The Globalization of Superheroes: Diffusion, Genre, and Cultural Adaptations

Author(s):  
Kyle Hammonds

Superheroes are a global phenomenon. The superhero genre has been proliferated through modern industrial societies by way of movies, television, comics, and other forms of popular media. Although virtually every nation in the world has heroic myths, the modern superhero, as marked by the inception of recent American comics heroes in 1929, is a uniquely Western invention. Superheroes are “Western” insofar as they embody and exhibit Western civic values, such as democracy, humanism, and retributive justice. These characters have been communicatively incorporated into globalization processes by means of diffusion and thereby enact aspects of cultural imperialism. Even so, superhero figures have been in high demand across many populations for their entertainment value. As superheroes have diffused in non-Western cultures, they have not only been absorbed by new cultures but also refigured and adapted. These non-Western adaptations have had a recursive influence, such as the global popularity of Japanese manga. The recursive relationship between Western superheroes and their non-Western adaptations implies superheroes are an important aspect of cultural fusion in global popular culture.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-188
Author(s):  
Syed Ejaz Hussain

Abstract The diversity and range of existing archives on the history and romance of Alexander have projected on him a multiplicity of images. Alexander’s conquests, military achievements, romance, myths, and legends have fascinated writers, scholars, historians, poets, filmmakers, the media, and designers of websites around the world. His invasion of India in 326 BCE left an indelible influence on Indian art, history, and literature. The present essay takes up a theme on which not much work has been done in modern scholarship. It focuses on the nature and diversity of the historical memory of Alexander in modern South Asia, particularly as reflected in modern Urdu and Hindi, the two major languages of the subcontinent. It also examines how Alexander is portrayed in popular culture and India’s nationalist discourse.


Author(s):  
Elizabeth Woods

Due to globalization we live in a global culture which includes sharing and creating genres of music. “World music” is a phenomenon that began in the 80s. This genre, amongst other things, blends popular Western musical characteristics with non-Western musics which has rejuvenated popular music in the West. However, the term “world music” is difficult to grapple. “World music” cannot be described as a genre completely outside of the Euro-American mainstream. The music of our global culture is largely thought to be dominated by the cultural imperialism of the West. Nevertheless, this model does not encompass the extent of the control ‘foreign’ musical aspects of the “world music” genre are exerting on Western popular culture. Therefore, the co-option of “world music” by the West is being reversed. The popularity of “world music” is rising in Western popular culture. There are increasing amounts of “world music” resources becoming available and the “classicization of world music” is apparent in various trends. While “world music” depends on Western markets, these markets are dependent on non-Western music to diversify and provide products displaying the lack of control the West has on the genre it created. The roles have been reversed and “world music” is in the process of co-opting Western popular music.  


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Kunal Debnath

High culture is a collection of ideologies, beliefs, thoughts, trends, practices and works-- intellectual or creative-- that is intended for refined, cultured and educated elite people. Low culture is the culture of the common people and the mass. Popular culture is something that is always, most importantly, related to everyday average people and their experiences of the world; it is urban, changing and consumeristic in nature. Folk culture is the culture of preindustrial (premarket, precommodity) communities.


Metahumaniora ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 293
Author(s):  
Tania Intan

AbstrakSecara alamiah, manusia membutuhkan sarana untuk mengisi waktu luangnyasetelah bekerja keras. Satu media yang murah, mudah dijangkau, dan digemari oleh semuakalangan di seluruh dunia adalah cerita bergambar atau komik yang merupakan bagiandari budaya populer. Pada umumnya, karya paraliteratur-visual ini memang bersifat fiktifdan hanya merupakan peniruan dari kenyataan yang digambarkan secara berlebihan(grotesque). Namun demikian, di dalam komik, sering ditemukan nilai-nilai kehidupanyang bersifat universal dan abadi sehingga dianggap layak sebagai bahan kajian budaya.Naruto, salah satu manga Jepang, dan Astérix, bande dessinée dari Prancis, akan ditelitisebagai representasi dunia Timur dan Barat. Latar sebagai unsur struktural dalam karyakaryafiksi ini ternyata juga menunjukkan kesamaan mendasar, yaitu keberadaan desasebagai tempat hidup para tokohnya. Dalam tulisan ini, akan dibahas pemaknaan lainterhadap lingkungan rural tersebut, yang memiliki andil dalam pembentukan karakterpara tokoh dari kedua komik. Metode kajian komparasi budaya akan digunakan denganpenerapan teori-teori yang relevan. Penelitian singkat ini bertujuan untuk melengkapistudi mengenai komik yang belum banyak dilakukan di Indonesia.Kata kunci: Desa, komik, Naruto, Astérix, Komparasi BudayaAbstractNaturally, humans need a way to fill their spare time after working hard. Acheap, accessible and popular medium by all circles around the world is a picture or comicstory, which is part of popular culture. McCloud (1993:7) defines comics as drawings andembossed symbols in a particular order, aimed at providing information or achievingaesthetic responses from the reader. In general, this visual-paraliterature work isindeed fictitious and merely an imitation of grotesque reality. However, in the comics, itis often found that values of life that are universal and eternal so comics are consideredappropriate as a material of cultural studies. Naruto, one of the Japanese manga, andAstérix, the bande dessinée of France, are examined as a representation of the East andWest. The background as a structural element in these works of fiction also shows the basicsimilarity of the existence of the village as the place of life of the characters. According toKartohadikoesoemo (1984:16), the village is a legal entity, in which a ruling society livesits own government. In this paper, other meanings of the rural environment, which hascontributed in the character formation of the characters from both comics are discussed.The method of cultural comparative is used with the application of relevant theories. Thisbrief study aims to complete the study of comics which is still very limited in Indonesia.Keywords: Village, Comic, Naruto, Astérix, Cultural Comparison


Author(s):  
Cassandra L. Yacovazzi

Nuns in popular media today are a staple of kitsch culture, evident in the common appearance of bobble-head nuns, nun costumes, and nun caricatures on TV, movies, and the stage. Nun stereotypes include the sexy vixen, the naïve innocent, and the scary nun. These types were forged in nineteenth-century convent narratives. While people today may not recognize the name “Maria Monk,” her legacy lives on in the public imagination. There may be no demands to search convents, but nuns and monastic life are nevertheless generally not taken seriously. This epilogue traces opposition to nuns from the Civil War to the present, analyzing the various images of nuns in popular culture as they relate to the antebellum campaign against convents. It argues that the source of the misunderstanding about nuns is rooted in the inability to categorize these women either as traditional wives and mothers or as secular, career-driven singles.


Author(s):  
Beatrice J. W. Lawrence

This essay explores pedagogical strategies for addressing rape culture in biblical studies courses, employing Genesis 34 and Judges 19–21 as primary texts. The first section discusses the nature of popular culture and its impact on gender. The following four sections highlight cultural myths about sexual assault by focusing on significant biblical texts and incorporating aspects of popular media to facilitate conversations about rape culture. The conclusion summarizes the main points and encourage further studies that combine the study of popular media and biblical texts. Overall, the essay contributes to the reading and teaching of the Bible within contemporary rape culture so that students become critical interpreters of biblical texts, as they become resistant readers of past and present rape culture.


Author(s):  
Adrien Ordonneau

Consequences of capitalism’s crises and their manifestations in arts have deeply modified the way we can approach mental health. As Mark Fisher pointed out in 2009 with his book Capitalist Realism, neoliberalism is using mental illness as a way to keep existing. The capacity to think a way out of alienation is deeply linked with arts and popular culture. The article proposes to study the uncanny dialogue between arts and politics in relationships to people, and mental health. The theoretical framework will show how arts are trying to build a way out of alienation, since 2009. The article will illustrate this research with the study of many artistic practices, including our own. The findings will show how the ambiguous and uncanny relationships with the world is used by artists as a way out of alienation, despite the difficulties occurring with mental health in time of crisis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 225-228
Author(s):  
Amar Nath Singh ◽  

The Rudraksha beads are traditionally used as prayer beads in Hinduism (especially Shaivism) throughout India. Apart from the religious importance, medicinal, bio-magnetic and electrical properties of the Rudraksha beads have also been reported. This commodity is in high demand from the devotees across the world. Therefore, this is in trade throughout the country and abroad. The recent trends in import and export of Rudraksha beads in India have been described in the present article, considering scant publications on this aspect.


Koneksi ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 351
Author(s):  
Dwi Sabrina ◽  
Lusia Savitri Retno Utami

No doubt the development of popular culture is very fast in the world, especially the K-Pop industry. Due to rapid development of K-Pop and more fans, innovations have begun to emerge in showing the love of fans towards K-Pop. One of them is K-Pop cover dance activities. This study discusses "The Formation of the Identity of K-Pop Cover Dance Performers in Jakarta" and uses observation and interview data collection methods to find out more about how the formation of K-Pop cover actors' self-identity formation. The theory used is their dramatism on the front stage and also the backstage. In this study the authors can see that each individual communicates themselves in different ways and not all cover dance performers perform their front stage roles up to their backstage life. The formation of the identity of the cover dance actors can change to follow the environment where they are and with whom they communicate. However, not a few also feel that his life as a cover dance on stage imitates and becomes someone else's figure carried to their   daily from various aspects such as family, experience and also the community.Tidak dipungkiri perkembangan budaya populer sangat pesat di dunia terutama K-Pop. Akibat perkembangan K-Pop yang pesat dan penggemarnya yang semakin banyak, mulai bermunculan inovasi dalam menunjukkan kecintaan dari penggemar terhadap K-Pop. Salah satunya adalah kegiatan cover dance K-Pop. Penelitian ini membahas tentang “Pembentukan Identitas Diri Para Pelaku Cover Dance K-Pop di Jakarta” dengan menggunakan teori dramatisme mereka pada front stage dan juga back stage. Dalam penelitian ini penulis dapat melihat bahwa setiap individu mengkomunikasikan diri mereka dengan cara yang berbeda-beda dan tidak semua pelaku cover dance melakukan peran front stage mereka hingga ke kehidupan backstage mereka. Peneliti menggunakan metode pengumpulan data observasi dan wawancara untuk mengetahui lebih dalam mengenai bagaimana pembentukan identitas diri para pelaku cover dance K-Pop. Pembentukan identitas diri para pelaku cover dance dapat berubah mengikuti lingkungan dimana mereka berada dan dengan siapa mereka berkomunikasi. Namun, tidak sedikit juga yang merasa bahwa kehidupannya sebagai seorang cover dance di atas panggung yang meniru dan menjadi sosok orang lain terbawa hingga ke kehidupan sehari-hari mereka dari berbagai macam aspek seperti keluarga, pengalaman dan juga komunitas. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 111 (7) ◽  
pp. 2127-2151
Author(s):  
Rustamdjan Hakimov ◽  
C.-Philipp Heller ◽  
Dorothea Kübler ◽  
Morimitsu Kurino

Allocating appointment slots is presented as a new application for market design. Online booking systems are commonly used by public authorities to allocate appointments for visa interviews, driver’s licenses, passport renewals, etc. We document that black markets for appointments have developed in many parts of the world. Scalpers book the appointments that are offered for free and sell the slots to appointment seekers. We model the existing first-come-first-served booking system and propose an alternative batch system. The batch system collects applications for slots over a certain time period and then randomly allocates slots to applicants. The theory predicts and lab experiments confirm that scalpers profitably book and sell slots under the current system with sufficiently high demand, but that they are not active in the proposed batch system. We discuss practical issues for the implementation of the batch system and its applicability to other markets with scalping. (JEL C92, D47)


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document