The Avengers

When you go to see a Hollywood superhero movie you should expect a little glib American patriotism, however Joss Whedon’s The Avengers is much more than this. It endorses the worst aspects of the “War on Terror” including the idea high tech surveillance and torture keep us safe, that unilateral U.S. military power will save the world and that Americans needs to unite around patriotism to defeat its enemies. Ominously The Avengers can be seen as ideologically not just glorifying existing U.S. wars but helping to prepare the country for the next World War.