|
BOBC |
 |
 |
 |
|
Evans, Jonathan C. "More than Simply a Flash of Colour: The True Rhetorical Power of Superhero Style." Framescapes. Graphic Narrative Intertexts. Eds. Mikhail Peppas and Sanabelle Ebrahim. Oxford: Inter-Disciplinary Pr. 2016. 3–13. Added by: joachim (1/20/18, 4:57 PM) Last edited by: joachim (1/20/18, 4:59 PM) |
 |
| Resource type: Book Chapter Language: en: English BibTeX citation key: Evans2016 Email resource to friend View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Morrison. Grant, Rhetoric, Superhero, United Kingdom Creators: Ebrahim, Evans, Peppas Publisher: Inter-Disciplinary Pr. (Oxford) Collection: Framescapes. Graphic Narrative Intertexts |
Views: 6/983
|
| Attachments |
| Abstract |
|
The Ancient Greeks had a term, skandalon, that was defined in one of its definitions is defined as a kind of ‘stumbling block’ or something that may be around you, in the everyday, that one day you ‘stumble’ while walking past and that forces you to take a much closer look at it. Comic books are evolving into just that kind of skandalon in our world today. With the advent and popularity of movies and films based on comic books and comic book superheroes, why is it, for some, impossible to think that such things as comic books superheroes should not be studied or not be taken seriously? Superheroes are a mirror upon the real world. Studying superheroes, like any other medium, requires humanity to look at itself like the plays of Shakespeare (that were themselves just ‘popular’ entertainment in his time). We love Shakespeare because his plays and words have and continue to inspire. Some say that comic books are trash, but in reality they are more akin to our own modern mythology, our ability to tell stories that inspire us – just like Shakespeare. It is the ideas that are expressed within that are the true measure of a stories worth, and comic book superheroes (returned ‘gods’ from ancient Olympus and man’s past) have the potential to express many ideas through the lens of semiotic action of signified and signifier. To study superheroes is to study the ideas and archetypes that form the core of human hopes, aspirations, and ideas that inspire us to look for and create a better ‘real’ world. Comic book superheroes, at their core, represent a rhetorical opportunity to self-examine and explore humanity, like any other piece of literature, in order to discover what inspires us to create a better world.
|