Title Black Superheroes in Media and Popular Culture Title (croatian) Crni super heroji u medijima i popularnoj kulturi Author Matej Mandek Mentor Mario Vrbančić (mentor)Mentor Zlatko Bukač (komentor)Committee member Marko Lukić (predsjednik povjerenstva)Committee member Mario Vrbančić (član povjerenstva)Committee member Tomislav Kuzmanović (član povjerenstva)Granter University of Zadar Defense date and country 2020-10-26, Croatia Scientific / art field, HUMANISTIC SCIENCES Abstract The aim of this thesis was to present the role of black superheroes through comic books written in 1960s and 1970s and present-day movies and television series. Furthermore, the thesis looks at the historical context since such media are a part of popular culture. In this way, they reflect the society. Through the historical context of social justice movements and demonstrations related to black people’s rights in the U. S., the thesis examines black superheroes in comic books (Black Panther,
... More Luke Cage and Black Lightning) and their adaptations (in movies and television shows). The foundations of the analysis are concepts developed by S. Hall and E. Said (representation and Orientalism), and stereotyping of black people throughout history. The selected black superhero characters were analysed through their physical appearance, personality, the people that surround them and the places they live in. The characters are considered based on the social contexts of the time when they appeared. For instance, in comic books, Luke Cage was represented as aggressive and muscular. Driven by vengeance, he returns to Harlem and uses his superpowers to establish peace through physical violence. However, in the television series, he is presented as a calm and collected person that thinks before he acts. He values culture and he expresses his emotions. The key result of this analysis is the apparent influence of the social context on the representation of black superheroes in popular culture. There are differences in the characters and there is a lack of stereotypical elements in the movie and television series, as opposed to the comic books published in the 1960s and 1970s. Thus, it is important to emphasise that the influence of social changes can be seen in the adaptations of the same characters that are a part of popular culture. With seemingly same characteristics, they appeared in different social circumstances, which resulted in differences in their image. Less Abstract (croatian) Ovaj rad je za cilj imao prikazati ulogu crnih super heroja kroz stripove nastale u 1960-im i 1970-im godinama te kroz aktualne filmove i serije. Uz to, rad je problematiku stavio u povijesni kontekst budući da su ovi mediji dio popularne kulture i samim time odraz stanja društva. Konkretnije, uz povijesni kontekst pokreta i demonstracija vezanih za prava crnaca u SAD-u, pruža se prikaz crnih super heroja u stripovima (Black Panther, Luke Cage i Black Lightning) te njihovim adaptacijama (u
... More filmovima i serijama). Temelj analize čine koncepti S. Halla i E. Saida (representation i Orientalizam), a osim njih razmatrano je i stereotipiziranje crnaca kroz povijest. Odabrani likovi crnih super heroja su analizirani kroz aspekt fizičkog izgleda, osobnosti, ljudi koji ih okružuju te okoline u kojoj žive. Likovi su stavljeni u društveni kontekst vremena u kojem su nastali pa je tako Luke Cage u stripu prikazan kao agresivan i mišićav. Vođen osvetom, vraća se u Harlem i pomoću svojih super moći, tučnjavom, uvodi red. S druge strane, on je u seriji prikazan kao osoba koja promišlja prije nego što djeluje. Njemu je važna kultura te izražava svoje emocije. Ključan rezultat ove analize je evidentan utjecaj društvenog konteksta na prikaz crnih super heroja u popularnoj kulturi. Prisutne su razlike u prikazu likova te manjak stereotipnih elemenata u filmu i serijama nastalim danas, u odnosu na stripove nastale u 1960-im i 1970-im godinama. Stoga, važno je naglasiti da se utjecaj društvenih promjena vidi u adaptacijama istih likova koji pripadaju popularnoj kulturi. S naizgled jednakim karakteristikama oni su nastali u različitim društvenim okolnostima zbog čega su prisutne razlike u njihovom prikazu. Less Keywords
adaptation
black superheroes
comic books
Orientalism
stereotyping
Keywords (croatian)
adaptacija
crni super heroji
Orijentalizam
stereotipiziranje
strip
Language english URN:NBN urn:nbn:hr:162:791533 Study programme Title: English Language and Literature (double major); specializations in: Teaching, Research Type of resource Text File origin Born digital Access conditions Open access Terms of use Created on 2020-12-10 12:11:26
