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“Holy Men in Tights!"– a Superheroes Conference, June 2005
Superheroes and supervillains – whether human or god, born or
created, product of nature or creature of science – they have
existed as cultural icons for centuries. Why have they endured?
How have they transformed over the decades? What is their
cultural or mythic function? Where does the hero end and the
superhero begin?
We call for papers or panel sessions that address the varying
roles, identities, and social functions that these enduring beings
serve. Superheroes and Supervillains may be interpreted through
the lens of: historical approaches; censorship codes; industry
and franchise differentiation (e.g. DC vs. Marvel Comics);
mythology; national and cultural specificity; gender identity and
power shifts; diverse media formats (cinema, comics, computer
games, television) and their distinctive versions of superheroes;
the female superhero (Wonderwoman, Catwoman, Jean Grey,
Sable, Martha Washington, Sailer Moon, Buffy, Xena); serial form
and the cliff hanger; the current resurgence in the cult of
superpowers in recent cinema; the supervillain; the
super-collective; auteurs (e.g. Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Tezuka
Osamu, Massimiliano Frezzato); superhero universes (e.g. Matrix,
Star Wars); fan culture.
Superhero examples can include (but are not limited to): the
comic book superheroes from classics like Batman, Superman,
Spiderman, Catwoman, Captain American, and X-Men, to
revisionist and anti-(super)hero types found in the Invisibles,
Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, Preacher, Sandman, Punisher,
Wolverine; superheroes in television (e.g. Buffy, Angel, Alias,
Dark Angel, Xena); manga and anime (Astroboy, Prince Planet,
Vampire D, the Zoids, Ikari Shinji, Akira); computer game types:
Lara Croft, Final Fantasy heroes; ancient heroes (e.g. Odysseus,
Hercules, Odin, Thor) and samurai warriors and mythology.
The deadline for paper proposals and panel sessions is June
5 2004. The conference will be held on June 10-12 2005 and hosted
by the Cinema Studies Program, University of Melbourne,
Australia.
Send proposals to Angela Ndalianis via email.
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