JULIE BURCHILL: The toxic cult of the superhero.
Finally shipped them off to college, but they’re still finding life hard, and seeking comfort in the myths of their youth? No worries; just let them transfer to Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, USA, where they can be wet-nursed through the awful business of coming to maturity in the most affluent and free country the world has ever known by seeing it through the eyes of superheroes: ‘Many topics that dominate the conversations in modern society – race, feminism, immigration, gender and sexuality, politics, religion, and more – can be daunting to students who may not know how to engage in discussions about these topics. “These conversations, to young people, are threatening,” says Professor Annika Hagley. “To take these seemingly scary conversations and put them in a character they love or know, it’s a very effective way to give them access to have a conversation.”’
It’s hard for me to express the contempt I feel for the pretentious fools who peddle this stuff and the privileged saps who swallow it. All around the world children are dreaming of education above all else, which will enable them to get a decently paid job to pull themselves out of poverty. Meanwhile, a sizeable minority of first-world students apparently need to be coaxed and babied by mythical beings in order to take the next step towards adulthood.
It’s probably not surprising. We live in an era in which – due to everything from social media to computer games – everyone is encouraged to see themselves as a hero in their own game of life. It’s interesting that it’s often people on the left – like the Veep – who are into this way of thinking, when it’s historically more of a right-wing thing, going right back to Ayn Rand. With so many experiences lived online, it’s hardly surprising that life has started to seem like a game – with points to collect (the obsession with fitness data), money to be made (crypto coins) and (fictional) battles to be won.
Exit quote: “We need sensible stoics – not self-deceiving, self-diagnosed superheroes.”
In a world of participation trophies and since it seems like superhero movies are the only thing that Hollywood produces these days, it’s not surprising that schools and therapists have glommed on to them to coddle students, thus producing an endless feedback cycle.