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Dylan Trudeau Mr. Bielinski Media Lit 25, April, 2013 Depiction of superheroes in the media What exactly do people think of super heroes? Most people look up to Superheroes as role models or cool action guys that save the world and inspire them to do the same. Although most kids don’t realize it, what they do and watch as children can really mold how they will be like when they’re older. Superheroes surround a boy when he’s growing up even some girls are superhero fanatics when they’re younger and how superheroes appear in the media is a very important subject especially because of ow impressionable children are.
Superheroes are superb role models for any person while growing up, They fght crime and make the city safe from danger isn’t that a good thing? yes it is people don’t only enjoy superheroes but some actually grow up to act like superheroes. There have been many movies created to show average citizens becoming superheroes to save crime even a couple known groups call themselves superheroes and actively fight crime like The Alliance of Guardian Angels or the Rain City Superheroes people like this have been influenced by uperheroes to do better for their neighborhood because of the way superheroes are depicted in the media.
Also there are several movies out there with superheroes in it that are Just random civilians that turn into superheroes and suddenly start fghting crime to save people. The way superheroes are depicted in the media is that they are there to fght and stop crime when theyre needed as genuinely good people saving hundreds from disaster so that kids can look up to them and be good people. In the world of superheroes there are movies all over the place and heroes with ery different powers with different backgrounds but they all do the same thing.
They all influence children and adults all the same with the actions they all take against crime and “bad guys” as the Rain City Superheroes call them an active team in Detroit fighting against crime on the streets. These men are acting as superheroes that were motivated by their kids and how superheroes were when they were kids as well. These men try and be good role models for their children like they stated in the youtube video Rain City Superheroes, which is a video of a news broadcast of an nterview or mini documentary on the heroes in which the leader of the group states “this is the only thing I know i can do to make the streets safer. He as a superhero doing this for his kids is terrific he is a great role model for these kids giving homeless free food and actively stopping people from making dumb decisions or even fghting crime. Capturing the superhero image perfectly by showing how superheroes aim to save people and make streets safe for others. The group tries their hardest to help the best they can on the streets influencing some to help thats hy theyre a group of 10 now instead of only 3.
Another group that helps prevent crime that are like superheroes are The Alliance of Guardian Angels, one person in particular that is apart of that group is a man named Hashim who was shot 6 times at the age o t 15 on the streets ne goes around talking to children in schools ettectively trying to stop teens and kids from ever Joining gangs or getting into street violence one girl in the video said “hes like a role model to me,” he is reaching children getting them to be better people the girl was talking about how he made her realize that she houldn’t hate people Hashim is like a superhero grasping kids and teens minds and those kids turn to him as a role model and he is really making them become better people like any superhero should.
Average people can be superheroes Just like actually superheroes like Ironman or superman these men prove to be great role models for children everyday like hashim and The Rain City Superheroes. Not Just real live people are superhero role models the make believe ones in movies and comics are also really large role models for everyone. Mainly proven by the fact that lmost every kid on halloween night is wearing a costume of any superhero. On opening night for Iron Man 3 according to the mojo box office it made over $174,000,000. That is a lot of children and adults watching that movie in Just one night but better yet a lot of people being influenced by what iron man was doing in the movie and a lot of opinions from all those people on iron man. his only goes to show that so many people were watching that movie because they thought iron man was a great role model otherwise the movie wouldn’t have made $337,073,000 so far n all of its lifetime which has only been 16 days. Studies show that the original superheroes like superman according to an article the old superheroes who “held ordinary day Jobs and believed in social Justice” Richard Alleyne said in his article many children do look up to Superman or original Batman theyre regular guys with secret identities who fght good on their free time. I myself looked up to them when I was young one reason i want to be a cop closest thing to a superhero.
But children do look up to these men who doesn’t they fght crime and save people any child ould want to grow up like them. While most look up to superheroes some question if children should be watching them fight violently and exploit women with their charm and loads of money. Dr. Sharon Lamb says children shouldn’t be watching “superheroes” fght and exploit women she believes the “Dark Knight or Hulk” are bad role models for children. The main thing Sharon focused on with her research was that she doesn’t believe theyre good role models for males if we want to see “less stereotypical male behaviours. ” In her research she proved that children who watch uperheroes and look up to them will become slackers.
Children that become slackers due to superheroes is because they see that the present superheroes don’t do anything and they always get their way and are always rich yet they aren’t shown doing their Jobs or anything that involves earning money like Iron Man in Iron Man two he had his assistant take over the business for him any he never was shown doing any work yet he owned a 40 story building and had multiple suits of high tech armor. While that all is a very good point how can watching men who go out and fght rime for a living make you a slacker? More and more groups of guys are showing up as “superheroes” Just like Phoenix Jones one of the rain city superheroes he said in a video “l work a 9-5 Job and have a kid and wife i support. Phoenix has a real Job and a family he supports plus he is a superhero on the side how can anyone claim him to be a slacker when he is doing more than the average citizen for his city trying to clean up the streets the best way he knows how to. While there is a small amount ot evidence pointing to the tact superheroes are hown as bad role models in the media there is so much more evidence pointing to how the media shows them as good role models and we see it everyday with people doing the right thing because of them if its not Just picking up a pencil for someone or actively acting as a superhero like the Rain City Superheroes or the Alliance of Guardian Angels.
People look up to superheroes and it is very important for them to be depicted as heroes instead of woman exploiting slackers that is why the way the media shows them is very important luckily people don’t notice the negatives and iew them as good people saving the world. The Aliance of Gaurdian Angels. The Guardian Angels, n. d. Web. 8 May 2013. APA. Sharon Lamb, 15 Aug. 2010. web. 20 Mar. 2013.. BOX Office MOJO. IMDb. com, 3 May 2013. web. 8 May 2013. Finalist “MY HERO” International Film Festival! HASHIM “The Truth Angel. ” youtube. N. p. , 2june 2010. web. 16 May 2013. Guardian. N. p. , n. d. Web. 25 Apr. 2013.. MSN. N. p. ,3 May 2013. web. 16 May 2013.. Rain City Superheroes. You Tube. Tressco, n. d. Web. 8 May 2013. Telegrap. Richard Alleyne, 16 Aug. 2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2013. WebMD. Kathleen D0heney, 16 Aug. 2010. web. 8 May 2013..