Traditions of superhero-devoted American films are developing today, providing the audience with novel perspectives on cultural icons. Progressed from superhero comic books into motion picture arts, Spider-Man has become a cultural icon both in the United States and the World. Today, the character of Spider-Man is easily recognized and identified by the audience who has never read a comic book. Harmoniously combining conventional comic-related features and those of films on TV, Spider-Man captured public sympathy for many years. This paper will explore underlying mechanisms of Spider-Man’s popularity and influences exerted by this character on public identity.
The story of Spider-Man originated in printed media and was adapted to television. This approach is often used in television shows about superheroes; “film productions often employ comic book artists in order to create their storyboards and other design elements” (Rowe 351). The image of Spider-Man was used in various comics, books, novels, animated cartoons, films, television shows, and video games since the time when Spider-Man appeared on television in ABC series in 1967-1970. Being dramatically popular with TV viewers and cinema audience, Spider-Man-focused television shows, and films include animated series Spider-Man (1970), The Amazing Spider-Man (1979), Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1983), The Spectacular Spider-Man (2009), Ultimate Spider-Man (2012), and others (Chen et al. 116). Spider-Man has become recognizable by the smallest details, including his costume, web, flexibility, and some other characteristics. The release of the tokusatsu series (Japanese television drama) devoted to Spider-Man testifies the fact that the character gained worldwide popularity.
As far as the cultural role of Spider-Man is concerned, it can be stated that this hero is quintessentially American and is hardly imaginable in any other society. Spider-Man reflects the national ideological beliefs of inequality, racial tolerance, social and economic opportunities, democracy, justice, and collaboration, as well as the power of the individual. From 1962 to 1967, this character was evidently political and promoted a conservative approach to social issues. His actions were aimed to serve the purposes of the nation within the framework of the Cold War. During the period between 1967 and 1973, Spider-Man became more socially oriented and addressed such problems as drug abuse and juvenile delinquency. However, after this period, the hero got detached from social issues and started promoting personal values such as cooperation, tolerance, and moderation. At the same time, Peter Parker has always dealt with a clash of his own worldview with the ugly reality surrounding him (he reads works of Sartre and Camus to understand the nature of his alienation), which means that the existential philosophy is also reflected in the comics. Thus, from the semiotic viewpoint, the hero has simultaneously become a politic, social, and existential symbol of the nation (Romagnoli and Pagnucci 43).
As far as race is concerned, Marvel’s offshoot Ultimate Universe has presented an alternative Spider-Man, whose mask is worn by Miles Morales after Peter Parker’s death. He has been created as the official version for children of color to serve as a symbol of diversity, emphasizing the value of other racial identities. However, the idea was met adversely by the majority of fans. On the contrary, the promotion of gender and class equality was accepted positively by the public. The hero continues to protect the position of lower-class representatives as well as the rights of women for respect and recognition (Rowe 365).
Sexuality is a more controversial aspect of the character’s personality and is tightly connected with religion. Spider-Man realizes his lust for Mary Jane, which makes him perceive his own sexuality as something shameful and sinful. The feeling of guilt is aggravated by the fact that he often violates one of the basic principles of Christianity and uses power for one’s own satisfaction. Thus, his personal sufferings become an allegory of sin, repentance, and atonement (Romagnoli and Pagnucci 71).
In the episode devoted to 9/11, Spider-Man is accused of letting the tragedy occur. Accepting his own part of the blame, he realizes that this act of terrorism could have been prevented. Moreover, the hero recognizes ordinary people’s contribution: he reflects upon those who sacrificed their lives to save others. The same attitude is expressed in connection with Americans at war: Spider-Man is the proponent of peace and personal heroism of an average man (Romagnoli and Pagnucci 139).
Until the advent of Spider-Man in the 1960s, teenagers were depicted as subordinates or assistants of superheroes in comics and television series. Films with Spider-Man broke these stereotypes by presenting the superhero as a lonely teenager ignored and rejected by most of his peers. Thus, this image challenged the traditional celebrity culture of the community by shifting the focus of attention from the successful and famous to the ordinary and neglected to make the audience feel more involved (Rowe 367).
As for consumer culture, Spider-Man (despite being a typically Western character) does not believe that capitalism can guarantee happiness. Peter Parker often witnesses situations proving that extreme wealth brings misery. That is why he realizes the value of his loving but modest upbringing. However, this life experience makes him a bit naïve about the nature of American corporate culture and its intrinsic evils as he tends to judge people by himself (Romagnoli and Pagnucci 160).
Summing up, Spider-Man-based television shows and animated cartoons manifested new trends in the television segment of popular culture. The character transitioned from exemplary excellence and faultlessness to abilities and characteristics inherent in ordinary individuals. Depicting Spider-Man’s supernatural powers and heroic deeds, films expand the comic genre, simultaneously showing how the boundary between reality and a media image becomes invisible.
Works Cited
Chen, Yubo, Yong Liu, and Jurui Zhang. “When Do Third-Party Product Reviews Affect Firm Value and What Can Firms Do? The Case of Media Critics and Professional Movie Reviews.” Journal of Marketing, vol. 76, no. 2, 2013, pp. 116-134.
Romagnoli, Alex S., and Gian S. Pagnucci. Enter the Superheroes: American Values, Culture, and the Canon of Superhero Literature. Scarecrow Press, 2013.
Rowe, Christopher. “Dynamic Drawings and Dilated Time: Framing in Comics and Film.” Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, vol. 7, no. 4, 2016, pp. 348-368.