The hero with a thousand graces' : a socio-criminological examination of the 'real-life superhero' phenomenon

Abstract

The Real-Life Superhero (RLSH) phenomenon, which emerged in the mid-2000s, consists of everyday individuals who create original superhero identities and utilise them in forms of community action, such as crime prevention patrols and social outreach initiatives. Using semi-structured interviews with a sample of 45 participating RLSHs, this thesis examines both the intrinsic and extrinsic motivators for becoming a RLSH as well as different approaches and interpretive attitudes towards RLSH activity. This thesis also examines the self-reported personal impacts of becoming and being a RLSH. By drawing on sociological and criminological theories and concepts such as 'edgework', 'risk society', and 'hyper-real religion', this dissertation argues that at the impetus of the RLSH phenomenon and its activities is an undertaking of voluntary risk behaviours in response to perceived risks, anxieties and insecurities of societal and personal natures. The findings suggest that motivators for becoming RLSHs are rooted in trauma, inspiration, prior altruistic behaviours, and/or bystander intervention, and that the process of becoming and being a RLSH could be understood as a form of spiritual and personal development, if not a simple recreational activity. The findings also suggest that, despite some latent risks, RLSH activity could be open to cooperation with formal social control agents/agencies. This research has significant practical implications for community policing, as unorthodox informal social control procedures such as RLSH activity could potentially be harnessed by formal control agencies to include RLSHs as stakeholders in community safety and crime control initiatives.

Date of Award	2017
Original language	English