A matter of taste

[ericavdg]

Is there anyone else on my friends list who just doesn't "get" the whole superhero concept? I can suspend disbelief with the best of them for science fiction or other forms of fantasy, but accepting a bizarre superpower like Spider Man's or the Hulk's just isn't happening. It seems forced and childish and the teams of superheros seem even sillier.

Comments

[nohwhere_man]

Not alone, but I might come from it at a different direction. For me, willing suspension of disbelief (ASoB) works when the entire world is different so there are no anchors (most fantasy worlds) or when the "real world" isn't so fractured by the fictional element (say, Chas. deLint's work). With most (all?) superheros, they're fit into our world but we then have to accept that the hulk can gain 300 pounds of body mass in an instant. Not in my world. And you're right, they're also silly :).

OTOH, I didn't read comic books when I was a kid.

[ericavdg]

Interesting points. May I post your reply--anonymously, of course--on Facebook, where I also asked this question?

I'm wondering if lack of comic books in childhood may predispose one to apathy toward superheros. Not an either/or, of course; Lydia didn't read comic books and she really likes the TV shows and movies.

[nohwhere_man]

Sure. I'd be interested in the responses there, but I don't do FB.