TIME Magazine Says Superheroes Are Like Cops And Should Be Reexamined

On Monday, TIME magazine published an article called, “We’re Re-examining How We Portray Cops Onscreen. Now It’s Time to Talk About Superheroes,” in which the author, a staff writer for the magazine, rips into cops and superheroes simultaneously, stating, “What are superheroes except cops with capes who enact justice with their powers?”

Near the beginning of the piece, the author, Eliana Dockterman, argues that onscreen portrayals of police are too often positive, writing, “Legal procedurals and shoot-em-up action movies have long presented a skewed perception of the justice system in America, in which the police are almost always positioned as the good guys. These ‘good cop’ narratives are rarely balanced out with stories of systemic racism in the criminal justice system. The ‘bad guys’ they pursue are often people of color, their characters undeveloped beyond their criminality.”