Narrative and Plot
1) They have an origin story - The first film of a franchise often explains to the audience how the hero acquired their powers.
2) Linear narrative - Straight forward beginning, middle and end
3) Formulaic - Conventional
4) Live vicariously through the character
People enjoy superhero films because even though the audience may be able to predict what is going to happen, the hero can not. People also enjoy being able to live vicariously through the character and can they can also create diversion from their lives and live in the diegesis. They are also able to express their personal identity through this character and it makes them easier to relate to and understand and this is what the audience enjoys about superhero films.
Narrative View Points
Omniscient - Allows us to know more about the characters than they actually do.
Restricted - We only know what the characters know
Omniscient viewpoints are commonly used in superhero films as the audience is allowed to know what the villian is planning when the main protagonist doesn't. For example, in the first Spider-Man movie, we are allowed to see what the Green Goblin is trying to do to Spider-Man yet Spider-Man doesn't know anything about it.
Narratives and Theories
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Narratives
Linear - Beginning, Middle and End
Circular - Starts and the end then continues from the beginning to end
Episodic - Day 1 - 3 weeks later
Flashbacks
Parallel - When 2 or more characters share different stories that center on the same event​
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Theories
Todorov's theory:
-The equilibrium
-The disruption
-The recognition of the disruption
-Attempts to repair the disruption
-The new equilibrium
Propp's Character theory
-The villain (struggles against the hero)
-The donor (prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object)
-The (magical) helper (helps the hero in the quest)
-The princess (person the hero marries, often sought for during the narrative)
-Her father (usually dies during or before the film/book)
-The dispatcher (character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off)
-The hero or victim/seeker hero, reacts to the donor, weds the princess
Levi Strauss - Binary Opposition
-Good vs Evil
-Love vs War
-Protagonist vs Antagonist
-Strong vs Weak
-Man vs Nature
Past
In the past, superhero films used to very basic with and easy to understand due to being in a simple linear narrative and having less sub-plots
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Present
They are now aimed at a wider and older audience and now may be a little bit harder to understand, with more sub-plots and a different approach to the storyline. Even though the story lines may be more confusing, they still use the same formulaic narrative as they still follow Todorov's theory.
Future
Seeing as there are so many origin films, now, it's going to be difficult to create new films as there are so many superhero movies out now, that there are very little comic book stories to bring to life on the big screen. However, the film makers might make the stories more original using different narrative viewpoints for the audience and they may try to use different narratives, like circular and episodic, to try and keep the audience the genre has gained over the years.
© 2012 by SAMANTA JONES
Disclaimer - None of the images and videos you see on are are actually mine. All credit goes to their creators and to Marvel and DC
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Superheroes