A01=Julian Schmid
Author_Julian Schmid
Category=JBCC1
Category=JPA
Category=JPS
Category=JPWL
Category=JWK
Critical Security
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
International Relations
Popular Culture
Superheroes
Terrorism
US Foreign Policy
Product details
- ISBN 9781399526067
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 31 Oct 2025
- Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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This book considers how the long-standing superhero genre has been reinvigorated in the twenty-first century as an interlocutor of security and surveillance discourses following the events of '9/11'. While superheroes have a long cultural history, Schmid argues that their contemporary representations in Hollywood films and TV shows create and deepen specific discourses on security, terrorism and violence. He shows how the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe, in particular, are important artefacts that can help us to understand how these discourses are popularised and ultimately normalised.
The book offers a rich account of the emergence of superheroes against the backdrop of America's history since its founding in 1776 and their rise to popularity through comic books since the 1930s. Analysing the connections between superheroes, foreign policy and security from '9/11' to the present, it demonstrates the significance of superheroes for the construction of heroism and security in contemporary times.
Julian Schmid is a Visiting Lecturer at the Department of International Relations at Central European University
