Superheroes, Communication, and Culture
Product details
- ISBN 9781666976779
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 09 Jul 2026
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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Contributors explore the intertextuality of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, illuminating its ability to both interpret and influence audiences and culture.
The sustained popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and its continued ability to spark fan and cultural responses with each phase of the franchise – achieving both commercial and critical acclaim in its quest to transform a once-niche genre into a pop culture powerhouse – demonstrate the vast potential it holds to convey, channel, and challenge existing discourses of culture, society, politics, entertainment, and education at their various intersection/s. While the franchise relies heavily on genre-based tropes of good versus evil, the intricate intertextuality of the extended universe offers a diversity in character, story, and setting that renders it a particularly deep well for crafting and communicating culture.
An interdisciplinary roster of contributors has selected a wide range of MCU texts, from series like She-Hulk and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to feature films including Captain Marvel (2019) and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), to offer critical interrogations through varied lenses across four thematic sections of the volume: political economy and politics; gender studies and feminisms; race, ethnicity, and identity; and symbols and signs. Through their analyses, contributions to this volume ask us to reflect on what messages may be uncovered and understood through deeper interrogation of the texts that entertain and inform us.
Adam W. Tyma is Professor of Critical Media Studies in the College of Communication, Fine Arts, and Media at the University of Nebraska Omaha, USA.
Matthew R. Meier is Associate Professor of Communication and Theatre at DePauw University, USA.
Dana Schowalter is Professor and Department Chair of Communication Studies at Western Oregon University, USA.
