Deadpool as a lumpenproletarian film

Abstract

In this essay, I incorporate the notion of the irony bribe with classical Marxist literature to illustrate how the first Deadpool film functions as a lumpenproletarian film. I argue that Deadpool’s meta-commentary mockery of the superhero film genre and other media texts functions as an irony bribe because its disavowal of the film’s superhero consensus allows Deadpool to enjoy a childish individualistic spectacle that disregards politicized collective action. To illustrate this point, I split this essay into two parts. First, I outline how capitalism’s economic development conditions the lumpenproletariat to be susceptible to the bribe. I also use Lacanian psychoanalysis to illustrate how capital within neoliberalism bribes the lumpenproletariat with the immaterial profit of enjoyment. Second, I use this Lacanian psychoanalytically informed Marxist framework to examine how Wade Wilson (pre-Deadpool) already existed in material conditions that made him vulnerable to the bribe. Afterward, I examine how Deadpool uses his mutant powers as an irony bribe to enjoy his individualistic disavowal of superhero ideals within the film. Finally, I outline this essay’s contributions to examine lumpenproletarian media and calls for future research.