The genre of superhero films has taken the movie industry by force, resulting in over a dozen comic book adaptations within the past decade alone. These films are based on intellectual properties originally appearing in comic books, and most of the adaptations are from DC and Marvel characters. As DC and Marvel, the two largest publishing houses, are wholly owned by TimeWarner and Disney, respectively, superheroes are easy and free content for media conglomerates to adapt. Due to the success of the superhero genre and its various offshoots like toys, video games, and merchandise, this work examines the top ten films since 2000 through the lens of feminist political economy of media. Issues like ownership within the comic book industry and the film industry, the inherent patriarchy of hierarchical capitalism, and gender representation in adaptations will be explored. Concluding that superhero films as a genre of profitable adaptations perpetuate stereotypes of females as dangerous vixens or damsels in distress, and that females have less agency than their male counterparts, I argue that such representations are the result of a media oligopoly and are problematic in nature. Viewers of such movies respond in different ways, but the messages are reaching them and there is a likelihood that fans will echo the gendered roles portrayed on screen. / A Thesis submitted to the School of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Spring Semester, 2014. / April 16, 2014. / Comic Books, Feminist Political Economy, Political Economy of Media, Superhero Films / Includes bibliographical references. / Jennifer Proffitt, Professor Directing Thesis; Davis Houck, Committee Member; Donna Nudd, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_185324 |
| Contributors | Stoltzfus, Laura (authoraut), Proffitt, Jennifer (professor directing thesis), Houck, Davis (committee member), Nudd, Donna (committee member), School of Communication (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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