TV Review: Superheroes of Suburbia
Superheroes of Suburbia
Genre(s): Documentary, One-off, Superheroes
Network: Channel 4 (UK)
Description: A small, secretive band of people are donning comic-book costumes and taking to Britain’s streets to fight crime. Christian Watt’s First Cut film meets three of these suburban superheroes.
If it had not been for a text from my Dad one lunchtime last week and his random discovery on Twitter, then this look into an emerging unique subculture of British society would have completely passed me by. So, you know, thanks, Dad.
The latest from Channel 4’s award winning ‘First Cut’ series – a platform for new, upcoming and aspiring young directors – ‘Superheroes of Suburbia’, despite initial doubt born from the absolutely surreal nature of the content, is indeed a documentary. I wish I could say that their cape crusading is some sort of social commentary on life in Britain, but it’s not. It goes much deeper and, actually, more faithfully than that. Honestly, at first, I didn’t know whether this was a mockumentary in the fashion of ‘Brass Eye’ but no, it’s real. As in real life. Superheroes with mortgages, families, irritable bowl syndrome, learning and social disabilities and panic attacks and depression.
Noir, Black Void, The Dark Spartan waiting at the bus stop.
We’re introduced to four superheroes across the documentary – ‘The Dark Spartan’, a 27 year old father from Torquay who patrols the streets making sure that order is kept and that the binge drinkers get home safely. A former solider taking up the mantle of ‘The Shadow’, a ninja from Somerset whose goal is ridding a council estate of boy racers and yobs from disturbing the peace and terrorising the residents. Asperger diagnosed teenager ‘Noir’ who manages to overcome his socially awkward tendencies to some degree when he puts on his mask, and who aspires to take down a drug ring in the future but is currently investigating who mugged a girl as reported in the local paper. Then there’s ‘Black Void’ who is brought in by The Dark Spartan to teach him some defense techniques after his wife worries about his safety on the streets.
Perhaps it’s the inherent comic book geek in me, but the documentary sees the men behind the masks which is a huge contradiction to the nature of their alter-egos and can prove, if not already, a detriment to their respective vigilante causes. When you get past that almost involuntary thought and initial smirking and mouth-agape disbelief, you can see that each draws upon those archetypal tenants of what comprises a superhero. Like their comic-idols, they’re flawed or have had or continue to suffer from some sort of trauma, but where the difference is drawn is that for them, being able to don some threads – particularly awesome in the case of The Black Spartan – is so much more an escape than a disguise. It’s a coping mechanism, a release enabling them to feel empowered and capable of avenging and righting past personal wrongs by way of helping others in a karma return.
There’s no doubt that they themselves believe strongly in wanting to make a change, and you do have to commend them somewhat for both their stalwart beliefs and commitment and that they seek some semblance of comfort in identifying with a character, but still you’ll find yourself uncomfortable over the twenty-five minutes. It’s sad, not in the pathetic connotation of the term, and by the end of it, personally, I felt genuinely guilty for laughing at the beginning. These are people who have found an avenue, granted an unconventional one, to deal with their problems. It’s therapy, just not confined to a couch in an cushy office.
The director could have easily taken the exploitative route, and while he didn’t I’m sure that some viewers did derive some self-satisfying humour from it – and I was ready to do so myself going in – but Watt’s has to be applauded for the tasteful direction of the documentary and I felt surprisingly humbled by the time the credits rolled to have been afforded this short glean into their lives.
For English folk, you can watch ‘Superheroes of Suburbia’ on 4oD for the next month. The rest of the world, I’m sure there are other means of acquiring it, but be warned, your friendly neighborhood superhero and/or the police might come a-knocking.
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