What will your kids learn from the new Avengers?
May 11, 2015, 11:57 AM | Updated: Oct 14, 2024, 9:20 am
The latest Avengers film has four socially liberal ideas written into its script. (AP)
(AP)
Comics have always had messages in them. Some were simple, healthy, nonpartisan and noncontroversial, like “Crime does not pay.” But ever since I was a boy and I picked up my copy of Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spiderman Issue #71, “With this Gun…” I’ve made it a point to observe what messages, if any, are on display in any given kids’ story.
“With this Gun…” doomed my comics collection. When I showed the issue to my dad, never a comics fan to begin with, and pointed out that I thought the comic was biased against Second Amendment supporters, he agreed. Strongly. And that meant our NRA-supporting household wasn’t going to be subscribing to that nonsense anymore.
It was a painful time, saying goodbye to Spiderman, The Avengers, Hulk, Daredevil and others. And it was one of the first times I recall thinking my dad could be wrong. After all, I reasoned, if I noticed the bias and pointed it out, how would this propaganda “rot my brain”? But it signaled the end of my comics obsession, though these costumed heroes retained a soft spot in my heart I feel to this day.
Unlike those who complain about Superheroes taking over the movies, I enjoy it. They are larger than life absurd spectacles meant to be seen on the big screen. I find that the drama of Downton Abbey doesn’t lose its power on my home television or streaming through my computer, but Hulk smashing does.
With Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron taking over multiplexes and kids clamoring to see it over and over again, parents may want to know what, if any messages are in the film. Not necessarily to ban viewing or attempt to stamp out a love of superheroes, but in order to be aware of the kinds of values their kids are subjected to, so that they may come up with a way to counter that cultural input.
Luckily, the latest Avengers is not heavy on the message-making. Nevertheless, I offer the four most socially liberal messages found in “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”
Read about the four most socially liberal messages in the latest Avengers movie.
