Captain America's Empire: Reflections on Identity, Popular Culture, and Post-9/11 Geopolitics

Author(s): Jason Dittmer

Source: Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 95, No. 3 (Sep., 2005), pp.
626-643
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 CaptainAmerica'sEmpire:Reflections
on Identity,
PopularCulture,andPost-9/11Geopolitics
JasonDittmer
Department andGeography,
ofGeology Southern
Georgia University

Thisarticleintroduces
comicbooksas a medium throughwhichnational andgeopolitical
identity are
scripts
narrated.
Thisextensionofthepopular literature
geopolitics usestheexample ofpost-11
September2001("9/11")
CaptainAmerica comicbooksto integratevarious strands
oftheory from andthestudy
geography
political of
nationalismtobreaknewground inthestudy ofpopular culture, andgeopolitics.
identity, Thearticle
beginswith
an introduction
to thecharacterofCaptainAmerica anda discussion of
oftherolehe playsin therescaling
American andtheinstitutionalization
identity ofthenation's space.The article
symbolic continues
byshowing
howvisualrepresentations
ofAmerican landscapesinCaptainAmericawerecritical
toconstructing
geopolitical
"realities."
A readingofpost-9/11issuesoftheCaptain America comicbookrevealsa nuancedandultimately
ambiguous geopolitical thatinterrogates
script America's territorialization.
post-9/11 KeyWords: culture,
popular
American nationalism,
identity, post-9/11politics,
Captain America.

andtheCultureWars
Scale,Hegemony, theattachmentofsymbolic
meanings or the
to territory,
creationofsymbolic is
shape(Paasi1991;quotation from
opulargeopolitics,or the construction of scripts 2003, 113):
thatmoldcommonperceptions ofpoliticalevents
(O Tuathail1992; Dalby 1993; Sharp1993), is Boundaries thesociety
penetrate innumerous and
practices
key a fullunderstanding
to of bothnationalidentities discourses whichtheterritory
through exists
andachieves
and globalorders.One ofthefundamental assumptions institutionalized
meanings.Hence,itispolitical,
economic,
oftheprimary global"geo-graph" (0 Tuathail1996),or cultural, andotherpractices,
governmental andtheasso-
inscriptionof the earth'ssurface, is the divisionof the ciatedmeanings,thatmakea territoryandconcomitantly
worldinto discretestates,each one ostensibly inde- territorialize life.Theseelements
everyday becomepartof
pendent,sovereign, equal, and occupiedby a discrete dailylifethrough socialization,
spatial bywhich
theprocess
cultureor nation.Otherscholarshave questionedthe as members
peoplearesocialized ofterritorial
groups.
ontologicalprimacy ofsuchstatesand nations(Ander-
son 1991;Agnew1994) and haveconcentrated on how One wayin whichthe symbolic meaningassociated
boundedterritories and identities are constructed and withtheseboundaries materializes is through the pro-
policed(Paasi 1991,1996). ductionand consumption of popularculture,which
The divisionoftheinternational politicalsystem into leads to theinternalizationofthemythic and symbolic
sovereign statesremainsa largely unchallenged premise aspectsofnationalidentities (Edwardson 2003). Popular
ofpopulardiscourse. Indeed,challenges to theassump- culture,in otherwords,is one of the waysin which
tionsoftheinternational system are seen as challenges peoplecometo understand theirpositionbothwithina
toa moralgeography ofextreme importance: "Bush[ina larger collectiveidentity withinan even broader
and
victory speech after the firstGulfWar]did not justify geopoliticalnarrative, or script.Marstonand Smith
whythenotionofnationhood wasso important, norwhy (2001) have made the pointthat collectiveidentity
its protectiondemandedthe ultimateof sacrifices. He formation involvesthe negotiation of manydifferent
assumedthat his audiencewouldrealizethat a war, scales,includingthe fullcontinuum from theindividual/
wagedbynationsagainstthenation,whichhad sought body to the Thus,
global/universal. the horizontaliden-
to abolisha nation,was necessary to affirm the sacred tityissuesthatrevolvearoundtheSelf/Other nexusand
principleof nationhood"(Billig1995, 2). As institu- otherboundary-formation processes(as explainedlater)
tionalizedregions,statesare bestunderstood as an on- areinextricablylinkedthrough geopolitical narrativesto
of
goingprocess creating and maintaining territorial verticalissuesofscale.Thisis a criticallinkthatenables
and
practices ideologies. Paasi describes the region-for- hundredsof millionsof individuals freely to assumea
mationprocessin fourparts,thesecondpartofwhichis commonidentity.
AnnalsoftheAssociation
ofAmerican 95(3), 2005, pp. 626-643 ? 2005 byAssociationofAmericanGeographers
Geographers,
Initialsubmission,
June2004; revisedsubmission, October2004; finalacceptance,December2004
PublishedbyBlackwellPublishing,
350 Main Street,Malden,MA 02148,and 9600 Garsington Road,OxfordOX4 2DQ, U.K.
 CaptainAmerica'sEmpire:Reflections PopularCulture,and Post-9/11
on Identity, Geopolitics 627

CaptainAmericais an exampleof popularculture's [H]egemony is constructed not onlythrough political

role in thisprocess.Significant to thisrole is Captain but
ideologies also, more immediately, through detailed
America'sabilityto connectthe politicalprojectsof of
scripting some of themost ordinaryand mundane aspects
American nationalism, internal order, andforeign policy of everyday life.Gramsci's concept of hegemony positsa
(all formulated at thenationalor globalscale) withthe for
place popular
significant culturein anyattempt to un-
scale of the individual, or the body.The characterof derstandtheworkings ofsociety becauseoftheveryeve-
rydaynessand apparently nonconflictual natureof such
CaptainAmericaconnectsthesescalesbyliterally em-
of the of
American forreadersa hero productions.Anypolitical analysis operation
bodying identity, presenting dominance must take fullaccount ofthe role
of institutions
bothof,and for,thenation.Younger readersmayeven
ofpopular culture inthecomplex milieuthatensures the
fantasizeabout being Captain America,connecting ofcultural thus norms.
reproduction (and political)
themselvesto the nationin theirimaginations. His
characterization as an explicitly Americansuperhero Gramsci's conceptofhegemony isnotstatic,butinstead,
establishes himas botha representative oftheidealized "a processofcontinualcreationthat,givenitsmassive
Americannationand as a defender of the American scale,isboundtobe uneveninthedegreeoflegitimacy it
statusquo. Thisimagecoincideswiththedefinition ofa commandsand to leave some roomforantagonistic
territorialsymbol, thatis,"abstract expressions ofgroup culturalexpressions to develop"(Adamson1980,174).
solidarityembodying theactionsofpolitical, economic, Thus,hegemonic constructions andtheirantagonists are
and culturalinstitutions in the continualreproduction in needofcontinual buttressing byactiveagents,in this
and legitimation ofthesystem ofpractices thatcharac- case,theproducers ofpopularculture.
terizetheterritorial unitconcerned"(Paasi 1991,245). Comic booksare oftenequatedwithchildren's en-
Captain America and otherterritorial symbols from tertainment, and,historically, they have been associated
popularculturecontribute to structuresofexpectations withnegativeinfluences such as juveniledelinquency,
(Tannen1979),whichcan be understood as a summa- perhapsmostfamously in Wertham's Seduction of the
tionofthesocialeffects ofregionalinstitutionalization. Innocent (1954). Nevertheless, the producers of comic
These structures are distinctfromstructures of feeling books (and CaptainAmerica,specifically) view their
(R. Williams1977), whichfocuson practical,lived products as morethanjustlowbrow entertainment; they
consciousness. Rather,structures of expectations influ- view theirworksas opportunities to educateand so-
encehowpeoplefrom a regioninterpret newinformation cialize.In an interview on NationalPublicRadio'sAll
or situations.Thus,geopolitical eventsare interpreted ThingsConsidered (2002), CaptainAmericaeditor, Axel
through the lens of structures of expectations, and Alonso, touched on this view among the production
so, commonstructures promotecommongeopolitical staff:"[W]hat I'd say is our responsibility as writers,
scripts.Thesescripts areattempts to createorderoutof editorsand creatorsis to createnarratives
artists, that
the complexity of globaleventsby constructing narra- have a point,thatentertain and seekto do something
tivesthrough whichthe region'splace in the worldis more,perhapseducateon somelevel."In thissense,the
understandable andlegitimate. Whilescripts arederived production staffof CaptainAmericafitGramsci'sdefi-
frommanysources,one sourcewithsignificant inputis nitionof organicintellectuals: not distinguished as in-
certainly popularculture. tellectualsbytheirprofession, thesemen (traditionally,
The roleofpopularculturein constructing geopolit- the industry has been dominated bymales)nevertheless
ical identitiesand scriptshas increasingly becomethe "workconsciously fortheirownsocialclass,convinced
subjectof criticalinquiry(Sharp 1993, 1998; Dodds that it has a historical'right'at a givenmoment"
2003). At theheartofpopularculture'simportance to (Lawner1973,44). WhileGramsci wasclearly interested
the constructionof national and global geopolitical in economic classes, here social class can also referto
scriptsis Antonio Gramsci'sconcept of hegemony.He- as both are categoriesof belongingthat re-
nationality,
gemony,the basis of strongnational government,is quire active constructionand support.Thus, through
predicatedon consensus,as contrastedwith coercion, the mediumof theircomic book, these men help create
whichGramsciperceivesas the last resortof weak gov- structuresof expectationsthat consequentlyinfluence
ernments(Adamson 1980). While Gramsciwas writing the way readersview the world and locate theirown
in the contextof a Marxistrevolution,his ideas resonate place as Americanswithinit. While theyare more em-
stronglywith capitalistformulationsof nationhood as poweredthanordinarycitizensbecause oftheircloseness
well. Sharp (2000, 31) however,uses Gramsci'sidea of to the publishingmedia, they are still constrainedby
hegemonyto inserta space forpopular culturein the marketprinciples,theirparentcompany'seditorialde-
literatureof nationalismand identity: cisions,and otherlimitingfactors.Still,the role of these
628 Dittmer

meninshapingpublicattitudes
hasbecomethesubject ationsofAmericans. Furthermore, thispoliticalsignifi-
ofscrutiny. is
cance magnified by the importance ofcomicbooksin
Americanyouthculture.Accordingto the Simmons
Captain America and the Culture Wars MarketResearchBureau'sStudyof Kids and Teens
(2002), thenetyouthaudience(agessixto seventeen)
Ifcomicbookssuchas Captain America seemtoofa- of the twolargestcomicbook publishers (Marveland
cetiousandfantastic to be educational, is
that under- DC) is almostfourteen million.While it is impossibleto
standable. Manyfactors leadtothesocialdenigration of measuretheimpactofcomicbooksandsimilar mediaon
thecomicbookmedium, including lowproduction val- the politicalattitudesof childrenand youths,they
ues (comicbooksarestillprinted on pulppaper)and nonethelessdo participate in a recursiverelationship
unrealistic storylines (culminating in battles between between elites advocating particular geopolitical narra-
twosuperpowered beingswhohave full conversations tivesandthepopulargeo-graphs distributed bymedia to
whileinmelee).Still,forthepurpose ofthisarticle, the be consumedbythepublic.The impactofcomicbooks
dividebetween low,middle, and highbrow culture is on (geo)political attitudesis heightened because they
all
artificial; three have political content and therefore reach their young audience at the developmental mo-
arerelevant tothosewhoareseeking tosculpt American mentwhensociospatial frameworks arebeingformulated
identity. Indeed,the seemingly innocentnatureof (Dijkink1996).
thecomicbookmedium contributes toitssignificance in Sciencefiction, thegenrein whichsuperhero comic
thebattleoverAmerican identity becauseit usually bookssuchas CaptainAmericacan mostbroadlybe lo-
operates beneath thegazeofmostcultural critics.
This cated,has beentheobjectofrecentanalysis bygeogra-
battleoverthemeaning ofAmerica hasbeentermed the phers.Sciencefiction taleshave interested geographers
"Culture Wars"(originally byconservative commentator because of theirusefulnessin "exploringalternative
andoccasional presidential candidate, PatBuchanan), geographies ofpowerand socialrelations"(Morehouse
withpartisans onbothsidesscanning popular culture for 2002, 84; see also Kitchinand Kneale 2001 and Warf
subversive messages or
(intentionalotherwise) thatun- 2002). Furthermore, geography has latelyedged ever
dermine orchallenge their favored geopolitical or
script closerto the subject ofcomic books,eventothepointof
American identity. JohnNeyReiber, theauthor ofthe studying politicalcartoons.KlausDodds (1998), forex-
Captain America comics analyzed laterinthisarticle, had ample,has engagedin a criticalanalysisof political
thistosayabouttheambiguous, yetadamant, reaction cartoonist Steve Bell's workby lookingcloselyat the
to his post-11September 2001 (hereinafter and
"9/11") spatiality iconography oftheimagesBellcreatedin
storyline(Newsarama ...
2002):"[T]he Captain Amer- hiscritiqueofthemid-1990sBosnianWar.In doingso,
ica story arc ... has beencalledright-wing, left-wing, he has situatedhisworkwithinthelargerbodyofliter-
communist,
jingoist, anti-American andflag-waving." To aturein criticalgeopolitics.As Dodds (1998, 171) says,
furtherillustratethepolitical of
importance symbolthe of "[I]n contrast to the existingliterature on iconography
Captain America, consider the titleof an article(available within cultural geography, critical geopolitics has not
online) in The National Review byradioshowhostand engagedincloseanddetailedreadings of visual material.
filmcritic MichaelMedved(2003):"Captain America, Imageshaveeitherbeenemployed to illustrate a general
Traitor? The comic-book herogoes anti-American."analysisorusedoccasionally to illuminate specificissues
Medvedconcludes thearticle bywriting, such as media war reporting."This is in contrast to other
disciplines,since there have recently been manyaca-
Wemight expect suchblame-America logicfrom Holly- demicstudiesofcomicbooksin thefieldsofsociology,
woodactivists,academicapologists, ortheangry protesters history, and literature(e.g., Reynolds1992; Nyberg
whoregularly fillthestreets ofEuropean capitals (andmany 1998; Brooker2001; Klock 2002). HistorianRyan Ed-
majorAmericancities).When such sentiments turnup,
wardson(2003) has even writtenabout "Captain Can-
however,hiddenwithinstar-spangled,
nostalgicpackaging
ofcomicbooksaimedat kids,weneedtoconfront thedeep uck" and his role in Canadian nationalism.This work
culturalmalaiseafflicting
thenationon theeve ofwar. shouldbe seen,in part,as an extensionofthesescholars'
veryfinework.
Clearly,the "culturewarriors" that have dominated This articleis divided into three parts,each united
Americanpoliticssincethe early1990sare payingat- withthe othersthroughtheiruse of CaptainAmerica
tentionto CaptainAmerica; theyhaveattachedpolitical textsand imagesto provideinsightintothe construction
significanceto its content,in part because Captain of Americanidentity.The articlebeginswith an intro-
Americais a character thatis familiar
to severalgener- duction to the character of Captain America and a
 CaptainAmerica'sEmpire:Reflections PopularCulture,and Post-9/11
on Identity, Geopolitics 629

discussionof the role he playsin the rescalingof fessor

Reinstein. witha strange,
Injected seething liquid,
Americanidentityand the institutionalizationof the a transformation.
Rogersundergoesstartling Growing in
nation'ssymbolicspaceand continues byengaging with and
height mass,Rogers's muscles and
expand tighten to
theoriesoflandscape,iconography, and nationalismbe- thepeakofhumanperfection.No longer a frailpatriot,
foreshowing theirconnection to CaptainAmericacomic physique,proud name,anda
he nowhasa massive a new
books.In thefinalsection,a readingofpost-9/11 issues newest
Thenation's
boldmission. "super-soldier,"
Captain
oftheCaptainAmerica comicbookwillreveala nuanced is
America, born.
and ultimately -(Wright2001,30,who,inturn,quotesSimonandKirby
ambiguous scriptthatinter-
geopolitical
1941,1-2)
rogatesAmerica'spost-9/11 territorialization.

the Captain Thus,evenin itsfirst issue,CaptainAmericais partici-

Deconstructing of geopolitical"reality"
patingin the construction
It mayseemobviousthatCaptainAmericais a symbol through itsdescription oftheU.S. rolein theworld.The
forAmerica,yetitis thisobviousness
thatmakeshimso insider/outsiderdialecticoutlinesa globalorderwitha
usefulforstudy: "war-mongering" Europeanda "peace-loving" America.
Clearly identified as a territorial
symbol ofAmerica by
The doubleneglectof banalnationalisminvolves aca- hisred,white,and bluestar-spangled uniform, Captain
demicsforgetting
whatis routinely Peoplein
forgotten. Americais partofwhatRenan(1990,17) hascalledthe
established
nationsoverlooktheroutine flaggingofna- "cultoftheflag."VillainsoftenmockCaptainAmerica
tionhood.
The flagsmeltintothebackground, as "our" forhis uniform, whichis in facta vaguelyridiculous
worldis experienced
particular as theworld. The routine displayof starsand stripescompleted bya pirate'sgloves
absent-mindedness, innotnoticing
involved unwaved flags andbootsand,inexplicably, smallwingson hisheadthat
orothersymbolsofnationhood,
hasitsreflectionin aca- resemble thoseon theanklesoftheRomangodMercury.
demictheory. nevermockhis
friends
Nevertheless, CaptainAmerica's
-(Billig 1995,49-50) outfitor thinkit odd becauseto themit is in theback-
Since Captain Americais so clearlya symbolof ground-whatBillig(1995,40) wouldcallan "unwaved
flag."Onlyvillainswoulddareto questionhis fashion
America,he providesan opportunity to analyzethe
sense.That CaptainAmericais intendedto represent
changingmeaningand symbolic shape of Americaas theAmerican idealcannotbe seenas simply
the regionis continually If identity recognition
(re)constructed. is
a performance, thenAmericanidentity
of ontological fact,but is insteada truthclaimabout
has been per-
American-ness. Stan Lee, comicbookicon and former
formed monthly since 1964 in CaptainAmericacomic
books.CaptainAmericawas createdin 1940,priorto
writerforCaptainAmerica, arguesthatCaptainAmerica
represents the best aspectsof America:courageand
the entryof the UnitedStatesintoWorldWarII, but
honesty(personal correspondence withauthor2004). A
afterthewarhadbeenongoing in Europeand EastAsia
forsome time.TimelyComics (laterMarvelComics) product of his times,however, CaptainAmerica's image
and originmirror theAmericanidentity/dream of1941.
createdthecharacter in an attempt to tapintothepa-
Blonde-haired, blue-eyed SteveRogers(withhisalmost
trioticconsciousnessthatwas awakeningin America
obsessivelyAnglo-American name)overcomes his own
(stealingthe conceptand plagiarizing partsof the uni- weakness to become a soldierforhis
formfroma rivalcompany'scharacternamed "The physical proud
country.
Shield"; see Ro 2004). Fromits beginning, Captain serum"is responsiblefor
America Althoughthe"super-soldier
helpedconstruct an identity forAmericaand a
his physique, the successofCaptainAmericain crime
geopoliticalscript:
fightingis clearlyattributedin the storiesto his hard
It is thespring
of 1941."The ruthless ofEu- work, an extension of the Horatio Alger storyinto
war-mongers
the world of superheroes,where flyingand smashing
rope"have casttheirsightson "a peace-loving America,"
and "theyouthofourcountry" heed "thecall to armfor tanks come easily to dozens of costumed vigilantes
defense."As foreignagentscarryout "a waveofsabotage (Macdonald and Macdonald 1976). Captain America's
and treason"againsttheUnitedStates,thepresident au- uniquenesscomes fromthe factthathe has fewersuper
thorizesa top-secretplan. A patrioticyoungAmerican powersthan almost any other costumedhero; his real
namedSteve Rogers,too sicklyand weak to qualifyfor skillslie in his athleticismand his leadershipskills(Lee,
standardenlistment,volunteersfora dangerous scientific personalcommunicationwithauthor,5 February2004).
experiment conductedby the nation'stop scientist,
Pro- Indeed,CaptainAmericacomicsare laced withimagesof
630 Dittmer

theCaptainpracticing hisacrobatic maneuvers orlifting killer,themanofpurely innocent intention whodraws

weights. While the drugsgiven to him by the U.S. second in the gun but
battle shoots more quickly andac-
government mayhave advantaged hisstart,hiscontin- curately than the dastardlyfoe ... In these and countless
ued successis scripted as attributable to his continued otherexamples, superheroes and -heroines exercise the
hard work.In fact,a 1990s storyline had Captain powers otherwise reservedonly for God in dealing with evil.
Americalosethesuper-soldier serum, because They are the individuated embodiments of a civilreligion
ostensibly
itwasoverloading hisbody;inreality, itwasexplained in thatseeks to redeem the world for democracy, butbymeans
the editor'scolumnthatthe creativeteammade the that transcend democratic limits on the exercise ofpower.
decisionbecauseoftheunseemly imageoftheAmerican
idealbeinghookedon a performance-enhancing drug. Indeed,thesenseofbeingpartofsomething extraordi-
Furthermore, Captain America contributes to the nary, the American nation, is inherent to the storylines
Americangeopolitical narrative bybeingultimately de- ofCaptainAmerica. The Captain'swillingness to die for
fensivein nature.Indeed,a conceitof the American hiscountry (witnessed invirtually everyissue)reinforces
geopoliticalnarrativeis thatAmericaonlyacts in the the centrality of the nationin the readership of the
nameofsecurity, not empire.Trueto thisform, young comic book. As Anderson (1991, 144) says,"Dyingfor
Steve Rogersin 1940 is a reluctant warrior, but not a one's country, which usuallyone does not choose,as-
reluctantpatriot(Kirby1969, 9): "I hate war-and sumesa moralgrandeurwhichdyingforthe Labour
senselessbloodshed-but I can'tstaybehind-while others Party,the AmericanMedicalAssociation,or perhaps
do thefighting!Theremustbe something I can do-some evenAmnesty International can notrival,fortheseare
place forme!" After this plea gains him access to the all bodies one can join or leave at easywill."Captain
"super-soldierserum" that gives him his strength and America's willingness to diefor his country illustratesthe
quickness,Captain America is provided witha weapon essentialcentrality of the nationto him and, by ex-
uniqueamongcomicbookheroes:a shield.Thiseventis tension,to everyAmericanreadingthe comicbook.
indicativeofhis association withtheAmericangeopo- Supportforthegeopolitical objectivesofAmericanex-
liticalscript.Most superheroes who use propscarry ceptionalism becomesan understood, tacitextension of
glamorous offensiveweapons;Captain America has a citizenship.
ratherunglamorous (yet patriotically colored)shield. As justillustrated, theimpactofCaptainAmericaon
While Captain Americahas become quite good at readersis different thanothersymbols ofAmerica,such
throwing hisshieldas an offensive weapon (and always as the bald eagle or the flag,because of his ability bothto
managing to have it bounce rightback to him), it is embody and to narrate America in ways that the bald
important forthe narrative of America that he embodies eagle,flag, and other symbols cannot. Such static,non-
defenseratherthanoffense. humansymbols represent and construct thenationbut
While the definition of one particularAmerican do notallowfora personalconnection to it in thesame
identityand geopolitical narrative is an impossible task way that Captain America does. Paasi (2004,542) has
due to the crosscutting currentsof politicalthought writtenabout this interconnection between place/
andhumanexperience thatinfluence opinion,thereare boundariesand scale: "Scales are not fixed,separate
definitethemesrunning through thediscourse. Beasley levelsof the social worldbut,like regions/places, are
(2001) alludesto liberty, equality,and self-government structured and institutionalized in complexwaysin de/
as thetenetsofAmericanexceptionalism. These quali- reterritorializing practicesand discoursesthatmaybe
ties takemeaningonlywhencontrasted against other partlyconcrete,powerful and bounded,but also partly
nations(Poole 1999), and so the Americansymbolic unbounded, vagueorinvisible."
shape requiresa dominantgeopoliticalscriptto define CaptainAmericaservesas a culturalproductthat
the Americansense of place and purposein a complex vaguelyand invisiblyconnectsthe reader(usuallyyoung
world.Americanexceptionalismthus also becomes the and male, aspiringto heroism),throughthe bodyof the
theme of the dominantgeopoliticalscript,withJewett hero, to the scale of the nation. This bridgingof scale,
and Lawrence (2003, 34-35) providingan excellent fromthe individualbodyto the bodypolitic,is necessary
explanationof this linkage between superheroes,geo- forthe constructionof a territoriallybounded state oc-
politics,and Americanexceptionalism: cupiedbya cohesivenation.Paasi (2004, 542) reiterates
this point: "The institutionalization/deinstitutionaliza-
[T]he elaborateeffort
at restraint
in the use of force- tion of region,place and scale are in fact inseparable
suppressinghis own aggressive
instinct-placesCaptain elementsin the perpetualprocess of regionaltransfor-
Americain the heroictradition
of theAmericancowboy mation." Thus, it is not enough to fosterterritoriality
 CaptainAmerica'sEmpire:Reflections
on Identity,
PopularCulture,and Post-9/11
Geopolitics 631

and nationalidentity; despitethe abstract

individuals, the murderer and treatsthe readerto an imageof
of
origins collective and
identity territory as a political the Captain burstinginto a room in Germanyand
must
project, the
internalize scaleofthenation. Wenow deckingHitler(featured on thecover;see Figure1) nine
turnto theconstructionofthatidentity
and territory. months before PearlHarborandtheAmerican entry into
WWII. In 1949,aftercatchingsaboteursand spieson
CaptainAmericaand the Other thehomefrontand fighting alongsideAmericantroops
in EuropeandthePacific(see Figure2) untilWWII was
CaptainAmericaservesas a territorial symbolthat completely finished, CaptainAmerica Comicsfolded.The
in
participates the construction of differencebetween title was revived in the 1950s and billedas "Captain
one region(the UnitedStates)and otherregions(the America... CommieSmasher!"in an effort to feed
restoftheworld).DerekGregory (2004, 17) illustrates symbiotically on the geopolitical narrative of the new
theroleoffiction in shapingthisFoucaldianorderim- Cold War(see Figure3). Thisrunoftheserieswasbrief,
posed on our worldviews through his discussion of perhapsbecause it did not effectively engagein that
imaginative geographies (a term originallycoined by narrative. "The series offered no further discussionof
EdwardSaid): Cold War issues beyond message the that Communists
wereevil,overweight, and poordressers" (Wright 2001,
"Their"spaceisoften seenas theinverseof"our"space:a 123).
sortofnegative, in thephotographic sensethat"they" The third,and stillongoing, incarnation of Captain
might"develop"intosomething like"us,"butalsothesite Americabeganin 1964withCaptainAmerica'srevival
ofanabsence,because "they"areseensomehow tolackthe ina NorthAtlantic
after beingfoundfrozen iceberg since
positivetonalities
thatsupposedly distinguish"us."We
WorldWar II. Interestingly, thiseffectively disavowed

....
..........
might thinkofimaginative geographies as fabrications,
a

INK...
.....
.....
wordthatusefullycombines fictionalized"
And
"something
XX's:

...
.....
.:.e
.. ....
.....
.....
.....
.....
"something madereal,"becausetheyare imaginations ..........
...
.............
. ..........
...
. ....
... ... ....
.......................
I
..
........... X:X
.... ............
...... ......
..............
.......
X. .....
.....
........ ...
...
....
..........
........
...
....
.... ....
..... .......
....
......
........... .....
...
...
.....
......
.... .........
..
givensubstance.
The effectsofimaginative geographies arenotinsignifi-

...............
cant,in partbecausetheyareperformative; theyoutline

W?i
MA ....
........
..
.....
............
......
. -'o.......
a framethrough whichtheworldcan be viewed,which
then enablesthe reader(or vieweror consumer)to
adoptthatframeand act basedon it.
To understand the symbolic and dichotomous rela- .
.......
.x:
?g op,
tionship between Captain America/U.S./Self the
and
attention
Supervillain/Georival/Other, mustbe paid to
thehistory oftheCaptainAmericaiconitself. Captain
Americarepresents a differenttypeofAmerican identity Z?; ;V
.. Z 2Q ... .......
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thanSuperman, who, as an alien come to earth,em-
4111L ..........
bodiestheultimate Americanimmigrant-the Other-

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al
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mx;....

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whois, nevertheless,willingto fightfor"truth, justice,

............"A
andtheAmerican way."Superman's oforigin
story is the
ideal Americanimmigrant narrative, withan outsider
. .........
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::;X .....
.......
....
(or Other)who adoptsa new homelandand fullyas-

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F.
similates,happilyabandoningany previousculture

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(Gordon 1998); instead,Captain America'snarrativeof

......
......
originis a 1941 nativistfantasyof individualistpatriot-
ism,withCaptain America's (and thus,America's) val-
ues contrastedagainsthis un-AmericanOthers.
The Captain, as a productof the Americanmilitary-
industrialcomplex,beginsas a tool of the establishment
and a proxyforAmericanforeignpolicy.In his firstissue,
Figure1. Thefirst
visualreference
toCaptainAmerica-thecover
when a Nazi saboteur assassinatesthe creator of the ofCaptainAmerica
Comics #1:TheCaptainactsouttheAmerican
"super-soldierserum" (Dr. Reinstein,an obvious allu- ninemonths
fantasy
geopolitical prior Several
toPearlHarbor. early
sion to Albert Einstein), Captain America captures covers
wouldfeature CaptainAmerica Hitler.
decking
632 Dittmer

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0..
..............................

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will:a ...................

................

2. Thecover
Figure ofCaptain
America #13.Likemuch
Comics of
American inWWII,Captain
propaganda America the
portrayed
Japaneseas subhuman.
3. Thecover
Figure ofCaptain
America the1950s,
#76.During
CaptainAmericabattledFifthColumnistsand Communistsabo-
the"CommieSmasher"eraofCaptainAmerica,which teursunderthetitle"CaptainAmerica... CommieSmasher!"
neverhappenedsince he was frozenin an iceberg.
"CommieSmasher"CaptainAmericawas,yearslater, groundon, it became clear that the majority of the
revealedto be an imposter. Thisdisavowalreflected the readership wantedCaptainAmericato remainin the
changing climate
political of post-McCarthy America,in UnitedStates,and,forthe mostpart,he did (Wright
whichMcCarthyite Americanism wasdeemedtobe false 2001).
patriotism. Indeed,Stan Lee, the writerwho brought In the1970s,CaptainAmericacontinued tofollowthe
backCaptainAmericain the 1960s,has said,regarding issuesof the timesin whichit was written, battling
the production process,that"everything thatis hap- againstpoverty,racism,andpollution.The splintering
of
pening at thetime a story is writtenhas an effect
on that the mythof Americanhomogeneity is documented
story, whether an obvious effector a subliminalone. We throughout theissuesofthe1970s,as CaptainAmerica
[creativestaff] are all influenced and affectedby the partnered an African
with American socialworker(The
eventsoftheworldaroundus at anygiventime"(per- Falcon) and dated a feminist. Captain Americade-
sonalcorrespondence 2004). The 1960swerea difficult scribedthisfragmentation ofAmericanidentity in the
timeto writeCaptainAmerica.As Americabecame pagesofthecomicbook(Englehart and Buscema1974,
embroiled intheVietnam War,CaptainAmerica's roleas 17): "Americans have manygoals,someof themquite
theembodiment ofAmerican valuesputhimsquarely in contrary to others.
In thelandofthefree,each ofus is
themiddleofthepoliticsofthetime.WiththeAmeri- ableto do whathe wantsto do, thinkwhathe wantsto
can peopletornbetweencompeting geopolitical
scripts, think.That'sas it shouldbe, but it makesfora great
therewas pressure bothforand againstCaptainAmer- manydifferent versionsof what Americais." In the
ica's intervention in the war in Vietnam.As the war 1980s,CaptainAmericacontinuedhispathofpolitical
 CaptainAmerica'sEmpire:Reflections PopularCulture,and Post-9/11
on Identity, Geopolitics 633

awakening thatbeganin the 1960s.Pressured 144).Herbadvocatesa secondcomponent

by the tonationalist
American government to submit to its orders,as he had
territoriality, that of territorial
bonding.
submitted in the 1940s,SteveRogersgaveup theuni- Territorial bondingis a tacticbywhichnationalism is
formand fought crimeas an independent fosteredthroughthe elites' evocationof emotional
vigilante(his
newname,"Nomad,"reflected hisplacelessness) linkagesto regionallandscapes.Herb arguesthatsuch
before
latercomingbackto the uniform and titleaftera gov-
bonding occursat thelocalscalealongside theprocessof
ernment apology. This episodeaffirmed whathad been
boundarymaking; in the case of Germany, territorial
implicitsince the Captain'sreturn in 1964:he was,de-
bondingtakestheformof Heimat. "Heimat reinterprets
spitehisgovernment origins,a rugged the individualexperienceof place into a collective
individualist.
Even
whenhe pursuedAmericanforeign feelingof belongingto a groupand its values-the
policygoals,he was
notdirectly affiliatedwiththeAmerican Germannation.... When childrenlearnaboutplace
government.
The precedingdiscussionhas briefly names,historical
outlinedthe events,folklore, and other'facts'of
character andhistory ofCaptainAmericawitha purposetheirlocal area . . . theyare taughtto recognize(and
ofconnecting thisfictional
personto thelarger love) its'German'essence"(Herb2004, 153). Through
construct
of Americanidentity. It shouldbe clearthatCaptaintheircommonlinkageto the local landscape,citizens
America ismorethanjustan artifact cometo thinkin thecollective"we."
ofentertainment for
childrenand youngadults.Instead,it is a truthclaim WhatmakestheconceptofHeimatso powerful is its
regarding thecharacteristics thatdefineAmericaagainst Herbarguesthatanyplaceor regionin Ger-
flexibility.
a backdrop ofotherness. CaptainAmerica(andthus,themanycould be referred to as Heimat,and thusevery
American ideal)is patrioticwithout beinga government in
place Germany can be describedas German, witheach
stooge;he is a self-made, rugged individualist whostill
regionuniquely so. Anderson (1991) alludes to theim-
caresabouthis community and nation;he is willingto
portance of the Heimat phenomenon forabstract com-
standup forwhathe believesbutis ultimately defensive
munity formation whenhe describes visualculturefrom
ofthestatusquo. Furthermore, although he is whiteand
sacredcommunities, suchas Christendom, thatpredate
male,he is increasingly awarethatAmericais much thenation.These stainedglasswindows, paintings,etc.
morediverse.While remaining somewhatone-dimen-
allportrayed historic, religiousfiguresdressed in thestyle
sionalduring the1940sand 1950s,CaptainAmericahas ofthepeoplewhomadetheimage."The shepherds who
becomea dynamic character have followedthe star to the mangerwhereChrist
overthelastfourdecades,
changing in timeto theshifting is born bear the featuresof Burgundianpeasants.
politicsofthequestion,
whatdoes"America" mean? The VirginMaryis figuredas a Tuscan merchant's
daughter. . . . Thisjuxtaposition ofthecosmic-universal
and the mundane-particular thathowevervast
meant
PopularCulture,Landscapes,and National Christendom mightbe, and was sensedto be, it mani-
fested itselfvariously toparticular SwabianorAndalusian
Identity communities as replications of themselves" (Anderson
Territorial Differentiation
and Bonding 1991, 22-23). Similarly, the visual cues in Captain
America landscapesallowforthatsamejuxtaposition of
Herb(2004) arguesthatthecontinuous construction thenational-universal and themundane-particular. It is
of nationalidentitycan be dividedintotwoprocesses: through thisjuxtaposition thatsomelandscapes become
territorialdifferentiation
and territorial
bonding.The particularly symbolic for,and criticalto, the nation.
first
processis the one outlinedin the introduction
to
this article, wherebya bounded geographicentityis SymbolicLandscapesand theNation
created througha process of exclusion vis-a-visother
geographicunits and the people associated with them. Symboliclandscapesserve "the purposeof reproduc-
Herb argues that this process is not sufficientfor an ing culturalnormsand establishingthe values of domi-
explanation of how nationalismbecomes wedded to nant groups across all of a society" (Cosgrove 1989,
territory:"While scholars of critical geopoliticshave 125). Indeed, it has been argued that theyare part of
shown convincingly how boundariesare crucialin con- establishingthe veryidea of a dominantgroup: "Na-
structinga national identity,I feel their treatmentis tionhood ... involves a distinctiveimaginingof a par-
imbalancedbecause it does not give sufficientattention ticularsortof communityrooted in a particularsortof
to the processof attachmentthat is exemplifiedin the place" (Billig 1995, 74). Representationsof landscapes
notion of the nation as a local metaphor"(Herb 2004, are not necessarilyphysical,but instead can be an
634 Dittmer

attemptto policethe socialboundaries of '"American- attacksof9/11clearlyviolatedAmericans' senseofter-

ness."Campbell(1992) providesexamplesof suchpo- ritorialdifferentiation,they were particularly potent
licingthatincludeAmerica's opposition to Communism becausetheydisrupted the processof Americanterri-
and illicitdrugs.Paasi (1991,250) illustrates howthese torialbondingbyattacking thosespecific sites.
boundaries simultaneously excludeoutsiders and create the
Similarly, use of the loci in CaptainAmerica both
a unionof the insiders:"The collective, institutionally theirstatusas sitesofinsiderness
illustrates andusesthat
mediatedrolesexpressedin the structures of expecta- statusto heightenthe emotionalcontentof the story.
tionsareessentialforthetransformation ofregionsinto The openingscenein thestoryis ofGroundZero (see
places,centresof a feelingofbelonging to time-space- Figure4). GroundZerohas oftenbeenidentified in the
specific,more or less abstractreference groupsand media as "sacredspace" (e.g., Iken 2002). The next
communities." Paasi'sand Campbell'sboundaries ofin- sceneis in thestreets ofNew YorkCity,withAmerican
clusionand exclusiondesignatecertainlandscapesas flagsflyingfromall the lightpoles.Certainly, after9/11,
more"ofthenation"thanothers.Forexample, muchas New YorkCitywas seen as uniquelyAmericanfor,as
Herb'sGermantextbooksfocusedon portraits of re- manysaid, "We'reall New Yorkersnow" (e.g., Allis
gionalgeography as a tactic to foster
emotive connec- 2001). The actionshifts to Centerville,whichis a met-
tionsto a stereotypical landscapeofthenation,Captain aphor for Middle America or the American Heartland
Americausedimagery of an iconicAmericato fostera (thismetaphor willbe discussedin moredepthlater).
feelingof territorialviolationin itspost-9/11 storyline. Following thedefeatofterrorists, CaptainAmericagoes
The visualmediuminherent in comicbooksallowsthe to an Americanmilitary base; its insidernessis clearly
authors torepresent cultural
visually valuesthatareonly denotedbyits function. Upon his departure from the
visiblein the background and mustbe broughtout base,Captain America rideshis motorcycle past In-
an
through a "close,detailedreading ofthetext"(Cosgrove dependenceDay celebration, completewithfireworks
1989,126). The Americanlandscapesportrayed in the exploding andflagswaving;he daydreams aboutwhathis
post-9/11 CaptainAmerica comicsareall highly symbolic lifecould have been if he werenot CaptainAmerica
and likelychosento heightenthe dramatictensionof (Rieberand Cassaday2002d,15-16):
the attackby terrorists. Their statusas places worth
defending by Captain Americaprivilegesthemover Youcouldhavehada home.Youcouldbe there now.In a
otherplacesin the scriptedgeography of insidersand littlewhitehouse.On a quietsunnystreet.
Nobody firing
outsiders.Edensor(2002, 39-40) describesprivileged missiles
atyou.Knowing whoyour friends to
are-listening
theneighbor'skidssqueal,runningthrough thesprinkler
landscapesofthissort: onemoretime.Whilesheworks onhertan.Theoneyou
Argentina is inevitably
linked withimages ofthepampas: love.Theonewholovesyou.You'dlookbackat herand
gauchos riding acrossthegrasslands.
Morocco isassociated she'dlookbackatyouandsmile. Andyou'dknowshewas
withpalmtrees,oasesandshapely dunescapes, and the wondering too. How beautiful they'dhave to be-the
Netherlands witha flatpatchworkofpoldersanddrainage childrenyou'dhavesomeday.
ditches.Ofcourse, thedeserts,swamps andmountains of
life on thepage,pro-
Argentina tendto be overlooked, as do the highlands The imagesofthisalternate flash
ofMorocco andHolland. vidinga slideshow small-
ofidealized,heteronormative,
townAmericana, whichlooksremarkably likeCenter-
Becausethe WorldTradeCenterand Pentagonare so ville(see Figure5). Theseinvocationsof"all-American"
iconicfortheAmericanimagination, in comparison to, quotidianlandscapes(urbancenter, smalltown,Fourth
say,the Aleutian Islands or a landfill,
the attackhad ofJuly celebration) servetoconstructan Americanform
special significance forAmericansseekingto interpret it of Heimatthrough whichindividualscome to under-
througha geopoliticalscript.Edensor(2002) specifically stand theircommonconnectionto the nation.
mentionsthe attack on the World Trade Center as a Herb's tacticsof territorial and bond-
differentiation
blow against the symbolsof national modernityand inghelp us to understand how the symbolicshape ofthe
progress;he does not specificallyreferencethe Pentagon United States is rescaled as the landscape imageryof
attacks,but, clearly,these fallinto his categoryof sites CaptainAmerica, whereit affects on an
the individual
thatrepresentthe authority ofthe government withinits emotionallevel. As the exampleof CaptainAmerica
national territory.
This American connection to these shows,geographiciconography in politicaltexts,whether
sitesis an exampleofwhatHerb referred to as territorial comic books or Herb's textbooks,contributesto the
in
bonding-a linkage the popular consciousnessto a (re)constructionof national identitythroughthe reifi-
localityas particularlyiconic forthe nation. While the cation of the state.
 CaptainAmerica'sEmpire:Reflections
on Identity,
PopularCulture,and Post-9/11
Geopolitics 635

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Figure4. Extensiveimageryof GroundZero

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the Department of HomelandSecurityin the United freedom,liberty,individualism)rather than common

Statesraisedmanypoliticalhackles,but fewlinguistic territorialaffinity.
ones; yetit was a rareexampleof the UnitedStates
rhetorically an explicitlyterritorial
institutionalizing NeitherRooseveltnorTrumanreferred to the U.S. as a
formofnationalism. American nationalism
hasgenerally homeland,butonlyusedthetermto referto othercoun-
beenpredicated on commonEnlightenment values(e.g., triesunderthe threatof invasion(Holland,Russia,and
 CaptainAmerica's Reflections
Empire: on Identity, andPost-9/11
Culture,
Popular Geopolitics 637

Japan).Perhapshomeland was evocativeof the German participated ofAmerican

in thereterritorialization iden-
fatherland and the sinisteridentification
of Heimatwith byclearly
tity the dialectic
inscribinginside/outside on the
fascistideologiesof racialpurity,
and the Germanhome immediatepost-9/11 Then,itwillproceed
environment.
guardand homelanddefense(Heimwehr, Heimatschutz). todemonstrate awareness
America's
Captain ofcompeting
-(Kaplan 2003,85) geopolitical and
scripts how theywere alsoincorporated
intothetexttoproduce narrative.
a depoliticized
Peggy Noonan(2002) alludedto thisobjection when
she raiseda rarevoiceofpublicdissent: "The name
Homeland Security grateson a lot ofpeople,under-
standably.Homeland isn'treally an American word, it's CaptainAmericaat GroundZero
notsomething weusedtosayorsaynow.Ithasa vaguely
Teutonic ring."Perhaps thisterritorialization marksa Theevents of9/11coincided withthepreparation of
newera in American history; as Kaplan(2003,90) a new Captain America and
series, storylines were hur-
pointsout,this,too,servesa political purpose: "Al- riedlywritten to incorporate thenewgeopolitical script.
though homeland security may striveto cordon offthe The first twenty-four pages of Captain America #1 spe-
nationas a domestic space from external threats, it is cificallyreference the events of 9/11. In fact,the first
actuallyaboutbreaking downtheboundaries of
between page Captain America #1 shows a hand with a box-
insideandoutside, aboutseeing thehomeland ina state cutter in theaisleofa jetliner, surrounded bystartled
ofconstant emergency from threatswithin andwithout." passengers. Thesecondandthird pagesshowimages of
this
Still, "grounding" of American identity in the na- men in robes with long dark beards and assault rifles
tionalterritorywasclearly a reaction totheviolation of gathered outsidea cave.The textthataccompanies
theinside/outside dialectic ofterritorialdifferentiation these pagesreads,"Itdoesn't matter where youthought
bytheassaults ontheWorld TradeCenter andPentagon. youweregoingtoday.You'repartof thebombnow.
SimonDalby(2004) arguespersuasively thatgovern- [Sceneshifts to menoutside cave]Andsomewhere in
mentandmediaelitesoftheUnitedStateshavehewed theworld-a handful of menwithfamished eyessit
to a geopolitical
script since9/11thathasledto a re- arounda radio-ora telephone. Waiting. Twenty min-
territorialization
ofAmerican identity. utes-Four thousand murders later-TheypraiseGod
forthe bloodthatstainstheirhands"(Rieberand
The worldhad changed,said the TV punditsand the Cassaday2002a,1-3). Thesepagessetup a cleardi-
newspaper columnists,butquitehowremained a mysteryas chotomy ofinsiders andoutsiders, ofinnocent andun-
the geopolitical
specificationof theterrainofconflict was domestic airlinetravelers, and of distant,
suspecting
decidedlyobscurebeyondtheinitialinvocation ofexternal intruders. This is consistent with the
threatfromterrorism. ... The presidential
foreign portrayal
discourse drew idea of American American
linesbetweenthosethatwereon America'ssideor those exceptionalism, whereby
innocence is protected by itsisolation from therestof
thatwereon the side of the terrorists, the polarization
of conflict
was setin motion themandus,
theworld.Dalby(2004,67) notesthatthedominant
dynamic hastily;
freedom versusterror thethemesofotherAmer- scriptof9/11toldus thatthe"thegeography [ofwar]
reprised
icanwars,bothhotand cold. had apparently changed,too; the assumption that
-(Dalby 2004,66)
America itself wasrelatively immune to terrorism, de-
spitetheearlier 1993bombinthebasement oftheWorld
WhileDalbyprobably didnotintend forhiscomments TradeCenter, andtheOklahoma bombing of1995,was
to applyto suchmediaas comicbooks,thescript he no longer valid." This concern over the new locusof
detailsis also inscribedwithinthe pages of Captain combat is found in the text as well: thenext pagesshow
America. Steve Rogers(out of uniform)lookingforsurvivors
The eventsof9/11provided an opportunity
forCaptain in the rubbleof GroundZero. His firstthoughtsare
America to returnto itsorigins,witha cleargeopolitical "Oh, God-How couldthishappenhere?"(Rieberand
freeof the ambiguity
script, and complexity introduced Cassaday2002a,4).
sincethe 1960s.Indeed,it is apparentthatmuchofthe CaptainAmerica'sresponseto the attackson the
Americanpublic embracedthis post-9/11script,in WorldTradeCenterand Pentagonis one ofmourning,
partforthosesamereasons, as a nostalgic
returnto"The righteous While at Ground
anger,and self-discipline.
Good War" (Terkel2004),WorldWarII, withitsclear Zero,Steve Rogershas a conversation witha rescue
categoriesof good and evil,freedom, and fascism.The worker a corpsein therubble(Rieberand
afterfinding
followingwill demonstratehow Captain America Cassaday2002a,8-9):
638 Dittmer

TO BE

6. Theuseofperspective
Figure putsthereader
intheposition
ofa World
TradeCenter
victim.

(Captain
Rogers America):I sawa manand a woman- is on. The readeris subjectively
putin theplaceofthe
whenI'd runherefrom thepark.Theyjumped. Holding victimsat the WorldTrade Center;this perspective
hands. can be viewedas a conceitof Billig's"unwavedflag"
I'llgeta stretcher.
Rescuer: phenomenon.
Rogers: youseenthenews?
Have A scene whereCaptain Americasaves an Arab
Rescuer:
Toomuchofit. Americanfromtheangryfather ofa WorldTradeCen-
Do
Rogers: theyknow, yet? ter victimfurthers the dominantgeopoliticalscript
Oh, theyknow.Butthey're
Rescuer: stillcallinghima of Americaninnocenceand fairness.While Captain
Theysay
suspect. there's
no evidence,
yet.Theysaythey America'sintervention demonstrates America'scom-
wanttobe sure.
Wehavetobe sure.Thisiswar. mitmentto multiculturalism and justice,his inner
Rogers:
monologue servesnotonlyas a proscription forAmeri-
Therearetwothings interesting aboutthisexchange. can behaviorand a statementof Americanmilitary
First,it establishes
thatwar is not a choice;it is a state power, butalsosimultaneouslyconstructsboththemean-
thatAmericahasfoundimposeduponit.The dominant ingofAmericaand the terrorists' identityas partsof a
scriptofwar,as Dalby(2004,65) pointsout,forecloses freedom-loving/freedom-hating dichotomythat fore-
otherpossibilities:
"The pointhereis thatgeopolitical closesotherpossibilities(Rieberand Cassaday2002a,
scripts might have been otherwise;the eventscould 20-24):
have been specified as a disaster,an act ofmadnessor
perhaps most obviously crime,an act thatrequired
a
We'vegottobe stronger
thanwe'veeverbeen.Orthey've
carefulpoliceworkinternationally and in the United
won.We can huntthemdown.We can scourevery
States."The second interesting thingabout this ex- bloodstained
traceoftheirterror
fromtheEarth.Wecan
changeis thatwhilethe dialogueis takingplace,the turneverystonethey've
evertouched todust,andevery
action,viewedfromthe thirdpersonperspective, is of bladeofgrasstoash.Anditwon'tmatter.
We'vegottobe
the rescuerand Rogerscoveringthe corpse.The final thanwe'veeverbeen-as a people.As a nation.
stronger
lines,"We haveto be sure.Thisis war,"aregivenwhile Wehavetobe America. Or they've
won.We'regoingto
theviewisfrom theperspective ofthecorpse,looking up makeitthrough this-we,thepeople.Unitedbya power
at Rogers(see Figure6). In a warbetweenAmericaand thatno enemy offreedomcouldbegintounderstand.We
theterrorists,thereisno illusionofwhichsidethereader share-weare-theAmerican Dream.
 CaptainAmerica'sEmpire:Reflections
on Identity,
PopularCulture,and Post-9/11
Geopolitics 639

CaptainAmericaand Terrorism chance to knowyou better,afterthe service."The

The remainder ofCaptainAmerica #1,andissues2-6, opennessand toleranceofChristianity is further exem-
tellthestoryofterrorists whoattacktheUnitedStates the
by image
plified ofthe outside ofthe church, which is
sevenmonths theeventsofSeptember
after 2001.In this dominated bya signthatsays"EASTERSERVICE:ALL
about the ARE WELCOME" (Rieberand Cassaday2002b, 3).
story arc, we learn more meaningsasso-
ciatedwithAmerica:a terrorist the nameof Faysal Further, references to jihadistrhetoricpermeatethe
by
small landmines into the smalltown storyline.One terrorist refersto a womanas a "whore
al-Tariqairdrops witha paintedmouth"(Rieberand Cassaday2002b,8);
of Centerville.Centerville, with its literally"middle
America"name and overwhelmingly whitepopulation anotherterrorist,willing to die to killCaptainAmerica,
announces"Deathis peace forme" (Rieberand Cassa-
(onlyone AfricanAmericanis visiblein the entireal-
day2002b,13).
Tariq episode),is clearlyevocativeof the American WhileIslamis neverexplicitly therefer-
Heartlandmythology and resonatesas what Edensor mentioned,
to
refers as a "quotidian encesin thetextare quiteclearin theirintendedcon-
(2002,50-51) landscape."
The battlebetweenCaptainAmericaand the ter- notationforthe reader.The obviousinterpretation of
thistextdrawson Huntington's (1993) "clash ofcivili-
rorists proxyforthewarbetweenAmerica
is a literary
zations"thesis.In thisgeopolitical cultureand
and thefundamentalist Islamthatbecamethe"Other" narrative,
describedin the post-9/11geopoliticalscript(Dalby religionserveas thefundamental schismin worldpoli-
Centerville tics,and thecurrent geopolitical situation derivesfrom
2004). The contrast betweentheChristian
and the Islamicjihadistsis made fromthe veryfirst secularmodernity reaping thewhirlwind of religiousre-
vival.Thus, whileAmericanactionsin the past may
imageofCenterville (see Figure7); itis a viewdownthe
mainstreetofCenterville, have causedfriction, the conflict itselfis an inevitable
showing trees,lowbuildings,
and barns.What is notableabout the imageis that resultof incompatible cultures.Islam,in particular, is
theviewis from thetopofa churchsteeple,allowing the givenas an exampleof a civilization innatelytied to
Christian crosstooccupytheleftmost thirdoftheframe. violence.Gregory
religious (2004,58) discusses howthis
In case thatsymbolism narrativehas becomemainstream:
escapesthereader, theconflictis
further cast as a "clash of civilizations" (Huntington
the terrorists In thewakeofSeptember 11,thisimaginative
geography
1993) through thenarrative: capturethe
townin one fellswoopbybursting thestained helpedto defineandmobilize a seriesofpublicswithin
through whichpopular assentto-indeed,a demand for-waras-
glass church window on Easter Sunday and trapping sumed immense Formany theattack
power. commentators,
mostof the populationof 600 in theirpewswithtrip- on America Al-
wasindeeda "clashofcivilizations"....
wiredlandmines.To further clarify the differencebe- though he [Huntington] nowconnected theriseof Is-
tweenChristianity and Islam,the last wordsof the lamicismto therepressionsofdomestic governmentsand
preacherbeforethe terrorists attackare (Rieberand therepercussions
ofUS foreign policyintheMiddleEast,
Cassaday2002b,3), "It's good to see so manyvisitors othercommentators usedHuntington's charac-
repeated
herethismorning. Neighbors-youknowwe'realways terizations
ofMuslims and"Muslim wars"to degradethe
glad to see you. Strangers-wehope you'llgive us a veryideaofIslamas a civilization.

I
. 'Centerville.
K;? ToMP
R
.-Mx 0 s',
?aOm
M,.......
.............
MR. m...
X-m-
............
I-sx-

7,x
-,A-x
0:
... ....
.
............. W AWA&
............ 1q,
,.
7: %:.?.:;::.?,:?.?:?
.................
...........
...
.....
.. x
IvX:

41 ...
..... ....
..........
.......
...
............ ..............
MXI.-
V.
7. Thefirst
Figure ofCenterville.
image Notetheprominence
oftheChristian intheforeground.
cross
640 Dittmer

CaptainAmericaand Empire an imperialcontext-one maskedby America'sten-

dencynot to territorialize the empireitself."The re-
Whilemuchof the above indicatesa relatively un- sulting'Empireof Disorder'allowsAmericannational
nuancedgeopolitical scriptthathas morein common identityto maintainits anti-imperial rationalizations
withthe WWII and Red Scare versionsof Captain whilecommitting troopsto garrison dutiesand counter-
Americathanwiththe current incarnation of Captain insurgency operationsinmanyplaces"(Dalby2004,82).
the
America, post-9/11 issues of Captain America also Captain America is forcedto confront theblowback
invoke anothergeopoliticalscriptthat is criticalof ofempirein the al-Tariqstoryline, thereby questioning
Americanforeignpolicyon anticolonialgrounds.In- America'srolein thewildzonesofdisorder aroundthe
deed,Dalbyarguesthatthe eventsofSeptember 2001 globe.The first
clue that the events in Centerville are
are not explainablevia the dominantgeopolitical nar- morecomplicated thanpreviously illustrated comesfrom
rative;rather, theyaremostunderstandable in termsof al-Tariq'smonologueto the hostagesin the church
empire: (RieberandCassaday2002c,1): "Someofyouareasking
yourGod whyyouwilldie today.Some ofyouknow-
Understanding warin theterms ofstate-to-state conflict, thoseofyouwhoworkat thebombmanufacturing fa-
theSecondWorld Warmodel, oreveninitsupdated ver- at the of this town. learn
cility edge peaceful Todayyou
siontheGulf warof1991,severely limitstheunderstanding whatitmeansto sowthewindand thewhirlwind."
ofwarfare toa matter ofpitched battles between reap
largear- The geopolitical in thatstatement is
mies.Thereis another of theuse of American reordering implicit
history it the innocence of
oneoftheconduct ofsmallwarsin theriseofUS significant; punctures America,
power, is partofthe
a ofviolencethatMaxBoot,inhisrecent showing thatevena townlikeCenterville
power,pattern
volume onthetopic, bestbecalled"imperial imperial project. The distant effects of the bombsmade
suggests
might
wars"-a termthat,Americansensitivities notwith- inCenterville aredemonstratedthenextscene,when
in
standing, seemsapt to describe manyUS adventures CaptainAmericabattlesfourchildrenin stylized Arab
abroad. -(Dalby 2004,80) costumes, armed with daggers and hatchets. Midway
through thebattle,CaptainAmericanoticesthatthese
But Americansensitivities are a criticalpart of the children each havea metalprosthetic armorleg.While
equation; this is part of the difficulty in discussing battling them,theCaptainconverses withal-Tariqand
Americanforeignpolicy.Opinionsdiffer about what uncoversthe connection betweenthebombfactory in
is appropriately referredto as empire."Different and Centerville and themeleehe is engagedin (Rieberand
sometimes rivalconceptions ofempirecan evenbecome Cassaday2002c,2-4):
internalized in thesamespace" (Harvey2003,5). Har-
veynotesthattheU.S. empirehas beenconceptualized Tariq:Thesearemyshepherds. Mychildren, American-
in variousways,including and yours.
GeorgeW Bush'sempireof
"hard power,"Clinton'sempireof "softpower,"and CA: Callthem ThisisAmerica-we
off. don'tmakewaron
theCold War-eraclientstatesystem. children.
Still,in all cases, sowed
American Tariq:No?Tellourchildren then,American-who
"theactually existing empirewasacquired... death[landmines] in theirfields-andleftit forthein-
notin a fitofabsent-mindedness (as theBritish likedto Whotooktheir hands? Theirfeet?
nocenttoharvest?
claim),but in a state of denial: imperialactionson
thepartoftheU.S. werenottobe talkedofas such,nor Reflectingon thisrevelation,CaptainAmericaconsiders
were theyallowedto have any ramifications forthe thevalidity ofthedominant geopolitical narrative (Ri-
domesticsituation" (Harvey2003,6). eberand Cassaday2002c, 15): "Arewe hated because
The eventsof 9/11,a "revoltin the provinces"in we're free-free and prosperousand good? Or does the
Dalby's (2004, 80) formulation,were "about political lightwe see cast shadows that we don't-where mon-
theatre,dramaticgestures,and ... the willingnessto sterslikethisal-Tariqcan plantthe seeds ofhate?" Later,
resistin the face of ridiculousodds." Thus, the War on the villainwho had sent al-Tariqtransforms the "blow-
Terroris not a new type of war, but instead, simply back" of Centerville into an overarchingcritique of
"counter-insurgency warfareat the fringesof imperial American foreignpolicy. While Captain America is
control."Dalby is arguingfora reconsiderationof the grapplingwith the villain (who is nameless,and of un-
geographicunderpinnings of currentevents in Afghan- known ethnicitybecause of burns over his face-and
istan, Iraq, and elsewhere where U.S. troopsare com- thereforeplaceless), the villain offersto surrenderif
mitted.Rather than the territorialized conceptionof a Captain America can guess his homeland (Rieber and
violatedAmerica,the eventsof 9/11shouldbe put into Cassaday 2002e, 16-18):
 CaptainAmerica'sEmpire:Reflections PopularCulture,and Post-9/11
on Identity, Geopolitics 641

There'sno planting in thehellI'm from. No seed,no Consequently, he defeatsthe enemiesof Americain

harvest ... notnow.Buttherewas.Guerillas gunned my battle(RieberandCassaday2002c).Thisstoryline from
father downwhilehe was working in the fields-with CaptainAmericareinscribes the dominanceof state-
American bullets.
American weapons.WhereamI from? basedpowerovernonstateactorsbydelegitimizing those
My father didn't
know thatthe Cold Warwas at its whoarevoicelessin theterritorially basedstatesystem.
height-remember? When the Sovietswere yourgreat Leitner,Pavlik,and Sheppard(2002) have
Similarly,
enemy? Theevilempire? Mymother didn't knowthatour shownthat transnational networks conflictwithand
nation wasinthethroes ofanundeclared civilwarbetween
alliesand theallies
of evilwhen she ranto findher
transcendterritorialboundaries, yet do not eliminate
your re-
husband. mother was and shot.Ourhome
theirimportance Still,whileultimately
and utility.
My interrogated thestatus of based Ameri-
wasburned. Thatfiregavememyface.Butfire didn'tmake entrenching quo territorially
me a monster. Youknowyourhistory, can powerbothmorally in thedialogueand physically
CaptainAmerica.
Tellyour monsterwhere he'sfrom....Youcan'tanswer me. in the action,CaptainAmericaservesas a voice fora
... Youplayed thatgameintoomany places.... Thesun resistant,counterhegemonic narrativethat illustrates
neverset on yourpolitical chessboard-your empireof theconnections betweentheAmericanwayoflifeand
blood. Americanmilitary operationsaroundtheworld.

The villainhas directly

invokedthe term"empire"to
discussthe geopolitical
structureput in place through Conclusions
Americanhegemony. The geographic consequencesof
Captain America's"empire of blood" are paralleledin EdwardSaid (1993, 7) wrote,"Justas none ofus is
of an
Dalby's(2004,82-83) description "empireofdis- outsideor beyondgeography, none of us is completely
order": freefromthe struggle overgeography. That struggle is
complexand interesting because it is not onlyabout
Consumers arenotsafelyhereintheircitiesdivorced
from soldiersand cannonsbutalso aboutideas,aboutforms,
theconsequences ofthepolitical that
economy provides about imagesand imaginings." This articlehas at-
theircommodities andtheir
identities....
[T]heintercon- the
toillustrate relationship betweenSaid'stwo
nectionsbetween whattheUnitedStatesor US-based tempted
doinremote
facetsof geographic struggle:physicalclaimsto space
corporations placesisnolonger a matter
that
andcultural claimsto geopolitical truth.Thisarticlehas
doesnotconnect, inhoweverunlikely with
ways, everyday
lifein America. illustratedthepoliticalrelevance ofCaptainAmerica and
Security
requiresunderstandingpolitical
connectionsto distant is alsoaboutobli- has used the post-9/11 textsof thatseriesto describe
events;politics
gationstodistantstrangers. partof the processbywhichCaptainAmericainforms:
(1) the meaningof Americaand how thatidea is re-
The preceding sectionshaveillustrated
howartifacts scaledto theindividual readerthrough territorial
sym-
of popularculturelikeCaptainAmericaand otheren- bols, (2) the processby which landscapeimagescan
tertainment fortheyouthofAmericaserveto (re)con- contribute to territorial
bondingamongcitizens, and (3)
structthemeaning ofAmerica.The perpetuation ofthe the construction of a dominantAmericangeopolitical
"imagined political
community" constant
requires efforts narrative. Thus,CaptainAmerica notonlydefineswhat
to discipline
themeaningofAmerica(Anderson1991, Americais,butitalsofirmly ensconcesthereaderwithin
5). Furthermore,themythofAmericanexceptionalism itsgeo-graph. The reader, tacitlyassumedto be Ameri-
anditsconsequent powerto structure
theearth'ssurface can, is reminded of his or herindividual identityas an
requiresa scriptof equal and mutually
geopolitically Americanand is toldwhatthatmeansin relationto the
exclusivestates;thisscriptneeds to be, literally,
narrated restof the world.As Linda R. Williams(1991) says,
throughmedia such as comic books. While the example regardinghorrormovies,to dismisscomic books as ju-
of Captain Americashows how that readingis possible venile entertainment is to miss theirutilityforcultural
fromthe text,it also shows the importanceof dissident understanding. "The astonishingacceptance of [this]
geopoliticalnarrativesin what originatedas a comic iconographyas an importantpart of our societal char-
book proxyforAmericanforeignpolicy.CaptainAmeri- acter raisesquestionsregardingnot onlythe contentof
ca's ambivalent reaction to America's complicityin mythbut also its power" (Aitken 2002, 105).
globalaffairsleads to an ambiguousreadingof the comic CaptainAmericahas also been shownto be a textthat
book's politicalcontent.Captain Americaacknowledges expressesa greatdeal ofambiguity and nuance regarding
the sinsofAmericanempire,but viewsthosesins as not the identityand geopolitical narrativesof America.
sufficientfor the legitimizingof "terrorist"activities. There is a disconnectionbetweenwhatCaptain America
642 Dittmer

is meant to represent(the idealizedAmerican) and the Campbell, D. 1992.Writing security: Statesforeign

United policy
source of the geopoliticalnarrativesin which he has to and thepolitics ofidentity.
Minneapolis: University ofMin-
nesotaPress.
(theAmerican
operate elitesofmediaandgovernment).
Confino, A., andA. Skaria.2002.The locallifeofnationhood.
A fundamental
sourceofconflict
in CaptainAmerica NationalIdentities4 (1): 7-24.
since the 1960s has been this divergence between Cosgrove, D. 1989.Geography is everywhere:Cultureandsym-
Americanideals and Americanpractice.The acknowl- bolismin humanlandscapes. In Horizonsinhuman geogra-
edgementofthisdivergenceis inherently for
debilitating phy,ed. D. Gregory and R. Walford, 118-35. London:
theconstruction
of hegemonic Macmillan.
geopolitical as
scripts, Dalby,S. 1993.The "KiwiDisease":Geopolitical discoursein
seen in the referencesto American empirein Captain Aotearoa/New ZealandandtheSouthPacific. Political
Ge-
Thiscounterhegemonic
America. isunusual
position ina ography 12:437-56.
literarygenrethat is almostuniversallyabout the con- 2004. Calling911: Geopolitics, security and Ame-
-.rica'snew war.In 11 and its aftermath:
servationof the status quo; superheroesare about the September The
geopolitics ed. S. Brunn,61-86. London:Frank
of terror,
protectionof lifeand propertyand almostneverseek to Cass.
fundamentally revolutionizethe system.Any character Dijkink,D. 1996.National andgeopolitical
identity visions:
Mapsof
thatseeksto achievepoliticalor economicpraxisis,by prideandpain.London:Routledge.
comic book convention,characterizedas a villain(Wolf- Dodds,K. 1998.Enframing Bosnia,thegeopolitical
iconography
America of Steve Bell. In Rethinking ed. S. Dalbyand
geopolitics,
Meyer2003).Thus,Captain a partic-
occupies G. 0 Tuathail, 170-97.London:Routledge.
ular niche withinthe worldof superheroes.The story- - . 2003. Licensedto stereotype: Populargeopolitics,
lines have the hero acting in the usual conservative JamesBond and the spectreof Balkanism.Geopolitics
manner,preserving the statusquo; however,the authors 8 (2): 125-57.
of the text incorporatedissidentrepresentations
of the Edensor, T 2002.Nationalidentity,
popular cultureandeveryday
life.Oxford, U.K.: Berg.
orderintoCaptain
geopolitical America's and
plotlines R. 2003.The manylivesofCaptainCanuck:Na-
Edwardson,
In thisway,theyareableto affect
dialogues. thedis- tionalism,culture,and the creationof a Canadian
coursebybothreinforcing
an idealAmericanidentity comicbooksuperhero. Journal ofPopular Culture37 (2):
and contrastingthat ideal with the effectsof American 184-201.
geopoliticalactivities. Englehart, S., and S. Buscema.1974.CaptainAmericamust
die! FromCaptainAmerica andtheFalcon,no. 176,1-18.
NewYork:MarvelComics.
Gordon,I. 1998.Comicstrips andconsumer 1890-1945.
culture,
Acknowledgements Washington, DC: SmithsonianInstitution
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Correspondence: ofGeology
Department and Geography,
GeorgiaSouthern Statesboro,
University, e-mail:jdittmer@
GA 30460-8149,
georgiasouthern.edu.