The waxing and waning of the whiteness of hegemony during societal crisis: American superheroes from 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina

During a societal crisis, a society's hegemony and hegemonic ideology can be threatened. In response, the ideology must adapt and morph to preserve the hegemony. Where Whiteness is an element of that ideology with past historical articulations, it can wax and wane as part of the process of hegemony. The invisibility and normative nature of Whiteness means it can grow in strength quietly when a society becomes less concerned with equality and racial justice. The narratives of superheroes in American comic books from 2001-2008 provide a case study of how popular culture is part of that process of hegemony and how popular culture can reflect, reinforce, and push back against ideology. The American societal response to the September 11 attacks of 2001 necessitated an ideological response that weakened the focus on issues of equality such as racial and gender equality within the American Dream to serve the war on terror and the hegemony of the Bush Administration. Consequently, Whiteness became more centered in American popular culture and society. The disaster of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was a moment of social crisis that pushed the issue of inequality to the forefront of American society again. While it did very little to address the issue of gender inequality, the renewed focus on racial inequality contributed to a symbolic checking of Whiteness in American culture, the election of the first African American President in 2008.