슈퍼히어로 영화의 원형으로서의 서부극: 미국적 신화로서의 의미를 중심으로

Abstract

A western is known as the most American genre. Now, superhero films are taking over the role. The most American genre means that the two genres contain American identity. It is an identity formed from American history and is also an American ruling ideology summarized as Pax Americanism. Frontier is the historical meaning of Western development in a Western. Frontier also symbolizes America's power in the contemporary international community in superhero films. In both genres, Frontier plays a role as a kind of myth in shaping the identity of the United States. Both genres reveal America's historical identity and ideology through depictions of American mythical narratives, exceptionalism, and individualistic heroes. This paper examines the socio-cultural implications of Westerns and superhero films, as well as the elements of hero character and binary oppositions as genre continuity. Through this, we examine the aspects of the two genres representing American popular culture that establish America's identity and build America's ideals. It is an American myth in which the western replaces the founding myth, and is connected through the points where superhero films function as modern myths that generalize the ruling ideology of modern America. This paper understands the points shared by the two genres from the perspective of American identity and modern mythology. In addition, the recent decline in superhero films is also examined through genre transformation and decline process of Westerns. This attempt is to understand the continuity of the two genres that mythologize American history and identity through the perspective that Westerns are the prototype of superhero films.