Abstract

    As companies like DC and Marvel rise sharply in filmdom, superhero movie becomes a new superstar in American movie market, creating numerous miracles of box office. So, what exactly causes the formation of those superhero movies? This thesis will analyze it in terms of personality, culture and society.

Key words: superhero movie; formation; Marvel; causes; personality; culture; society

摘要

随着DC和Marvel等公司近年来的不断壮大，超级英雄电影成为美国电影市场上迅速崛起的新星，创造了一个又一个票房奇迹。那么超级英雄电影的形成原因是什么呢？本文将从个性、文化、社会等角度对其进行分析。

关键字：超级英雄电影；形成；漫威；原因；性格；文化；社会

Chapter One: Introduction
1.1 Background
“Hero” has always been a concept with great emotional appeal in American movies. Superhero, as an imaginary character, was firstly created by American or Japanese comics and later brought to TV series and films. Equipped with super power, they are able to do something extremely brave and heroic, such as protecting civilians from vicious powers. Generally, each one of them has a characteristic costume and a unique name matched with his or her powers.
Since the Richard Donner movie Superman in 1978, films about how a hero with super power punishes the evil and praises the good have became prevalent and blockbusters. Then, superheroes like Batman, Ironman, Captain America and Hulk emerge constantly and are all well liked by audience. When it comes to the 21st century, technology of filmmaking has been developing rapidly, which enables superhero movies to dominate film market. From 2000 to 2012, Hollywood made 62 superhero movies, accounting for less than 1% of the total number of films but more than 10% of market shares (Charlie, 2013). Among the top 10 movies in 2014, 4 were superhero movies; Guardians of the Galaxy, the box office champion, reaped 0.33 billion dollars. In addition to domestic success, those superhero films are well-received overseas. Take China as an example. In 2014, Captain America reaped more than 60 million dollars in the mainland of China, top 1 grade in its overseas box office. X-Men: Days of Future Past in China contributes 250 million dollars in the second weekend. What are superhero films and what are the characteristics they all share? This chapter will first offer a definition of superhero movies and then expand on the significance of the current study as well as an overview of the thesis.