Moviegoers this summer are again being treated to an all-star lineup of comic book characters coming to life on the big screen
From Thor and Green Lantern to X-Men: First Class and Captain America, moviegoers this summer are again being treated to an all-star lineup of comic book characters coming to life on the big screen.
While the superhero genre provides some exciting popcorn entertainment, Robert Emmons, associate director of the Honors College at Rutgers-Camden, says it’s more popular than ever because of what audiences are seeing when they look past the masks and spandex: themselves.
“Typically, these films are designed to suspend belief and offer a reprieve from reality,” says Emmons, who teaches a class on graphic novels on the Camden Campus. “But more recently, I think the films dig deeper and cause a more affecting experience.”
That’s because the superheroes are relatable, says Emmons, a documentary filmmaker who is currently producing a film, Diagram for Delinquents: Frederick Wertham and the Evolution of Comic Books.
“Take a character like Spider-Man, for example. He’s dealing with a lot of teen issues and I think audiences really relate to that,” Emmons explains. “They can also look up to him. The audience has to have sympathy and empathy for these characters.”
Audiences are drawn to regular people with everyday problems, like Peter Parker, the ordinary guy behind Spider-Man’s mask.
“It starts with writing and how you adapt that story,” Emmons says. “You have a character that is beyond all of us because he has these abilities, so you need the audience to want to look up to this person and relate to this character.”
Emmons says the comic book movie adaptations, more than any other genre, also serve as the perfect respite from everyday hardships
“It’s about escapism,” Emmons says. “Superheroes have taken off because people want that escape.”
The genre also tends to bring audiences together, he says.
“When you look at enemies in action films in the 80s and 90s, who were they? They were from other countries like Russia or the Middle East,” Emmons explains. “But in today’s comic book movies, that’s not how enemies are defined. They’re enemies that everybody from every race or religion can get behind.”
Emmons says comic book movies have made a comeback and continue to grow in popularity because of a commitment to good writing and storytelling.
“In the early to mid-90s, which was a really bad period for comic books, they sacrificed making good comics for trying to create a lot of buzz around comics,” he says. “But then all of the people who had grown up reading comics had come of age, had become writers, directors, and TV producers, and they gravitated toward comics. They started to bring on really good writers to come up with new stories.”
He continues, “Comic books are on the rise again. Comic films had also been terrible with the exception of some shining examples, but when Tim Burton was brought on to the Batman movies [in 1989 and 1992] it showed what a good director could do for the superhero genre. Movies like Blade, Sam Raimi’s Spider-man movies, and Christopher Nolan’s Batman films are other good examples.”
Emmons wonders how much longer quality comic book movie adaptations will have success and when they will lose steam.
“I’m waiting for the bubble to burst,” he says. “Can they sustain this success, or will they dig too deep into the genre and not have compelling characters or stories anymore? We’ll see.”
Emmons teaches courses in film, new media, and comic book history at Rutgers–Camden. He is a member of the International Documentary Association and has produced films focusing on American popular culture.
The Barrington resident earned his associate degree from Camden County College, his bachelor’s degree from Rowan University, his master’s degree from Rutgers–Camden, and his doctorate from Drew University.
Media Contact: Ed Moorhouse
856-225-6759
E-mail: ejmoor@camden.rutgers.edu