Sunday 24 May 2020

Why do we love superheroes


Last week my friend asked me an interesting question: Why do people like superheroes? She knew that I was writing my own superhero novel and thought I maybe knew something about this genre. That question caught me off guard. I'm not sure, if I found the right answer, but at least I learned why I was into superheroes. 

The next five years are booked full of superhero blockbusters. Disney Marvel's Avengers has reached its peak with Endgame. Though there will be more Marvel movies, there's nothing that people are too hyped up about.


In turn, DC seems To be rising with this years Wonder Woman 1984 and next years The Batman. Not to forget last years hit Joker, even though that wasn’t a superhero flick.

Movies and comics aren't the only form of entertainment, where supers rule. Videogames have seen some real gems with Batman: Arkham series and PS4's Spider-Man. The mainstream superheroes aren't that huge on novels, though there are exceptions. Instead there's a steady stream of independent superhero novels.

These YA stories include such gems as "Omni" series from Tom Reynolds and "Omega" saga from Darius Brash. They might not enjoy decades of cult following or filling toy stores. Still these newer characters and their worlds have a growing fanbase.

There are other recent examples as well. Still, the question is: Why do people like superheroes?

What if...? 


Today there are just as many superheroes and their variations as there are writers, if not more. 

Sure, writers like them, but so do readers. So why do we love them so much? I think this questions is the best answer:

What would I do if I was a dictator? Or a millionaire? Or had super powers? 

Basically superhero story is a power fantasy and there's nothing wrong with that. We all fantasize about saving our loved ones or a schoolbus full of children, if we just had the power. 

We also fantasize about what we would do to that old school bully or the nasty English teacher, who made us stand In the corner for no reason.

We have both sides. Stories give us the wisdom to choose, either by inspiring us to chose the right, even when it's hard. They can also warn us, what happens when we give in to our temptations of revenge and domination. 




Superheroes don't only give us fantasies about what we could do, although they do that too. They also give us guidelines about what we should and that might be even more important. No matter what our interests are, how we see the world, where we stand in politics and religion, one thing is certain. We need heroes. We always have and always will.

That’s why Superheroes should stand for the traditional values, such as justice and liberty. "Truth, Justice and The American Way" maybe cheezy way to put it, but it does have truth in it. As a great man once said: "With great power comes great responsibility". Sure, his nephew said it ten more times in three movies, but it's as True now as it was then.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more!

-Alex



Sunday 17 May 2020

What is The Hero With A Modern Face?



Welcome to my new blog! I'm Alex Greenwood, a writer and storyteller from Finland. I hope you enjoy this new blog, which I started to learn more about storytelling and mythology myself. Hopefully I can inspire, maybe even help someone else to learn.

I've been a storyteller for my whole life. That means I'm willing to try every form of storytelling. Novels, videogames, movies, etc. I'm certainly a consumer of these all. To me, they're more than entertainment. They're stories. A story is food for our soul. The best stories are those that nourish us years after hearing them.

This blog is about modern mythology. I'll be dealing with pop culture, as well as classics. If you've ever rooted for Batman stopping The Joker from poisoning Gotham's water supply, or suffered with Frodo on his journey to Mount Doom, this blog is for you. These are the Heroes With A Modern Face.

Why this blog?


We're living a historical time. The current COVID crisis will start this new decade of not-so-golden-twenties. It will be a dark decade with global depression. We all need inspiration and hope in our lives. I hope this blog will give that.

There will be lots and LOTS about superheroes. Not least, because I'm writing a book about them (which I'll be talking about later), but because they are a huge and important part of today's western culture.

As the title suggests, my inspiration was Joseph Campbell's book ”Hero With a Thousand Faces”. It opens up the common elements and themes in all the worlds mythologies, calling it ”The Monomyth”. The book is important, probably one of the most important, books about storytelling. It's inspired Star Wars, Harry Potter and countless other epic stories, such as Lord of The Rings.

My goal is to have a more modern take on Campbell's classic, doing the same thing to our modern myths as Campbell did to classics. I will deal with any and all inspirational mythology. Anything that inspires our time. Hope it inspires you as well.

See you on the pages!

-Alex