Monday, October 5, 2015

Captain America Comparison

Clear Lines:

  • In 1941 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor the Writers War Board used heroes to incorporate support for the government's political ideas
  • Captain America projected his heroism and support and this was visible through his symbolic costume and shield in the American colors: red, white and blue.
  • Superheroes were easy to distinguish during this time because the victories in the war were clear.


Grey Area:

  • Starting in the 1950's (Korean War & Cold War Era) the victories were not so clear.
  • America having an atomic bomb was seen as a positive because "it was the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures" (Henriksen, 1997, p.17).  Russia having a bomb was a a negative and America made everyone fear Soviet bombs.  So basically, Americans having an atomic bomb is good and everyone should trust them, but Soviets having the same is bad and everyone should be afraid.






Captain America is a symbol of American freedom and power.  In the early 1940s the world was coming to war for the second time creating WWII.  America and allied forces needed to combat the enemies in Germany.  Adolf Hitler assembled an entire military force with a mindset of purity and a belief that everyone that was not of Aryan descent needs to die.  The genocide of the Jews invoked the United States to take action and join allied forces to overthrow the Nazi Regime that Adolf Hitler was in charge of.  The above photographs depict the power that America instilled in its people in hopes of winning the war and freeing a war torn area.  On the left picture Captain America is seen alone punching Adolf Hitler and on the right Captain America can be viewed as America alone standing up against the evil of Nazi Germany, which may be a form of propaganda for the American people.













In the 2011 film Captain America: The First Avenger, the story line is roughly the same.  Captain America is portrayed in times of the 1940’s trying to defeat the “Nazi” Germany again.  Except in this movie, the villain is Red Skull and is depicted in a way that Adolf Hitler is.  Captain America and American forces defeat Red Skull without any help from the Allied Forces.  Once again this is showing the power and justice America wants to display to the world with every value of the word Freedom.  This film is closely related to the idea of Captain America in the 1940’s.




In the movie, The Avengers, Captain America is in his same red, white, and blue suit with weapon of choice being his shield.  However the plot is not Nazi Germany anymore but rather America saving the world from an alien invasion from a different universe.  Captain America works with other superheroes to defeat this enemy.  This unknown enemy can also be related to terrorism that the world is seeing today. 



2 comments:

  1. Everything seems good in your explanation! You could maybe add how in the movie the new weapon technology used is very advanced for that time period. This probably will compare to the 1940's when the U.S. and Germany competed to come up with the most advanced, destructive weapon that will give them the edge in the war(like the atomic bomb).

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  2. This is good! Do you think there is any particular reason that in the adaptation, they purposely change the villain, but keep certain characteristics? In your opinion, is Red Skull supposed to represent Hitler specifically or maybe represent a more generic evil?

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