Theorizing the Superhero: Performativity and Politics

by Aditya Misra

Overview

This book uses contemporary continental philosophy to develop an alternative theory of the superhero to the one currently offered by the comic book industry and comic book studies. Studying superheroes from South Asian pop culture, this book questions the definition of the superhero and the allegedly sacrosanct nature of its origin and identity in comic books. This book looks at the superhero as a performative figure and explores how the superheroic imagination opens up diverse modes of creative thinking. Superheroes studied in this book include Narayan Debnath’s Bantul the Great (comics), Premendra Mitra’s Ghanashyam Das or Ghanada (Tall Tale), Satyajit Ray’s Professor Trilokeswar Shonku (science fiction/fantasy fiction), and one of the nine gems of Emperor Akbar’s court, Raja Birbar or Birbal (mediaeval Indian history). By virtue of perpetual reconfiguration of its elements, the book argues, the concept of the superhero makes itself ‘always new’ and it is always already ‘open onto elsewhere’.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783031629334
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date:	07/24/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Aditya Misra, Ph.D., is an independent scholar who has published essays and reviews in journals such as South Asian Review, Wasafiri: International Contemporary Writing, and Sanglap: Journal of Literary and Cultural Inquiry, among others.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Re-thinking the Superhero: A Concept in the Making.- Chapter 2: A Tussle with the Muscle: Narayan Debnath’s Bantul the Great.- Chapter 3: The Shah of Blah Kills the Tiger by Words: Premendra Mitra’s Ghanada.- Chapter 4: Mapping the Postcolonial Genius: Satyajit Ray’s Professor Shonku.- Chapter 5: Madness of Speech: Truth, Power and the Birbal Way.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“This book harnesses unexpected philosophical traditions to read the fragmented place of the superhero in contemporary culture. Shaped by cartoon, caricature, tall tales, science fiction, and wit, the hero emerges as a delightful and idiosyncratic figure, radically breaking with the primary equation of superheroism with physical prowess.” (Saikat Majumdar, Professor of English and Creative Writing, Ashoka University, India)