is in fact the dominant utopia of our time. That is the desire for an (unachievable) balance or optimum link between safety and vitality. The superhero character in the 21st century superhero film reflects this utopian desire. The next section will show how this concept can be used to study the 21st century superhero film.

4.3 The safety utopia in the contemporary superhero film

In section three of the previous chapter, I argued that an additional perspective on the superhero film is needed to better understand how the two-sided individualism connects to the two views on the individual in contemporary society. The concept of the safety utopia is used by Boutellier to study how the paradoxical desire for safety and vitality has taken shape in

14 As Achterhuis pointed out in the previous chapter, neoliberalism was for some time not considered as an ideology but rather as a science.

41 contemporary society. This section will show why and how this concept can also be used to analyze the 21st century superhero film. Boutellier’s concept enables a wider view on contemporary individualism: It takes into account both of the views on the individual in contemporary society (that the third chapter described). Vitality connects with the values of Rand’s objectivism and neoliberalism. The experience of and strive for maximum individual freedom is informed by values that are associated with the individualism that neoliberalism promotes, and the underlying ideal of the selfish individual that Rand describes. Similarly, the need for safety is born out of the anxiety of the risk society, moral discontent and the crises of agency – concepts that inform the other view on contemporary individualism. I find it important to emphasize the role of technology in the two views on the individual in contemporary society, because it will return in the following chapter. One the one hand Rand sees the creative faculty of man as important and technological progress as propelling society forwards. On the other hand however, the concept of the risk society holds that technological progress is the cause of individual anxiety. The concept of the safety utopia offers tools to study the two-sided individualism of the 21st century superhero character in film (as described in the second chapter). The term ‘vitality’ on the one hand connects the notion of the superhero as a powerful individual who can overcome any obstacle; ‘moral discontent’ and the need for safety on the other hand connect with the doubts and anxieties of the contemporary superhero character. More important than the above assertions, the safety utopia offers a way of understand what this connection means. Rather than merely stating that contemporary superheroes are more multi-faceted characters, it shows that the characters have become more complex because they in that way better reflect contemporary views on the individual in contemporary society – and offer ways of thinking about individuality. In this way they are part of the discursive transcoding Ryan and Kellner describe: film can reflect the ways society thinks about itself and offer ways of thinking about them (1988, 1-12). Superhero films offer ways of thinking about individuality in contemporary society by reflecting a specific utopia. In other words: using the concept to study the 21st century superhero film offers a way to understand how the increased complexity of the 21st century superhero character in film reflects cultural fantasies and anxieties regarding individualism in contemporary society. Indeed, Eco and Hassler-Forest have already shown that the superhero films reflect this anxiety and offer a fantasy of overcoming the crises of agency (1972, 15; 2012, 135). The safety utopia adds to this notion that the superheroes in the films do not only overcome a negative state (the crisis of agency) but also strive for a utopian ideal (maximum freedom and

42 safety). The next chapter will test the above assertions in a case study of one of the most popular superhero franchises of the last decade: the Iron Man trilogy.

43 5. Case study: the safety utopia in Iron Man

Captain America: “Big man in a suit of armor, take that away and what are you?” Tony Stark: “Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.” (The Avengers)

The previous chapter has shown that the concept of the safety utopia connects well with the two-sided individualism of the contemporary superhero and the perspectives on the individual in contemporary society. Through a case study, this chapter will elaborate on what this connection means. It will look at how the safety utopia is reflected in the Iron Man trilogy (2008, 2010, 2013). This chapter argues through a reflection of the two perspectives on the individual in contemporary society that the superhero Iron Man embodies a utopian vision of striking the balance between safety and vitality. The first section will focus on why the Iron Man trilogy provides a good case study of the superhero film genre and will include a description of the identity of Iron Man and the plots and universe of the films. The second section will describe how the superhero is characterized as a vital character, special attention is given to the way the superhero constructs his superpowers. The third section then looks at how the character is plagued by anxiety in Iron Man 2 and Iron Man 3. The fourth section shows that in contrast with the insights of the risk society, technological progress is represented as a utopian ideal in the films. The fifth section concludes the chapter with the assertion that because of the insights in the preceding sections, the films reflect the safety utopia in their depiction of the superhero. The 21st century superhero films do not merely show more complex superhero characters, they demonstrate to their spectators that contemporary individual anxiety can be overcome.

5.1 The Iron Man trilogy

Many of the scholars I have referred to in the previous chapters use examples from Nolan’s Batman trilogy as arguments for their assertions, for instance about the dichotomy between good and evil (Schlegel and Habermann) and liminality (Gaine). For this case study I have however chosen to analyze the Iron Man trilogy, this choice is motivated by several reasons.

44 First of all, the Iron Man character has been developed by Marvel, whose studio Marvel Studios has (co)produced most of the superhero films of the recent wave. Secondly, in the body of films Marvel Studios has produced, it has created a coherent cinematic universe; in this universe the Iron Man trilogy plays a central role. There are three comics publishers who have sought to adapt their comic book superheroes characters to superhero films: DC Comics (the Batman trilogy), Darkhorse (the Hellboy films) and Marvel Studios. Of these three, Marvel has (co)produced most of the superhero films of the recent wave, over 30 superhero films between 1998 and 2014, with more in production or pre-production at the moment of writing.15 Not only has Marvel produced most of the superhero films of the recent wave, it has also sought creative and narrative coherence by creating the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). This is a coherent cinematic universe that encompasses several superhero characters across more than ten of Marvel’s largest productions, all of which are intricately connected through cameos and references to other media that are part of the Marvel universe. In a recent article, film scholar Derek Johnson argues that Marvel created a “unique model for cinema production in the age of convergence: an independent company with expertise in a different media industry drove blockbuster film content” (2012, 1). In this mode of film production, the studio controlled blockbuster film content, creative strategies and economic strategies to serve Marvel’s own interests. The Marvel Cinematic Universe consists of ten live-action films. Johnson describes how after the premiere of Iron Man in 2008, Marvel announced that it would group her long- time film development around the Avengers, a concept originating from a comic-book series launched in 1963 in which the superheroes Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America and Thor team up. Each of the superheroes in this series would feature in a separate film after which they would appear together in a final to conclude the series. Together these films would form the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Over the next few years the company released the films The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers. Of special interest is the coherence Marvel sought to ensure in its cinematic universe. Johnson shows that Marvel established the Marvel Creative Committee, a group of film directors and other key creative personnel across film, advertising and electronic media branches of the company. The task of this committee was to impose creative coordination across the different film productions in the MCU, ensuring that they served the larger brand

15 It should be pointed out that this only includes live-action (blockbuster) films. All of the comic publishers have (co)produced various straight to TV/DVD animated films featuring their superhero characters.

45 (2012, 13). In this way, Marvel created “narrative interrelationships and limited serial progression” in the different films of the universe. The films for example contain cameos from other characters in the universe, and each film contains a post-credit sequence that gives a hint to the next installment in the series. Furthermore, each film progresses the narrative of a certain character whilst at the same time they progress the narrative of the whole series or universe (Johnson 2012, 5).16 Iron Man was the first film from the universe to be released and the trilogy has had enormous commercial success. Iron Man ranks at second place of the box office charts of 2008 in the United States, only after The Dark Knight. The second and third films ranked #3 and #2 in their yearly charts, making it the most commercially successful films of the MCU franchise. The only higher-ranking film is The Avengers, which also features the Iron Man superhero character (Johnson 2012, 4-5, 13). 17 In short, because of the central role Iron Man plays in the Marvel cinematic universe and the immanent success of the trilogy, Iron Man provides a good case study for the following analysis. Because most of the academic work regarding the 21st century superhero genre has focused on the Batman trilogy, the following sections will occasionally refer to observation from other scholars. The choice to analyze the whole trilogy is motivated by their narrative, which can be seen as coherent over the three films. As they are serial installments, each film progresses the narrative and gives new information about the superhero character, only at the end of the third film the narrative is closed. For the case study it is important to look at all three films because they show a progression in the superhero character. The first film for instance depicts Tony Stark/Iron Man as a more vital character than the last, in which he is characterized by panic- attacks. In contrast to Batman’s dark and gloomy narrative universe, Iron man is set in sunny California. The universe of the film is bright, and its color scheme is rich in bright colors. This is illustrated in the first figure, which shows Stark’s mansion in Malibu. A second example is the Iron Man suit; as shown in figure two it is a bright red and yellow (in contrast to Batman’s dark attire). The largest part of the story plays out in and around Los Angeles (see for example Stark’s house in Malibu), while some scenes are set in other cities like Monaco, Bern, Moscow or countries like Afghanistan.

16 This strategy proved to be very successful. In fact, mediaconglomorate Disney bought the studio for 4 billion dollars in 2009. 17 Box office figures obtained from Boxofficemojo, http://boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=avengers.htm.

46

Figure 1. A bright universe: Stark’s mansion in Malibu, bright and sunlit, as depicted in one of the first scenes in (Iron Man).

Figure 2. A colorful universe: the fierce colors of the Iron Man Suit in Iron Man | Batman in The Dark Knight as contrast.

The plot of the films is perhaps best summarized by J.M Tyree, a reviewer from Film Quarterly, who complains that the plot of Iron Man was essentially the same as other superhero films that were released in that year: “the hero must confront and vanquish an identical –but evil- version of himself in order both to survive and to save the world from severe property damage” (2008, 28).18 This assertion can be expanded to all the plots in the trilogy, each film features a main plot in which the superhero Iron Man and his alter ego Tony

18 With “property” damage he alludes to the violent final confrontations between the protagonist and antagonist, these scenes often show a lot of destruction of buildings, vehicles and so on.

47 Stark must ultimately defeat an enemy in an action sequence brimming with special effects shots. The first film, Iron Man (dir. Jon Favreau), revolves around the origin story of the eponymous superhero. The protagonist, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), is on his way back from a weapons demonstration in Afghanistan when a militant group known as the Ten Rings ambushes his military convoy. Imprisoned in a cave he is forced to rebuilt one of the most destructive weapons he sells. He agrees to this, but secretly builds a revolutionary energy reactor to power the prototype of the Iron Man suit to escape. Back in California, he decides to give up the weapon trade and develop the Iron Man suit. With this suit he then tries to undo the double weapons dealing his surrogate father figure Obediah Shane (Jeff Bridges) has been doing.19 Shane then steals this energy reactor from Stark and builds his own suit. In a final confrontation between the two armored suits – laden with special effects and spectacular imagery – Iron Man beats Shane. The second film, Iron Man 2 (dir. Jon Favreau), picks up the story right after the events of the first film. The film introduces Anton Vanko as a disgruntled Russian scientist who has an old score to settle with Stark. Based on the same energy reactor, he builds a suit with electric lashes with which he attacks Stark at the Grand Prix of Monaco, in which he was participating. Vanko is beaten and imprisoned. Later, he is freed from prison with the help of Stark’s competitor Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) who orders him to build suits like Iron Man. Vanko uses this change to built a small army of robotic suits to attack Iron Man. In a confrontation similar to that of the first film, Iron Man beats Vanko. It is important (as the third section will show) to note that during a large part of the film, Stark suffers from poisoning due to the energy reactor that powers his suit. The third film, Iron Man 3 (dir. Shane Black), is set after the events of The Avengers, in which a team of superheroes has to fight an alien attack on New York. The film opens with a prologue set in 1999 in which Stark is shown before he became Iron Man. In this prologue the film introduces Aldrich Killian (Guy Pierce), who invites Stark to join the think tank AIM, something which Stark bluntly refuses. After this prologue, in the present day, America is riddled by terrorist attacks claimed by a gruesome character known as the Mandarin. Stark is shown working in his basement, building version after version of his suit (42 in total). Plagued by sleeplessness and panic attacks, Stark is shown as a different and more anxious character than in the first two films. After several attacks by The Mandarin, Stark is forced to

19 Ironically, Obediah means he who ‘serves god.’

48 retreat to the snow-covered all-American town of Rose-Hill in Tennessee. Away from his technological equipment with a broken Iron Man suit, Stark has to find out who the Mandarin is and overcome his panic attacks. He then finds out that it was Killian who was behind the attacks. Killian aims to infiltrate the American government and kill the president. In the final confrontation, Iron Man has to beat the band of genetically modified super-soldiers with the aid of his 42 suits. In the closing scene of the film, it is shown how the energy reactor is taken out of Stark’s chest. As Coogan has pointed out, discussed in the second chapter, superheroes are characterized by three main conventions: a mission, powers and identity. The mission of Iron Man is to ensure the safety of America and of the world. His powers are similar to Batman’s, they are not supernatural, but rather technological: an advanced suit of armor with weapons and other technological gadgetry. It is however important to point out, in regard of later sections, that in contrast to superhero films like Batman or Spider-Man, the ambiguity of the identity of Stark/Iron Man is only present in the first film. Throughout the second and third films, the society in the diegetic world knows that Tony Stark is Iron Man. The next section will first establish Stark as a vital character.

5.2 Iron Man as a vital character

Boutellier argues that vitality is characteristic of individuals in contemporary society. This term indicates the total experience of individual freedom, the ‘lust for life’ and all its accompanying aspects, like those associated with Rand’s selfish individual and the ideal of the make-ability of the individual. As the citation from The Avengers that opens this chapter indicates, Tony Stark presents himself as a genius engineer, playboy and billionaire entrepreneur. Whilst he is associated with these characteristics throughout the whole trilogy, especially the first film establishes him as a vital character. Using these characteristics as a structure, this section will substantiate this assertion. Let’s start with the assertion that Stark is a ‘playboy.’ While this an unusual term, it serves to describe the characteristics of Stark that show a lust for life. Tyree describes Stark as an ‘American Male’ who is a “devilishly charming but irresponsible boy. He’s the tech-nerd version of Peter Pan, and derives his pleasures from 3D robotics imagery and the jokes of lab rats and engineers” (2008, 29). Indeed, throughout the trilogy, but especially in the first film,

49 Stark is characterized as an eccentric individual who likes women, fast cars and lives in a luxurious mansion in Malibu. Boutellier asserts that vitality can also be seen in today’s nightlife, or the visceral activities in youth culture. Stark displays this when he leaves his private-jet waiting, in order to tinker on his American hot rod in his high-tech basement, only to take his private plane later – which is also a nightclub with a bar, dancers and disco lights. In addition Stark is depicted as a witty and humorous character. He lives a carefree and somewhat irresponsible life. These characteristics connect with the more intangible part of vitality: the lust for life and the experience of total individual freedom. This aspect of Stark’s vitality is further reinforced by the bright color scheme and universe of the film, as earlier shown in figures one and two.

Figure 3. The physical space presented as Stark’s ‘basement,’ in Iron Man 2. A wide shot shows Stark starting up the day by turning on his 3D robotics imagery and other technological gadgets.

Stark’s lust for life is only matched by the way he is depicted as a genius, who can build an advanced energy reactor in an Afghan cave, or an advanced suit of armor in his ‘basement,’ all by himself. This physical space, which is shown in figures three and four, is more high- tech than the name presumes. It is essential for the establishment of Stark as a loner genius. In it, he is shown in various scenes while he invents new technology like the Iron Man suit, as shown in figure four. This connects well with Rand’s image of the powerful individual who creates new technology, and holds the sole rights to what he has created. This

50 last aspect is vividly illustrated in Iron Man 2, in which Stark has to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee, that wants the suit turned over to the American government. In this scene, the witty and wise-cracking Stark asserts his dominance over competitor Justin Hammer and Senator Stern with “I’m your nuclear deterrent … it’s working, we’re safe, America is secure, you want my property? You can’t have it, but I did you a big favor … I’ve successfully privatized world peace.” Stern and Hammer are depicted as the second-hander Rand describes (see the first section of chapter three), who want to ‘steal’ Stark’s invention for their own use. On the other hand, Stark is depicted as the independent loner creator who is defending his right over what he has created.

Figure 4. A medium shot shows Stark working on a part of his suit, signifying his role as inventor in Iron Man.

Stark is also a billionaire, owner of the weapons manufacturer Stark Industries. Indeed he is a staunch capitalist entrepreneur, and remains one throughout the trilogy. His status as a billionaire is never questioned. After he discovers that Stark Industries has been double- dealing weapons in Iron Man, Stark decides overnight to close the weapons division of the cooperation. This is a large step for a weapons manufacturer, whose main income depends on the sale of weapons. By all intents and purposes, the company should have gone bankrupt. Nevertheless, it does not seem to influence Stark Industries or Stark’s life as a billionaire at all. Stark Industries can continue by investing in ‘clean energy’ as if they had never dealt with weapons. This shows that his status as a billionaire is essential for the character. This is

51 reminiscent of Batman, of whom Hassler-Forest argues “Batman’s superpower might indeed be defined as Capital in the most literal sense” (2012, 144). Indeed, like Batman, Stark is dependent on his status as a billionaire to build his expensive suits. Without capital, there would be no Iron Man. The characteristics of the Iron Man character as described in the above paragraphs show that he is depicted as a genius billionaire who lives a carefree life, indeed a character who displays vitality. The following paragraphs will give several examples of the vitality of the superhero character. In the first chapter, I have showed how the Batman trilogy uses elements from other genres to tell the origin story of the superhero. Instead of focusing on a martial arts sequence to tell this story, Iron Man features what I call ‘construction sequences,’ in which Stark constructs a revolutionary new technology. Tony Stark becomes Iron Man by constructing new technologies instead of training. He (quite literally) improves his own body by inventing new technology. Through his genius in engineering, Stark embodies the ideal of the make- able individual. In addition, the superpowers Stark constructs connect with the fantasy of the ideal balance between freedom and safety. The first construction sequence can be seen when Stark constructs the arc reactor. When he is captured by the Ten Rings, Stark is hit in his chest by shrapnel. In order to keep the shrapnel away from his heart, the engineer with whom he is imprisoned, Yinsen (Shaun Toub) devises an electro magnet that is implanted in Stark’s chest. Upon seeing this magnet, Stark decides to build a miniaturized arc reactor, a small blue object, which is presented as a revolutionary source of energy. He then places this reactor in his chest. Figure five shows the montage-sequence that visualizes this construction process showing the Stark (left) and Yinsen (right) characters.

52

Figure 5. Safe yourself: the ideal of the make-able individual. A construction sequence in Iron Man, showing several consecutive shots in (medium) close-up, in which Stark is constructing the arc reactor.

The montage cuts between shots using dissolves; these serve to show that he spends some time constructing this device. The dark lighting serves to enhance the tension of the scene as he single-handedly creates the device that will save his life. The arc reactor is later used to power the Iron Man suit. Like the construction of the arc reactor, Stark does this alone, mumbling “I don’t want this winding up in the wrong hands, if it be mine it can actually do some good.” A more elaborate construction sequence then shows how Stark constructs the suit (with shots similar to figure four), and different sequences show him testing several parts of the suit. These testing sequences are somewhat reminiscent of the training sequences in Batman: Stark has to learn how to fly using his suit and it takes him several tries to learn how to do so. These examples from construction sequences show Stark’s vital characteristics, especially showing him as an independent creator. As can be seen in figure five, he constructs the arc reactor in his typical loner manner, denying Yinsen insight into what he is constructing this again emphasizes his character as an independent creator. The way this scene is set up and edited serves to emphasize the fact that Stark has to rely on his own talents and ability to save himself from dying. He relies on himself and improves his own body through technology literally embodying the ideal of the make-able individual. Likewise, the scenes that show the construction of the Iron Man suit again show the character alone in his basement, denying anyone insight into what he is building. A third example of vitality is the way the Iron Man suit helps Stark experience maximum individual freedom. While he is already characterized as a vital individual, the Iron Man suit helps Stark to experience maximum individual freedom, whilst remaining completely safe. The suit enables the wearer to do things he cannot do without it: it enables

53 superhuman strength and movement and enhances the wearer’s perception; it also enables the user to fly. The fantasy of flying is central to Iron Man, as Tyree points out “at its core, the movie is really about the very simple but powerful wish fulfillment of flight: hovering and zipping around the Santa Monica pier and other Los Angeles environs” (2008, 29). This fantasy of flying that the suit enables is a powerful embodiment of vitality, as is illustrated in figure six. The Iron Man suit enables the wearer to experience maximum individual freedom, but he is completely safe while carrying out his death defying acrobatics. Wearing the Iron Man suit thus is an experience of ‘safe freedom,’ similar to the example of bungee jumping that was given in the previous chapter.20

Figure 6. Stark shouts for joy when he flies for the first time in Iron Man. A close-up shows the character’s reaction inside the suit, while a wide shot emphasizes the freedom the suit implies as it flies above the clouds.

The above examples show that in Iron Man, Stark is established as a vital character that is able to experience safe freedom through his vital characteristics and the construction of his suit. The second and third films however challenge this vitality with narrative obstacles.

5.3 Anxiety and moral discontent in Iron Man

As Tyree points out, the main plots of the Iron Man films revolve around Iron Man who has to defeat an opponent who is similar, almost identical to the superhero. In addition to the main plot, the second and third films contain subplots that revolve around the anxiety and panic attacks of the superhero character.21 These subplots are essential for the films: only when

20 In this way, the films also connect with fantasies of overcoming the crises of agency that Hassler-Forest points out. 21 Like Batman Begins, the first film of the trilogy is primarily concerned with the origin story of the superhero. Where Batman has to defeat his former teacher and mentor Rha’s al Ghul, Iron Man has to do so with his

54 Stark overcomes his panic attacks, Iron Man is able to defeat the main opponent. That is, the anxiety is connected with Stark as individual, not as superhero. This section will show that the anxiety in these subplots does however result from the vitality the Iron Man suit has given Stark. As I have shown in chapter four, Boutellier argues that the increased individual freedom in contemporary society means that the need for safety has increased as well. Similar to the contemporary individual, Stark pays a price for his vitality. Moreover, the narrative obstacles Stark has to overcome are similar to the risks of the risk society. In Iron Man 2, Stark faces blood poisoning by the arc reactor in his body, which leads to anxiety and reckless behavior. Stark leads a life as a well-known superstar superhero. The arc reactor in his body that powers the suit is however becoming a problem. The device he has built to save his life is now slowly poisoning him. While Stark is characterized as a genius, he is unable to solve this problem. Moreover, every time he uses his Iron Man suit, the poison spreads even faster. The filmmakers have visualized this in a specific way: in several scenes the character uses a device to measure his blood toxicity (conveniently shown as a percentage), followed by darkly lit close-ups of the character looking himself in the eye.

Figure 7. Stark tests his blood, shown in a close-up of the device. In the following close-up the character looks in the mirror, observing how he looks, while the dark lighting emphasizes the gravity of the moment.

The close-ups emphasize the gravity of these self-reflexive moments. Several scenes that visualize this process are shown in figures seven to nine. This unstoppable process of blood poisoning can be paralleled to the risks of the risk society. Stark cannot control or even influence this process: he is powerless.

surrogate father Obediah Shane. It is primarily in the second and third films of the trilogy that Iron Man has to overcome his own anxieties.

55

Figure 8. Stark again tests his blood, shown in a close-up of the device, again followed by a close-up in which he looks in a mirror. In this scene dialogue emphasizes the gravity of the moment: “Got any more bad ideas?” he asks himself.

The only possible reaction for the superhero is anxiety, which he outs in reckless behavior. The scenes in which he tests his blood are followed by scenes in which his actions become increasingly reckless, he for instance races in the Grand Prix of Monaco, and throws a party that gets so out of hand that his house is partially destroyed.

Figure 9. The third scene in Iron Man 2 only shows stark in a close-up. He looks ill and anxious. The scene is lit in way that hides the eyes from the character, further emphasizing the dramatic moment.

A similar and potent example of this anxiety is found in Iron Man 3, which is set after the events of The Avengers. As in Iron Man 2, Stark reacts with anxiety – but this time it is more severe. In The Avengers, a team of superheroes has to fight of an alien invasion in New York. This battle is ended when Iron Man carries a nuclear missile through the portal that has been opened between earth and another dimension – which the aliens call home. Shaken by the

56 events of New York, Stark has sleep problems and only spends time working on his suits. He elaborates on this anxiety with his girlfriend Pepper: “you experience things, and then they’re over and you still can’t explain them? Gods, aliens, other dimensions … I’m just a man in a can.” The way he describes his anxiety is similar to the anxiety that results out of the risk society. That is, it is indefinable and characterized by a feeling of powerlessness. He is feeling overwhelmed by something that he cannot explain, understand or hope to prevent as an individual. His anxiety becomes worse when he starts to have panic attacks. Because of these attacks his ability to act, his agency, is almost crippled. Figure ten shows the first panic attack Stark has. He is sitting in a restaurant together with another character. As he is signing a drawing from a kid with a pencil, his panic attack starts. In the soundscape the diegetic sounds of the restaurant become only vaguely audible. He breaks the pencil and a rapid push-in shot moves in on his anxious face – the movement of the camera emphasizing his anxiety.

Figure 10. Anxiety attacks in Iron Man 3. The first still shows the onset of the attack. The next three stills are taken from one shot, showing the rapid push-in.

This moment is followed by a close-up of the drawing he was signing, on which he unknowingly has written an ominous “help me,” shown in figure eleven. Stark then runs out of the establishment to his Iron Man suit, bumping into several people.

57

Figure 11. An ominous message Stark has unknowingly written.

A second example of a panic happens later in the film, as he is driving from Rose-Hill. Stark is on the phone with Harley, a young boy from the town, when his breathing starts to become heavier. A close-up shows him hitting the brakes and the car slides onto the ramp in the next shot, a crane movement again moves closer to his face – showing his anxious expression. During the dialogue with Harley the camera jumps over the axis, enforcing the anxious emotion of the scene. He then opens the door while the camera remains centered on his face through a rapid movement. These filmic techniques emphasize the anxiety of the character and show that he is in an emotional state of distress. The movement and soundscape shows the effect these attacks have on his life: they stop him from being able to function normally. However, as the next section will show, these moments of anxiety are eventually overcome by a reliance on the vital characteristics of the superhero.

5.4 Overcoming anxiety through vitality

In both films, Stark is able to eventually overcome the cause of his anxiety thanks to his vital character as a mechanical engineering genius. In Iron Man 2 he is able to resolve the anxiety resulting from his blood poisoning by constructing a new element. In Iron Man 3 he resolves his anxiety by a reminder to his vital characteristics. In Iron Man 2 Stark is given the key to stop the blood poisoning, with it he discovers a new element that can stabilize the arc reactor in his chest. But he needs to use his genius as a mechanical engineer to be able to actually synthesize the element. The scene in which the element is created is presented as a moment of triumph; this is achieved through several filmic techniques. Like the scene in which Stark got his first panic attack, sound plays a large role: Stark first refits his lab guided by rock music in the background, which emphasizes his re-found agency. Then the theme music from the film swells in background, further enforced

58 by high-pitch ethereal sounds. At the same time the onscreen light increases to a point that it almost blinds the spectators, as shown in figure twelve.

Figure 12. A succession of shots shows increasingly blinding on-screen light in Iron Man 3. The triangle depicts the element Stark is synthesizing.

After the music, sounds and onscreen light reach a climax they slowly fade away. Leaving only the brightly lit new element Stark has just invented. He reacts to this in his nonchalant manner: “that was easy,” a remark that breaks the tension that scene built up to. Through sound and light, the whole scene is presented as a moment of triumph over certain impending death. At the same time this confirms the vitality of the character and his ability to overcome anxiety – and perhaps his ability to do so in a nonchalant way. In Iron Man 3, Stark has to overcome his anxiety before he can defeat the terrorist The Mandarin. In order to do so, he has to undertake a true hero’s journey, reminiscent of Lawrence and Jewett’s American monomyth. His Iron Man suit (version 42 of the suit can fly on its own in the film), has been disabled. Without his suit and isolated in the town of Rose- Hill, he is forced to rely on his own capabilities to overcome his anxiety and find The Mandarin. During this journey he meets the young boy Harley (Ty Simpkins). It is trough the interaction between these two characters that Stark is able to overcome his anxiety. Immediately following the panic attack in the car the previous section describes, Harley is able to calm Stark down by reminding him of his vital characteristics:

HARLEY: Are you having another attack? I didn’t even mention New York! STARK: Right and then you just said it by name while denying having said it (pause) oh god what do I do? HARLEY: You’re a mechanic right? STARK: (breathing heavily) Right. HARLEY: You said so. STARK: Yes I did.

59 HARLEY: Why don’t you just build something? STARK: (Calming down and after a prolonged pause) Ok. Thanks kid.

Stark then stands up, assumes a powerful posture, and gets in the car again. The dialogue in this scene is reinforced by several filmic techniques. The music again plays an important part: during the dialogue soothing music slowly swells in the background and delivers a decisive horn blow at the moment Stark says “Ok.” An upward camera crane movement, enforcing the powerful posture Stark has taken, similarly supports this moment. The techniques enforce the message this scene gives: Stark realizes he has to use his skill as a mechanical engineer to find a solution. The scene is followed by a construction sequence that shows Stark building several gadgets. Then, like the American monomythic hero, he emerges from his obscurity to carry out the redemptive tasks – with the technological gadgets he just constructed. Through these events he is ultimately able to uncover Killian, the true mastermind behind The Mandarin. After he has learned the truth, the Iron Man suit ‘returns’ to him. In other words: only when he has overcome anxiety he is able to experience maximum freedom again. In this way the vitality of the character is confirmed once more. The scenes in which Stark overcomes his anxiety are represented as moments of climax and individual triumph through filmic techniques and dialogue. These scenes serve to confirm once more the vitality of the character and his ability to overcome any obstacle – including the anxiety characteristic for the postmodern individual. Stark overcomes his anxiety through his vital characteristics: he is a loner genius who invents new technology to safe the day. An important aspect that the above observations show is that anxiety is always overcome using technology. It is therefore interesting to further analyze the way technology is depicted in the films.

5.5 The utopian promise of technological progress

Iron man is a superhero who has technological superpowers. As pointed out above, the films elaborately show how these powers were constructed and how they dwell on technological gadgetry. Several academics have made observations about the relationship between technology and the superhero. Hassler-Forest argues the films extensively show the suit is operated and interacts with its pilot, in this way they appeal to a fantasy of masculine empowerment that transforms the body into a technologically advanced cyborg (2012, 178).

60 It is however more interesting to look at the way in which this technology is used and what this says about the films. Chapter three has shown that technology is viewed differently in Ayn Rand’s objectivism and in postmodernity. The objectivist philosophy emphasizes the creative faculty of man and his ability to create new technology. In the risk society, technology is on the other hand seen as having lost control of the risks it creates, leading to a feeling of individual anxiety in contemporary society. In the Iron Man trilogy, technology plays an integral part. This section argues that while the films show that both good and evil characters use technology, the films ultimately depict the progress of technology as a utopian promise. That is, through technological innovation it is possible to reach an ideal and perfect world. To begin with there is an important aspect to point out: ‘evil’ characters in the films never invent technology. In Iron Man, Obediah steals the arc reactor from Stark to power his own suit. In Iron Man 2, Vanko uses the designs his father stole from Stark Industries to build his own arc reactor-powered suit. In Iron Man 3, the genetic technology that creates the super soldiers is invented by Maya Hall, whom Stark meets in the prologue of the films. Hall is lured into the hands of Killian and now does not know how to get out from his grasp. Her technology is introduced while it does something ‘good:’ regenerating a broken leaf of a plant; this serves to show that it was not intended to create super soldiers. In this way the film shows that technological progress is not intrinsically evil, only the people who use it are. As Dittmer argues about Stark and the Iron Man suit “the problem for him lies not in the power itself but rather who wields it … he attempts to guarantee that only his morality is enforceable through a resort to spectacular power” (2011, 123). Technology itself is presented as utopian in the film, as the key to a better future. This utopian promise of technological process can be found quite explicitly in the films. As stated before, Stark transforms his enterprise from weapons production to clean energy production quite miraculously. In Iron Man 2, he organizes the Stark Expo. Similar to the World’s fair, this expo focuses on new technology and how it can improve the world (as shown in figure thirteen). In the introduction Stark gives at this Expo he states:

STARK: It's about what we choose to leave behind for future generations and that's why, for the next year and for the first time since 1974, the best and brightest men and women of nations and corporations the world over will pool their resources, share their collective vision to leave behind a brighter future. It's not about us!

61 He then ‘gives’ the word to a years old recording by his father (as seen in figure twelve), Howard, who continues:

HOWARD: Everything is achievable through technology. Better living, robust health, and for the first time in human history, the possibility of world peace. So from all of us here at Stark Industries, I would personally like to introduce you to the city of the future. Technology holds infinite possibilities for mankind and will one day rid society of all its ills. Soon, technology will affect the way you live your life everyday. No more tedious work. Leaving more time for leisure activities and enjoying the sweet life.

Through this speech among other examples such as the earlier mentioned genetic technology, the Iron Man suit and the arc reactor, the film connects with Rand’s view on individualism that foregrounds the promise of technology. Stark, and his father Howard here depict technological process as the key to utopia. By innovating, inventing new technologies, mankind can come together and solve every problem imaginable. Fictional father and son connect here to the philosophy of objectivism: technology is the autonomous human faculty of man, in which he should be free to innovate. Technological process holds a utopian promise: either for the individual who can enforce his vitality through an advanced mechanical suit, or for the whole society, which can be rid of all its vices.

Figure 13. Stark’s and Howard’s speech at the Stark Expo.

By representing technology in this way, the films soothe this anxiety and remind the spectator of the utopian promise of technological progress. In the context of the risk society, this depiction of technology is however somewhat troubling. Technology has indeed made much of the lifestyle in contemporary society possible, but it has brought with it negative side effects like pollution, smog, atomic explosions, chemical weapons and so on. The ‘infinite

62 possibilities’ for mankind have to date not helped society to reach a utopia. The films are concerned with technology that can ensure a better future (such as the arc reactor), but are not concerned with or show the negative side effects that these technologies have. They do show a universe in which technology actually leads to a better world, with flying suits of armor and miracle clean-energy reactors, an ideal to which they do not give an alternative. In this way, the films take part in the process of discursive transcoding: they offer a way society can think about contemporary socio-cultural anxieties (and fantasies). The contemporary individual is, in contrast to the fictional superhero, characterized by an anxiety that partly stems out of the rapid progress technology had made over the last century.

5.6 Becoming the ideal individual

The above sections have shown that the superhero Iron Man is characterized as a vital character in the Iron Man trilogy. The superhero also struggles with panic attacks and anxiety, caused by events and circumstances that show parallels with the risks of the risk society. He is however able to overcome his anxiety by relying on his vital characteristics. In addition, the films show that through technology utopia can be reached and each individual can make his own utopia. The safety utopia is the desire for a balance between safety and vitality: the convergence of ‘maximum [individual] freedom’ and ‘optimum protection’ that has risen out of the indefinable fear associated with moral discontent and the risk society. Boutellier argues that this balance is in fact unreachable because more vitality equals less safety and vice versa (Boutellier 2004, 44). The Iron Man trilogy shows that an individual is able to reach the optimum balance between safety and vitality. Like the contemporary individual, Iron Man is characterized by anxiety, which at times cripples his agency. In contrast to the contemporary individual, Iron Man is able to overcome this anxiety. He does this through his vital characteristics as a mechanical engineering genius – through technology. The films thus show a fictional world in which technology combined with vitality, can help the individual overcome any obstacle. These insights lead to the assertion that the superhero character in Iron Man offers the view that through technology, the individual can reach the ideal balance between safety and vitality.

63 Conclusion

In the context of the unprecedented individual freedom in contemporary society, and the accompanying symptoms of individual anxiety and insecurity, this thesis has looked at contemporary superhero films. This 21st century superhero film genre has dominated the global box office charts in the past decade and continues to do so in the present. In this context, the main question of this thesis was: How does the increased complexity of the 21st century superhero character in film reflect cultural fantasies and anxieties regarding individualism in contemporary society? In order to answer this question, the first chapter looked at questions relating to genre and provided how the superhero film genre can be defined. The history of these films shows that their status as a profitable commodity makes the genre expand its borders. Following Altman and Hassler-Forest, the genre can thus be best seen as an open category of which the borders are not easily defined; it does however show a core of semantic and syntactic elements such as superheroes, costumes, masks, superhuman powers, and similar narratives. The second chapter expanded on the most characteristic semantic element of the 21st century superhero film: the superhero character. It showed that in contrast to their 20th century predecessors, the 21st century superhero films show a two-sided individualism: on the one hand superheroes are powerful individuals that reinforce a belief in the power of the individual to overcome every obstacle, on the other hand they struggle with the moral divide between good and evil, their own anxieties and sometimes their actions are more defined by oppression than by heroism. The third chapter then argued that there are two main views on the individual in contemporary society. The insights of Hassler-Forrest and Achterhuis showed that the ideology of neoliberalism is tied to the objectivism of Ayn Rand, which holds that the individual should be as strong, free and as independent as possible. On the other hand Boutellier followed the insights of Bauman and Beck, who show that the contemporary individual is as much characterized by anxiety and moral discontent. Arguments of Eco and Hassler-Forest showed that superhero films offer a fantasy of overcoming the crises of agency. However, to fully understand the connections between contemporary individuality and the 21st century superhero in film, an additional concept was needed. The fourth chapter introduced the concept of the safety utopia. This sociological and criminological concept entails the maximization of safety, without the loss of individual freedom. The safety utopia adds to the notions of Eco and Hassler-Forest that the superheroes

64 in the 21st century superhero film genre do not only overcome a negative state – anxiety, moral discontent and the crisis of agency – but also strive for a utopian ideal of maximum freedom and safety. A case study of the Iron Man trilogy in the fifth chapter then showed how this utopian desire is reflected in the Iron Man trilogy by analyzing specific scenes in which the character displays anxiety, or overcomes this anxiety by his vitality. The hypothesis of this thesis is that contemporary superhero films connect to individualism in contemporary society in the process of what Ryan and Kellner call discursive transcoding. By reflecting parts of society, they offer it ways of thinking about itself, in this case especially regarding individualism. As the results described above show, the increased complexity of the superhero character in the 21st century superhero does indeed reflect contemporary views on the individual, and the fears and anxieties (for instance about technology) that surround it. The increased complexity of the superhero character in the 21st century superhero film corresponds to the two views on the individual in contemporary society. In this way the films offer the spectators of the films a way to think about individualism. While the contemporary individual is not able to transcend his anxiety, the superhero is. Superheroes are able to overcome their anxiety and reach the ideal balance between safety and vitality. They offer thus offer a fantasy to their spectators: Through technology, the individual can reach the utopian balance between safety and vitality. While the results seem to confirm the hypothesis, there are some aspects that nuance this assertion. First of all, the concept of the safety utopia is a criminological concept, albeit based on sociological insights. While the case study has shown that this concept seems promising to study contemporary superhero films, its compatibility to the field of film studies has not been thoroughly researched. A second aspect is that by its definition, the superhero film genre features texts that differ considerably. While the depiction of the superhero character features characteristics that are similar for a large body of films, the safety utopia might be reflected differently in other films that belong to the same genre. Thirdly, The Iron Man trilogy shows how the character reflects the safety utopia in its depiction of the superhero character. But as Feige commented, Marvel Studios likes “taking subgenres and taking them together and then adding the superhero elements into other genres of film.” And while as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe the Iron Man films can be seen as representative of the genre, Iron Man might be the only superhero that reflects the safety utopia. If it is however accepted that the safety utopia is a relevant concept to study of the 21st century superhero genre, it opens up a range of possibilities for further research. Not only do

65 these films show individuals that are free and safe at the same time, they localize the ability to do so in the individual. Thus, they offer the utopian fantasy that this ideal is within reach of the ordinary individual. This insight is intriguing and opens up a number of questions: how do questions of safety return in the 21st superhero genre? Does this reflection of the safety utopia return in other popular genres, like the fantasy or science fiction genres? And is this reflection of the safety utopia different in these other genres? The 21st century superhero film genre seems to persist in its popularity: for the coming years another ten superhero blockbusters have been announced, which will surely be accompanied by a flurry of franchises.22 The continuing popularity of the genre thus warrants further academic research into what fantasies, anxieties and ideals the 21st century superhero films reflects. I would like to conclude this thesis with a statement of Žižek, which complements the arguments in this conclusion, and encourages to further study the popular superhero blockbusters as phenomena of the 21st century.

The contemporary era constantly proclaims itself as post-ideological, but this denial of ideology only provides the ultimate proof that we are more than ever embedded in ideology. (Žižek 2009, 37)

22 These are: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Fantasic Four (2015), Ant- Man (2015), Deadpool (2016), Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Captain America: Civil War (2016), X-men: Apocalypse (2016) and so on (superherostuff.com).

66 Acknowledgements

At the end of this tale on superheroes and utopias, I would like to thank some special people and institutions. First of all, I would like to thank Tseronis Assimakis who has guided me through this process and at times managed to motivate me when I would rather have given up to turn myself to my more entrepreneurial side. Secondly, I would like to thank the staff of the professional track of the film studies master here at the University of Amsterdam. In special my thanks go out to Erik Laeven, who has managed to keep this special programme safe from harm. His love for film and dramaturgy is inspiring. Of course, my fellow students (who have hopefully all finished their thesis by now) also deserve a place in this paragraph. I would not have been able to write this thesis without the support of Minke de Haan, who kept me motivated when I most needed it, and corrected a fair lot of my mistakes in this thesis. I hope you will correct many more in the years to come. Bram de Jongh and Axel Frühmann also deserve thanks for their advice and ideas. And of course Wouter Zwijnenburg, who without knowledge of our little corner of the humanities still mustered the courage to read through all of this. Of course the filmmakers who made these pearls, these unsung masterpieces of the 21st century that are the superhero films, should not be forgotten. Without them we would surely have not been able to escape some of our anxieties over the last decade. I’m looking forward to the next iterations in the MCU and I hope there are still many to come.

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Tyree, J.M. "American Heroes." Film Quarterly 62.3 (2009): 28-34.

69 Žižek, Slavoj. First As Tragedy, Then As Farce. London: Verso, 2009.

Films Batman Begins, Dir. Christopher Nolan, Warner Bros, 2005. The Dark Knight, Dir. Christopher Nolan, Warner Bros, 2008. The Dark Knight Rises, Dir. Christopher Nolan, Warner Bros, 2012. Iron Man, Dir. Jon Favreau, Paramount Pictures, 2008. Iron Man 2, Dir. Jon Favreau, Paramount Pictures, 2010. Iron Man 3, Dir. Shane Black, Paramount Pictures, 2013. Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe, Dir. unknown, ABC Studios; Marvel Studios, 2014. Superman: The Movie, Dir, Richard Donner, Warner Bros, 1978.

Websites Bond, Paul. “Steven Spielberg Predicts 'Implosion' of Film Industry.” The Hollywood Reporter, 2014, < http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/steven-spielberg-predicts- implosion-film-567604> Box Office Mojo - The Avengers Franchise, An IMDB company, 5 December 2014, Box Office Mojo - Domestic grosses, An IMDB company, 5 December 2014, http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/domestic.htm Box Office Mojo - Worldwide grosses, An IMDB company, 5 December 2014, http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/world/ Giardina, Caroline. “Marvel Exec Talks 'Avengers 2' and Why the Studio "Wants to Make Movies in L.A.” The Hollywood Reporter < http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/marvel-exec-talks-avengers-2- 741686> Oxford Dictionary - Genre. 5 December 2014, Oxford Dictionary - Hero. 5 December 2014, Oxford Dictionary - Vitality, 5 december 2014, http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/vitality

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