Using superhero films to examine allyship development for positive peace: a decolonial feminist ethics of care model

• In Event: Pedagogies for Peace: Linguistic, Feminist, and Decolonial Approaches

Proposal

In the past decade political analysis on the decline of the liberal international order (LIO) has pointed to the dysfunction in the multilateral system, rising authoritarianism, and the inability of states to agree on joint solutions to shared challenges like inequality, climate change, global health pandemics, violent conflicts, and insecurity (Paul & Kornprobst, 2021). In recent decades, scholars have paid increasing attention to the decline of liberal internationalism and the rise of the right. Right-wing elements within the core of the LIO perceive that the liberal pursuit of equality has weakened the privileged status of the West in the global hierarchy, while periphery states are faced with unmet promises of equality, prosperity, and peace and view the LIO is a continuation of Western imperialism (Adler-Nissen & Zarakol, 2021). Liberalism's discontents are vocal but some scholars wrongly argue there are no viable, better alternatives to this failing system.

Developing the ability to imagine otherworldly possibilities is crucial in the face of complex and interconnected economic, environmental, political, social, and technical challenges. Critical (and creative) peace education is urgently needed to not only confront the dire reality but to make alternatives to racial capitalism, patriarchy, and militarism imaginable. This is particularly relevant for young people who are learning political socialization, especially in college classrooms of the US and other so-called peaceful countries (Snauwaert, 2020). How can peace education help young people reimagine their role and responsibility in addressing interlocking crises like climate change, migration, and authoritarianism? How can youth move beyond paralysis or savior complexes toward genuine interrelational responsibility and true solidarity? What frameworks and tools are necessary to move beyond alleviating symptoms to developing transformative alternatives that undo the underlying logics of the dominant liberal approaches such as individualism, universalism, and rationalism?

This paper proposes an alternative framework to liberal internationalism, more capable of advancing positive peace (Galtung, 1969). The proposed developmental model of CARE integrates feminist global ethics of care (Held, 2006; Neufeldt, 2022; Robinson, 2011) with decolonial and developmental approaches to allyship (James & Mack, 2020; Suyemoto & Hochman, 2021; Tormey, 2022). This model is premised on a contextual, relational, and ongoing developmental understanding of allyship. Further, it consists of four interconnected dimensions oriented toward a decolonial feminist care ethics: Conscientization, Actions rooted in collective responsibility, Relationality, and Empathy (C.A.R.E).

I apply the developmental model of C.A.R.E. to two case studies: Wonder Woman (2017) and Black Panther (2018). Popular films offer a distinctive approach to reimagining alternatives to liberal internationalism because of their capacity to make other worlds imaginable in ways that traditional academic discourse cannot. These films also appeal to young people and are widely accessible in the US. A re-reading of these films from the proposed C.A.R.E. model examines how and in what manner the films’ protagonists: (1) learn about global (interplanetary/interdimensional) problems (conscientization), (2) act out of collective responsibility versus individual heroism or a savior complex (action), (3) navigate relationships of interdependence (relationality), and (4) develop emotional connections across difference (empathy). The application of the developmental model for C.A.R.E. framework helps to illustrate the ongoing processes of transformation toward genuine solidarity and decolonial allyship. It offers space to apply a more critical analysis to themes of utopian world vs. vulnerable/dangerous worlds, savior complexes and the consequences of intervening without understanding or without prioritizing the knowledge and desires of those being intervened upon, questions of privilege, power and identity, and other themes common to superhero films.

The unique theoretical framework contributes to nuancing theories of peace education and positive peace by integrating feminist global ethics of care and decolonial allyship development. Further, the application of the model to superhero films demonstrates how popular cinema can serve as a tool for imagining other worlds and the imaginer’s place in otherworld-making. This research offers concrete implications for both formal peace education contexts (e.g., undergraduate peace education curricula) and nonformal peace education settings including community dialogue initiatives, activist training workshops, and grassroots organizing efforts to cultivate care in a divided world.

Author

• Deanna Pittman, California Institute of Integral Studies