Inherited Traits (WisCon 31 paper)
186 Inherited Traits: Race, Gender, and Intertextuality in Heroes
Academic Papers•Conference Room 3• Sunday, 4:00-5:15 p.m.
Heroes, NBC’s series about everyday people who develop superpowers, features a racially diverse ensemble spanning national and class lines, but bearing a common genetic marker. Inherently intertextual, Heroes references cultural tropes, media archetypes, earlier shows’ structures, and fandom culture. While it has adopted a number of previous innovations, the progress made elsewhere in treatments of gender and race has largely been disregarded. Will Heroes be able to take its sophisticated intertextual approach and use it to take its superhero tale beyond one-dimensional portrayals of race and gender issues, or will it be more of the same? This paper will explore some of Heroes’ more problematic heroes and discuss the show’s potential.