Superheroes: more good than harm?

Superheroes: more good than harm?

When I was a young boy, I had just one hero – Superman.  He possessed all of the qualities that our culture admires – he was honest, trustworthy, and helpful.  Of course, he also had x-ray vision and could bend steel with his bare hands.  Oh, and he could fly.  Did I mention that?

Back then, he was the only superhero on the block – he didn’t have to compete with Spiderman, the Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, Wonder Woman, Thor, or any number of new heroes who fill our screens. From my 10-year-old vantage point, Superman’s sole purpose (or so it seemed) was to take out the bad guys and “restore truth and justice, the American way.” Great work, if you can get it. 

Today, of course, our young ones have a bevy of superheroes from whom to choose – and their makeup and personalities are wide-ranging.  Reel back, for a moment, to 1951 when the first superhero movie appeared (yes, it was Superman).  It took 15 years before another superhero hit the big screen – Batman. Flash forward to the modern era when in 2013 there were seven superhero movies produced (Iron Man 3 is the highest grossing of the lot, having now pulled in more than $1.2 billion). And 2014-2015 is keeping pace. 

The recent superhero surge has re-ignited the debate about whether media violence (TV, movies, video games) fosters more violence in our society. The key question: does their presence lead young boys to be more aggressive or, instead, does superhero fantasy/worship build confidence and a stronger moral culture, one bent on helping others and taking out the bad guys? 

Psychologists line up on both sides of this aisle.  Let’s listen in.

Psychologist Sharon Lamb

In a piece written by Pam Willenz’s piece for eurekaalert.org, Lamb explains: "There is a big difference in the movie superhero of today and the comic book superhero of yesterday. . . . Today's superhero is too much like an action hero who participates in non-stop violence; he's aggressive, sarcastic and rarely speaks to the virtue of doing good for humanity. When not in superhero costume, these men, like Ironman, exploit women, flaunt bling and convey their manhood with high-powered guns." 

Psychologist Michael Thompson

Thompson takes the opposite view, as quoted in an article at comicsalliance.com: “The media has provided boys with particular superheroes to believe in and to attach their fantasies to, but the impulse to be a superhero is innate.”  In the article, Thompson added that similar themes have existed “at least since Homer. . . . So I just see boy play as mythic battling.” In a related PBS article, Thompson was quoted as saying: “[While] all boys have normal aggressive impulses which they learn to control, only a small percentage are overly aggressive and have chronic difficulty controlling those impulses.”

Psychologist Robin Rosenberg (editor of the Psychology of Superheroes and author of “Superhero Origins: What Makes Superheroes Tick and Why We Care”)

Writing for psychologytoday.com, Rosenberg aligns with Thompson when she explains: “Flying like Superman in virtual reality can make you more helpful in real life. That's what my colleagues and I found in a recent study” at Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab.

Psychologist Melanie Hargill

Hargill travels the middle road in an article she authored for kidzworld.co.za.  Said Hartgill: “. . . the average child spends more than 50% of their time out of school in front of the television and your average superhero program contains 32 acts of violence in a one-hour show, so when you start doing the math, that's a lot of violence being seen on a regular basis for many of our children. . . . [But] letting your child watch superhero programs on TV is not necessarily all negative providing you are aware of what they are watching and you discuss it with them. . . . Certainly by age 7, children should be able to distinguish between reality and fantasy and also truly understand the difference.  Whereas some children do this younger than 7, it is unlikely to occur under the age of 5.”

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LIFE LESSONS FROM SUPERHEROES*

Batman: Anyone can be a hero. Batman shows you don't have to be born with superpowers to be a hero. Bruce Wayne can't fly. He's not part-god. He just fights bad guys.

Power Rangers: Teamwork is essential. If you're going to defeat evil you need to work together. Although there is a leader, all of the Rangers need to work as a team.

The Hulk: Control your temper. Mr Green is a good guy until he gets angry. The message to kids? Keep that temper under control or it could get you into trouble.

Spider-Man: Be responsible. As Peter Parker's Uncle Ben says: "With great power comes great responsibility."

Superman: One man can make a difference. He might work alone, but he does what he can to make a difference.

Iron Man: No one is perfect. Tony Stark lacks discipline but he tries hard to overcome the worst parts of his personality with his genius mind and good intentions.

*drawn from an article written by Rachel Lewis for www.thenational.ae.  In the article, Lewis interviewed child development psychologist Naeema Jiwani from the Human Relations Institute in the United Arab Emirates.