- 258 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
Copyright Vigilantes: Intellectual Property and the Hollywood Superhero explains superhero blockbusters as allegories of intellectual property relations. In movies based on characters owned by the comics duopoly of DC and Marvel, no narrative recurs more often than a villain's attempt to copy the superhero's unique powers. In this volume, author Ezra Claverie explains this fixation as a symptom of the films' mode of production. Since the 1930s, the dominant American comics publishers have treated the creations of artists and writers as work for hire, such that stories and characters become company property. Thus, publishers avoided sharing the profits both from magazine sales and from licensing characters into other media. For decades, creators have challenged this regime, demanding either shares of profits or outright ownership of their creations. Now that the duopoly rents, licenses, and adapts superheroes for increasingly expensive franchises, and for growing international audiences, any challenge to intellectual property relations threatens a production regime worth billions of dollars. Duopoly movies, therefore, present any attempt to break the superhero's monopoly on their powers as the scheme of terrorists, mad scientists, or space Nazis—assuaging studio anxieties and revealing the fears of those who benefit most from the real-world ownership of superheroes. Weaving together legal analysis, Marxist political economy, and close readings of movies, Copyright Vigilantes explains the preoccupations of Hollywood's leading genre.
Frequently asked questions
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- Introduction
- Chapter One. Copyright Vigilantes
- Chapter Two. Nolan’s Batman: Criminogenic Capitalism and the (Re)Birth of a Brand
- Chapter Three. Captain America and Wonder Woman: Instrumental Heroes
- Chapter Four. The Adult Turn: Reproduction of the Brand
- Chapter Five. Blade and Black Panther: Strategic Blackness and the Rights of Kings
- Coda. Dreaming Like a Supervillain
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Index
- About the Author