Why the snobbery about superhero films?

Stars of Avengers: Infinity War have defended superhero films against snobbery from some Hollywood quarters.

Last week, Zoe Saldana spoke about “elitists” who accuse the cast of “selling out” with the films.

“I’ve been in rooms with people in this industry who are great at what they do, but they’re absolutely elitist.

“They look down at movies like the Marvel films or actors like myself,” the actress, who plays Gamora, in the Marvel universe said.

Fellow Avengers actor, Josh Brolin, has also chimed in saying actors “totally” turn their noses up at superhero roles.

‘Avenger fatigue’

But it’s not just elitism that’s a problem. Some Hollywood greats think there are just too many superhero films these days.

Avatar director James Cameron told Indiewire at the weekend: “I’m hoping we’ll start getting Avenger fatigue here pretty soon.

“Not that I don’t love the movies. It’s just, come on guys, there are other stories to tell besides hyper-gonadal males without families doing death-defying things for two hours and wrecking cities in the process.”

And that’s from the director behind Terminator and Avatar.

Jodie Foster told Radio Times earlier this year: “Studios making bad content in order to appeal to the masses and shareholders is like fracking – you get the best return right now but you wreck the earth. It’s ruining the viewing habits of the American population and then ultimately the rest of the world. I don’t want to make $200m movies about superheroes.”

And last year, Star Wars actor Mark Hamill told USA Today: “I don’t know what’s going on with superhero movies. They’re fantastic, but I think we’re reaching a point of over-saturation. So that’s why the story is so important, is that the gimmicks and all that, they can only take you so far. That’s what I want, better stories.”

But superhero stars believe those views are unfair and there is more to the genre than meets the eye.

“A younger audience deserves entertaining but they also deserve inspiration and strong messages of hope and dreams and a great sense of justice,” Saldana told Net-a-Porter.

Fellow star Chris Pratt concurred: “I think the platform and the opportunity to use the powers that superheroes have over the imaginations of kids has been the most rewarding for me.”

More than a ‘popcorn movie’

Other superhero films have also gone beyond the entertainment factor, of course.

Recent Marvel hit Black Panther is a superhero film with a black cast, and has been widely praised as game-changing by the likes of Michelle Obama.

Letitia Wright, who plays Shuri in the film, told the Press Association: “We get to have fun and put out entertaining movies but throw subject matters in there that we can really think about as a society and really make us reflect on ourselves.”

And Vision actor Paul Bettany pointed out that Captain America: Civil War (2016) “talks about whether a superpower should be able to unilaterally enter another country. That’s a large thing to talk about in a popcorn movie.”

Film journalist Helen O’Hara says the snobbery about superhero films is unwarranted.

“There is a snobbery but generally they [superhero movies] have been quite good films on average, particularly the Marvel ones.

Unlike Saldana, O’Hara believes any elitism perhaps comes from the industry itself and some directors, rather than actors.

“[There’s only been] one [main] Oscar winner (Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight in 2009) – and not that he didn’t deserve it, he did but he probably wouldn’t have got it if he hadn’t died.”

BBC