[Mesnick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Lucha

I think Moore witnessing first-hand how Rorschach, a viscously critical portrayal of fascist ideology, was co-opted by actual fascists radicalized him against all fans of super heroes. He sees us all as comics-gate-adjacent fascist-sympathizers, and while he's right that a large portion of the super hero-consuming populace does use super heroes to support their underlying fascist tendencies, he ignores the larger percentage of us who took away the intended, positive messages from super hero stories.

The thing is... fascists are capable of perverting anything to support their ideologies. I've seen them twist Star Trek, of all things, to prop up their beliefs. Fascists exist, and a lot of them are drawn to super heroes because of their longing for a strongman to lead them to some kind of fictionalized, ideal past. This is true. But super heroes do not create fascists any more than violent video games create school shooters.

All this being said, despite the thesis being interesting, the linked article's argument is very poorly delivered.

The thing is that it is in principle human nature to seek confirmation of one's ideas even in works that criticize these ideas. The fans of the Empire in Star Wars are proof of this. Hell, I remember watching Rocky IV with my friends as kids and rooting for Ivan Drago, even though he was shown as a scoundrel.There are actually two forks here. If the work has no direction, then the author should think about why the fascist character turned out to be so attractive. Is it really the readers or did he himself endow him with traits that make this character likeable? If this is an anti-fascist work, then it is obvious that the fascist should not be depicted in such a light that he would be suitable for an icon.There are a lot of ways, but, unfortunately, then you have to be prepared for commercial murders. That is, the condition "The Boys" bribe liberals with their ideological direction, and fascists with the charisma of the antagonists, and therefore rake in money from everyone. Plus, there is such a thing as "opposition". At one time, it was actively used in Soviet cinema by the pro-Western secret opposition.
The essence of this concept is that when making ideologically neutral or even propaganda films, communist ideas/characters/life are intentionally depicted in a disgusting way. If it is done with enough talent, it will inevitably cause imitation, even without ulterior motives. I think this also takes place in modern (or perhaps already past) Western cinema.
I immediately remember the incredible number of movies and shows where there was a female boss, which is supposed to promote feminist ideas. But at the same time, she was portrayed as wrong in most situations and just an unpleasant person, which is why she fueled misogyny much more. And the "woke" Disney remakes were more repulsive to the ideas of subversion and multiculturalism than attractive to them.