The Myth of the American Superhero

by John Shelton Lawrence

Arguing that the superhero is the antidemocratic counterpart of the classical "monomyth" described by Joseph Campbell, the authors show that the American version of the monomyth derives from tales of redemption. In settings where institutions and elected leaders always fail, the American monomyth offers heroes who combine elements of the selfless servant with the lone, zealous crusader who destroys evil. Taking the law into their own hands, these unelected figures assume total power to rid the community of its enemies, thus comprising a distinctively American form of pop fascism.
Drawing widely from books, films, TV programs, video games, and places of superhero worship on the World Wide Web, the authors trace the development of the American superhero during the twentieth century and expose the mythic patterns behind the most successful elements of pop culture. Lawrence and Jewett challenge readers to reconsider the relationship of this myth to traditional religious and social values, and they show how, ultimately, these antidemocratic narratives gain the spiritual loyalties of their audiences, in the process inviting them to join in crusades against evil.
Finally, the authors pose this provocative Can we take a holiday from democracy in our lives of fantasy and entertainment while preserving our commitment to democratic institutions and ways of life?

Genres: Sociology, Nonfiction, Mythology, History, Superheroes

416 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2002

Reviews

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paljon asiaa ja todella kiinnostavaa informaatiota ja ajatuksen juurta amerikkalaisen populaarikulttuurin vaikutuksesta. Tässä aika spesifisti keskityttiin elokuvien sankarimyyttiin, joka siis usein valkoinen mies, lain ulkopuolella, kostaja, pelastaja ja niin edespäin. Mielestäni ihan helppolukuinen tutkimuskirjallisuudeksi. Itselläni tämä esseekirjallisuutta ja sankari-mytologia-setti tuttua, joten poimin rusinat pullasta tätä kirjaa lukiessa.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 5 out of 5]

O livro The Myth Of The American Superhero, de John Shelton Lawrence e Robert Jewett, é um livro que nos elucida de forma bastante envolvente a gênese, os elementos, a diversificação e evolução dos super-heróis na cultura estadunidense. Quando os autores se referem a super-heróis eles não estão fazendo alusão apenas aos produtos que surgiram nas histórias em quadrinhos, mas a todo um ethos que faz com que os norte-americanos encarem a necessidade de um salvador para o que eles julgam como o "povo escolhido". Esse salvador, portanto, precisa ser uma criatura dotada de poderes além do humano, entre outras características. Essas características são verificadas em diversos produtos da cultura pop que são analisados em capítulos pelos autores. Ente eles, Buffalo Bill, John Wayne, Charles Bronson, os filmes da Disney, Rambo, videogames, Star Wars, Star Trek, todos eles adicionando elementos e elementos de análise que auxiliam na percepção da necessidade estadunidense por super-heróis. Fica, por fim, o questionamento de o quanto essa necessidade criada pela cultura pop dos Estados Unidos se alastra através da globalização para os demais países e qual seu efeito sobre eles.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insightful. Clueless.

[John Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makes the brilliant but horrifying argument that American culture undermines its own democracy by repeatedly telling stories of superheroes saving hapless communities from unambiguous evils. The chapters are uneven and occasionally repetitive, but nonetheless convincingly illustrate the storytelling patterns that elevate violent solutions, disregard for women, and contempt for democratic populaces and institutions. The behaviors and appeal of Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Republican Party in the 21st Century make a whole lot more sense in light of this argument, and in 2020 this book seems particularly prescient and relevant.

[Matt Starr · Rating 3 out of 5]

As informative and studied as the authors are in their analysis of their selected works of American westerns and cinema entertainment, I was frustrated by the partisanship on their part.
I would not expect them to be able to make the same moral denunciations in a book entitled “The Myth of the American Activist” to dissect entertainment whose intended audience live in large, urban environments and then lament the inspirational effects the Monomyth they formulate has on organizations like the Weather Underground and ANTIFA.

[Kevin Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating look at how American entertainment has changed the way we see mythical heroism and how that has changed culture.

[Benedict · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book. It is fearless in approaching some of the stories we've put on pedestals (I'll admit to a moment of personal horror that they took Star Wars down a peg or two), and calmly points out the tension between the deep values of a democracy and the images in our stories and films of superheroic loners who save the day, often disobeying orders and ignoring bureaucracies portrayed as slobbish or incompetent. They collect the superheroic ideals and tropes and call it an "American Monomyth."

The books work through a few real-world case studies, pointing out the ways that Timothy McVeigh and Ted Kaczynski adopted the monomyth, even while noting that the overwhelming majority of people obviously can consume monomyth stories without acting to such an extreme. Still, they raise the question of what small parts of the monomyth we might internalize?

Chapter by chapter, the studies are a bit clunky, but over the course of the book, the reader builds up a very clear awareness of the sort of things Lawrence and Jewett are noticing and describing. There are several very interesting conversations about the role of women in the monomyth (particularly as "Heidi" or "Mary Poppins" style redeemers), and the renunciation of sexuality (the exclusion of female world views of nurture, etc., in favor of a "myth of redemptive violence").

The closing chapter lands very powerfully, briefly and simply describing that the actual heroism in the September 11th attack did not involve invincible caped supermen, nor disobeying orders, but rather citizens doing their jobs, volunteering, losing their lives, and even voting on whether to take back the cockpit of one hijacked plane.

The simple message is that whatever our entertainments, we must recall that they lift up a truly fictional account of how we can save and serve our world.

As a priest, I read this with a deep awareness that I know of another story that does save the world and calls people to different values. As a lover of science fiction and superheroes, I found much in the book to chew on as I watch the stories of today (I believe many of the movies coming out now are disrupting aspects of the monomyth -- the loner, invincibility, having no romantic partner -- and I'd be curious to read Lawrence and Jewett's later work to see if they note that too).

Five stars for being a work that changes how I'm looking at the modern world!

[Sean Kottke · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent piece of media criticism that traces a uniquely American version of the classical monomyth through a century of popular entertainments across all media, it does not resolve into simplistic prescriptions for censorship, but neither does it interrogate deeply the popularity of these narrative archetypes. What makes the monomyth so intractable in the popular consciousness? Is it simply because there's a lot of it to go round? While the authors express unease about anti-democratic elements in the American monomyth and provide compelling discussions about how such presentations become translated into the actions and worldviews of consumers, the question of why they're perennially popular with audiences (and why alternative visions are less so) is not strongly addressed. It would seem that some of the works of Frank Capra would provide good counterexamples to the trends discussed. The book is now over ten years old, and expresses some optimism about the decade to come after 9/11/2001 that today seems quaint, especially given the dominance of superhero narratives and the triumph of comic book culture. I'd love to see the sections on Star Wars expanded to consider the final two films in the prequel trilogy and Clone Wars. Despite these criticisms, I was really engaged by the comprehensiveness of the authors' discussion. Bonus points for invoking John Dewey and syncretism in discussing the power of pop culture texts as "informal curriculum" for young learners, more engaging and motivating than traditional tools of instruction.

[Ben]

I read some of this book for my research on superheroes. It seems quite good and interesting, unfortunately I didn't get to finish it.