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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Superhéros et identités nationales : de l'adhésion à la subversion

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The aim of this lecture was first to explore the issues around the figure of the superhero – its origins, definition, and its status in academia – and to expose the relation between the representation of superheroes and American national identities. The lecture then consisted in a diachronic analysis of emblematic superheroes (in novels, comics, and movies) in relation to the major conflicts involving the United States in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, conflicts which redefined American identities (the First and Second World Wars, the Vietnam war, and the ‘war on terror’). The following works were mentioned: A Princess of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs, 1912 ; Captain America Comics #1, Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, 1941 ; Iron Man, Tales of Suspense #39, Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, 1963 ; Watchmen, Alan Moore et Dave Gibbons, 1986-1987 ; The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan, 2008.The last part of the conference consisted in a synchronic analysis of superheroes in contemporary two short stories: “Zimmer Land”, by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Friday Black, 2018) in which the figure of the superhero was analyzed through a dystopian and afrofuturist frame, and “The High Heel Killer”, by Mohale Mashigo (Intruders, 2018), which features women becoming superheroines after traumatic experiences due to sexism and apartheid.