Superheroes are the modern versions of classical mythology. They offer answers to philosophical questions about morality, what it means to be human, our responsibilities to each other, and more. Most importantly, they reveal our culture’s inner values. Put simply, they are a legitimate part of our cultural heritage, but in recent years superhero movies and other types of childhood franchises have undergone increasingly intellectually shallow, plot-less and violent remakes.

For example, few modern myths are more ingrained in American culture than Superman. The most recent film grossed nearly $650 million worldwide, almost half of which was in the United States. In the film, Superman defeats his rival, Zod, by snapping his neck, meanwhile, tens of thousands have presumably died around him. It’s a bit more blunt than Superman II (1980), in which Zod and his minions are tricked into losing their powers.

The shallowness of our entertainment media continues to descend further into the abyss at a frightening pace. Take the second film in the incomprehensible Transformers franchise, Revenge of the Fallen (2009), which garnered $402 million in the United States. A writer’s strike delayed the creation of a script, so producers instead concentrated on creating digital effects to be matched up with a plot to be written later. Apparently no one noticed or cared.

The escapist aspects of the entertainment industry, especially in the form of ludicrous superhero movies, has grown to be an entire industry unto itself, and with glee, most of our youth have openly embraced fanboyism in eager anticipation of the next Star Wars trilogy or a Superman/Batman crossover.

Criticizing the shallow taste of Americans is not the point of this article, but we should consider how we got here. Ask anyone why people “flock to schlock” and you will inevitably hear answers like “Americans are stupid,” or “they have no concept of quality.” You will also be told that as the economy weakens and traditional forms of emotional and psychological support fail, people will seek increasingly absurd forms of sedation and pleasure. Compelling as these arguments are, perhaps there is another explanation. To understand it, we have to understand what cultural death is first. Read More »