There has been much discussion in recent years about whether the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has damaged or warped the movie industry. Legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese opined that MCU movies are closer to ‘theme parks’ than the ‘cinema’ he grew up to love and appreciate. Quentin Tarantino complained that MCU movies seem to be the only films that generate ‘any kind of excitement amongst a fan base, or even for the studio making them’. Tarantino also lamented the ‘death of the movie star’; a phenomenon he partially attributed to the MCU’s success. In his view, the star of a Marvel movie is the iconic character (Captain America, Thor, Spider Man, etc); not the actor playing the role. Whether one agrees or disagrees with criticisms of the MCU that echo those of Scorsese or Tarantino, there is one fact that is indisputable. The MCU has been wildly successful, and made a boatload of money over its lifetime (around $25 billion). Putting artistic criticisms aside, one has to wonder why the MCU has resonated so widely and deeply with the general public.
There are practical and down to earth reasons for the wide cultural success of the MCU. The visual experience that each MCU movie delivers aligns with the cost of a trip to the modern movie theater. If a middle or working class family of four is going to pay close to $70.00 per theater trip; they expect a special effects laden spectacle in return. Martin Scorsese’s ‘theme park’ remark shouldn’t just apply to the MCU movies; it should apply to the theaters they play in as well. The average movie goer isn’t keen to part with their hard earned money for an experience they could have on their 55 inch flat screen television at home. The explosion of on demand viewing, streaming sites, and quality television productions have brought Scorsese’s beloved ‘cinema’ into the living room of every modern home on earth.
But beyond these pragmatic considerations for the MCU’s success lies a more ephemeral one. There is something about the metaphysics behind the MCU that aligns with the metaphysics of our current times. If we take it to be true that we live in a time of metamodernism, then it might be the metamodern nature of the MCU that has helped it connect with such a wide popular audience. Whether it’s the overall structure of MCU storytelling, the oscillation between earnest feeling and cynicism in MCU narratives, the ‘existential arcs’ of individual characters, or an overall feeling of what writer Greg Dember coined ‘ironesty’ - the MCU has captivated audiences through metamodern influence.
The fact that the MCU is structured in a way that creates a shared world and narrative over multiple creative properties isn’t new to comic book readers. Yet this kind of interconnected storytelling has offered a new experience for film audiences. The atomization, yet connectivity of the MCU mirrors the atomized, yet digitally connected nature of our metamodern times. Disparate narrative threads or characters, combine, and overlap through various stories. The combination and construction that the MCU uses to build an overarching storyline displays metamodern sensibilities. The average movie goer in 1990 had a mind that was accustomed to consuming straightforward, isolated narratives. But the average movie goer in 2022 has a mind that has been conditioned by our digital technologies. A mind that is attuned to apprehend multiple points of focus, or consume disparate streams of information; is a mind primed for entertainment that reflects its mental habits. The structure of the MCU is like a language that speaks to the metamodern nature of how our minds now consume news or entertainment.
The emotional structure of the MCU also reflects metamodern sentiments that have arisen in the wake of postmodernism. The emotional pillars of the first ten years of MCU storytelling could be seen as Steve Rogers (Captain America) and Tony Stark (Iron Man). Rogers embodied a kitschy, naive, modernist outlook. While Stark embodied a more cynical, ironic, postmodern detachment. Over the course of ten years, the outlooks of both characters oscillated and clashed with one another. And the individual arcs of each character swung between earnest hope, and cynical despair.
Entire MCU movies themselves often oscillate between authentic human emotion and sardonic humor. Characters in MCU narratives often wisecrack their way through dealing with world ending or universe destroying threats. Yet amid the over the top, grand stakes narratives are the smaller, more personal tribulations of the individual characters. Whether or not one is moved by the earnest, personal emotion in MCU narratives; it is the earnest attempt at conveying that emotion which evokes metamodernism. The MCU portrayed a superhuman demigod (Thor) as someone who is forced to deal with extreme grief and depression. It portrayed a cynical, angry talking raccoon (Rocket Raccoon) as a creature that is moved to cry for his friends, and experiences a moment of divine illumination filled with authentic love. It even treated the main villain of its first ten years (Thanos) as someone who wasn’t purely evil; but was an individual who was motivated by an authentic (yet twisted) desire to ‘save’ all living creatures from themselves.
Many of the MCU characters display aspects of an existential crisis, or the ‘existential vacuum’. They search for personal meaning amid circumstances that have left their world confused or scrambled. This search for meaning aligns with how many people feel today in the post-postmodern era. It also aligns with metamodern creativity, as much of it involves how to find or create authentic meaning and experience. In the MCU, much of the ‘authentic meaning creation’ happens as the characters join together, put aside their differences, and work towards a common goal. The individual ‘Avengers’ don’t simply join together in harmony and triumph over evil. They have to negotiate their different personalities, beliefs, and shortcomings in order to create something greater. This resonates with the general public because it reflects a certain modern emotional experience they can relate to.
The overall sensibility of the MCU is one of ‘ironesty’. As mentioned earlier, the term was coined by writer Greg Dember. ‘Ironesty’ means ‘the braiding together of irony and sincerity into a unified aesthetic expression’. The MCU often embraces the silliness of the whole superhero genre through self reflective humor. Yet even the most absurd aspects of certain characters are embraced with a measure of sincerity. In 2022’s ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’, the main antagonist in the film (Namor) was based off of a comic book character who lives underwater, has pointy ears, and can fly with little wings on his ankles. The director of the film, Ryan Coogler, said he stayed true to the absurd character design because he thought that in ‘making these types of movies, you’ve got to lean into the weird stuff, or you risk missing what makes it fun’.
Yet underlying all the wisecracking and absurdity, the MCU is grounded in sincere, honest feeling. A prime example of this was the way Coogler’s ‘Wakanda Forever’ served as a sincere and honest tribute to recently deceased actor Chadwick Boseman. As the original actor to play the Black Panther role, Boseman’s tragic real life passing was incorporated into the fictional storyline for ‘Wakanda Forever’. The result was a narrative that stirred deep feelings of authentic grief and mourning. For the audience had connected not just with the Black Panther character, but the real life actor that portrayed it. This connection between the audience, the MCU characters, and the actors who play the characters, serves as the foundation that the MCU’s ‘ironest’ storytelling is built upon.
In recent years the MCU has become a victim of its own success. Its corporate overlord, The Walt Disney Corporation, has pushed quantity over quality. New characters and storylines have been introduced. Yet they haven’t had quite the emotional connection to audiences as the narratives defining the MCU’s first ten years. Ironically, the recent MCU ‘multiverse’ narrative mirrors what can be seen as physical aspects of metamodernism. Multiple intersecting universes, multiple intersecting timelines, and multiple versions of single characters; all remind me of what I have described as the ‘metamodern hypergraph’. The MCU’s ‘multiverse saga’ is liquid modernity turned into a pop culture, blockbuster, spectacle. Yet despite the structural metamodern undertones of the MCU’s multiversal turn, its future success will still depend on its ability to evoke earnest emotions in its audiences. For in the post-postmodern age of metamodern metaphysics, movie audiences have shown a preference for entertainment that not only stimulates their visual senses, but bares its heart as well.