Participants of the "Inventing the Future" Symposium suggested looking for new superheroes in national epics

At the International Symposium "Inventing the Future" held at the National Centre RUSSIA, a discussion titled "The Universe of Heroes as a Condition for the Development of a Multipolar World" took place. The event was organized in partnership with the ANO "Dialogue Regions" and the New Media Workshop.

Participants discussed the possibility of a new generation of superheroes for mass culture, and possibly even fully-fledged new universes for them, to challenge the dominance of American DC and Marvel products in the global cultural landscape.

 The session participants noted that opportunities for this exist not only in Russia but also in many other countries around the world. The roots for creating successful mass culture characters can be found in folk tales and epics. This path was proposed by the Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Aisen Nikolayev, who relied on the experience of developing the film industry in the region.

"The hero as a character is a pure product of the West. In doing so, Americans filled a gap in their culture that is rich in myths and legends in other cultures, such as those of Russia, China, or India. What are the Russian bogatyrs from bylinas epics? They are true superheroes — honest, famous, and generous, while also possessing superpowers. For us, the Sakha people, these heroes are from the Olonkho epic, and for the Kalmyks, it's the grand legend of Jangar, and so on," noted Aisen Nikolayev.

Mikhail Zvinchuk, head of the analytical center "Rybar" and host of the eponymous Telegram channel, talked about the conditions for a new superhero to achieve true popularity.

"A hero is the embodiment of a societal demand, a reflection of ideals that prevail in society. In today's world, which is simply flooded with informational rubbish, the current set of heroes is insufficient. Moreover, the traits of heroes are noticeably changing, especially with the advent of a multipolar world. Africa, Asia, and Russia need their own images, and by the way, the West is working on this — they are creating new figures specifically for large audiences," emphasized Mikhail Zvinchuk.

A special experience in constructing a "heroic" figure was proposed by a representative from China — writer Wang Nuonuo. She suggested a simple criterion for distinguishing a hero from a mere person or character — they must do something for others, for society. If this condition is met, the hero will be in demand, even if externally they represent completely "unheroic" layers of society, such as merchants — in Chinese culture, this social group has produced many heroes, both traditional and modern.

The representative from the USA, geopolitical analyst Sarah Bils, proposed viewing the world as a whole, beyond black-and-white gradations. She reminded that certain figures, like Yuri Gagarin, can unite people across different continents and cultures. Today, such a hero's image can be found among inventors and scientists creating breakthrough wonders of technology.

The session noted that in Russia, the creation of its own superhero universe has already begun — it is being formed based on Soviet science fiction from the 1930s and 1940s. This was reported by the general producer of the Soyuzmultfilm studio, Yulia Ositinskaya, and writer Sergei Lukyanenko.

"When starting the project, we were astonished to find that all the characters from American comics had their analogs in our works from those years. This is not plagiarism; they simply grew from a shared layer of mythological elements. We brought these characters into a new universe, and it turned out that they fit in very easily, for example, Ikhtiandr, Aelita, and engineer Garin," said Sergei Lukyanenko.

The International Symposium "Inventing the Future" is being held from November 4 to 6. Participants include scientists, researchers, futurists, science fiction writers, and representatives from government bodies from 101 countries, including Russia, India, Italy, Iran, China, the UAE, Serbia, the USA, and France. The program features over 60 sessions across four tracks: "Future of Human," "Future of Technology," "Future of Multipolar World," and "Future of Civilizations." The program and event broadcasts are available at the website future.russia.ru.

The International Symposium "Inventing the Future" is the first event of the National Centre RUSSIA, which was established on July 1, 2024, by the order of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. The Centre aims to preserve the legacy of the International RUSSIA EXPO and showcase the achievements of the country and its citizens. The work of the Centre involves federal authorities, state companies, corporations, and regions.