The Boys - What's Wrong with Superhero Culture

"I don't know if they really want you to be a hero. I think they just want you to look like one." The Boys parodies our collective obsession with superheroes. "I could be doing so much more, but no, Vought just wants me to make my big, pretty dives in the water and flash my f...ing biceps for Instagram." By taking a look at each character and which famous superhero they satirize, we can see the deeper meaning in each of those parallels— from Homelander's twist on Superman and Captain America, to Maeve's spin on Wonder Woman and The Deep’s parody of Aquaman "Yeah, I can talk to fish. So what? How often do you need to be saved by a school of salmon?" Here’s our Take on the underlying messages of The Boys Seasons 1 and 2, its view of the American identity; and the warning it offers about superhero fantasies that focus too much on the super, and not enough on the hero. "See, people love that cozy feeling Supes give them. But if you knew half the shit they get up to...F...ing diabolical." If your new here be sure to subscribe. And hit the bell to be notified about all of our new videos. A huge thank you to Brilliant for sponsoring todays video. Brilliant is the best app to help you develop valuable skills and knowledge like understanding the art of chemical reactions. They offer over sixty fun interactive courses in math, science, and computer science click the link in the description below. brilliant.org slash the take To sign up for a free account now. The first two hundred people that Go to the link will get twenty percent off an annual,premium subscription. To understand these deeper meanings, let’s take a closer look at each member of the Seven and what they represent: Homelander combines the all-American uprightness of Captain America with the vast powers of Superman Like Superman, Homelander has multiple abilities that, individually, would be plenty for any superhero: flight, super-speed, super-strength, laser eyes. But unlike the virtuous Captain America or Superman, Homelander shows us how having God-like strength would also likely lead to an inability to feel for or value others. “what would happen if superheroes existed in the real world” “how would a superman like character feel? They’d become sociopathic” Homelander is pathologically selfish I'm the Homelander. And I can do whatever the F... I want" —and dangerously violent when he doesn’t get his way. "No more lies" In many ways, Homelander evokes the original incarnation of Superman. When writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster wrote the 1933 short story “The Reign of the Superman” it was about a vagrant who’s given enormous super-powers, which he then uses for personal gain and his own cruel amusement. When Superman was reconceived as a comic-book character, he became a crime-fighting hero “easy miss, I’ve got you" But even in this more wholesome version, Superman still has an unsettling parallel to Friedrich Nietszche’s concept of the Übermensch—a superior version of man, for regular people to aspire to "Be their hero, Clark. Be their monument. Be their angel. Be anything they need you to be." The Ubermensch was an inspiration to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party, who used it to formulate the idea of a master race that would rule over the biologically inferior. So it makes a lot of sense that, in Season 2 of The Boys, Homelander falls prey to some of these same ideas. “We’re a different fucking breed. We shine with the golden light of providence! But you! You’ve been helping these fucking mud people to go against us!" He becomes the lover of fellow superhero Stormfront, who has direct ties to the Nazi party. “But we can fight back. With an army of supermen millions strong!” Stormfront sees Homelander, a classically Aryan-looking man with blonde hair and blue eyes, as the embodiment of everything her movement is about. “You are everything that we dreamed of.” Homelander proves susceptible to Stormfront’s poisonous ideas because of his exceedingly high self-regard: He believes strength is all that matters, so he doesn’t respect the vulnerable and the weak. He doesn’t understand the importance of caring “Take these two! No No. Just these two, please!” “No! What, so they can tell the world we left the rest of them to fucking die?" nor does he appreciate any of the gifts that make others unique. “Sometimes it’s hard, Ryan, being superior to every single other person on the planet.” Homelander also embodies something essential about the American identity—and in this, he most closely resembles Captain America. But on The Boys, this jingoistic appeal is portrayed as a more blatantly cynical manipulation. “you remember how you wanted me in the red cape and I said no, make it the flag” His cartoonish patriotism is more like an American brand identity, playing on our national self-image of self-superiority and exceptionalism. “This used to be a beautiful country, remember? Right before these godless, inhuman supervillains started pouring across our borders…” —and it exposes its undercurrent of callousness and lack of regard for human life. While Captain America strives to represent America at its best. “The story of Captain America is one of honor, bravery and sacrifice” Homelander exposes its darker flip side: He fights to preserve the status quo for the social elite, where only the lives of the strong, the wealthy, and the super matter. “What makes you think I’d ever allow a cripple into the Seven?” Queen Maeve is clearly inspired by Wonder Woman, right down to her royal lineage and her armored-skirt costume. Wonder Woman is often held up as a paragon of truth and virtue, her actions motivated by love and her feminine power. “Only love can save the world” But as with Homelander’s patriotism, The Boys uses Maeve to explore how these high-minded ideals can often overlap with crass commercialism, and even exploitation. “We’re proud to fly alongside them. And now we could use your support.” The demand for stories that center and empower female characters has often been watered down into generic, opportunistic messages of girl power, which co-opt feminist movements to uphold a patriarchal status quo. The Boys satirizes this kind of empty corporatization in Season 2, when Vought mounts a marketing campaign around Maeve, Starlight, and Stormfront under the glib slogan “Girls Get It Done.” "Don't worry. Girls get it done." Eventually, Maeve turns against some of her Seven teammates—because unlike them, she really does believe in the values she’s supposed to represent. “Okay you take everybody one by one, you fly them to the ground.” ‘(Laughs)And what come back 123 times? Maeve, think” She’s loving and idealistic, and she genuinely cares about people, especially other women. I really did break every bone in my right arm. What? Stopping the bus from falling? You said the marketing guys made it up. It was me. This makes her the inverse of Homelander’s toxic masculinity and his disregard for the little people. But Maeve also shows us a Wonder Woman who’s been put through the wringer of shameless capitalism. Everything about her is subject to exploitation—even her sexuality. "Pew research shows that two feminine women sends a problematic message." "Yeah this isn't penthouse forum." Americans are more accepting of gays when they are in a clear cut gender role relationship. Like Ellen and Porsche." After she’s outed without her consent "We have a gay hero." "Really? Who in The Seven is gay?" "Queen Maeve."she sees this co-opted into yet another media campaign. "Me, I'm afraid to show the world who I am." "I'm a lot like you. I'm gay." All of this leaves one of the most powerful women in the world feeling trapped and powerless. And that drives her to act cruelly. Leave me alone, I'm not in the mood. Not in the mood for what? Your bottomless, casual cruelty. Like Homelander, she learns to despise weakness and naiveté in others. The only thing she's guilty of is being f*cking stupid. And she’s conditioned to detest the very same traits that remind her of her truest self. Despite the facile “Brave Maeve” slogan, Maeve does exhibit bravery—and despite her hardening, she can’t resist her innate drive to help people. I really did want to make a difference. I really did care. Though the show is often cynical about the superficialities of superheroes, it also recognizes how Maeve’s inner virtues—her ability to love, her desire to help others, and her instincts to defend women—really can unlock true, sustainable power, even as the world tries to convince you that these are pointless acts. Stormfront doesn’t have an obvious superhero equivalent: She can produce blasts of electricity, propel herself through the air, and she seems to have some Wolverine-like healing abilities. But her true power is manipulation. powers. Instead, Stormfront uses her mastery of social media. Here I go, you guys! Wish me luck. Oh, FYI, not a real base. She understands how to come across as a hip, “woke,” and unfiltered personality who speaks directly to her many followers, and her easy success with memes and viral posts seems to illustrate how the world of fame and celebrity is changing. “You spent $273 million dollars on that saving America bullshit and I’m running circles around you with five guys on laptops churning out memes.” But eventually, Stormfront’s persona is revealed as a performance one she’s using to bring her fascist ideology into the mainstream. “We are in a war for the culture! The other races are grinding us down and and taking what is rightfully ours" Stormfront looks young, but she’s been around for nearly a century. “I was born in 1919, in Berlin.” She formed her ideals about white supremacy and fascist control in Nazi Germany, then channeled them into racially motivated police brutality in the ’70s. “Your car was involved in a robbery tonight.” “No it wasn’t. I had it. I don’t know nothing about any robbery.” “Just confess!" Finally, she re-emerges in the modern era, repackaging these old ideas as slick digital content, a commentary on the many modern, alt-right influencers who have utilized social media to do the same. “What do SJWs like Victoria Neuman want us to do, just let ‘em in and give ‘em a cup of iced tea? And then punish us for trying to stop them!” Stormfront is likewise backed by a huge corporation that allows her to peddle her Naziism, stoke fears about immigrants, and exacerbate racial divides “Has there ever been anyone in history more persecuted just for trying to protect their own?” —all because she brings them money and attention. “We are at war! We need more Compound V! We need more supes!” Corporate amorality enables Stormfront’s vile beliefs, much as it does in our own, social media-ruled world. A-Train, whose powers of super-speed are modeled on The Flash, offers the show’s direct commentary on professional athletes “This is the race of the century!” and the ruthlessness of celebrity itself. "You don't fuck with the money. You never fuck with the money" A-Train is the fastest—a quintessential superhero trait that’s also a factor in sports “I can outrun anybody or anything!” —and his abilities come with inherent anxieties “What if I lose?” “You’re not gonna lose. You’re the fastest man alive.” “Til I’m not.” A-Train spends most of his time terrified of being overtaken and replaced, obsessed with his status and abusing performance-enhancing drugs just to maintain it. “If I don’t win, I’m out.” A-Train becomes the show’s first foray into exploring the moral failings of superheroes. In the very first episode, A-Train kills Hughie’s girlfriend Robin while high on Compound V I can’t stop. I can’t stop. I can't stop" then callously speeds off. Yet as the show goes on, we’re also able to sympathize with A-Train, to understand the unique pressures he’s under, and to see how he reflects the way celebrity and race intersect in America. We learn that A-Train grew up with nothing “well we lost my dad at a young age and my mom she worked two jobs so it was my older brother Nathan who pretty much raised me up” The wealth and fame he’s achieved have completely changed his life—and it makes him willing to do anything to keep from losing it. “I have to win this thing. I don’t wanna be some washed-up B-squadder.” Deep down, A-Train is still an insecure little kid who isn’t sure where his next meal will come from. “There are more important things!” “You know the only people that say that are the people who grew up with money.” This all adds up to a nuanced portrayal of a man of color who has achieved a position of precarious power. A-Train doesn’t feel especially powerful or free. He’s limited in ways that his fellow heroes are not. His race is exploited by Vought, which sometimes uses him as a token "We've got A-Train. He's a Black man." and other times uses his race against him. “that place used to be pure and then they started to let all kinds of people in. you know?” “i don’t know” He may be a superhero, but he’s also a black man in America—and he’s trapped by knowing how much can be taken away from him at any time "A-Train is a trademark. You are just another nobody from the south side of Chicago." The Deep is obviously modeled on Aquaman, the Justice League member who’s most famous for his ability to talk to sea creatures. “My name’s arthur, what’s yours? You guys hungry?” But unlike the charming, well-meaning Aqua-dude played by Jason Momoa, The Boys version of Aquaman embodies another, even darker aspect of toxic masculinity, one that allows it to explore the MeToo movement with nuance and complexity. "Is this about the other night again? Jesus Christ. Besides you had a crush on me, remember?" Almost immediately, The Deep is revealed to be a perpetrator of sexual harassment and sexual assault—and while the show doesn’t excuse this behavior, it does dig into why he feels the need to humiliate and demean women. “If you don’t have any self-esteem issues, why are you constantly demeaning women?” “That’s a good question, Deep.” The Deep’s vain public image masks an inner self-loathing: He not only grapples with his marginalized role on the Seven, he’s also intensely self-conscious about his gills—a shame that’s only reinforced by the others. "Your gill is showing. Cover it up." The Deep is especially vulnerable to those influences because he doesn't have the gravity to counter them: His name is an ironic joke about his lack of, well, depth. "You're just the fish guy." He’s a guy who has few opinions or viewpoints of his own. He may have a caring side, as seen in his love for sea creatures and his ability to talk to them. "What's up, man?" But this part of him has never really been nurtured: Vought rejects his environmental initiatives, tacitly dismissing his concerns as unimportant. “I’d just like to, you know, maybe do something with a little more substance.” “Deep…play to your strengths” Seeing how all these things have affected The Deep elicits some sympathy, but his season two storyline also parodies the cynical path to redemption taken by so many real-world abusers like him. He’s adopted by the Church of the Collective, a Scientology-like organization that sets about resuscitating his public image by pairing him with a bride to make him appear non-threatening, rehabilitated, and normal.“It’s about rehabilitating your image and getting you back in the Seven. That is what you want, isn’t it?” It’s a plot that, again, suggests The Deep is something of a victim himself: a lost and vulnerable man who’s preyed upon by a cult-like religion that exploits his fears and weaknesses for financial gain. “Tell her what?” “About your drinking, your self-esteem issues… really open up, Deep.” But it also shows us just how easy it is for men like The Deep to achieve so-called redemption, without ever actually examining or changing the actual reasons for their transgressions. “we’ve all been there… it’s tough.” “Been where?” “Rock bottom.” One of the scariest members of The Seven is the one we know the least about: Black Noir is entirely concealed by his black, full-body costume, a deadly ninja who doesn’t relate—or even really speak—to anyone. “We haven’t properly met yet. I’m Starlight.” With his super strength, agility, and martial arts skills, Black Noir feels like a play on “cool” vigilantes like Batman or Deadpool, minus the grim backstory, the brooding, or the blackly comic sense of humor. "You may be wondering why the red suit. "Well that's so bad guys can't see me bleed" We do get a few glimpses of his humanity that suggests there’s something underneath. But mostly, Black Noir isn’t really a character at all—and according to showrunner Eric Kripke, that’s intentional. He’s a cipher, a blank slate who represents a natural endpoint for the morally compromised vigilante hero—and he’s a symbol of our ability to project humanity onto even the most inhuman of superheroes. Starlight is the newest addition to the Seven, and her struggle to fit in and assert herself is reflected in her lack of a real counterpart among our more established superheroes. She vaguely resembles DC characters like Stargirl, Power Girl or Supergirl—young women who often have a streak of Superman-like idealism—and Starlight similarly represents the struggle to keep those ideals alive in a messy, thorny modern world. "why would you get into this business if not to save the world? That's all I have ever wanted." And much of the show’s plot is about what happens when this pure innocent is confronted with the cynical corporate reality behind the superhero world she worships. “I haven’t done anything yet.” “Yea, exactly. You’re already up two and a half points with midwesterners, conservative Christians, and 18-49.” Because Starlight is our point of entry to the world of The Boys, we experience this disillusionment along with her. She’s repeatedly let down by and even abused at the hands of these supposed heroes “It’s just a question of how bad you want to be in the Seven!” forcing us to reckon with the question of whether it’s possible to hold onto your ideals and do some good, while also achieving success in our corporate, capitalist society. “You have a huge boost with men for the ass-kicking of course, but with women too. They love the empowerment! Sixteen points with females 18 to 49!” Eventually, Starlight comes to the conclusion that no, it’s not really possible to reconcile these things. In order to be a good person and save the world, she has to become an enemy of Vought and work to sabotage the machine. "I need this chip out now." When Starlight takes her place in the Seven, her first instinct is to call out the injustices she sees. “What's immoral is the guy who shoved his dick in my face.” But eventually her fight becomes more complex, as she understands that she may have to pretend to be things that she’s not in order to most effectively achieve her goals. She accepts the objectifying costume she hates. “I can’t wear that.” What? “Why not? It’s beautiful” and she plays the role of the sweet, wholesome, crushworthy sex symbol, knowing the disguise makes it easier to further her ultimate cause bringing Vought and the Seven down from inside. "Let's burn those fuckers down." Starlight’s acceptance is also indicative of how we ourselves can’t quit superheroes, even as we recognize some of the more harmful power structures they represent and uphold: After the events of season 2, it would be understandable if Starlight left Vought, going underground or rebelling against them more actively. But having her stay allows the show to maintain its own status quo “I’m not a sellout!” —and it allows us to continue enjoying the superheroes’ exploits, even as the show critiques them. Ultimately, The Boys is a cautionary tale about our society’s wrong-minded tendency to prize the super over the hero. Through the central non-super characters Hughie, Butcher, Mother’s Milk and Frenchie the show underlines that what's not lucrative, popular or rewarded in our society human decency--remains most valuable of all. "If I'm gonna make a difference, I just feel more comfortable doing it on a smaller scale. I'm a motherfucker with a heart." The true heroes of this story don’t have superpowers, but the show makes their lack of superiority aspirational. It lends them a larger-than-life, mythical feel through their superhero-like nicknames “hughie, mothers milk” “that’s a nick name?” No my mother actually named me Mothers Milk". Despite not having any discernible special abilities, Billy Butcher still represents more of a threat to god-like Homelander than anyone else on the planet. "You are pretty darn impressive. I mean, especially for, you know, one of you". The character is empowered by a fierce sense of purpose, and it’s as if the story itself is fueled by Butcher’s hatred for the superheroes’ elitist mentality that they can do whatever they feel like and treat regular people as expendable. "Supes are all the same, every F..ing one of them.". Butcher is based on the Punisher, the grim antihero vigilante who was revived by The Boys creator Garth Ennis in the early 2000s. And like Butcher, Ennis himself is no fan of superheroes, regarding them as delusional power fantasies. Early on, Hughie wonders aloud if he could be like Harry Potter -- the ordinary person who’s revealed to be extraordinary. “I could be like harry potter, john connor, or what’s her name from the hunger games” and the show’s answer to this is a yes and a no. He is the ordinary person with a special part to play, but not because he’s secretly extraordinary. He finds a special purpose and mission, while remaining decidedly ordinary throughout -- and this is a good thing. "The point is, I can be that person that nobody thinks is awesome, but it turns out they're kind of fucking awesome." Because what’s wrong with most of the superheroes, and with Vought, is that they’ve forgotten that the whole point is saving the faceless, nameless, vulnerable regular people who need help. They’ve made the superhero game all about worshipping power and celebrity, instead of the strong working tirelessly and sacrificing themselves to save the weak. "He's your canary." "My canary?" "You let your canary die, how you gonna know when you've gone too far?" The fact that this story is called The Boys—and not The Seven—puts these non-supers at the center. They’re implicitly the real heroes, and they urge us to shift our cultural priorities to think of them that way. The show suggests that we’re living in a superhero’s world--and that it’s morally corrupt. "What we do means nothing. It's just all for money". So instead of worshipping glossy famous supers, we should be valuing the ordinary, anonymous heroes—and striving to become one of them ourselves. “don’t get me wrong I still want to fight vought, I just want to do it the right way”. This is the Take. What do you want our take on next? Thank you to Brilliant for sponsoring today's video. Brilliant is a problem solving website and app that offers math and science courses developed by award winning professionals from MIT Microsoft and Google. With brilliant learning isn't just Easy its fun. 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Channel: The Take

Views: 513,721

Keywords: the boys, homelander, queen maeve, the boys hughie, the boys black noir, the boys season 2, the boys season 1, the boys season 2 finale, the boys starlight, the boys the deep, captain america, the flash, aquaman, wonder woman

Id: 0LxECFh2WTQ

Length: 26min 5sec (1565 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 01 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/BeautyAddict101]

YouTube channel The Take just posted an interesting deconstruction of the show and the individual characters, thought you guys might enjoy :-)

[u/Reptilian_Overlord20]

Thanks for posting, I love The Take. They do good work.