The Aesthetic Intensity of Superheroes
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The Aesthetic Intensity of Superheroes An autoethnographic interpretation of contemporary superhero popularity by Daniel Braun, B.A., M.A. A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of D octor of Philosophy Department of Sociology and Anthropology Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario ©2013 Daniel Braun Library and Archives Bibliotheque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du 1+1 Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-94523-0 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-94523-0 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distrbute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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Canada Abstract The central claim of this dissertation is that aesthetic intensity is a characteristic that can be attributed to the superhero genre. The argument supporting this claim is that, while superheroes have always had the quality of aesthetic intensity, since 2000, an increase in seriality and the spread within the superhero genre of new forms of melodrama (what I term ‘superdrama’) have combined to amplify the genre’s potential for aesthetic intensity. My argument is situated in relation to an established and growing research methodology that is sociological and ethnographic, with clear and explicit ties to postmodern sensibilities: autoethnography. Mytheoretical principles are derived from this method, which legitimates personal experience as an object of analysis, a necessary step for me to take up the topic of aesthetic intensity. After reviewing the historical development of autoethnography into a cutting-edge sociological method, I turn to second-hand statistical information that points to current superhero comic sales being near their all-time low. I interpret that trend with respect to another current phenomenon, the proliferation of superheroes into new cultural spaces such as Hollywood blockbusters and adult-aimed advertising. I argue that this proliferation is linked to the recently increased potential of the genre for aesthetic intensity, and that both of these phenomena can be traced to changes in the genre related, first, to its increasingly serial structure and, second, its increasingly melodramatic content. To support those claims I provide an interpretive, partial history of superheroes in comics, on television and in film. After charting those changes I bring the threads of this work together in the final chapter in order to support my claim that superheroes have the characteristic of aesthetic intensity by explaining the concept and providing several examples. Acknowledgements My mother Viviane, my father Fred and my sister Jessica put up with me, and my comic collection, from the earliest days. Dr. Brian Johnson was the committee member with whom I could discuss it all: theory, methodology and what it meant to be have grown up a DC guy (him) or a Marvel guy (me). Though we will never agree on which of those ‘traditions’ is coolest, I have greatly appreciated his willingness to act as a sounding-board and to provide feedback throughout this long process. Dr. Melanie White attended my dissertation defence at 4.00 a.m., her time. For that, for her incredible kindness and positivity when providing feedback and for her careful, considered and wise guidance, she can only be labeled as the true superhero of this dissertation process. Dr. Bruce Curtis will always be the person I associate first and foremost with my graduate studies. His guidance shaped many of my most formative intellectual experiences. I hope he has found some pleasure and pride in having me as his student. Emmett, if you’re reading this, I hope you like what your daddy wrote and thought. Robyn my love, thank you for our good, good life! This dissertation is, of course, dedicated to you. Finally! Table of Contents Abstract Acknowledgements Introduction i: Autoethnography 2: Superhero Proliferation 3: Continuity, Iteration and Seriality 4: Superheroes and Melodrama (1940s - 1970s) 5: Superheroes and Melodrama (1970s - Present Day) 6: Experiencing Superheroes: Aesthetic Intensity and Superdrama Conclusion Graphs Graph i: Comic Sales since 1940 80 Graph 2: Comic Sales 1960-2010 80 Graph 3: Diamond’s Top 300 1997-2010 81 Graph 4: Diamond’s Top 300 2000-2010 81 Graph 5: North American Comic Sales, all formats and vendors (market-share) 83 Graph 6: North American Comic Sales, all formats and vendors (USD millions) 84 Graph 7: Television and Film Superhero Products since 1940 88 Graph 8: Domestic Ticket Sales for licensed superhero films since 1978 (USD adjusted) 89 Images Image 1: Bryantman Billboard 203 Image 2: Sample traditional comic page 215 Appendices Appendix 241 V Introduction The central claim of this dissertation is that aesthetic intensity is a characteristic that can be attributed to the superhero genre. Aesthetic intensity is a concept developed by literary and social theorist Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht in order to consider the ways in which “‘moments of intensity’ or of lived experience” are evoked by certain experiences and are, in turn, experienced not only intellectually, but physically as well (Gumbrecht 2004, 99). By ‘superhero genre’, I mean deployments of the superhero figure - defined at the end of this introduction - that usually take a narrative form, but can also include still or moving images without narrative context. This claim emerges in response to aresearch problem, the apparent contradiction between my own impression of a recent increase in the popularity of superheroes, and the material fact of all-time low sales figures for superhero comic books. T he argument supporting this claim is that, while superheroes have always had the quality of aesthetic intensity, since 2000, an increase in seriality and the spread within the superhero genre of new forms of melodrama (what I term ‘superdrama’) have combined to amplify the genre’s potential for aesthetic intensity. This, in turn, has resulted in an unprecedented proliferation of superheroes within mainstream, adult popular culture, as they have been put to work in places and ways entirely new for the genre. My argument proceeds in two stages. In the first stage, I assess the current, material reality of dollars earned by superhero comics and films with respect to their historical material earnings, and interpret these findings as conflicting with respect to superhero popularity. In the second stage, I catalogue some of the many instances of superhero proliferation into new cultural spaces and uses, and then present a partial and interpretive history of the superhero genre that highlights the generic changes related to seriality and melodrama that, I believe, have resulted in increased aesthetic intensity and contributed to the proliferation of superheroes within popular culture. My arguments alternate between wide-ranging examinations that cover different publishers, comic series and media, and close readings of some exemplary cases, including two Superman comics published over 50 years apart, several superhero television programs from the 1970s and 2000s, and some recent superhero films. My argument is situated in relation to an established and growing tradition of qualitative research methodology that is sociological and ethnographic, with clear and explicit ties to postmodern sensibilities: autoethnography. Mytheoretical principles are derived from this method, which legitimates personal experience as an object of analysis, a necessary step for me to take up the topic of aesthetic intensity. Aesthetic intensity is an embodied, pre- rational sensation and as such can only be analyzed within a framework that accepts subjective experience as a legitimate topic of scholarly attention. By admitting personal experience into sociological analysis, autoethnography refutes a subject/object divide on which many other, more traditional forms of social science depend. The autoethnographic