The Philosophical Significance of Superhero Movies

SUPERHERO MOVIES AND PHILOSOPHY Superhero movies are successful in part because they exemplify bigger-than-life conceptions of good and evil. Although religious texts and legends already do this, superhero movies are distinguished by the fact that they emerged from experimental storytelling. Superheroes originate from comic books that are cheap. This low cost form lets authors and artists try new things without fear of reprimand. For each superhero that makes it to the big screen, hundreds remain known only in “fan” subculture. This ability to err lets comic books experiment with myths in a secular way freed from the strictures of religious custom. This experimentation is unprecedented—certainly at so large a scale. It would thus be a mistake, Marc Champagne will argue, to dismiss the philosophical significance of superhero movies. Dr. Marc Champagne is an Instructor in the Department of Philosophy at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. He is the author of Consciousness and the Philosophy of Signs and Myth, Meaning, and Antifragile Individualism. SESSIONS: DATE: TIME: LOCATION: FEE: FACILITATOR: GUEST PRESENTER: REGISTER BY: 1 Tue, Mar 17 11:00am – 12:50pm KPU Surrey Campus, Cedar Building Room 3010 $15 Sonya Furst, 778.833.3762, [email protected] Marc Champagne Tue, Mar 10 To register see page 40 23