- Introduction
- Brief history of superheroes
- Lawrence, John Shelton, and Robert Jewett. The Myth of the American Superhero. W.B. Eerdmans, 2002.
- the original superhero archetype as conceived through Westerns, how it relates to American culture
- Modern superheroes and superhero culture, Marvel vs. DC, etc.
- Lawrence, John Shelton, and Robert Jewett. The Myth of the American Superhero. W.B. Eerdmans, 2002.
- Examination of how superheroes are presented in media
- Brownie, Barbara, and Danny Graydon. The Superhero Costume: Identity and Disguise in Fact and Fiction. Bloomsbury Academic, An Imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2016.
- How different identities are treated, levels of “realism”, white bias and “Everyman” status, etc.
- Superheroes as military propaganda (?)
- Brownie, Barbara, and Danny Graydon. The Superhero Costume: Identity and Disguise in Fact and Fiction. Bloomsbury Academic, An Imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2016.
- Asians in superhero media (past/comics and present/movies)
- Daredevil franchise
- Johnson, Mark Steven, director. Daredevil. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2003.
- Bowman, Rob, director. Elektra. Twentieth Century Fox, 2005.
- Looking at Elektra in both movies, as well as The Hand.
- Bowman, Rob, director. Elektra. Twentieth Century Fox, 2005.
- Goddard, Drew, writer. Marvel’s Daredevil. Marvel Television, 2015.
- Again, looking at The Hand and Elektra, through the lens of appropriation and stereotyping.
- Miller, Frank, writer. Daredevil Volume 1 #174. Marvel Comics, 1981.
- Looking at The Hand and Elektra in the comics for a point of comparison to see how treatment of these issues has changed/stayed the same.
- Johnson, Mark Steven, director. Daredevil. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2003.
- Iron Man Franchise
- Lee, Stan, writer. Tales of Suspense Volume 1. Marvel Comics, 1964.
- Looking at the Mandarin’s initial characterization, issues with racial stereotypes and exoticism.
- Favreau, Jon, director. Iron Man. Marvel Studios, 2008.
- Black, Shane, director. Iron Man 3. Marvel Studios, 2013.
- Looking at how the MCU handled the Mandarin’s character compared to the comics; is it whitewashing, appropriation, etc, and why if so?
- Black, Shane, director. Iron Man 3. Marvel Studios, 2013.
- Lee, Stan, writer. Tales of Suspense Volume 1. Marvel Comics, 1964.
- Doctor Strange Franchise
- Derrickson, Scott, director. Doctor Strange. Marvel Studios, 2016.
- Looking at issues of cultural appropriation, whitewashing. Might compare to Iron Fist franchise?
- Lee, Stan, writer. Strange Tales #110. Marvel Comics, 1963.
- Looking at the original version of Doctor Strange/his origin story to examine racism (? might not need this)
- Derrickson, Scott, director. Doctor Strange. Marvel Studios, 2016.
- What does this have to do with Asian Americans?
- Relation to American ideas about what it means to be American
- America’s immigrant history and how it’s ignored
- Relation to American ideas about what it means to be American
- Daredevil franchise
- Why representation/diversity matters
- Discuss fan culture (?), responses to media including backlash, etc (?)
- The question of authenticity
- Who’s allowed to represent who?
- Conclusion
May 6, 2019 at 12:36 AM
Are you looking specifically at Marvel? Seems like you have a good start!
May 12, 2019 at 10:09 PM
You’ve got me really interested just from your outline. I know very little about Daredevil but I did recognize the name Elektra and wondered if she was Asian. I’m sure you’re aware that her comic book counterpart isn’t, but did you know that in the Netflix series she’s portrayed by a French-Cambodian actress? That’s still problematic in itself, since she still wields sai, which are Okinawan, and still seems to have a “Japanese ninja” aesthetic, but I thought it was neat. Good luck on your project!
May 12, 2019 at 10:59 PM
I can’t think of any “Asian” superheroes! I’m not sure why they are not represented in Marvel, but I’m sure you will let me know! This sounds like a very fun essay to research and write!
May 15, 2019 at 6:58 PM
Superheros! Sounds super interesting! I like that you connected Marvel with Asian Americans. I’m looking forward to your project.
May 17, 2019 at 12:07 PM
I didn’t know there were any Asian American superheros.
May 19, 2019 at 12:58 PM
Wow, this seems like a very fun and entertaining topic to talk about! With the recent rise in popularity of the superhero film genre, it is interesting to see that there hasn’t been any major Asian ‘superhero’ representation within the media as of yet. I’d love to read about your research and findings in your exploration of this theme.