Spidey and America

At the end of the first Spider-Man movie, we see the webcrawler next to the American flag just before the closing credits roll. Its long been established that Spider-Man is the defender of the American way of life, the so-called traditional values of freedom and justice. Did you think the maroon suit with shades of blue was just a coincidence?

In the first two movies, we see Spider-Man reinforcing that reality. In a post 9/11 world, Spider-Man’s success is also because, as Chad Kroeger said, a hero can save us. The franchise revels in creating a paranoia about the stability of American institutions, and exploits that insecurity deeply embedded in the people’s psyche.

In reality, American military might replaces the sense of security and comfort that Spider-Man provides in the fictional New York and the world of The Daily Bugle. Since the Second World War, America’s been involved in constant military conflict with some nation or the other. America’s always under threat, its always the target of numerous enemies hostile to the American Dream.

And when enemies are not present, American pop culture ensures they are created. A nation continually on the lookout for new enemies finds them, bigger and imaginative, in science fiction and comic superheroes. Spider-Man as defender of the American Dream is extremely assuring, its like America needs to be conscious of its own enormous power to feel safe. Then whether the enemies are real or fictional, it hardly matters.

(And what happens when Spidey turns bad? Answer – Spidey turns conservative. In Spider- Man 3, he struggles to overcome the evil permeating within him and finds it hard to get rid of his black suit. He is finally able to succeed inside a cathedral. In a subtle event, the makers are trying to woo the conservative, deeply religious American audience , especially the Midwest. Spidey may not be fervently religious, but it is religion that helps him overcome evil.)