The Marvel Cinematic Universe has become a money making juggernaut and other fra

nchises and studios seem to be lining up to follow their playbook. But its more t
han just the big companies trying to mimic their success
The University of Baltimore announced in a press release that they will be offer
ing a course this Spring focused on Marvels interconnected universe and cinematic
storytelling.
A new University of Baltimore course, to be offered in the 2015 spring semes
ter, will scrutinize the intricately plotted world of Marvel filmsthe Iron Man, T
hor and Captain America series, characters from the Avengers, and now the Guardi
ans of the Galaxy movie, which is widely expected to be the highest grossing fil
m of 2014. The course, Media Genres: Media Marvels, will examine how Marvels series
of interconnected films and television shows, plus related media and comic book
sources and Joseph Campbells monomyth of the heros journey, offer important insight
s into modern culture.
The course is being taught by Arnold T. Blumberg, a comic book historian and wor
ked for Gemstone Publishing for 15 years including as an editor for the Overstre
et Price Guide. He is an adjunct faculty member in UBs Yale Gordon College of Art
s and Sciences.
One thing well do is dive into the impact of the Guardians of the Galaxy film,
which proved two things: Mainstream movie audiences are not remotely tired of s
uperhero movies; and Marvel Studios can now release a sci-fi adventure that actu
ally features talking trees and raccoons. Its not that theyre getting away with itt
heyve created a universe in which fans completely accept these developments, and
theyre ready for even more.
Blumberg sees the success of Marvel as being tied to the Heros Journey written ab
out by Joseph Campbell.
Every generation has a modern media mythology that serves as a framework for
entertaining as well as educating about ethics, morality, issues of race, gender
, class, and so on, he says. For the past several years, Harry Potter andLord of t
he Rings have served in that role for tens of millions. When I was younger, it w
as the first Star Wars series, which I saw in the theater. For me, that sagaalong
with many other science fiction storiesprovided that essential exploration of th
e hero journey, the struggle of good vs. evil, in a mainstream pop culture conte
xt.
Blumberg likens the success of the films to Marvels success as a publisher back i
n the 1960's.
The series maintains a consistent tone for its brand, says Blumberg. Just like
the early comics had to train their audience in the basic mechanics of comic book
storytelling, with human characters transformed into heroes that spoke to a coll
ege-age readership and beyond, this cinematic series has been constructed to bri
ng a mainstream movie-going public into a wild world of superheroes and science
fiction. It started with a human emotional core delivered in the first Iron Man
movie, and built out from there. The Tony Stark character is memorable in that h
e was someone who could readily comment on the insanity around him. This grounde
d the entire Marvel film canon, and is still recognizable in theGuardians film.
I think relatability is one of the reasons why audiences continue to come out in
great numbers for these films.
Learn more about Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences and all of its pop cul
ture offerings.