This will be a relatively short discussion on Superheroes - on what makes them attractive to us, and the common core around which they are fashioned. Then, briefly, I want to talk about our own foray into the Superhero realm with Krrish.
Since Superheroes have always had a healthy presence in Hollywood's output, some norms have developed in terms of their characteristics. Superheroes must be looked at as Super Humans - a prime hook for us to identify with them. It does not matter whether they come from another planet or not, whether they walk on two legs or four. It suffices for them to show human traits. When we see reflections of ourselves in these beings, we identify with them and in turn are inspired by them, for they begin to represent, ironically, the extent of our own human potential. A great example is Superman. A 'kryptonian' by birth, he adopts our world as his home. He becomes a part of humanity before choosing to protect it. Even though he is made of steel, he exhibits, to an extent, the same frailties as we do in the affairs of love and hate, winning our sympathies along with our adulation.
This point of similarity between normal beings and super-beings becomes even more pronounced with the creative treatment of later Superheroes like Spiderman and Batman. The great irony of being special and still suffering from small everyday afflictions of the heart and mind sustains our interest in them. It makes them vulnerable and thus accessible to us, for who can deny vulnerability as a prime aspect of being human. Superheroes might take down stupendously powerful foes with their eyes closed, but when it comes to telling their love, or dealing with dark, childhood memories, they often fall by the wayside. As says the simple dictum of Greek Tragedy, the tragic hero needs must have tragic magnitude - towering above his fellow men so that his fall is long and hard. It is the same with Superheroes, which is why we are moved when Superman succumbs to his nemesis element 'kryptonite', or when the Hulk surrenders himself to his enemies, unable to sustain his strength-giving anger when faced by the woman he loves.
All that is mentioned above is for all to partake. Hollywood has perfected the art of conveying the crux of a Superhero's character, powers and dilemmas within the space of 45 minutes leaving another hour or so for him or her to solve their problems and decimate the bad guys. However, for the initiated, modern Superheroes are complex beings, with intricate webs of back-stories informing their decisions and actions. DC Comics and Marvel have developed each Super character over decades of comic publishing, linking them, killing them, bringing them back and making them love or hate one another. There is no end to this - they have even created parallel universes for some of the Superheroes, each with its own Earth, where a particular hero may thrive or disappear into oblivion. Superheroes in comics carry a lot of baggage, and one must have an idea of their intricate histories in order to make sense of their stories.
Films necessarily simplify these stories, going back to present these Super characters using first principles: usually depicting the stories of how they became their super-selves. Some filmmakers have treated these super-beginnings interestingly, often using these birth stories to sustain consequent sequels. In the case of Spiderman, Peter Parker, a.k.a Spiderman is a confused youngster with serious coming-of-age issues that manifest in his handling of his super-status. Sam Raimi, the director, uses this element of his character to make a compelling film that mirrors the lives of most young people in allegory. The Batman movies penetrate far deeper into the realms of the subconscious, about the darkness left behind by violent memories, attracting Christopher Nolan, a master of the psychological thriller (who gave is Memento and Insomnia) to direct the prequel. In other words, stories about Superheroes are prime fodder for compelling film narratives.
We identify with these super-beings because of their human vulnerability, but is that the sole reason for our liking them? There is another aspect common to super-beings that elevate them in our eyes. Each Superhero embraces a unique totem. Totems are emblems that individuals or groups adopt and worship, believing them to have supernatural powers. Totem worship goes back to our primordial instincts, where our forefathers picked animals or elements from nature and adopted them as the source of their power. Tribes that fought under the banner of a particular totem believed that they took on the totem's characteristics. Superheroes need a totem, for the totem defines the extent of their powers, not only to us but to the Superheroes themselves. Totems help classify their outlandish abilities in earthly terms, giving us a point of reference for who these beings are and what they can do. Brian Singer's X Men films used the Superhero theme in realistic sociological scenarios to illustrate the tribal beginnings of naming individuals after what their powers represent. In the film's world where Mutants are set apart from Humans, 'Rogue', 'Storm' and 'Wolverine' will stick together and stay wary of Harry, Joseph and Gillian, the totems differentiating the 'us' and the 'them'. Adopting a totem is usually the first step for a super-being in coming to terms with what he or she is. Batman has the Bat, Spiderman the Spider and Superman has, well, Man.
India has been experimenting with its own superheroes over the years. The animated film Hanuman did an intelligent thing - it dipped into our very own stock of Super-beings and created an icon for children. Lord Hanuman might not have too many human frailties, but in the end, he is super-strong, a loyal friend and has a strong totem - the Monkey. Rakesh Roshan's Krrish, though technically solid and visually impressive fell short in terms of character, which was sad, because Hritik Roshan really has the capacity, more than anyone else in Bollywood, to play a convincing super-hero. It was hard to pin down Krrish's powers. He seemed to be able to do anything. Perhaps his shortcoming was the lack of a totem as an animal or a God. Krrish's totems were, unfortunately, the existing Superheroes of Hollywood. It left his character weak, one-dimensional and ambiguous. It will be a while before the Indian film industry establishes its own set of defining characteristics for classifying superheroes, though I feel the process has already begun.
first published:July 08, 2006, 18:35 ISTlast updated:July 08, 2006, 18:35 IST
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Superheroes have been prime subject matter for cinema for as most of my cinema conscious life. When I was under ten, there was Superman. In my teens came Batman and in my early twenties there was Spiderman, The Hulk, the X-Men; and now there's Superman again. These were the big cheese- big films by big directors with big releases. Clamouring for attention in the background, though never to share the same reverence and adulation were The Flash, Electra and some others that wound up on forgotten shelves of DVD lending libraries. Almost all the Superbeings created by the literary imaginations of graphic artists have been pulled in for filming. If there isn't a film about them just yet, rest assured there is to be one in the near future. The point is that the Superhero subject is bankable, and the gears of this machine are now in full spin.
This will be a relatively short discussion on Superheroes - on what makes them attractive to us, and the common core around which they are fashioned. Then, briefly, I want to talk about our own foray into the Superhero realm with Krrish.
Since Superheroes have always had a healthy presence in Hollywood's output, some norms have developed in terms of their characteristics. Superheroes must be looked at as Super Humans - a prime hook for us to identify with them. It does not matter whether they come from another planet or not, whether they walk on two legs or four. It suffices for them to show human traits. When we see reflections of ourselves in these beings, we identify with them and in turn are inspired by them, for they begin to represent, ironically, the extent of our own human potential. A great example is Superman. A 'kryptonian' by birth, he adopts our world as his home. He becomes a part of humanity before choosing to protect it. Even though he is made of steel, he exhibits, to an extent, the same frailties as we do in the affairs of love and hate, winning our sympathies along with our adulation.
This point of similarity between normal beings and super-beings becomes even more pronounced with the creative treatment of later Superheroes like Spiderman and Batman. The great irony of being special and still suffering from small everyday afflictions of the heart and mind sustains our interest in them. It makes them vulnerable and thus accessible to us, for who can deny vulnerability as a prime aspect of being human. Superheroes might take down stupendously powerful foes with their eyes closed, but when it comes to telling their love, or dealing with dark, childhood memories, they often fall by the wayside. As says the simple dictum of Greek Tragedy, the tragic hero needs must have tragic magnitude - towering above his fellow men so that his fall is long and hard. It is the same with Superheroes, which is why we are moved when Superman succumbs to his nemesis element 'kryptonite', or when the Hulk surrenders himself to his enemies, unable to sustain his strength-giving anger when faced by the woman he loves.
All that is mentioned above is for all to partake. Hollywood has perfected the art of conveying the crux of a Superhero's character, powers and dilemmas within the space of 45 minutes leaving another hour or so for him or her to solve their problems and decimate the bad guys. However, for the initiated, modern Superheroes are complex beings, with intricate webs of back-stories informing their decisions and actions. DC Comics and Marvel have developed each Super character over decades of comic publishing, linking them, killing them, bringing them back and making them love or hate one another. There is no end to this - they have even created parallel universes for some of the Superheroes, each with its own Earth, where a particular hero may thrive or disappear into oblivion. Superheroes in comics carry a lot of baggage, and one must have an idea of their intricate histories in order to make sense of their stories.
Films necessarily simplify these stories, going back to present these Super characters using first principles: usually depicting the stories of how they became their super-selves. Some filmmakers have treated these super-beginnings interestingly, often using these birth stories to sustain consequent sequels. In the case of Spiderman, Peter Parker, a.k.a Spiderman is a confused youngster with serious coming-of-age issues that manifest in his handling of his super-status. Sam Raimi, the director, uses this element of his character to make a compelling film that mirrors the lives of most young people in allegory. The Batman movies penetrate far deeper into the realms of the subconscious, about the darkness left behind by violent memories, attracting Christopher Nolan, a master of the psychological thriller (who gave is Memento and Insomnia) to direct the prequel. In other words, stories about Superheroes are prime fodder for compelling film narratives.
We identify with these super-beings because of their human vulnerability, but is that the sole reason for our liking them? There is another aspect common to super-beings that elevate them in our eyes. Each Superhero embraces a unique totem. Totems are emblems that individuals or groups adopt and worship, believing them to have supernatural powers. Totem worship goes back to our primordial instincts, where our forefathers picked animals or elements from nature and adopted them as the source of their power. Tribes that fought under the banner of a particular totem believed that they took on the totem's characteristics. Superheroes need a totem, for the totem defines the extent of their powers, not only to us but to the Superheroes themselves. Totems help classify their outlandish abilities in earthly terms, giving us a point of reference for who these beings are and what they can do. Brian Singer's X Men films used the Superhero theme in realistic sociological scenarios to illustrate the tribal beginnings of naming individuals after what their powers represent. In the film's world where Mutants are set apart from Humans, 'Rogue', 'Storm' and 'Wolverine' will stick together and stay wary of Harry, Joseph and Gillian, the totems differentiating the 'us' and the 'them'. Adopting a totem is usually the first step for a super-being in coming to terms with what he or she is. Batman has the Bat, Spiderman the Spider and Superman has, well, Man.
India has been experimenting with its own superheroes over the years. The animated film Hanuman did an intelligent thing - it dipped into our very own stock of Super-beings and created an icon for children. Lord Hanuman might not have too many human frailties, but in the end, he is super-strong, a loyal friend and has a strong totem - the Monkey. Rakesh Roshan's Krrish, though technically solid and visually impressive fell short in terms of character, which was sad, because Hritik Roshan really has the capacity, more than anyone else in Bollywood, to play a convincing super-hero. It was hard to pin down Krrish's powers. He seemed to be able to do anything. Perhaps his shortcoming was the lack of a totem as an animal or a God. Krrish's totems were, unfortunately, the existing Superheroes of Hollywood. It left his character weak, one-dimensional and ambiguous. It will be a while before the Indian film industry establishes its own set of defining characteristics for classifying superheroes, though I feel the process has already begun.
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