The subject of the research is a body of media texts related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, i.e., twenty-three narratively and stylistically interconnected feature films produced in the United States between 2008 and 2019. The focus of the study is on the political narratives contained in this body of media texts, their diversity, relevance, means, and dynamics of representation. The interdisciplinary research examines a popular work of mass culture in the context of the political history of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the penetration of socio-political reality into the structure of the media text, the reflection of political processes, and the influence on the audience through the media text. It argues that this work of mass culture reflects pressing issues of American and global history/politics of recent decades, appeals to existing socio-political problems, represents various perspectives, and holds a significant degree of social criticism, among others. The methodology of the study is based on a comprehensive approach to analyzing the body of media texts, summarizing the methodology of research fields such as cultural studies, political history, and art studies. System analysis, comparative analysis, and factor analysis methods were employed in the work. The main findings indicate a systematic and thoughtful engagement of the MCU's storylines with the historical-political reality of the 20th-21st centuries, predominantly in its American aspect. Among the themes identified in the analyzed body of media texts are: the decline of the unipolar world and the crisis of American exceptionalism, international terrorism, issues of trust in government and the limits of personal freedom, distortion of history for the sake of current political agendas, social contradictions, and the devaluation of fundamental values. Obvious narrative parallels are drawn to the foreign policy course of the American administration of the 2000s and 2010s, along with commentary on certain theses by Western authors related to the research topic. Overall, it is demonstrated that works of mass culture can serve as a multi-layered media text, interacting differently with various categories of audiences. The novelty also lies in the holistic and comprehensive examination of the body of 23 films within a single logic.
Sergey Viktorovich Osipov (Sun,) studied this question.