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Perhaps comics are beginning to fill the void left by retreating religion. It is comforting to imagine a world in which things make sense, where good triumphs
by nnfy 9y ago
Perhaps comics are beginning to fill the void left by retreating religion.
It is comforting to imagine a world in which things make sense, where good triumphs over evil, where you have an opportunity to be a part of something larger than yourself; especially when you're working a dead end job and you feel like your nation is falling apart.
Unfortunately, unlike most religion, comics and comic based films are lacking in the "nutrition" that religious escapism can provide, in the way of community and self improvement, so we end up with man children withdrawing from society.
It is ironic, I think, that the waning of religion in the first world may be very much double sided. Perhaps we as a society are not prepared for secularism, and this may manifest as a moral crisis wherin people on average still require external guidance for morality and ethics.
- pmoriarty 9y ago"Unfortunately, unlike most religion, comics and comic based films are lacking in the "nutrition" that religious escapism can provide, in the way of community and self improvement, so we end up with man children withdrawing from society." Rejection of society and worldly things, and withdrawal from them both has been a rather common practice in religions for millennia. Religious hermits and ascetics, and moralists escaping or otherwise rejecting corrupt society are a pretty regular staple of religions the world over. Superheroes could be a seen to be a kind of echo of that, in so far as they are usually pretty moralistic and extreme in their world-rejection and escapism, if you prefer to view it that way. Something of that speaks to their fans, who are also greatly dissatisfied with the world, yet usually don't have what it takes to escape, so they escape vicariously -- through their movies, comics, and books where live heroes that can.
- nnfy 9y agoI dont think the people who withdraw into the world of comics do it for quite the same reasons as " Religious hermits and ascetics, and moralists". This seems to be a newer phenomenon, possibly because we now live in a time where it is possible to contribute little and still survive for the majority of a population.
- mikeash 9y agoOn the plus side, the vast majority of comic book fans understand that the stuff is fiction. And it seems to me that there’s plenty of community and self improvement to be had in that group too.