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Show posts MenuQuoteRobert Eggers's darkly beautiful remake of the silent 1922 horror classic Nosferatu is a hit with critics and audiences alike, with many praising its stunning visuals, intense performances, gothic atmosphere, and neverending sense of dread. Set in 19th-century Europe, 2024's Nosferatu tells the story of the ancient and reclusive Count Orlok and his bloody quest to make an innocent young woman his eternal bride. While on its surface, the film has little in common with Tim Burton's 1992 superhero flick Batman Returns – other than the fact that they're both helmed by visionary directors – a closer look reveals that there are actually a fair number of similarities between the two films.
In fact, this is something that was confirmed by Eggers himself, who stated recently on an episode of the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, "I was watching on one of these flights... I threw on Batman Returns and, like, snowy, gothic, atmosphere of that movie is, it's quite like, shockingly similar to a lot of the stuff we were doing here, which is something that I never really considered at all. But Wayne Manor, like, doesn't look a hell of a lot different than Grűnewald Manor. I have got to say except for falling apart. So that was kind of interesting."
Once you see the similarities, it becomes difficult to unsee them. While Eggers doesn't outright say that Batman Returns directly influenced the aesthetics of Nosferatu, it's possible that certain elements from Burton's film crept into his thinking from a previous viewing of the film without his realizing it. Or it may simply be an example of parallel thinking; after all, both Burton and Eggers have used heavy gothic elements in almost all of their respective films, though Burton's use of the moody visual style tends to lean a slightly more playful direction than Eggers.
QuoteSuperhero films can encourage prosocial behavior, new study finds
A new study published in The Journal of Psychology suggests that superhero films, despite often depicting violence, can promote prosocial behavior — actions meant to benefit others, such as sharing or helping. By showing a specific scene from the 2016 film Batman v Superman, the researchers found that viewers who identified with Batman or believed his actions were morally justified were more likely to help others in a subsequent task.
While previous research has shown that prosocial media can encourage helpfulness and cooperation, violent media has typically been associated with increased aggression. Superhero films, a genre with widespread popularity, often mix these two elements. The researchers wanted to explore how these films might affect viewers, particularly in terms of empathy and moral reasoning, which could influence whether viewers engage in prosocial behavior despite the violence on screen.
The study involved two experiments, each with 200 Brazilian participants, who were randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a control group. The experimental group watched a 3-minute and 47-second clip from the movie Batman v Superman, in which Batman fights multiple armed villains to rescue Martha, a captured character. This scene was chosen for its combination of violent action and a clear prosocial motive—saving a life.
In contrast, the control group watched a neutral video that featured colorful shapes forming various patterns. This video, which had no violent or prosocial content, was meant to serve as a baseline for comparison.
After watching the videos, participants were asked to complete a prosocial behavior task. They were told they were helping with another study by distributing pieces of chocolate to future participants who liked the treat. The number of chocolate pieces each participant allocated served as a measure of their prosocial behavior.
The researchers also measured participants' levels of empathy after viewing the videos. To do this, they used a scale that assessed three different types of empathy: affective empathy (sharing another person's emotions), cognitive empathy (understanding another's perspective), and associative empathy (identifying with the character in the video).
In the second experiment, the researchers introduced an additional measure—moral justification. Participants were asked to evaluate whether the violent actions taken by Batman were justified. This was done using a series of statements such as "The main character's actions were necessary" or "It was impossible to deal with this situation in any other way."
In the first study, participants who watched the superhero scene reported higher levels of empathy than those in the control group. More specifically, viewers showed increased associative empathy — they identified more with Batman and his mission to save the hostage. This identification with the hero was the key factor that indirectly boosted prosocial behavior.
While participants in the superhero group didn't give significantly more chocolate than those in the control group overall, the effect of the movie on prosocial behavior was seen through the increase in empathy. This suggests that feeling connected to the hero and understanding their motives could encourage viewers to be more generous and helpful in their real-world actions.
The second study revealed that moral reasoning also played a role in prosocial behavior. Participants who watched the superhero scene were more likely to believe that Batman's violent actions were justified. This belief, in turn, was linked to higher prosocial behavior, as measured by the chocolate allocation task.
Essentially, when participants viewed the hero's actions as morally right, they were more inclined to engage in helpful behavior themselves. The researchers theorized that the portrayal of superheroes as protectors and defenders likely led viewers to accept their violent actions as necessary for the greater good, which then translated into a willingness to help others.
In short, simply watching the superhero scene did not directly cause participants to behave more prosocially. Instead, the participants who empathized with the characters or believed the violent actions were justified were more likely to act in a helpful way afterward.
While the study offers valuable insights into the effects of superhero films, it is not without limitations. One limitation is the use of an online experiment, which may reduce the level of control over participants' environments and behavior. For instance, distractions during the video could have affected participants' responses. Additionally, the study only used a single method of measuring prosocial behavior (the chocolate allocation task), which may not fully capture the complexity of prosocial actions in real-world situations.
Another limitation is the sample size and demographic characteristics. The participants were predominantly young adults from Brazil, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to other age groups or cultural contexts. Future research could address this by replicating the study with different age groups and in various cultural settings.
The study, "Superhero Films' Impacts on Prosocial Behavior: The Mediating Role of State-Empathy and Violence Justification," was authored by Isabella Leandra Silva Santos and Carlos Eduardo Pimentel.
QuoteGuardians of the Galaxy co-writer Nicole Perlman might not have been credited for her work on the Marvel Studios film if James Gunn had his way.
- Allegations of bullying and attempts to undermine screenwriter Nicole Perlman's credit on Guardians of the Galaxy are further exposed in the tell-all book "The Reign of Marvel Studios."
- Perlman's friend and co-writer, Zack Stentz, reveals that Gunn tried to push Perlman out of the Marvel circle and leaked information to undermine her credit.
- Perlman, despite the controversies, credits everyone in the movie, including James Gunn, for making it beautiful; Gunn has not responded to Stentz's comments.
A close friend and fellow screenwriter steps in for Guardians of the Galaxy co-writer Nicole Perlman, adding fuel to the circulating allegations of what transpired between Perlman and James Gunn during the production of the Marvel Studios film.
Gunn had already been on a controversial path to becoming the new DC Studios CEO. His rise to DC started when Disney fired Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy 3 for past reprehensible thoughts on Twitter and a pedophile-themed party that included a convicted pedophile. However, while this may be where Gunn's character was judged in the eyes of the public, it is not where those controversies began, as further allegations are now coming to light regarding alleged bullying tactics used by Gunn in an attempt to be seen as the sole writer on Guardians of the Galaxy against Perlman.
Joanna Robinson's book The Reign of Marvel Studios describes Perlman as having written the original story and screenplay for Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy, which included many iconic aspects seen in the movie, such as Star Lord's backstory and passion for retro music. Gunn ended up rewriting the screenplay, and despite Perlman still needing to be acknowledged as co-writer according to WGA guidelines, Zack Stentz, Perlman's friend and co-writer of the Thor screenplay, detailed the behind-the-scenes Perlman endured to receive credit. "Nicole had to knife-fight for her credit on Guardians of the Galaxy. But she is probably the preeminent female action tent pole writer now because she was the first woman to have her name on not just a Marvel movie, but on a Marvel movie that people really love."
Stentz goes further, detailing Perlman's thoughts and the lengths Gunn went to to push Perlman out of the Marvel circle. "She threw a party when the movie came out literally called the 'f*** James Gunn' party because she had won that very bruising credit arbitration. The thing that I'm still angry about, and I say this as a fan of James Gunn as a director, was that he very clearly was selectively leaking stuff to his friends and the fanboy media circles to undermine her credit," Stentz said. "When Matthew Vaughnn decided to have a temper tantrum over the fact that we got screen credit [on X-Men: First Class], at least he did it under his own name." In the book, Perlman stated that she "credits everybody in the movie, including James, for making it so beautiful." Gunn has not responded to Stentz's comments at this time.
While some entities like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery would assume that Gunn has grown from his mistakes, others would argue otherwise with examples pointing to many of the tactics previously used on Perlman, prevalent in the media by statements that contradict the word of Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Zack Snyder, and Henry Cavill. While fans are eager to move forward with DC, an air of uncertainty looms over the DCU, with Universal rumored to be in the running to acquire WBD.
Perlman's interest in writing screenplays initially began with her passion for science fiction, and she has been involved with the Science and Entertainment Exchange to keep what audiences see in movies as real as possible. She received her writing credit on Guardians of the Galaxy for her original screenplay, which she said wasn't "based on any particular comic book." However, she went on to work on other movies while Gunn completed the screenplay for the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel.