It’s no surprise that “Captain America: Civil War” did gangbusters at the box office last weekend; Marvel has been pumping out hit after hit. But what did come as a surprise to some (this writer in particular) was the character-driven nature of the film: The conflict, which had hints of potential mass destruction, was never predicated on world-ending battles like so many other superhero movies of late. Instead, it was driven by character conflicts, ideological differences, and miscommunication, which lead to a more tense and enjoyable film.
Which, of course, leads to the question: Could ‘Civil War’ have built such emotional stakes without such a massive buffer? It’s Marvel’s 13th entry into the MCU, and at least seven of those flicks were in some way laying the foundation for the conflict between Cap and Iron Man. Clearly a lot of craft and thought went into the arcs of these characters; over the course of several films, both of these heroes slowly begin drifting in contrasting ideological directions as an explicit result of the respective conflicts they face. It’s the stuff of Joseph Campbell and the hero’s journey — which, more or less, has become the seminal bedrock beneath the modern conception of narrative and character.
To help parse the heroic basis of one such character — Captain America — is a new video essay from The Film Theorists. The 10-minute Frame By Frame video, “Is Captain America Truly An American Hero?,” takes a detailed look the Avengers’ fearless leader in order to determine if he really is the hero he’s made out to be. In doing so, the video takes cues from “The Searchers” and “Casablanca,” two classic films that helped define American heroes. More importantly, though, it uses Campbell’s theories to look back even further to the source of heroes (the monomyth) as we know it.
It’s a fascinating video essay, especially for those who loved ‘Civil War’ — aside of using footage from the newest movie, the essay is spoiler-free, but it does help to highlight just why it was such a satisfying and emotionally charged blockbuster. So check out “Is Captain American Truly An American Hero?” above and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments.