On this eighteenth episode of The Pop Culture Lens, we present the recording of a second roundtable discussion from the 2015 Midwest Popular Culture Association Conference. This roundtable discusses the topic of director and showrunner Joss Whedon — and how much of a controversial figure and person he is for so many people, including his…
Tag: X-Men
Comics Adaptations Causing Fractured Fandom
We are now full swing into the summer blockbuster season for Hollywood, and let’s take a tally of movies that are currently out or soon to arrive that originate from the pages of comic books. Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The Amazing Spider-Man 2. X-Men: Days of Future Past. Hercules. Guardians of the Galaxy. Teenage…
The Oddness of Old Comic Books
(This post originally appeared on Clearance Bin Review. I am reposting it here given my interest in studying the morality of superheroes as well as my interest in understanding how people make sense of texts as they engage with them. I also believe there is something to be said about the importance of the nature of the…
The Morality of Superheroes
Previously I have discussed the definition of superheroes, the international nature of superheroes, and the ability to consider superheroes from different legends and religions. In this post I share my thoughts on the ethical and moral nature of superheroes, on how we could consider them to be role models for our modern lives. The further…
From Hell to the Cineplex
From Hell to the Cineplex: Adaptation of a graphic novel on narrative and sensual levels While it has been Hollywood history to base movies on novels, many movies today are being made by adapting texts that have a pre-existing fanbase, such as comic books, novels, video games, television shows, etc. While ostensibly one reason for these…
Making Sense of Superhero Films
The following is the bulk of the presentation I will be giving this Friday, October 11th, at the Midwest Popular Culture Association conference in St. Louis. For all of you (which is the majority of the world) who cannot be there to hear the presentation, I give you what it is all about — my…
