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Heroic Subjectivity in Frank Miller's the Dark Knight
Ruzbeh BABAEE, Kamelia TALEBIAN SEDEHI, Siamak BABAEE* HEROIC SUBJECTIVITY IN FRANK MILLER’S THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS Abstract. The genre of superhero is challenging. How does one explain the subjectivity of the hero with super- powers, morality norms, justice orders and ideologi- cal backgrounds? Many authors and critics interpret superheroes in cultural, political, religious and social contexts. However, none has investigated a superhero’s subjectivity as a dynamic and in-process phenomenon. The present paper examines the relationship between hero and subjectivity through Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns (1986). Miller shows the necessity of subjective dynamics for the sublime in a model of sub- jectivity that echoes with questions about the subject that has flourished within literary, psychoanalytic and linguistic theories since the mid-twentieth century. Thus, this study employs Julia Kristeva’s concept of subject in 199 process with the aim to indicate that subjectivity is a dynamic phenomenon in Miller’s superhero fiction. Keywords: Batman, subjectivity, justice, morality, sub- ject in process Introduction Recently, there has been a near-deafening whir surrounding comic books. This is partly due, of course, to their adaptation into superhero blockbuster films.1 But something else is also going on. There is a diversifi- cation of the content and its readers along race and gender lines. According to a recent interview with Frederick Luis Aldama, the comic book is “a mate- rial history and an aesthetic configuration” that depicts issues of social jus- tice (“Realities of Graphic Novels” 2). Indeed, social justice and race as artic- ulated within the superhero comic book storytelling mode is the focus of several recent PhD, MA and book-length monograph studies. -
“Why So Serious?” Comics, Film and Politics, Or the Comic Book Film As the Answer to the Question of Identity and Narrative in a Post-9/11 World
ABSTRACT “WHY SO SERIOUS?” COMICS, FILM AND POLITICS, OR THE COMIC BOOK FILM AS THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION OF IDENTITY AND NARRATIVE IN A POST-9/11 WORLD by Kyle Andrew Moody This thesis analyzes a trend in a subgenre of motion pictures that are designed to not only entertain, but also provide a message for the modern world after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The analysis provides a critical look at three different films as artifacts of post-9/11 culture, showing how the integration of certain elements made them allegorical works regarding the status of the United States in the aftermath of the attacks. Jean Baudrillard‟s postmodern theory of simulation and simulacra was utilized to provide a context for the films that tap into themes reflecting post-9/11 reality. The results were analyzed by critically examining the source material, with a cultural criticism emerging regarding the progression of this subgenre of motion pictures as meaningful work. “WHY SO SERIOUS?” COMICS, FILM AND POLITICS, OR THE COMIC BOOK FILM AS THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION OF IDENTITY AND NARRATIVE IN A POST-9/11 WORLD A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Communications Mass Communications Area by Kyle Andrew Moody Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2009 Advisor ___________________ Dr. Bruce Drushel Reader ___________________ Dr. Ronald Scott Reader ___________________ Dr. David Sholle TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................................................... III CHAPTER ONE: COMIC BOOK MOVIES AND THE REAL WORLD ............................................. 1 PURPOSE OF STUDY ................................................................................................................................... -
GRAPHIC NOVELS in ADVANCED ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS CLASSROOMS: a PHENOMENOLOGICAL CASE STUDY Cary Gillenwater a Dissertation Submi
GRAPHIC NOVELS IN ADVANCED ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS CLASSROOMS: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL CASE STUDY Cary Gillenwater A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Education. Chapel Hill 2012 Approved by: Madeleine Grumet James Trier Jeff Greene Lucila Vargas Renee Hobbs © 2012 Cary Gillenwater ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT CARY GILLENWATER: Graphic novels in advanced English/language arts classrooms: A phenomenological case study (Under the direction of Madeleine Grumet) This dissertation is a phenomenological case study of two 12th grade English/language arts (ELA) classrooms where teachers used graphic novels with their advanced students. The primary purpose of this case study was to gain insight into the phenomenon of using graphic novels with these students—a research area that is currently limited. Literature from a variety of disciplines was compared and contrasted with observations, interviews, questionnaires, and structured think-aloud activities for this purpose. The following questions guided the study: (1) What are the prevailing attitudes/opinions held by the ELA teachers who use graphic novels and their students about this medium? (2) What interests do the students have that connect to the phenomenon of comic book/graphic novel reading? (3) How do the teachers and the students make meaning from graphic novels? The findings generally affirmed previous scholarship that the medium of comic books/graphic novels can play a beneficial role in ELA classrooms, encouraging student involvement and ownership of texts and their visual literacy development. The findings also confirmed, however, that teachers must first conceive of literacy as more than just reading and writing phonetic texts if the use of the medium is to be more than just secondary to traditional literacy. -
The Evolution of Batman and His Audiences
Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University English Theses Department of English 12-2009 Static, Yet Fluctuating: The Evolution of Batman and His Audiences Perry Dupre Dantzler Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/english_theses Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Dantzler, Perry Dupre, "Static, Yet Fluctuating: The Evolution of Batman and His Audiences." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2009. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/english_theses/73 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of English at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in English Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STATIC, YET FLUCTUATING: THE EVOLUTION OF BATMAN AND HIS AUDIENCES by PERRY DUPRE DANTZLER Under the Direction of H. Calvin Thomas ABSTRACT The Batman media franchise (comics, movies, novels, television, and cartoons) is unique because no other form of written or visual texts has as many artists, audiences, and forms of expression. Understanding the various artists and audiences and what Batman means to them is to understand changing trends and thinking in American culture. The character of Batman has developed into a symbol with relevant characteristics that develop and evolve with each new story and new author. The Batman canon has become so large and contains so many different audiences that it has become a franchise that can morph to fit any group of viewers/readers. Our understanding of Batman and the many readings of him gives us insight into ourselves as a culture in our particular place in history. -
Clash of the Industry Titans: Marvel, DC and the Battle for Market Dominance
Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 8-21-2013 12:00 AM Clash of the Industry Titans: Marvel, DC and the Battle for Market Dominance Caitlin Foster The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Joseph Wlodarz The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Film Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Arts © Caitlin Foster 2013 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Advertising and Promotion Management Commons, and the Film and Media Studies Commons Recommended Citation Foster, Caitlin, "Clash of the Industry Titans: Marvel, DC and the Battle for Market Dominance" (2013). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 1494. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/1494 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CLASH OF THE INDUSTRY TITANS: MARVEL, DC AND THE BATTLE FOR MARKET DOMINANCE (Thesis format: Monograph) By Caitlin Foster Graduate Program in Film Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment Of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Caitlin Foster 2013 Abstract This thesis examines the corporate structures, marketing strategies and economic shifts that have influenced the recent resurgence of the comic book superhero in popular Hollywood cinema. Using their original texts and adaptation films, this study will chronologically examine how each company’s brand identities and corporate structures have reacted to and been shaped by the major cultural and industrial shifts of the past century in its attempt to account for the varying success of these companies throughout their histories. -
The World Today Is a Dangerous Place, Filled
INTERVIEW THE WORLD TODAY IS A DANGEROUS PLACE, FILLED WITH VIOLENCE INTERVIEW WITH BRUCE SCIVALLY CONDUCTED BY MICHAł CHUDOLIńSKI 40 MICHAł CHUDOLIńSKI: WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF BATMAN’S B.S.:Bill Finger was a former shoe salesman B.S.: The huge success of the campy, comedic thought he would be able to land a movie PHYSICAL APPEARANCE? IT IS SAID THAT IN THE BEGINNING HE WAS whom artist Bob Kane took on as a partner 1966 ‑68 Batman TV show created an image deal immediately, but the studios couldn’t SUPPOSED TO WEAR A RED SUIT AND HAVE BLONDE HAIR... because Kane, though a passable artist, was in the public consciousness of Batman as see any commercial potential in producing Bruce Scivally: When Bob Kane first created not good at coming up with stories. Kane and a comedic character. Comic book enthusiast a movie based on a goofy 1960s TV series. Batman, his original idea was for a character Finger were collaborators on comic strips like Michael Uslan was obsessed with bringing Uslan kept fighting for his vision of Batman, in a red costume with a little black domino “Clip Carson” for National Comics before a version of Batman to the movies that would commissioning scripts and approaching mask, the kind that Robin eventually wore. they jointly created Batman. However, Kane be more like the very first Batman comics, or directors. It was only after he met with He went to his collaborator, Bill Finger, who was a much more savvy businessman than like the comic book stories of the 1970s, in superstar producers Peter Guber and Jon suggested that instead Batman should have Finger, and Kane had it put into his contract which Batman was a dark vigilante. -
British Writers, DC, and the Maturation of American Comic Books Derek Salisbury University of Vermont
University of Vermont ScholarWorks @ UVM Graduate College Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 2013 Growing up with Vertigo: British Writers, DC, and the Maturation of American Comic Books Derek Salisbury University of Vermont Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis Recommended Citation Salisbury, Derek, "Growing up with Vertigo: British Writers, DC, and the Maturation of American Comic Books" (2013). Graduate College Dissertations and Theses. 209. https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/209 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks @ UVM. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate College Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ UVM. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GROWING UP WITH VERTIGO: BRITISH WRITERS, DC, AND THE MATURATION OF AMERICAN COMIC BOOKS A Thesis Presented by Derek A. Salisbury to The Faculty of the Graduate College of The University of Vermont In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts Specializing in History May, 2013 Accepted by the Faculty of the Graduate College, The University of Vermont, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, specializing in History. Thesis Examination Committee: ______________________________________ Advisor Abigail McGowan, Ph.D ______________________________________ Melanie Gustafson, Ph.D ______________________________________ Chairperson Elizabeth Fenton, Ph.D ______________________________________ Dean, Graduate College Domenico Grasso, Ph.D March 22, 2013 Abstract At just under thirty years the serious academic study of American comic books is relatively young. Over the course of three decades most historians familiar with the medium have recognized that American comics, since becoming a mass-cultural product in 1939, have matured beyond their humble beginnings as a monthly publication for children. -
Course Prefix Course Number Title SCH Component Area TCCCM
Course Course Title SCH Component Area TCCCM Prefix Number MCOM 1112 The Art of The Comic Book 1 Core Area Option MCOM1112 (A) I. Course Description: Despite coming into existence more than a century ago, the American comic strip and its long-form successors - the comic book and the graphic novel - have only recently experiences a shift from the cultural gutter to the stars. This course will analyze this cultural evolution via an emphasis on historical cultural emphasis while also accounting for the narrative and stylistic developments of the medium. II. Course Delivery Method: Face to Face III. Required Textbooks/Resources: Finger, Bill and Bob Kane. Batman Chronicles, Vol. 1 (DC Comics, 2005). Gaiman, Neil. Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? (DC Comics, 2010). Miller, Frank and David Mazzucchelli. Batman: Year One (DC Comics, 2007). Miller, Frank, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (DC Comics, 1997). IV. Student Learning Outcomes: Before the conclusion of this course, students should be able to: 1. Demonstrate an awareness of the intricacies that have defined the American comic’s stature in society (as exemplified in student participation and quizzes and group presentation). 2. Critically appraise the intersection of form and narrative content in the American comic (as exemplified by the student response paper). 3. Formulate arguments regarding the cultural context, formal structures, and narrative in the American comic (as exemplified by the student response paper). V. Course Outline: A. The History of The American Comic Book B. The Vocabulary of the American Comic Book C. The History of Batman D. -
Bk Sans 007405.Pdf
1 Detective Comics #27: The very first glimpse we get of the guy and already he looks pissed. 2 The first time we see Batman’s origin. It, um, won’t be the last. But modern retellings invariably discard this candlelit oath- making bit of business, likely deeming it hokey. Which: sure it is. But to skip it does a grave disservice; that oath is who Batman is. 3 For the very first time, the Joker strikes. 4 Thirty-eight years after that gruesome first kill, the Englehart/ Rogers/Austin team would pay fannish homage to it—and to a lot of Batman’s history—during their acclaimed run. 5 Enter: the pixie-booted pre- pubescent! Brought on board just a year after Batman’s first appearance to lighten the mood, Robin doubled sales and touched off a vogue for kid sidekicks. But! 6 (Detail of above page.) For decades, Robin’s steadfast appearance at Batman’s side has invited snide jokes and innuendo. Perhaps this was inevitable, even fated. Some unfortunate kerning in his introductory scroll (“ . .takes under his protect- ing mantle GUYS WHERE’S THE SPACE BETWEEN ‘AN’ AND ‘ALLY’ AW GEEZ STOP THE DAMN PRESSES”) couldn’t have helped matters. 7 Robin’s chirpy presence made for a sunnier Batman. His rogues’ gallery felt it too: suddenly mass-murdering became passé and petty larceny was au courant. Take this goon: Joe Coyne, the Penny Plunderer, and his “crime symbol.” In Gotham’s underworld, ya gotta have a gimmick. 8 In the ’50s, Batman’s supporting cast swelled with masked hangers-on. -
Mythic Symbols of Batman
Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2007-11-28 Mythic Symbols of Batman John J. Darowski Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Classics Commons, and the Comparative Literature Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Darowski, John J., "Mythic Symbols of Batman" (2007). Theses and Dissertations. 1226. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/1226 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. The Mythic Symbols of Batman by John Jefferson Darowski A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts Department of Comparative Studies Brigham Young University December 2007 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY GRADUATE COMMITTEE APPROVAL Of a thesis submitted by John J. Darowski This thesis has been read by each member of the following graduate committee and by majority vote has been found to be satisfactory. _____________________________ ____________________________________ Date Kerry Soper, Chair _____________________________ ____________________________________ Date Carl Sederholm _____________________________ ____________________________________ Date Charlotte Stanford Brigham Young University As chair of the candidate‟s graduate committee, I have read the thesis by John J. Darowski in its final form and have found that (1) its form, citations and bibliographical style are consistent and acceptable to fulfill university and department style requirements; (2) its illustrative materials, including figures, tables and charts are in place; and (3) the final manuscript is satisfactory to the graduate committee and is ready for submission to the university library. -
Gender Performance and the Reclamation of Masculinity in Frank Miller's Batman: the Ad Rk Knight Returns John William Salyers Jr
Gardner-Webb University Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University MA in English Theses Department of English Language and Literature 2013 Gender Performance and the Reclamation of Masculinity in Frank Miller's Batman: The aD rk Knight Returns John William Salyers Jr. Gardner-Webb University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/english_etd Part of the Literature in English, North America Commons Recommended Citation Salyers, John William Jr., "Gender Performance and the Reclamation of Masculinity in Frank Miller's Batman: The aD rk Knight Returns" (2013). MA in English Theses. 3. https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/english_etd/3 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of English Language and Literature at Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University. It has been accepted for inclusion in MA in English Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University. For more information, please see Copyright and Publishing Info. Gender Performance and the Reclamation of Masculinity in Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by John William Salyers Jr. A Thesis submitted to the faculty of Gardner-Webb University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of English Boiling Springs, N.C. 2013 Approved by: __________________ Advisor __________________ Reader __________________ Reader Salyers 2 The 1980s were a time of tremendous social and political evolution in the United States. The decade saw the decline of Communism, the end of the Cold War, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. The 1980s saw the Iran-Iraq war, the Iran Contra scandal, and the continued threat of global nuclear war. -
Imagetext: Interdisciplinary Comics Studies Gothic Oedipus: Subjectivity
ImageTexT: Interdisciplinary Comics Studies ISSN: 1549-6732 Volume 2, Issue 2 (2006). http://www.engl...fisher/index.shtml print | close Gothic Oedipus: subjectivity and Capitalism in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins By Mark Fisher 1 Batman has contributed more than its fair share to the 'darkness that hangs over contemporary culture like a picturesque pall. 'Dark' designates both a highly marketable aesthetic style and an ethical, or rather anti-ethical, stance, a kind of designer nihilism whose chief theoretical proposition is the denial of the possibility of the Good. Gotham, particularly as re-invented by Frank Miller in the eighties, is, along with Gibson's Sprawl and Ridley Scott's LA, one of the chief geomythic sources of this trend.[1] 2 Miller's legacy for comics has been ambivalent at best. Reflect on the fact that his rise coincides with the almost total failure of superhero comics to produce any new characters with mythic resonance.[2] The 'maturity' for which Miller has been celebrated corresponds with comics' depressive and introspective adolescence, and for him, as for all adolescents, the worst sin is exuberance. Hence his trademark style is deflationary, taciturn: consider all those portentous pages stripped of dialogue in which barely anything happens and contrast them with the crazed effervescence of the typical Marvel page in the 60s. Miller's pages have all the brooding silence of a moody fifteen-year old boy. We are left in no doubt: the silence signifies. 3 Miller traded on a disingenuous male adolescent desire to both have comics and to feel superior to them.