Rethinking the true value of superhero franchises

Whenever I hear people discuss movies, a solid three out of five times I’ll hear someone mention a superhero franchise. Did you watch The Avengers? Or The Guardians of the Galaxy? That one where Chris Evans is super ripped?

As a film student, I’ve heard my fair share of criticism about these types of movies — and it’s always followed up with a comment about the sordid state our generation. Our generation prefers spectacle over story, explosions over characters. Movies are becoming less real and more fantastical, they say.

Nevertheless, I completely surrender myself to the appeal of the superheroes — the iron-willed protagonists save the world from destruction. What’s not to like? I agree that they’re unrealistic and they do tend to polarize the world into good and evil. It’s “simple.” But there is absolutely nothing simple about the role of superhero movies in our lives.

These fantastical movies feed us what we crave — a world where humans are absolutely crucial in determining the fate of humanity, the Earth and even the universe. We crave it because of a very straightforward, but uncomfortable truth — our generation is insecure. We have pushed the concept of individuality so far that we don’t know where we fall in the order of things anymore. Social institutions like religion, government, and even the family, are brought into question. No wonder it’s difficult for us to gauge where we stand.

Nonetheless, there’s no need to shame our generation for the movies we like. Once in a while, we do need a Chris Evans to save the world for us.