Week 1 Analysis

Week 1 Analysis

Comic Book movies and television shows: examples of trendy popular culture

As a kid I was a big fan of comic books and the superhero’s contained within. There have been some movies and television shows that became embedded in popular culture. The original Superman movies starring Christopher Reeves and the old Batman television show with Adam West are some that leap to mind immediately. Movies have always been part of pop culture and certain superhero movies or television shows have also. In the last 10 years there has been an explosion of comic book movies and television shows that have appeared. This phenomenon is a perfect example of trends in pop culture. It has become overwhelming at times. You cannot turn around without seeing an advertisement for a show like “No Ordinary Family” or “Iron Man 2” on dvd. It was once thought that no real money could be made from these types of movies or television shows and they would only appeal to kids and comic book geeks. They were a niche item not something mainstream or popular.

Spider-Man, X-Men, and the reboot of Batman, changed all of that. Once it was seen that it was possible to make movies using comic books as a source material and also make a huge profit; a new genre was born. It has become like the Wild West in the land of comics. What was once a niche product is now mainstream. Comic book culture is now pop culture. We can sell this to the masses. There are still those who refuse to watch those types of movies but there is enough of a demand from the masses for the studios to keep making them. However with great popularity comes great scrutiny and great backlash.

Some have tired of the genre and wish they would all go away. This is a nice wish but as we all know Hollywood will follow the money. As long as these comic book movies continue to make money the studios will continue to make them. Until. . .the “Next Big Thing” or NBT comes along and that is also part of pop culture. There is always the NBT waiting right around the corner. In another genre, the teen or tween genre you see this at work. Harry Potter begat Twilight which begat…what? We don’t know yet but you can be sure there will be something as we continue to mine an area until there is nothing left.

This post is not meant as an indictment of the comic book movie genre, I personally still like comic books and some of the movies. I just understand the nature of the beast, the nature of pop culture what is new will soon be yesterday’s news as we move to the NBT.