The Superhero Genre

This week the topic of discussion is genre, more specifically the superhero genre. Genre is defined as a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular form, style or content (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genre). As simple as this definition is there are many issues that go along with the idea of genre. Often times it is difficult to place certain artistic, musical and/or literary works in specific genres as some of the conventions and or iconographies overlap. In Peter Coogan’s The Definition of the Superhero he addresses this issue. He opens his article stating aspects that make up the superhero genre such as a mission, powers and identity. He also mentions costumes although he doesn’t place too much weight on that aspect. Throughout the rest of the article he uses many known superheroes of the past to support this mission/powers/identity definition of the superhero. Towards the end of the article he uses certain known characters to demonstrate how often the line that defines the superhero genres from other is easily blurred. He uses the example of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy does have a mission to protect the world from vampires out to destroy humanity, she has the fighting skills equivalent to those of Batman and she is known as a Slayer. It would seem that the sum of all those attributes would equal Buffy as a superhero but because the show does not identify itself within the genre of superheroes makes it not part of the superhero genre. The film that accompanied this reading was Dick Tracy.

           At first glance, one would think that this is not a superhero film, based on Coogan’s definition. The protagonist Dick Tracy is on a mission to clean up the city by getting all of the mobsters off of the streets. He is known throughout the city as this rebel cop who has a slightly an unorthodox way of cleaning up crime. But when it comes to having super powers he’s just another cop. But when watching the film it does have the feel of a superhero film. Tracy just like Batman, Spiderman has problems maintaining relationships with people, more specifically women. The soundtrack which accompanies the film also helps to promote this film as a superhero film. Buffy and Dick Tracy are two examples of how difficult it can be to define genre and place different works within those genres.

 Coogan, Pete. “The Definition of the Superhero.” (Jeet Heer and Kent Worcester, eds.). A Comics Studies Reader. Jackson : University Press of Mississippi. P. 77-93

Beatty, W. (Director). (1990). Dick Tracy [Motion Picture].