Why is Hollywood fascinated by Superheroes ?

There have been lots of movies about superheroes! Normally each

superhero movie is about just one superhero : Superman, or Batman, or
Spiderman, or some other fantastic hero. But in 2017 Hollywood gave us several
different superheroes in the same film, Justice League, which came out in
November 2017. This was exceptional ! Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and
more... all in the same movie.
If only they were real ! As Coronavirus strikes the whole world, we could do
with a few superheroes to help us get by.

Not just Superman and Batman...

Superman and Batman are just two superheroes out of many. We could also
include Spiderman, Wonder Woman, Robin Hood, James Bond, Zorro, Indiana Jones and a
lot more. They're all more or less the same person, in different forms. Some are in the past,
others in the present, others in the future.
But why does Hollywood love superheroes? Is it a question of money? Of course; but it's
not only money.
People have always loved superheroes. Long before the first Hollywood movie, people
loved stories about superheroes. Robin Hood has been a popular hero for over 600 years ...
and there were others before him.
The first superheroes were real people. Nevertheless, the stories about them were often
invented. Some of the oldest European superheroes were Charlemagne and Roland
(Orlando). Mediaeval writers and singers invented exciting stories about these real men, just
as Hollywood invents stories about tomorrow's superheroes.
A thousand years ago, people sometimes sat round in dark rooms in the evening, listening
to the adventures of brave heroes. Today, we sit in a dark room in the evening, watching the
adventures of the brave Batman. The medium is different, the technology has changed ....
but the people are really the same.
Hollywood doesn't actually invent many new superheroes. Superman, Judge Dredd,
Batman and the others already "existed" before Hollywood discovered them. These three all
come from comic magazines.
The first Batman story came out in 1939! So Batman has now been defending the people
of Gotham City for over 80 years! There have been several Batman movies, with different
stars including Val Kilmer, George Clooney and Christian Bale. How long can it last?
Superman is even older: he dates from about 1932 (the exact year is not certain). Even
Judge Dredd is a familiar figure; he first appeared in England in 1977.

Hollywood's biggest superheroes live in the future. That is not really surprising. Hollywood
has fallen in love with special effects, and the future allows great spectacular special
effects. Besides, people today are frightened about the future. Things do not
always look good; perhaps we will need characters like Batman and Judge Dredd in 100
years' time. Perhaps we even need them today!
WORDS:
movie: film - do with: use, get some help from - long before: a long time before -
nevertheless: but, yet - Charlemagne: Carlus Magnus, Charles the Great -
mediaeval: from the Middle Ages - medium: means of communication - actually: in fact -
last: continue - dates from: first appeared in - besides: also - look: seem, appear

Exercise:
Imagine you have been talking to Ben Affleck (who plays Batman in Justice
League). How did Ben answer your questions?.

YOU: Is Batman Hollywood's first superstar?

BEN:

YOU: Who is Batman ?

BEN:

YOU: Why do people love superheroes ?

BEN:

YOU: Did superheroes exist before Hollywood ?

BEN:

YOU: Are you Hollywood's first Batman?

BEN:

YOU: Are superheroes always imaginary people?

BEN:

YOU: Do you think we'll see more superheroes in the future?

BEN: