“He’s A Monster Of Our Own Making. I Must Right This Wrong.”
In many of these recent, aforementioned movies, the hero tends to disavow – or allow the destruction of – the past in some way. Case in point: Asgard’s annihilation or Wakanda’s revised foreign policy. The issue of nostalgia vs. the new becomes more intriguing when we consider that, before 2014, critics were increasingly discussing the conservatism of superhero movies.
The Dark Knight Rises, Iron Man and The Avengers all saw their heroes discover faults within their societies. However, these characters still fought to protect their respective arenas from outside threats. In newer films, we find Captain America destroying corrupt intelligence agencies wholesale, and Black Panther screaming “You were wrong,” at his predeceasing kings.
It’s hard to explain just why this is occurring, thought it could be these movies are reflecting the current American mood. It’s a well known fact that art has always done this, and cinema is no exception to this rule. Following 9/11 and the start of the Iraq war, Hollywood was filled with heroes like Jason Bourne: wide-eyed, brooding, disorientated people who struggled to battle onward after recent traumas.
These characters then evolved into the more reassuring fare of the superhero movie. Though these films still revolved around tormented individuals, they offered the escapism of wisecracks, colorful adventures and a more easily palatable sense of morality. So, what stage are we at now?
