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Although superheroes have branched out to radio, movies, television and more traditional literature, they have remained a primary staple of
comics and in that role they have provided a flamboyant allegory to American life in the twentieth century. Also, like much of their audience, comic books have in fact matured primarily during the long expanse of the Cold War.
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Instead of mocking the Bard himself, Lloyd Kaufman uses Shakespeare to satirize the cultural world he has created: a world where culture is divided along lines of high and low, where self-proclaimed authorities dole out quality based on personal whim, and most relevantly, a world where Shakespeare is exalted as the pinnacle of art. Tromeo and Juliet makes light of this conflict and reveals the true problem of the qualitative dividing line of culture.
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Are videogames art? This is a question being asked by critics, scholars, writers, academics and even people in the games industry. But really, it is just the latest phrasing of that age-old conundrum: “What is art?” And this is rarely a question asked or answered in an attempt to validate particular works or modes of expression, but rather to denigrate or belittle newer styles or media that don’t mesh with preconceived standards. So now, we go through this cycle again and the agents of official culture now turn their ire on the medium of videogames.
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Taken together, Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain and The Alliterative Morte Arthure create a paradoxical picture of a King Arthur who is both human and superhuman, flawed and infallible and mortal but undying. Yet if one looks closely enough, one will find that these two depictions are not irreconcilable, but in fact can offer a coherent image of King Arthur and, more significantly, the impact he had on his people and on the history of England.
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The America of The Dirty Dozen is an America devoid of its expected patriotic luster, lacking in the qualities that inspire nationalistic pride. Rather than portray an inspiring image of American identity, this film intends to deconstruct it, to present an America that is not a benevolent force for justice or the harbinger of peace and democracy, but an imperfect nation that is willing to do the unspeakable if the situation merits it.
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Ivan Kalmar writes that “theories of society … can achieve popular success only if they are presented in the form of a story or … a myth.” This analysis of Battlestar Galactica follows in that vein, reading the opening miniseries as an allegorical conflict between Marshall McLuhan’s tribal man and Donna Haraway’s cyborg subject.
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Doctor Who: Season 1 sees a Doctor who hates himself and strives to return to his carefree days, a companion learning to look beyond her narrow view of the world and an affirming and inspiring moral about rejecting complacency and finding “a better way of living your life.”
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The Other of Transformers is both alien and familiar, both overtly evil and uncompromisingly noble; and most importantly, it provides a mirror for American society that allows the film to promote its own consumerist ideology.
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The trauma of Travis Touchdown is of such a personal nature – one mired in a reciprocating cycle of gender-based violence – that he opts to run from it rather than face it and immerse himself in the detached, emotionless virtual reality of the “hack-n-slash” action game.
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