Written Analysis 2

Written Analysis 2: Rituals and Stereotypes

Melissa Tucker

Popular Culture

Professor Whitney Iles

                                                                      July 17, 2014

Introduction

            The topic that I chose was the super hero. The purpose of this writing is to analyze how the topics of ritual and stereotypes are shown in the superhero. Within the superhero there are many examples of both of these topics. The superhero has a ritual of preparing themselves before they go off to “fight crime”. Each superhero has an “alter ego” to hide the fact that they are the superhero that they are. Each one has to shed the appearance of their alter ego before they can become who they truly are. They all don some sort of masked costume before the work begins. The stereotypes run rampant through the superhero world as well. Each superhero has to put up with the stereotype of the “superpower” they have. This is exemplified greatly in the “X-Men”. Almost every single hero in the X-Men’s world has to face stereotypes and prejudice. They not only have to deal with the special gifts they have but also how other “normal” people perceive them.

What theories seem to apply to this topic, and how do they help us analyze the superhero?

            As explained in the introduction, both theories of ritual and stereotype are easily explained within the superhero. An example would be The Batman. He has a ritual of preparing himself before he goes out to fight crime. He has to don his “cape and cowl” before he can become “the batman”. He also has his “batcave” to which he has a ritual of honoring his fallen parents, by either saying a silent prayer or honoring them in some way. The other part of his ritual is that he only fights crime at night. He bides his time “hunting” down the criminals during the day and then strikes at night when they are most vulnerable. He also has to fight stereotypes, because his “alter ego” is Bruce Wayne. Bruce has a reputation of being a “playboy” and a “trust fund baby” since he inherited all his wealth and status from his parents.

            However, Batman is not the only superhero that has to deal with these rituals and stereotypes. He is one among a large group that deals with personal rituals amongst the heroes such as Superman, (who has his “fortress of solitude” that is mostly devoted to the memory of his parents and his home world), the X-men, who, as was mentioned in the introduction, has to consistently deal with the stereotypes of not only the same stereotypes we all deal with (race, religious background, and culture), but also the stereotype of being a “mutant”.  All the X-men deal with ritual as well, because they have such diverse backgrounds, they have different religious outlooks on what to do to prepare themselves before a major fight or dealing with a particular issue that they must face. They also all have the ritual of the costumes that they put on before heading out to take down the bad guy. And it’s not just the superhero but also the villains sometimes will wear costumes. Rather if this is to hide who they really are to keep their identity safe, or just a way for them to “mask” their insecurities, that is up for debate, but you cannot deny the fact that putting on a costume and mask helps empower these individuals to help them find the inner strength to overcome the stereotypes they face to help the inner heroes they are come to the surface. 

Insights gained from applying the theories to the topic

            In conclusion, the superhero’s ability to over the stereotype is inspiring to us. They can overcome the prejudice that is thrown at them because they are different and the stereotypes that are expected of them. The rituals they perform before and sometimes after they bring down the villain, helps us relate to the superhero because we all have rituals that we perform to prepare for a particularly important project or obstacle. Some rituals are simple, (like Batman saying a small prayer to the spirits of his parents before he goes out to fight crime), others are more complex, (like Thor when he performs his rituals before heading to earth to take down an interstellar villain). But no matter the ritual or the stereotype that they face, they are able to overcome this all and they do so in a way that is peaceful (mostly), and in a way that is an example for others to follow. It is what makes superheroes so appealing to the general public. The fact that they too face the same things that we do and it helps us identify with them and makes them seem more “human”.