The discourse regarding contemporary comic book studies has become increasingly concerned with the apocalyptic potential of the power of comic book superbeings. While many consider Superman to be a morally upright and hopeful figure worth emulating, the idea of a creature as powerful and uncannily similar to human beings as Superman is produces a type of paranoia, distrust, and unease. This type of disruptivity is a result of the combination of two foundational aspects of the character's being namely, its power, and its uncanny Otherness. Recent trends in the discourse concerning the cinematic depictions of the unavoidably destructive aspects of Superman's power indicate that the disruptive aspects of the character's being cannot be ameliorated by conventional appeals to dialectical arrangements of moral categories including good and evil. This also applies to nostalgic interpretations of the character that seek to dissolve the inextricable connection between the utopian and dystopian potential inherent in its power and Otherness in an idealized history. Situating itself between the aesthetic and historical comic book theory of Thomas Inge, Peter Coogan, Danny Fingeroth, Christopher Knowles, Clive Bloom, and Greg McCue and the philosophies/xenologies and critical approaches of Robert Freitas Jr., Michel Foucault, and Fredric Jameson, this project uses the concepts of the character's power, body, and Otherness to examine the existential and socio-political consequences of Superman's disruptivity on a diegetic earth.

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TITLE: Nietzsche's philosophical conception of man focused on criticism of religion and the revaluation of values AUTHOR: Gabriela Turýnská DEPARTMENT: Social sciences and philosophy department SUPERVISOR: Doc. PhDr. Naděžda Plecová, CSc. ABSTRACT: The thesis aims for analysis of Nietzsche's views on the human nature and education. It captures the evolution of his views on the nature of humanity with regard to the importance of body, will, intellect, relationship of the individual and society. It analyses the basic terms of the Nietzsche's philosophy like a man, the last man and Superman, as well as the terms of will to power and reassessment of all values. The end of the thesis points out influence of the Nietzsche's philosophy and the potential application his education-concept today. KEYWORDS: Philosophical anthropology, will to power, morality of masters and slaves, Superman

[pt] Apresentação da influência grega no pensamento de Nietzsche, que o leva a afirmar o mundo como estético e sua crítica à metafísica ocidental. A única possibilidade de conhecimento, para o autor, se dá através da arte, pois esta mostra o mundo em um processo constante de construção e destruição, através do fluxo e da rede de forças. O super-homem, grande novidade do pensamento nietzschiano, se mostra vinculado intrinsecamente ao surgimento do gênio, que é o grande criador de novos valores, capazes de libertar o homem da influência moral do pensamento metafísico. / [en] Presentation of the Greek’s influence on Nietzsche´s thought, that leads him to affirm the world as aesthetic and his critic to the occidental metaphysics. The only possibility to knowledge, for the author, takes place through art, which shows the world in a constant construction and destruction process through the flow and the network of forces. The superman, the greatest newness on Nietzsche´s thought, shows itself intrinsically entailed to the genius appearance, being the great creator of new values that will release mankind from the moral influence of metaphysics thought.

Submitted by Andressa Lima (andressa@uepb.edu.br) on 2016-08-10T17:44:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - Luiz Gustavo de Sá Bezerra.pdf: 4326507 bytes, checksum: 7e18992908f0a7c6649fbb3092bdb145 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Medeiros (luciana@uepb.edu.br) on 2016-08-17T17:24:31Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - Luiz Gustavo de Sá Bezerra.pdf: 4326507 bytes, checksum: 7e18992908f0a7c6649fbb3092bdb145 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-17T17:24:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - Luiz Gustavo de Sá Bezerra.pdf: 4326507 bytes, checksum: 7e18992908f0a7c6649fbb3092bdb145 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-08 / Não / The comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell found that the myths basically comprise the same story, retold, last forever, in myriad variations. In the book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces (CAMPBELL, 2007), are compiled their most recurrent convictions about the oral tradition and the written literature, reaching a common denominator: the monomyth. This concept can be understood in terms of the Hero's Journey, revealing cyclical narratives that can be used both in understanding human problems and as a guiding creative writing. Not coincidentally, they are also the backbone that supports the work of this subject: the comics, All-Star Superman (MORRISON, QUITELY; 2012). The story on screen is divided into twelve independent chapters that, when read in its entirety, allows a series of allusions to Hero's Journey and the remitologizações manifestation of the classic / traditional mythical hero. Indeed, the overall goal is to see how the three acts Campbell Monomyth - called evidence and return - are hidden in the text and illustrations of the comic of All-Star Superman. Through literature, the work is organized into three chapters and crosses, an ancillary way, the study Meletínski (2002) on literary archetypes; the buildings listed in the essay The Myth of Superman, Eco (2015); and liquid modernity concepts, worked by Bauman (2001), and the notion of mitopoeta by Ribeiro (2013). It is observed that Superman stands as a modern / contemporary hero and differs from classic / traditional mythical hero; the first of which is presented as a man whose acts of heroism are highlighted by the facts of contemporary, dynamism and unpredictability typical of Romanesque productions; already the second, is stuck in the middle of a temporal vortex that stabilizes and immobilizes it forward to new possibilities. So while the mythical hero "is" the modern hero lives in the midst of a "maybe." On the other hand, we arrive at the insight that in the comics, symbolic objects - like Superman costume - are not reserved solely the narrative, but end up amplifying the emotional reader demonstration outside the materialization of images and imagination. Furthermore, it is identified that the notion of cultural producer - illustrator writer or artist - in comic books fits the classification Ribeiro (2013) gives the mitopoeta. As regards the proposal of reading All-Star Superman, it appears that Campbell's Monomyth is not fully followed to the letter, the synchronic sense capitulate story, showing that the Hero's Journey structure need not necessarily be established so precisely . Finally, it is concluded that this comic is established within the standard monomyth as a form, but not as a formula, allowing sections and subsections are deleted, added and even shuffled without cool the hero myth / O mitólogo comparativo, Joseph Campbell, descobriu que os mitos basicamente compõem a mesma história, recontada, ad eternum, em inumeráveis variações. Na obra, O Herói de Mil Faces (CAMPBELL, 2007), são compiladas suas convicções mais recorrentes sobre a tradição oral e a literatura escrita, chegando a um denominador comum: o monomito. Esse conceito pode ser compreendido nos termos da Jornada do Herói, revelando narrativas cíclicas, que podem ser empregadas tanto na compreensão de problemas humanos quanto como norteadoras da escrita criativa. Não por acaso, são também o sustentáculo que ampara o objeto de estudo do presente trabalho: a história em quadrinhos, Grandes Astros Superman (MORRISON; QUITELY, 2012). A estória em tela está estruturada em doze capítulos independentes que, quando lidos na íntegra, permite-se uma série de alusões a Jornada do Herói, bem como a manifestação de remitologizações do herói mítico clássico/tradicional. Com efeito, o objetivo geral é verificar de que maneira os três atos do monomito de Campbell - chamado, provas e retorno - estão ocultos no texto e ilustrações da história em quadrinhos de Grandes Astros Superman. Por meio de pesquisa bibliográfica, o trabalho está organizado em três capítulos e perpassa, de forma acessória, o estudo de Meletínski (2002) sobre arquétipos literários; as construções elencadas no ensaio O Mito do Superman, de Eco (2015); e os conceitos de modernidade líquida, trabalhado por Bauman (2001), e a noção de mitopoeta por Ribeiro (2013). Observa-se que o Superman se posta como herói moderno/contemporâneo e se diferencia do herói mítico clássico/tradicional; sendo que o primeiro se apresenta como um sujeito cujos atos de heroísmo são ressaltados pelos fatos da contemporaneidade, o dinamismo e a imprevisibilidade típica de produções romanescas; já o segundo, está preso a um vórtice temporal que estabiliza ou imobiliza-o frente a novas possibilidades. Assim, enquanto o herói mítico “é”, o herói moderno vive em meio a um “pode ser”. Por outro lado, chega-se ao discernimento de que nas histórias em quadrinhos, objetos simbólicos – como o traje do Superman – não são reservados tão somente a narrativa, mas acabam amplificando a manifestação emocional do leitor diante da materialização de imagens e imaginário. Outrossim, identifica-se que a noção de produtor cultural – roteirista ou artista ilustrador – nas histórias em quadrinhos se enquadra na classificação que Ribeiro (2013) confere ao mitopoeta. No que toca a proposta de leitura de Grandes Astros Superman, constata-se que o monomito de Campbell não é totalmente seguido à risca, no sentido sincrônico capitular da estória, evidenciando que a estrutura da Jornada do Herói não precisa necessariamente se apresentar com tanta precisão. Por fim, conclui-se que essa história em quadrinhos se estabelece dentro do padrão do monomito enquanto forma, mas não como fórmula, permitindo que seções e subseções sejam excluídas, acrescentadas e até embaralhadas, sem arrefecer o mito do herói.

This dissertation will argue that, rather than simply reflecting the religious worldviews of his creators and readers, the presentations of Superman that span more than 75 years in a variety of mass media, have produced a mythology, iconography, ethical code, and set of practices that reflects a dynamic relationship with the complex religious systems in the United States. Obviously, the presentation of Superman by his creators and the reception of Superman by his readers are heavily influenced by Christianity, Judaism, and American civil religion (he does, after all, represent “truth, justice, and the American way”) along with many other religious worldviews. It explores the dynamic and complex interactions between Superman and his fans and show that the figure of Superman is utilized by his fans to understand theological and ethical issues, while, at the same time, their understanding of Superman shapes those theological and ethical opinions and ideas. American religious traditions influence the popular images and representations of Superman, but Superman also influences the understanding religious traditions across a breadth of historical and cultural contexts. Superman’s state of multiple expressions of permanent liminality allows the character and his stories to be useful sites for people to perform the religious work of constructing, strengthening, and/or negotiating boundaries between categories, such as the human and the divine or the secular and the religious. It is through these boundaries that people define and interpret their religious worldviews.

Over the years, an increasing number of scholars have argued that a "coming out imperative" characterizes Western society, urging those who harbor hidden identities to make those identities visible for the greater good. A number of sources repeatedly remind queer-identified individuals, for example, that coming out of the closet results in crucial visibility that, among other things, can help lead to political advances for the GLBTQ community. Yet, the call to make the invisible visible also valorizes the gender and sexual binary system that queer theory seeks to dismantle. How might we view the closet--a location that we find ourselves in repeatedly over time, regardless of any and all coming out events--in queer terms? How might we queer common conceptualizations of its construction and its utility? While he does not technically identify as gay, the popular culture stalwart known as Superman provides a useful exemplar for engaging in such a task. Since his first appearance in the pages of comic books more than seventy years ago, consumers and critics have continually inscribed Superman with meanings other than those presumably intended by his authors, thus attesting to the figure's polysemy. These subtextual layers enable consumers to recognize aspects of his texts that they find especially salient, including cues that speak to queer experiences. For example, because Superman's identity is in constant flux, with Superman always masking Clark Kent and vice versa, queer audiences may view Superman as especially relatable given their own experiences with a sexual- and gender-based closet. Superman does not adhere to the "coming out imperative," though, since he constantly relies on his closet in order to perform his super-job efficiently and effectively. His narrative, by its very nature, valorizes some measure of invisibility as a viable approach to managing a life with difference, however super or terrestrial that difference may be. This project analyzes four Superman texts--the television series Smallville, the motion picture Superman Returns, and the animated films Superman: Brainiac Attacks! and Superman: Doomsday--to ponder a closet that may offer opportunity rather than blanket oppression. Through his own identity negotiation, Superman struggles with his difference in ways that are similar to his queer human counterparts, and his eventual embrace of that identity, costume and all, suggests that he achieves some measure of pride in that difference. Yet, his closet remains intact. He may not always appreciate its limitations, but he understands the opportunities it bestows, and I believe we can learn from him. In other words, rampant heteronormativity and heterosexist presumption ensure that we must live with our queer closets everyday. This project seeks to reclaim that space for its practical and critical utility.

Tesis

TITLE: Nietzsche's philosophical conception of man focused on criticism of religion and the revaluation of values AUTHOR: Gabriela Turýnská DEPARTMENT: Social sciences and philosophy department SUPERVISOR: Doc. PhDr. Naděžda Plecová, CSc. ABSTRACT: The thesis aims for analysis of Nietzsche's views on the human nature and education. It captures the evolution of his views on the nature of humanity with regard to the importance of body, will, intellect, relationship of the individual and society. It analyses the basic terms of the Nietzsche's philosophy like a man, the last man and Superman, as well as the terms of will to power and reassessment of all values. The end of the thesis points out influence of the Nietzsche's philosophy and the potential application his education­concept today. KEYWORDS: Philosophical anthropology, will to power, morality of masters and slaves, superman

Since George Bernard Shaw claims that the third act of Man and Superman is a complete commentary on his philosophy, this thesis is a revealing of the philosophy demonstrated in the Dream Scene, and it is an intensive study of the third act based upon a reading of the play.