How do superheroes reflect the cultural values important to our society today? In our current superheroes in film and TV today, we see the importance of a variety of cultural values, such as:

• justice
• freedom / independence
• responsibility and duty
• team building
• multiculturalism / diversity
• feminism / female strength
• leadership
• honor
• friendship / family
• materialism

For this investigation, select ONE film, TV show, or comic book based on a superhero. In your paper, explain how the superhero(es) in the text reflect and illustrate ONE cultural value that is important to society today. You may choose from the list above, or identify a different cultural value.

To be more specific, using Superheroes Decoded: American Rebels and our discussion of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse as a model, construct your own essay in which you create a clear thesis statement that shows your understanding of how a superhero in a film, TV show, or comic book demonstrates the importance of ONE specific cultural value or belief in today’s society.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Your investigation into superheroes should be a direct response to the prompt outlined above. You essay should be in MLA format and style, including a Works Cited page; a minimum of 4-6 pages in length (1,500 words); and it should include at least 4 sources. You are required to use ONE film, TV show, or comic book as your primary sourcethat represents a superhero and at least three secondary sources (outside research that might include the historical or biographical context for the text; critics of the film or TV show, etc).

***You may NOT use Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse as your primary source since we will use the film as a model text.

REQUIREMENTS:

• 4-6 pages (at least 1,500 words)
• MLA format. 12-point font, Times New Roman. Works Cited Page
• A creative title that hints at the subject matter. ?
• Indicate a clear focus in a well-written thesis statement that includes a focus on how the superhero reflects ONE cultural value.
• Your essay should be well-structured with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
• Concrete evidence properly cited and integrated.
• Include at least 4 sources (1 primary source and 3 secondary sources). The evidence should clearly support the topic sentence and the overall thesis statement.
• Each body paragraph should have at least 2-3 sources (primary source + 1 to 2 secondary sources)
• Provide a conclusion which states why your argument is significant?
• Implement proper stylistic conventions to include: sentence variation, college-level vocabulary, complex sentence structure.
• Write the paper as if addressing a scholarly audience.
• Demonstrate thoughtful revision and editing/proofreading
• Essays that use APA or any other format other than MLA will earn a maximum of 50% on the assignment.
• To write well-developed body paragraphs, they should be no less than 250 words each.

GOALS:

This assignment will help students meet the following Student Learning Objectives, as stated on the course syllabus:

• Utilize the writing process to produce complex, high-quality work.
• Evaluate the validity and soundness of arguments and the evidence within them.
• Synthesize ideas of two or more writers to create a broader understanding of an issue
• Utilize critical reading strategies to pull meaning from complex texts.

APPROVED FILM/TV LIST:

The following is a list of films or TV shows you should consider; however, you are not restricted to the list. At the same time, if you choose a film or TV show that is not here (or a comic book), please run it by me for approval (send me an e-mail). I will not accept papers on films, TV shows, or a comic book not listed here if you do not run it by me first. When choosing a film, please make sure the focus of the film is on a superhero, and the movie is “current” (produced within the last 10 years).

For summaries of these films, consult the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) found at  (Links to an external site.)“>www.imdb.com (Links to an external site.).