What immediately puzzled me were the videos and articles on Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the Camelot trailer, and “The Crowning of King Arthur.” Because this early time period is something that I am not interested in and know little about, I searched through some other student’s blogs for help. For example, within the Camelot trailer, Lancelot was expressed as the perfect knight, while King Arthur was shown as a clean-cut white male (a typical superhero look). Within Monty Python, I noticed that the King was almost disrespected. For example, he was not admired or looked up like a typical superhero because he was placed within his position. One of the lower class individuals even said, “well I didn’t vote for you.” Then the man next to her continues by saying the king can’t wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at him. What I realized was there is an obvious separation between classes that separate the heroes from the non-heroes. They are not as admirable, or they do not wield qualities that a typical superhero would.
Which leads me to my next point, do superheroes need to be strong and manly and victorious? Alternatively, I ask, what makes a superhero? Tying back in to my initial statement, “Meet the new Muslim-American Green Lantern” shares racial biases. They even started the article by saying that the comic-book world has taken bold steps to diversify its landscape. What I found particularly interesting was how this superheroes first major obstacle was not a super-villain, but a “federal agent who deems him as a terrorist.” What I also found quite strange was how one of the categories within this article was asking if this comic is any good. Is this because of racial prejudices because the superhero is Muslim or because the writers did a poor job? Similar to this article, “Who Gets To Be A Superhero?” and “What If X-men Were Black” also deals with race and identity. The main comic within this article is the X-men. Their first example of racism came when they mentioned that Wolverine’s snarling and predatory aggression resembles the stereotype of an angry black man. There were many more examples, but I guess without even noticing it myself, I believe people over analyze things that could possibly continue or move on without discussion.
The last two articles seemed to relate to one another, but some may disagree. What I noticed within “Superheroines” was that more often than not, female superheroes are changed or altered to newer generations. They seem to fluctuate, rather than stay the same character or withhold the same qualities throughout time. This article was expressing that some people want to steer away from the typical white strong and victorious male, but they can never seem to hold onto a female superhero because they are always changing. Within “Superman and the Jumper,” I noticed that the typical white male was depicted. I do understand that it is Superman, but is it a coincidence that I enjoyed this article the best?
By the way, mine is Batman.
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