[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-152456-en":3,"doc-seo-152456-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":91},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":20,"is_downloadable":20,"audit_status":20,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":27,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},152456,687197207057,"Sage","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0",8,"Research & Report","Of Amazons, Humans, and Batmen - Superheroes and the Affectual Dynamics of Loneliness","Western superhero narratives often position loneliness as an inherent affective foundation of character. This paper analyzes Batman and Wonder Woman across Batman Begins (2005) and Wonder Woman (2017) to map loneliness as both a governing principle and a public sentiment in Western society. Superheroes are portrayed as paradoxically resisting injustices that produce and intensify loneliness, while also reinforcing the same structures through the ways origin stories and trauma are framed.","Of Amazons, Humans, and Batmen: Superheroes and the Affectual Dynamics of Loneliness  \nEmily Scherzinger  \nPanic at the Discourse: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Volume 1, Issue 2, July 2019, pp.51-61 (Article) .  \nPublished by Panic at the Discourse.  \nISSN 2562-542X(Online)  \n© The Author(s) and Panic at the Discourse, 2019.  \nFor additional information, reprints and permission: [www.panicdiscourse.com](www.panicdiscourse.com)  \nOf Amazons, Humans, and Batmen: Superheroes and the Affectual Dynamics of Loneliness  \nEmily Scherzinger  \nAbstract  \nWestern superheroes are often represented as having an inherent loneliness at the base of their character. This paper affectually analyzes Batman and Wonder Woman in Batman Begins (2005) and Wonder Woman (2017) respectively to illuminate the complexity of loneliness as both a governing principle and a general public sentiment in Western society. Ultimately, superheroes are revealed to be paradoxically fighting against structures of injustice that produce and proliferate loneliness as a governing principle in Western society, while also simultaneously reinforcing said structures.  \nKeywords: affect, loneliness, superheroes, Batman, Wonder Woman  \nSuperheroes have taken on a new dimension in the Western cultural imaginary, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) have both churned out blockbusters which have dominated the action film category at the box office for the past five years. Consequently, their current presence in Western popular culture is impossible to ignore. Superheroes are as popular and powerful as ever, and yet an inherent loneliness lies at the base of their identities. There are many intersecting reasons for this foundational affect. For example, the superhero’s mortal identity is erased in favour of their hero persona, thus burdening the superhero with the body-as-symbol. Furthermore, most superheroes experience unjust hardship, trauma, and sometimes oppression earlier in their lives, leaving them overwhelmed by loneliness and a drive to don the hero persona; however, these experiences of oppression and exploitation are not unique to superheroes. In fact, these aspects of existence that lead to superheroes’loneliness are everyday occurrences that are exaggerated for narrative effect. In the case of Batman, he was a child when he witnessed his parents’ brutal murder, committed by Joe Chill, an impoverished criminal. When surrounded by men, Wonder Woman consistently experiences sexism not only as her human persona, Diana Prince, but also as her superhero persona. The common denominator between oppressive and traumatizing events and heroes’ feelings of loneliness is the societal structures that produce and propagate these occurrences of violence ; loneliness is built into Western social structures.  \nSuperheroes have always been considered prismatic, as they reflect the general public sentiment. As loneliness becomes ingrained as an affectual result of neoliberal capitalist systems  \nPanic at the Discourse: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Volume 1, Issue 2 (2019) : 51–61.© Panic at the Discourse  \n52 E. Scherzinger  \nof subjugation and exploitation in Western society, loneliness then becomes more pronounced in our superheroes. As examples, I specifically turn to the DCEU’s contemporary cinematic representations of Batman in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins (2005), and the titular character from Patty Jenkins’ box office smash Wonder Woman (2017) . These films share the superheroes ’ respective origin stories, which begin in vastly different circumstances and yet are linked through the affectual dimensions of loneliness as both a driving and debilitating force in the characters. Both Batman and Wonder Woman are prime examples of the exceptional, mythologized figure of the Western superhero within contemporary cinematic portrayals that illuminate societal loneliness and its affectual dynamics.  \nThe cinematic history of superheroes begins a","cbCaib6BmjPHB8VA","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaib6BmjPHB8VA","pdf",330927,1,12,"English","en",105,"# Introduction\n## Loneliness as a foundational affect in Western superheroes\n## Oppression, trauma, and societal structures\n# Theoretical framing\n## Individualism, neoliberal capitalism, and isolation\n## Legitimacy of established power\n# Case studies (film texts)\n## Batman Begins (2005)\n## Wonder Woman (2017)","[{\"question\":\"How does the paper define loneliness in Western superhero characters?\",\"answer\":\"It treats loneliness as an inherent affect at the base of superhero identity, functioning both as a governing principle and as a broader public sentiment in Western society.\"},{\"question\":\"Which films are analyzed to explore loneliness in superheroes?\",\"answer\":\"Batman is analyzed in Batman Begins (2005), and Wonder Woman is analyzed in Wonder Woman (2017), focusing on how their origin stories drive and debilitate the characters through loneliness.\"},{\"question\":\"What role do societal structures play in producing superhero loneliness?\",\"answer\":\"The paper argues that loneliness is built into Western social structures: oppressive and traumatizing experiences are linked to societal systems that produce and propagate violence and exploitation.\"}]","Of Amazons, Humans, and Batmen - Superheroes and the Affectual Dynamics of Loneliness | PDF",1787861966,30,{"code":4,"msg":31,"data":32},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":33,"title":13,"keywords":34,"description":14,"schema_data":35,"social_meta":86,"head_meta":88,"extra_data":90,"updated_unix":28},"of-amazons-humans-and-batmen-superheroes-and-the-affectual-dynamics-of-loneliness","",{"@graph":36,"@context":85},[37,54,68],{"@type":38,"itemListElement":39},"BreadcrumbList",[40,44,48,51],{"item":41,"name":42,"@type":43,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":45,"name":46,"@type":43,"position":47},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":49,"name":12,"@type":43,"position":50},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":52,"name":13,"@type":43,"position":53},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/of-amazons-humans-and-batmen-superheroes-and-the-affectual-dynamics-of-loneliness/152456/",4,{"url":52,"name":13,"@type":55,"author":56,"headline":13,"publisher":58,"fileFormat":61,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":62,"datePublished":62,"encodingFormat":61,"isAccessibleForFree":63,"interactionStatistic":64},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":57},"Person",{"url":41,"name":59,"@type":60},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-08-27",true,{"@type":65,"interactionType":66,"userInteractionCount":4},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":67},"ViewAction",{"@type":69,"mainEntity":70},"FAQPage",[71,77,81],{"name":72,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":74},"How does the paper define loneliness in Western superhero characters?","Question",{"text":75,"@type":76},"It treats loneliness as an inherent affect at the base of superhero identity, functioning both as a governing principle and as a broader public sentiment in Western society.","Answer",{"name":78,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":79},"Which films are analyzed to explore loneliness in superheroes?",{"text":80,"@type":76},"Batman is analyzed in Batman Begins (2005), and Wonder Woman is analyzed in Wonder Woman (2017), focusing on how their origin stories drive and debilitate the characters through loneliness.",{"name":82,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":83},"What role do societal structures play in producing superhero loneliness?",{"text":84,"@type":76},"The paper argues that loneliness is built into Western social structures: oppressive and traumatizing experiences are linked to societal systems that produce and propagate violence and exploitation.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":52,"og:type":87,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":59,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":89,"canonical":52},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":24},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":92},[93,97,101,105,110,115,120,122,127,130,134],{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":94,"show_sort_weight":95,"slug":96},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":47,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":53,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":112,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":29,"slug":121},"research-report",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":126},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":125,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":129},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":131,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":132,"show_sort_weight":131,"slug":133},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":135,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":136,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":137},19,"General","general"]