- This video is brought to you by Upstart.
(electronic music)
What's up Wisecrack, Helen again.
Now that Henry Cavill is off to kick some ass
in the new Netflix adaptation of "The Witcher,"
will we get more Man of Steel?
Who knows, but in the meantime, if you wanna see
what Superman would be like as a sociopath,
then you can hop on over to Amazon
and check out its phenomenal series, "The Boys."
Whereas films like "The Avengers" ask us to imagine
how rad it would be to have caped crusaders
marauding through our cities, "The Boys" asks us to imagine
how utterly dystopic it would be.
"The Boys" gives us superheroes who are
not only celebrities, but obscenely rich,
with endorsements and movie rights.
And while it explores many issues,
like should superheroes serve in the military,
or how pervy would the Invisible Man be--
- Ah.
- Perhaps no issue is more prevalent than domination.
And no, we're not talking about
the whips and gags kind of domination.
Okay, there's some of that.
But no, we're talking about the philosophical sense
of domination, the unfair use of power
against a group or individual.
So, sit back, strap in, and strap on your,
you know what, let's just get right into it,
in this Wisecrack Edition on the Philosophy of "The Boys,"
and yeah, spoilers ahead.
But before we get into it,
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And now, back to the show.
First, a quick primer.
"The Boys" follows the journey of everyman Hughie,
who spends his days working at an electronics shop
and living with his dad, Simon Pegg.
But Hughie's life is turned upside down
when world's fastest man, A-Train,
literally does a hit and run on his girlfriend,
leaving her in a, well. (mass thuds)
A-Train is a member of The Seven,
an elite hero squad owned and operated by Vought.
While Vought tries to pay Hughie off,
our boy instead opts for revenge.
In doing so, teams up with Billy Butcher,
a not-so-ethical ex-CIA officer
with a serious hatred for supes.
What starts out as a corporate espionage job
quickly spirals out of control.
The team grows, they shove a bomb up a superhero's ass--
- [Man] (bleep) did you do to me?
- They stuck a lump of plastic up your bum, son.
- [Helen] And they eventually uncover the terrifying truth
that one is not born, but rather, becomes a superhero.
- Samaritan's Embrace, led by Ezekiel,
but bankrolled by Vought, has been shipping
Compound V to 53 hospitals across the country since 1971
and gift wrapping it as polio vaccine.
- Are you telling me that God's not reaching up
the (bleep) of American girls and blessing babies?
- [Helen] Unfortunately, this information isn't enough
to bring down the company, especially in light of the wave
of supervillain terrorism that's spreading across the globe.
Now, before we get into the nitty-gritty,
we have to lay some ground rules for what domination,
philosophically speaking, entails.
Now, there a lot of definitions from a lot
of different philosophers and schools of thought,
but for this episode we're going to talk about
philosopher Cristophe McCammon's blanket definition.
As he argues, there are roughly five central traits
that characterize domination, and you can see each tenant
rear its ugly head throughout season one of "The Boys."
Number one, domination is a kind of power
exerted over people.
It can be physical, like the big kid wailing
on the scrawny kid in the playground,
or it can be social, like losing your job if you snitch
on your coworker for spying on you in the bathroom.
(woman sighs)
- Translucent, you're a (bleep) damn pervert.
- Or if you say you don't like "The Mandalorian."
Number two, domination involves an imbalance of power.
In fact, the word domination actually comes
from the Latin word Dominus.
And while the particular Latin phrasing might bring to mind
the blood and boobs of the Starz show "Spartacus,"
it actually means master as in a master slave relationship.
Obviously, a big source of an imbalance of power
could arise from literally shooting death rays
out of your eyes, or even just being able
to pull enough strings to let a washed-up super
see his estranged daughter.
Number three, domination has many forms.
You don't have to be beating the stuffing
out of someone to dominate them.
Simply abusing their trust and making them believe a lie
is enough, not unlike how Vought's lead scientists
manipulated Homelander by telling him his son was dead.
Number four, domination is in some sense
arbitrary or unconstrained.
It's mostly up to the dominating party to decide
how and when to use their powers, no matter how ridiculous.
You know when a king literally kills the messenger,
just because he's pissed at the bad news?
Yeah, that's domination.
Or when Homelander goes against protocol
to kill a sniper who posed no threat to him?
Also domination.
- [Homelander] You know the drill, he shot at us first.
(machine gun fires)
- And finally, number five, domination is in some way
morally unjust or socially illegitimate.
In other words, domination just feels wrong,
as if the moral or legal rights
of the dominated are somehow trampled.
Domination goes in every direction in "The Boys."
Characters dominate other characters,
from basic illegal imprisonment, to gross abuse of power,
to kidnapping your child.
There's also the recurring joke of animal domination.
Since The Deep can communicate with sea life,
he is admittedly distressed by the lobster tank
at the grocery store, or the imprisonment
of his dolphin comrades.
And sure, we could continue about all the people
wronged by supes, but what's really striking about the show
is its focus on systems of domination,
rather than just individual acts.
That is, the show frames how domination occurs
in a larger framework of two particular systems,
hero worship, and capitalism.
Importantly, in both instances,
our victims on some level accept this domination.
It's called, in philosophy speak,
socially legitimate domination.
And yeah, I know that sounds a bit like an oxymoron
since by our own definition domination
is socially illegitimate, so, let me explain.
Socially legitimate domination is still domination.
It's just one that we tacitly accept,
whether through our laws, culture,
or just our collective shrugs.
When Nestle negotiates rights to bottle water
from the government while everyone around them
is in dire need of water,
that's socially legitimate domination.
As philosopher Michael Thompson puts it,
the "norms, institutions, and values of the community
"shape the rationality of subjects to accept forms of power
"and social relations and collective goals
"as legitimate forms of authority."
In simpler terms, what makes domination socially legitimate
is the fact that society provides some
baked in justification for it.
Socially legitimate domination is power
under color of right, one that victims internalize
as legitimate because society tells them so.
It's the reason why that despite there being
a whole support group for victims of superheroes,
they still manage to idolize their dominators.
- Did it ever occur to you that I split your spine,
or broke your (bleep) just for a laugh?
Where's your (bleep) rage?
- So, how do socially legitimate systems
dominate in "The Boys"?
Let's start with Wisecrack's favorite
dead horse, capitalism.
While there is a lot of evil (bleep) going on in "The Boys,"
perhaps nothing preoccupies the show
like the corrupting influence of money.
Superheroes are not exactly upholders of virtue and justice,
but costumed influencers,
quibbling over revenue and royalties.
- [Translucent] We've all got, what four points each?
- The (bleep), you got four points?
- [Helen] Their services are sold to cities
to the tune of millions of dollars.
- Well, we're thinking about making a move.
- How much?
- 300 million a year.
- [Helen] And they make just as much
in lucrative movie and merch deals.
- Our latest film "G-Men, World War" just grossed
shy of $1.7 billion worldwide.
- [Helen] In chasing their bottom line,
superheroes blur the line between person and product.
As a result, even our heroes find themselves
being dominated, forced to throw away their values
and even their loved ones.
- [Man] A-Train, how you celebrating tonight?
Any special girl?
- Well, you know me.
I'm always in the game, but I'm too fast to catch.
- [Helen] Starlight is chastised for doing
a plainclothes beat-down of some would-be rapists,
until popular sentiment shifts,
allowing Vought to plaster over Starlight's own values
with a rebrand that sells sex under a feminist label.
- It's totally you, it's bold, it's brave, it's feminist.
- How is that feminist? - Empowering.
It says you're confident in your own skin,
and you're not afraid to show it.
- Most importantly, it tells the story
of your transformation
of what you're going through.
- This hits on a few of the facets of domination.
Power exerted over Starlight,
who must shut up and play nice?
Check.
An imbalance of power between
her insanely rich employers and her?
Check.
A company that is unconstrained in their power
because they are literally in the business
of saving the world?
Check.
Remember how we described socially legitimate domination
as power under color of right.
The PR employees couching their arguments
in feminist terms is exactly that, an abuse of power,
cloaked under the guise of being #woke.
Of course, when Starlight tries to push back,
the capitalist machine then drops the pretense
of benevolence, either get with it, or get out.
- It's my body.
I have the right to choose how much of it I show.
- That is true, you do.
You just won't be doing it in The Seven,
unless it is wrapped in that.
- [Helen] What Starlight experiences, however,
is far from unique.
"The Boys" takes time to explore how domination
doesn't just affect some permanent underclass of victims,
but even those who go on to dominate others.
This is, because in many cases,
people have accepted and internalized the status quo
as inevitable and socially legitimate.
Take A-Train, the fastest man alive,
who also murdered Hughie's girlfriend while smuggling drugs.
His whole life is dedicated to maintaining his brand
and his spot on The Seven.
He's unable to disclose his relationship
to a fellow superhero simply because it would be bad
for his public image, and thus bad for business.
Maintaining these public facing personas also happens to be
their one weakness, as Billy Butcher explains.
- You're a smart lad, but you still ain't tweaked
to the one weakness they all got.
Their reputations.
- [Helen] But A-Train doesn't just find himself
living a double life, he also finds himself forced to make
some pretty awful decisions, even by his low standards.
For starters, he chooses to inject himself
with superhero steroids, lest he lose his place on The Seven
and his lucrative endorsements.
- You know what Stillwell told me?
If I don't win, I'm out.
- [Helen] But if a life of drugs wasn't bad enough,
he also decides to dabble in murder,
killing Popclaw to keep his involvement
with Compound V a secret.
Importantly, A-Train views girlfriend murder
as the only possibility available to him.
In his words, it wasn't his fault.
- I did, and it was your fault!
- In believing that he has no choice in the matter,
A-Train is experiencing what philosopher Michael Thompson
would call "constitutive domination,"
the abused are unwilling to contest their status
because they accept the system that creates it.
In one of the show's more transparent moments,
the psychotic Superman says this.
- They're just people.
But they snap their fingers, and we jump, why?
Why do we do that?
- 'Cause they sign our checks?
- [Helen] But there are also more subtle ways
capitalism forces everyone and everything
to bend the knee in "The Boys."
The best example is Vought's campaign to integrate
superheroes directly into the U.S. army's chain of command,
thereby securing a lucrative federal contract.
In Vought's quest to get Congress' approval,
it goes beyond the typical corporate shmoozing.
Vought's most important VP, Madelyn Stillwell,
goes so far as to blackmail a lead senator with a sex tape.
In another instance, Vought actually deploys Homelander
and Maeve to stop a hijacking,
all without the government's authorization.
Even after Captain Sociopath fries the cockpit
and dooms everyone to a watery grave,
Vought is able to cover up their involvement
and still pitch their case.
- We arrived three minutes after the plane went down.
Why?
'Cause we're not in the chain of command.
- [Helen] In both instances, Vought is able to act
outside of both the law of the land and the law
of public opinion, unduly manipulating U.S. policy.
It's socially legitimate domination,
not just upon the voters,
but the government institutions themselves.
In exercising such arbitrary power over the government
and its people, Vought brings to life
President Eisenhower's infamous warning
about the military industrial complex.
Eisenhower, the five star general in command
of Allied forces in World War II,
warned in his farewell address of an arms industry
that could one day warp U.S. policies for its own purposes.
He said, "in the councils of government,
"we must guard against the acquisition
"of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought,
"by the military-industrial complex.
"The potential for the disastrous rise
"of misplaced power exists and will persist.
"We must never let the weight of this combination
"endanger our liberties or democratic processes."
It seems then that Vought is the epitome
of the dreaded military industrial complex.
In its quest for profits, Vought and Homelander
literally create war for the purpose of selling peace.
As Homelander explains, he's created super powered terrorist
to enable a super powered military.
- Did it ever occur to you that
a supe terrorist showing up
exactly when we needed him to was
a pretty (bleep) incredible coincidence?
It's almost like someone planned it.
Me, I made him.
- Here the show draws on real life,
where governments often fabricate threats
to justify their own agenda.
But in the face of supervillain terrorists,
it's easy to forget that sometimes the threat
comes from the heroes themselves.
Caught in the paradoxical belief that
an arms race is the only way to be safe,
it's no wonder the U.S. has to bend to Vought's demands.
Again, they've got no choice.
- Frankly, it doesn't even matter how the enemy
got the Compound V.
What matters is they've got it.
It is a whole new world now.
And there is only one company that has the product
to fight back.
My company, my product.
- But while money might explain how Vought
manages to make superheroes and politicians alike do
its bidding, it doesn't really explain how it gets
society at large to go along with it.
After all, there are plenty of billion dollar corporations
that wouldn't be able to pay people to like them,
(coughs) Facebook (coughs).
So, what gives?
Well, we think it comes down to hero worship.
Throughout the entire first season,
we're continually reminded how special heroes are.
They're afforded special legal protection,
enjoy unparalleled fame, and get to attend
some pretty cool parties too.
In the words of superhero-cum-prophet, Ezekiel,
superheroes are God's gift to America.
- Why were we chosen?
(audience cheering) (audience applauds)
Because of the Lord.
Because we were born with his power,
because we believe!
- [Helen] Of course, you don't get to be special
unless everyone else is ordinary,
or as the wise Captain Psycho once said--
- We're a different (bleep) breed.
We shine with the golden light of providence,
but you, you've been helping these (bleep) mud people
to go against us. - No.
- [Helen] It's little surprise then that this culture
of hero worship inevitably crushes our fellow mud people.
Hughie, for example, has no legal recourse
after A-Train kills his girlfriend, and even worse,
his dad doesn't even understand what he's upset about.
- Thought Robin's service was nice.
- [Helen] Similarly, a whole AA-style support group exists
for casualties of superhero antics,
except all its members are so indoctrinated in a culture
of hero worship that they make excuses
for the people that harmed them.
- As you can imagine,
it snapped off.
The crazy thing is
I still miss her.
It's like that's the cost of a mortal like me
for being with a god like her.
- [Helen] According to philosopher Christopher Lebron,
this cultural belief system is wrapped up in what he calls
justifying myths, or the socially accepted lies
that dominators use to hide their abuses of power.
After all, it's a lot easier to internalize
your own domination if you believe it's at the hands
of some divinely anointed superheroes.
Interestingly, though, "The Boys" seems to support the idea
that if we attack these justifying myths,
we might might actually stop the domination.
Specifically, we see this interplay
with the character, Starlight.
Originally, Starlight believed that she was chosen by God
to save people, but ever since she joined The Seven,
that seemed less and less true.
Her crime work was scripted, and most of her time
was spent doing PR tours and photo shoots,
until a religious superhero rally
made her question that myth.
- Every single word that I say up here,
I'm reading from a script.
I didn't write any of these words.
I don't even know if I believe in them.
- [Helen] And when Hughie deals a death blow to that myth,
telling Starlight the truth of how superheroes are made,
Starlight comes out a better person.
She's not scared to fight back against Vought
and rescues Hughie and "The Boys" in the process, why?
Because in place of that legitimizing myth
that enabled abuses of power, Starlight is able to find
her own moral compass.
- Hughie, go!
Or else you'll get caught.
- So, what do you think, Wisecrack?
Is the Monopoly Man really dominating us
and we're all just going along so we can make a buck,
or are there other, more visible forms
of domination we're ignoring?
And if we call out this domination,
if we break from the myth of thinking it's okay,
will it really change anything?
Well, hit us up in the comments
and let us know what you think.
And before you go, I wanna give
one last shout out to Upstart.
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Thanks for watching guys, peace.
(electronic music)