Steve Rogers, the MCU, and American Exceptionalism | A Video Essay

Why is Captain America always right? And how does this factor into real-life belief in American Exceptionalism? In the (belated) fourth Pillar of Garbage community video, we're finding out. Join me as we take a journey from The First Avenger, through the Winter Soldier and Civil War, touching on points from the Avengers films, to determine the covert ways in which Chris Evans' beloved hero and the narratives of his films contribute to cultural issues like nationalism and national myth.

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Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
1:17 Why is Cap Always Right?
2:46 How Civil War Backs Steve
8:29 The Lie of the Flat Arc
11:41 Idealism and National Values
17:27 American Exceptionalism
19:51 A Better Future?
21:01 Finishing Up

#captainamerica #marvel #videoessay

Captain America: Civil War is a 2016 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Captain America, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), and the 13th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Anthony and Joe Russo from a screenplay by the writing team of Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and stars Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America alongside an ensemble cast including Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Tom Holland, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, and Daniel Brühl. In Captain America: Civil War, disagreement over international oversight of the Avengers fractures the team into two opposing factions—one led by Steve Rogers and the other by Tony Stark (Downey). As Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world, he teams up with a fellow Avenger and S.H.I.E.L.D agent, Black Widow, to battle a new threat from history: an assassin known as the Winter Soldier.