Dashing, intelligent and debonair. Tony Stark, and his alter ego Iron Man, is on a mission to maintain world peace. The playboy American industrialist, brought to the big screen by Robert Downey Jr, seems to fit every superhero stereotype. But look a little closer and the body count, not to mention gratuitous explosions and double entendres, rack up in this "superhero" movie on a scale never seen in the adventures of Superman or Spider-Man. And as for Iron Man's drinking problem. ...
So it's no surprise that a new academic study has revealed Iron Man's antics don't actually constitute heroic behaviour at all. In fact, they're actually rather dangerous for impressionable young boys, the annual convention of the American Psychological Association was told last week. The movie superhero of the 21st century, it seems, is no longer the role model that he once was. "Today's superhero is too much like an action hero who participates in non-stop violence; he's aggressive, sarcastic and rarely speaks to the virtue of doing good for humanity," argued psychologist Sharon Lamb, from the University Of Massachusetts, at the conference. "When not in superhero costume, these men, like Iron Man, exploit women, flaunt bling and convey their manhood with high-powered guns."
Lamb has the figures to back it up, too. She surveyed 674 boys aged four to 18 in her quest to understand what they were watching on television and at the movies. The study revealed just two types of male behaviour, superhero-styled aggression, and its polar opposite, couldn't-care-less antipathy. So surely, if the superhero is promoting a macho, violent stereotype, then the slacker who wanders around in a daze is slightly preferable? Not according to Lamb.
"Slackers are funny," she said, "but not what boys should strive to be; slackers don't like school and they shirk responsibility." These results might sound like the sentiments of a killjoy academic who would rather we all watched an art house movie with a moral. But perhaps Lamb does have a point. Superhero films have unquestionably become either darker or more violent in recent years. The first Iron Man was actually a rather interesting take on what a superhero might mean post September 11, until the director Jon Favreau seemed to lose his nerve and made the last 30 minutes an explosion fest. Christopher Nolan's new take on the Batman films is brilliant, but shot through with haunting tragedy. Despite the presence of a joker, there's not much joy in them.
And one of the most controversial movies of 2010 is without doubt Kick-Ass, where an ordinary teenager decides to become a "super-hero", but in a graphically violent and profane way. Its makers would argue that it's not for children in any case, and the certification certainly backs that up. But it's become almost a badge of honour for youngsters to find a way to see it, just as with the gratuitous Robocop in the 1980s.
So no-wonder Lamb is harking back to the good old days. Of course, it's not as if the comic book heroes of yore indulged in pacifism, using only their wit and imagination to overcome evil. In the Christopher Reeve film Superman III, the superhero becomes casually destructive. He blows out the Olympic Torch and straightens the leaning tower of Pisa. But this is part of a shocking plot twist rather than his default position. More typically, Reeve's Superman diverts nuclear missiles into outer space or weakens earthquakes. Villains are tied up - not blown up - and handed over to the police. Superman saves people with the minimum amount of violence.
"The comic book heroes of the past did fight criminals," adds Lamb, "but these were heroes boys could look up to and learn from because outside of their costumes, they were real people with real problems and many vulnerabilities." It's not just eminent psychologists who worry for the future of the superhero. When the likes of Alan Moore, creator of 1980s parallel-world comic Watchmen, says he will abandon the genre, something really must be wrong. Moore, after all, is perhaps the most highly regarded comic writer in history.
"I've come to the conclusion that what superheroes might be, in their current incarnation at least, is a symbol of American reluctance to involve themselves in any kind of conflict without massive tactical superiority," he told the London music newspaper Stool Pigeon last month. "That's not what superheroes meant to me when I was a kid. To me, they represented a wellspring of the imagination. Superman had a dog in a cape [the white, doberman-like Krypto]! Hehad a city in a bottle! It was wonderful stuff for a seven-year-old boy to think about. But I suspect that a lot of superheroes now are basically about the unfair fight."
And while the Watchmen superheroes aren't exactly straightforward good guys, Moore's comic book series was at least spellbindingly imaginative and intelligent. Its film adaptation of last year is so stacked full of ideas, it's actually rather difficult to follow. Admittedly, over-analysing what a superhero means in 2010 is slightly ridiculous. After all, film adaptations of well-loved (and often quite dark and violent) comic books are by their very nature explosive and sexy. Most important of all, they're escapist fun, and no one is suggesting a return to the camp capers of the Batman and Robin television series. When Nolan concentrated on the "dark" element of the Dark Knight, he was only being true to the original comics.
Still, it will be interesting to see what he does with the Superman reboot he's working on. After all, the Clark Kent that Christopher Reeve made his own, the ordinary newspaper journalist with a penchant for saving people and dreams of getting the girl, seems to come from a different, more idealistic and perhaps more innocent world altogether. Give him the hard-edged, nihilistic treatment and it's a slightly depressing verdict on the darker times we live in. No wonder Sharon Lamb thinks we need heroes.
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
Company%20profile
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WRESTLING HIGHLIGHTS
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Sub Regional Qualifier
Event info: The tournament in Kuwait this month is the first phase of the qualifying process for sides from Asia for the 2020 World T20 in Australia. The UAE must finish within the top three teams out of the six at the competition to advance to the Asia regional finals. Success at regional finals would mean progression to the World T20 Qualifier.
UAE’s fixtures: Fri Apr 20, UAE v Qatar; Sat Apr 21, UAE v Saudi Arabia; Mon Apr 23, UAE v Bahrain; Tue Apr 24, UAE v Maldives; Thu Apr 26, UAE v Kuwait
World T20 2020 Qualifying process:
- Sixteen teams will play at the World T20 in two years’ time.
- Australia have already qualified as hosts
- Nine places are available to the top nine ranked sides in the ICC’s T20i standings, not including Australia, on Dec 31, 2018.
- The final six teams will be decided by a 14-team World T20 Qualifier.
World T20 standings: 1 Pakistan; 2 Australia; 3 India; 4 New Zealand; 5 England; 6 South Africa; 7 West Indies; 8 Sri Lanka; 9 Afghanistan; 10 Bangladesh; 11 Scotland; 12 Zimbabwe; 13 UAE; 14 Netherlands; 15 Hong Kong; 16 Papua New Guinea; 17 Oman; 18 Ireland
ROUTE%20TO%20TITLE
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If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
