Image via WikipediaIt turns out that I shouldn't have been so excited on Tuesday -- the message on the school's webpage was a mistake, and they figured it out a few minutes after I saw it. Luckily, Dr. Toffee is an insomniac, so she saw it, too, and there was no class. Sadly, I didn't get nearly as much work done as I was hoping. I'm supposed to do a QHQ this week, which is where you come up with a (an?) hypothesis to answer your research question, then see what question occurs to you after that. Here goes:Q: Do the experiences of comic-book superheroes in movies parallel the experiences of people with disabilities?
H: I've found a lot of evidence in support of this in FF and X:TLS, but I'm not necessarily sure that this is part of every superhero film. I'm starting to think that it depends on the publisher of the original comic book. My two "object texts" are both based on Marvel comic books, and I think that this applies to other series that involve physical differences, like The Incredible Hulk, Daredevil (he's blind), and Iron Man. But if you look at series from DC Comics, you won't find the same theme stressed in the same way. Batman currently has emotional issues, but there's no cultural oppression involved. Superman? He actually pretends to have a vision impairment to seem more "normal." I think that the answer to my initial question is yes, if they are Marvel superheroes. And, this does, in fact, lead me to another question.
Q: Why is this theme (or maybe it's a plot and characterization device) so pervasive in Marvel comics?
I think that the new question has a lot more depth. And here's another irony: just as I'm looking at the Human Torch as an example of someone who doesn't buy into the cultural model of disability, he has died in the comic books. It made the New York Times! (http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/25/fantastic-four-no-more/).
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