The modern superhero movie: everyone is beautiful and no one is horny

"Modern action and superhero films fetishize the body, even as they desexualize it.”

I’ve always been fascinated by the relationship between visual culture of film and TV and how cinematic trends reflect the culture around them.

I turned 40 this year, and my GP told me I had to lose some weight or risk heart disease. The more attention I pay to my body, the more I am constantly, painfully aware of the difference between the ‘ideal’ presented in our visual culture, and what my body actually is, or could be.

RS Benedict’s article cleverly ties together the changing visual culture of action and superhero movies, a post-9/11 neoliberal focus on individual self-improvement and bodies as ‘investments’, and how the purpose of exercise has changed from leisure to self-improvement.

“Contemporary gym ads focus on rigidly isolated self-improvement [...] We don’t exercise, we don’t work out: we train, and we train in fitness programs with names like Booty Bootcamp, as if we’re getting our booties battle-ready to fight in the Great Booty War.”

I don’t know about you, but I have no interest in fighting in the Great Booty War, thank you very much.

Physical standards and cultural expectations change over time in response to the world society around us. The article reminds us that these ideal images are reflections of societal norms, and are not some fixed image of what bodies should be, or should be for.