Tag: michael barnett

Michael Barnett Director · Director of Photography · Producer Los Angeles, CA, US Michael began as a cinematographer on commercials, music videos and television before transitioning into directing.

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Originally posted: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41121744/ns/us_news-giving/#

But Real Life Superheroes don’t have superpowers and most don’t fight crime

By Jim Gold

Crusaders costumed in tights, capes, cowls and other accoutrements are turning up with surprising regularity in American cities to fight what they consider their biggest enemy: public apathy.

They call themselves superheroes and, with names like Dark Guardian, Red Dragon and Viper, they might be right at home on the pages of comic books. But unlike their ink-and-paper counterparts, they can’t fly, vanish into thin air or outrun a speeding locomotive. And they usually are armed with nothing more than good intentions — and maybe a camera and cell phone.

The Vigilante Spider, who has spent 11 years performing acts of goodness around San Diego, is a member of the Real Life Superheroes. The group has nearly 60 members, who don tights, cloaks and cowls to spread the message that ‘everybody can make a difference.’ Here he’s shown in a new documentary, “Superheroes.”

For the most part, they don’t really fight crime either. Most take on missions to help the homeless, raise money for charity or just lend an ear so someone in trouble knows they care.

“There’s a hero in everybody,” said Dark Guardian, who has patrolled the streets of New York for eight years, resplendent in a blue bulletproof and stab-proof vest with “DG” on the chest.  “Everybody can make a difference; we are just a drastic example of what people can do.”

Many costumed do-gooders are loosely aligned under the Real Life Superheroes banner. The group’s website lists nearly 60 members, complete with profiles and portraits. But there appear to be a lot of sidekicks and other prospects waiting in the wings: Nearly 800 contributors participate in its forums, planning meet-ups, exchanging tips on the best gadgets to carry in a utility belt and even consulting an unofficial manual offering guidance on issues such as hero health and legal considerations.

A broken nose for his troubles
A few have crossed the line into real superhero territory — with painful results. That’s what apparently happened to “Phoenix Jones, Guardian of Seattle,” after he became an international media sensation with a run of publicity that included a Jan. 7 appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” A week later, Jones said his nose was broken when he was kicked in the face while trying to break up a street fight between two men, Seattle’s KOMO-TV reported.

The masks and the occasional ventures into real world crime fighting make police understandably nervous.

Masked people at crime scenes is a recipe for disaster, Seattle police Detective Jeff Kappel said, noting that officers often arrive at chaotic scenes where they must quickly sort out suspects from victims and bystanders.

“Put yourself in our shoes,” he said. “… We don’t know who we’re dealing with when we show up.”

And police Lt. Troy Potts of Columbia, Tenn., where police last summer ran off a crusader known as Viper by warning him that he was violating an ordinance barring adults from wearing masks in public, said there are better ways to fight crime.

“Be the best witness you can be,” he said. “Get tag numbers, get a good look at the (criminal’s) face, hair, eye color, tattoos — anything like that will benefit police tremendously.”

A superhero to police would be a person who gives officers a statement and is willing to show up in court later to testify, they said.

But Dark Guardian says cops on the beat aren’t always averse to a small assist.

Routing bad guys with a bullhorn and lights
He said officers didn’t do a thing when he and a dozen others entered New York City’s Washington Square in 2009 with a bullhorn, lights and cameras to confront around 20 drug dealers. One of the bad guys briefly flashed a gun, he said, but the commotion quickly caused the crooks to melt away into the night.

“The cockroaches wanted to get away from their light,” said Peter Tangen, a professional photographer who has followed the crusaders on their rounds for years and whose pictures and interviews are featured on a super hero websitehe runs.

But tense confrontations or physical altercations are “a rare exception” to the costumed crusader rule, said Tangen, who also served as consulting producer on the full-length documentary film “Superheroes,” which debuted last month at the Slamdance film festival in Park City, Utah, and may be released at theaters nationally in July.

“Superheroes” film director Michael Barnett and producer Theodore James followed superheroes on patrol for more than a year.

Barnett said the two thought they might find “eccentric people in costumes” when they started. Instead, they found “courageous, altruistic people,” some with little resources of their own, trying to do something, he said.

“A lot of people feel powerless during stressful times,” Barnett said. “Any little help inspires. That is our film.”

Small victories over evil
Often that help means small victories over evil.

“I don’t go out there with the purpose of beating up bad guys,” said Zetaman, a Portland, Ore., resident who dons a blue-and-black ensemble with a big “Z” emblazoned on his chest before heading out on patrols, which usually entail handing out food, blankets and other supplies to the city’s homeless. “I do stuff that anyone can do.”

The Vigilante Spider of San Diego told the Real Life Super Hero Project that despite his name he relies on bright lights and the element of surprise to stop violence and the spread of graffiti.

It’s difficult to broadly characterize those who disguise themselves to do good. They come from all walks of life, inhabit all sorts of body types and range in age from 6 to over 60. Many share a love of comic books and superhero movies, and a passion for bringing superhero virtues of trustworthiness, bravery, and selflessness to the real world. Some are willing to reveal their real identities, and some agreed to talk if they were identified only by their aliases.

Among them:

  • Dark Guardian, otherwise known as Chris Pollak, 26, a martial arts instructor who lives on Staten Island. He said a horrific crime and apathetic bystanders inspired him to don his superhero duds.

The crime was the notorious case of Kitty Genovese, 28, who was sexually assaulted and murdered in a 35-minute attack as she tried to walk from her car to her apartment at 3 a.m., March 13, 1964, in Kew Gardens, Queens, New York. Media accounts, later disputed, said that none of the 38 witnesses to the assault did anything to stop it or called police.

“There’s a hero in everybody,” said Dark Guardian, aka Chris Pollak of Staten Island, N.Y.

Though many members of the Real Life Superheroes were born long after the incident, they are well aware of the story and some, like Mr. Xtreme in San Diego, commemorate the case on their costumes.

“We do not want to let things like that repeat itself,” Dark Guardian said.

  • Zetaman (32-year-old Illya King, to his family and friends), who created the Real Life Superheroes website, said his role springs from his desire to make a difference in his community. He described how he and other costumed crusaders recently helped one family of eight they found living on Portland streets.

“They just needed to coast through until the dad got his disability check,” he said, explaining that the family was afraid they’d be split up if they went to a homeless shelter.  “We gave them jackets and backpacks so they could hang out at the airport, looking like they were waiting for a flight.”

The family made it through the rough patch and is now living in an apartment, he said.

In an example of his charitable deeds, Zetaman is putting together the Heroic 100 PDX team to participate in a March of Dimes fundraising walkathon called “March for Babies” on April 30 in Portland, Ore

  • D.C.’s Guardian, who describes himself as a “Mayberry kind of guy,” referring to the bucolic North Carolina setting of “The Andy Griffith Show” of the 1960s.

D.C.’s Guardian, who does not reveal his real identity but acknowledged he works in national defense, said he brings real life and military experience to his role, which he considers part educational and part inspirational. He can often be found on the Washington, D.C., Mall talking to tourists about the Constitution when he’s not working on behalf of various charities.

As for fighting crime, D.C.’s Guardian said he doesn’t go “looking to get into a situation,”  He has, however, called 911 and talked people out of pushing each other around on occasion.

Soundwave, 10, and Jetstorm, 6, are among the youngest real Life Superheroes fighting apathy and trying to inspire people to help others.

  • 10-year-old Soundwave and her 6-year-old brother Jetstorm, the youngest superheroes msnbc.com found and who live in the Washington, D.C. area.

Soundwave told msnbc.com that they were inspired by adult crusader D.C.’s Guardian.

“I saw that he was helping people and I wanted to do the same,” said Soundwave, who has been dressing up and doing good deeds for three years.

She also admits to a fondness for the DC Comics character Hawkgirl, who she says shows women can be strong and take care of themselves.

Soundwave raises money for Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian organization providing food and medicine through emergency relief and community development programs.

“Even a penny or two at a time can make a big difference,” she said.

Among other things, she has participated in a cystic fibrosis minimarathon, distributed food to war veterans and handed out information about blood drives, sometimes serving alongside her brother. Soundwave said she considers performing such public service a privilege.

“To be an American means to be free and do whatever you can to help people,” she said.

  • Thanatos, 62, probably the oldest member of the Real Life Superheroes. The Vancouver, Canada, resident’s heroic acts mainly involve helping the homeless on gritty Hastings Street.

Thanatos, who is married and has a daughter, says he’s been patrolling for three years, inspired by his youthful readings of comic books — the Green Lantern and Batman were particular favorites — and pulp fiction. He posts videos of his patrols on his YouTube channel.

“I’ve wanted to be a superhero all my life,” he said. “I grew up with comic books, they teach morals, ethics, and the good guy always wins.”

Thanatos says the homeless he encounters in Vancouver, Canada, ‘remember me.’

He said he chose the name Thanatos — a minor figure in Greek mythology who personified “death” — as his persona because street people told him that was all they had to look forward to. His costume consists of a skull mask, gloves, black overcoat, black shirt and pants, crossbones tie, and different forms of body armor, including a bulletproof and stab-resistant vest.

“Some can’t remember their social worker or doctors, but they remember me,” he said. “The costume gets the attention of the homeless and lets them know somebody cares.”

While the Real Life Superheroes acknowledge that, even collectively, their do-gooding can barely scratch the surface when it comes to making a difference in their respective cities, many say they put on their suits in hopes of creating a multiplier effect.

For example, Thanatos told the story of an immigrant couple who ended up on the streets and were afraid to talk to strangers. But when he approached them in his outlandish death-head costume, he said, they were happy to talk.

He then wrote about the encounter in his MySpace blog, which was read by someone who sought them out and gave them jobs.

“It wasn’t just something I did, it was a combination,” he said. “I want to inspire people to say ‘I can do something too.'”

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© 2011 msnbc.com Reprints

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Originally posted: http://honoluluweekly.com/film/current-film/2011/03/no-capes/

By Ryan Senaga

Superheroes looks at ordinary “crime fighters.”

Superheroes / Just in time to reality-check us before the gluttonous orgy of comic-book-inspired summer blockbusters is Superheroes, an examination of real-life superheroes that walk among us.

These are people who dress in costume to fight crime. An Albert Einstein quote opens the documentary: “The world is a dangerous place not because of those who do evil but because of those who look on and do nothing.” On the flip side of that is Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee, who deadpans, “I figure that person could get hurt.” Some of the people who patrol the streets in costumes could very well get into serious trouble.

Mr. Xtreme is a slightly overweight shut-in who eventually moves into his van to keep up his lifestyle. At one point he admits, “I don’t really have a social life.” And it’s heartbreaking when he attributes this to his dedication to his “job.”

There’s more. Zimmer, an openly gay superhero, dresses in a red fishnet shirt and swishes femininely down a street after midnight to “bait” someone into mugging him. (His crew tails him in hiding to assist with any potential attack.)

Master Legend takes frequent breaks to refresh himself with an ice-cold can of beer.

While telling an anecdote about the life of a superhero, the Vigilante Spider mentions that superheroes kiss their girlfriends goodbye before heading out, just like any normal person would. The interviewer asks, “So you have a girlfriend?” Vigilante Spider answers, “Oh, just metaphorically speaking.”

Still, there is a sense of humanity that paints these folks as genuine Good Samaritans. While they seem like nutballs–and some definitely are–director Michael Barnett makes us feel for these people and what they are trying to do.

Zetaman and his girlfriend, Apocalypse Meow, hand out care packages that contain essentials, such as toilet paper, to the homeless in Oregon. And the money for these supplies come from their own pockets.

At one point, a map of the US is shown with pins marking the states that have real-life superheroes. Hawaii isn’t marked.

While it’s nice to know there aren’t fat people in spandex walking the Honolulu sidewalks, perhaps more people with purposeful intentions to do good wouldn’t be such a bad thing for the Islands.

Friends of Film Friday, Doris Duke Theatre, Fri., 3/11, doors open at 6pm. Q&A with director Michael Barnett and producer Theodore James follows.

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Originally posted: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_weekend/20110401/ts_yblog_weekend/real-life-superheroes-really

By Jim Brasher

What are you doing this weekend? Going to brunch? Mowing the lawn? Fighting crime? Hmm…which one of these things is not like the other?

Welcome to the confusing, often contradictory world of self-described Real Life Superheroes. (That’s R.L.S.H for short). It’s a loosely affiliated community of people who develop their own superhero persona, put on costume and try to prevent crime in their neighborhood. And all without super speed, invisibility or wings.

So are they vigilantes or volunteers? Commendable or ridiculous? Is what they’re doing even legal? I decided to find out. Check out the video above for my night on patrol with “Motor Mouth.” But first, a little more about the cast of characters, starting with…

THE MASKED MAN:

I’ll admit, I had a few misgivings about meeting a masked stranger decked out in Kevlar and leather in a dark garage. But as you can see in the video, those fears dissipated the moment Motor Mouth started talking. (Turns out, he never really stops talking.) He’s intense, driven, but also has a great sense of humor about the path he’s chosen.

“You have to be a little eccentric,” he said, “there’s no question about it. You gotta be eccentric and you gotta have a little bravado about yourself.”

We went on patrol in downtown San Jose, California with Motor Mouth, Anthem and Mutinous Angel. A typical night on patrol involves lots of walking and plenty of curious stares. But for Motor, his costume is a symbol, a visual reminder that someone in the night is paying attention.

“We’re just like that average man in his mid-forties or fifties going ahead and patrolling his neighborhood in a neighborhood watch group, except we do it with a little bit more flair,” he says. And, he insists, they’re out there as a deterrent only.

“We don’t want to get in the way of the police,” he says, “we try to work with them to the best of our abilities, because we do not see ourselves as vigilantes, not in the slightest.”

(A vigilante is someone who effects justice according to their own understand of right and wrong; someone who punishes an alleged criminal suspect outside the legal system. And that, as you may have guessed, is illegal.)

So Motor Mouth espouses a ‘deterrence-only’ philosphy. But the first rule of the R.L.S.H community is that there are no rules in the R.L.S.H community. (No formal ones anyway.) And not everyone subscribes to the same theories about what it means to prevent crime. So to get a wider view, we spoke to…

THE DIRECTOR:

Director Michael Barnett and producer Theodore James spent a year on the road, following close to forty Real Life Superheroes all over the country for an upcoming documentary called… Superheroes. They were kind enough to share some of their footage with us, and we met Barnett at Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood for an in-depth conversation about his experience.

“There’s not one thing the RLSH community focuses on,” he says, “they really do focus on everything, every aspect of the community, and how to make it better. And the thing that drives all of them, is people who do not care; that’s their mission, change the people who do not care to caring people.”

You can watch more of our interview with Barnett here. And stay tuned to this page for breaking news about when and where you can see the film.

THE LAW & THE GOOD NEIGHBORS:

We also spoke to Cindy Brandon, executive director of San Francisco SAFE (Safety Awareness For Everyone). SF SAFE is unique, a non-profit organization that works in partnership with with the police to provide neighborhood watch program to the residents and businesses of San Francisco.

She stressed the importance of alerting the police to any suspicious activity. “If you see a crime in progress,” she says, “your first reaction should be to call 911.” Getting involved in trying to stop a crime is a risky proposition.

“If they do intervene they’re putting their own life in jeopardy. While I think each person can make that determination themselves when they witness something happening, we tell people not to get involved, but to go into a safe place and call the police right away.”

Actual law enforcement officials stress the same message. According to Lieutenant Andra Brown of the San Diego Police Department, real life superheroes, “don’t have the backup that we have, and trying to take a situation into their own hands could perhaps get out of hand for them, and it could actually create more work for the police officers.”

“Now we perhaps have another victim we have to deal with, we have someone who maybe has been represented to be part of law enforcement, or an authority if you will, and that can confuse other people out on the street. So yeah, there’s a lot of situations where they could impede what’s going on, or what a police officer needs to take care of.”

THE ARTIST:

Like many members of the real life superhero community, Motor Mouth got his inspiration from the pages of a comic book. So we commissioned artist and performer Kevin McShane to create two original comic book panels for our piece, based on footage from our piece.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Motor Mouth, Mr. Extreme, Mutinous Angel, Thanatos, Dark Guardian, Master Legend, Life, Crimson Fist, Zimmer, Saph, Ghost, Asylum, Red Voltage, Zetaman. Their reasons for putting on a costume are as colorful and varied as their names. While I learned pretty quickly that it’s next to impossible to generalize about the Real Life Superhero Community, many share a common nemesis: apathy.

According to Motor Mouth, fighting apathy means “trying to awaken the minds of the public to the little bit of more they can do in society, to make the world a better place.”

They certainly had an impact of director Michael Barnett. “In the end, I found something pretty profound. I found people with often times very little resources doing really, sort of small but beautiful things to make their communities better.”

What do you think? Watch the video and let me know.

Video: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_weekend/20110401/ts_yblog_weekend/real-life-superheroes-really

Video featuring Michael Barnett: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_weekend/20110401/ts_yblog_weekend/we-interview-michael-barnett

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Originally posted: http://blogs.indiewire.com/spout/archives/2011/06/01/superheroes_hbo/

By Christopher Campbell

Add one more superhero blockbuster to your summer movie schedule.

I had heard a whisper of this a while ago, but now it’s confirmed: HBO Documentary Films bought the TV rights to Michael Barnett’s Slamdance hit “Superheroes,” a doc about those real-life costumed crusaders who are often likened to characters in the films “Kick-Ass” and “Super.” The funny thing is I didn’t realize it was official until I saw a magazine ad today for HBO’s summer doc series, which features a new premiere every Monday from June 6 through August 15. Other titles include such festival hits as “Bobby Fischer Against the World,” “Hot Coffee,” “Koran by Heart” and “A Matter of Taste: Serving Up Paul Liebrandt” (see the rest of the titles here). The news about “Superheroes” was also confirmed recently on the doc’s Facebook page, where I regrettably missed it earlier.

Of course I’m excited about all 11 films in the series (the only other I’ve seen so far is “A Matter of Taste”), but I’m especially happy for Barnett’s film, because it wasn’t seen by enough people in Park City and I know there’s a significant audience that will find it intriguing. Here’s a snippet of my review:

Often “Superheroes” comes off as also being more about the problems of the world than the costumed crusaders on screen. Through people like “Zetaman,” “Life,” “Mr. Extreme” and the simply named “Super Hero,” we are made to think about the issues of homelessness and violent crime, as well as police corruption and bureaucracy that lead to the necessity for these [Real-Life Superheroes] to pop up in cities across the nation…“Superheroes” will surely be a big hit with the RLSH crowd, of which there are hundreds more than the selected few in the film, as well as the Comic-Con/fanboy types. Plus it’s a well made, albeit fairly standard doc, without many flaws or bumps.

Fortunately, “Superheroes,” which is screening at Seattle’s True Independent Film Festival next week, is also apparently getting a small theatrical run in October and a DVD release in November.

Check out a trailer for HBO’s summer series, including footage of “Superheroes,” after the jump.

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Originally posted: http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2011/06/a_brief_conversation_with_mich.php

By Keegan Hamilton

Just when you think the media coverage of real life superheroes has reached a critical mass (see: Jones, Phoenix), somebody goes and makes a feature-length documentary film about the entire subculture. That somebody is director Michael Barnett, and his movie, titled simply, Superheroes, screens tonight and tomorrow as part of the Seattle True Independent Film Festival. (It’s also been picked up by HBO, and premieres on cable August 8.) Barnett, who is in town and will make a cameo tonight at Central Cinema, was kind enough to offer his thoughts on costumed crusaders and, of course, the Phoenix Jones phenomenon.

Why did you decide to make a documentary about real life superheroes?
Probably the same thing that drew you to it. It was fascinating. I just sort of stumbled upon these adult men who are putting on costumes to fight crime and help their communities. I just couldn’t believe it was real.

What surprised you most about these people?
It’s really tough to generalize. Everybody was so different. I guess what surprised me most was, we sort of went out looking for this pop culture phenomenon and found so many of these guys — there are literally hundreds of them — so we had to weed through the ones who are just online personalities, doing it as a sort of a cosplay thing. Then we sniffed out the ones who are really doing things — Mr. Xtreme in San Diego, Zetaman in Portland, Dark Guardian and Life in New York, and Thanatos in Vancouver — and focused on them.

A lot of people’s first impression when you explain the concept of real life superheroes seems to be something along the lines of, ‘Those people are nuts.’ How did you try and normalize them, or rationalize what they do? Or did you even try to do that?
Our first approach was to try and make people realize that each person is sort of eccentric in their own way, and they have their own reasons for doing what they do. It’s not a rational thing to do, to put on a costume and walk around a dangerous neighborhood. A lot of these guys don’t have proper training to do that sort of thing — some do — but most don’t. And in some states the laws allow them to carry some pretty serious weapons.

The other thing is showing their situation in life. Quite a few of them don’t have the resources to do what they do. But they want to help their community. Some of them were sad — financially, personally, and just in general. But it’s showing that out of that darkness they could rise above and try to do something good. It’s not all cookies and rainbows, though, it’s profoundly sad and tragic on a certain level.

You interviewed Stan Lee — the Godfather of comics, and the and former president and chairman of Marvel — for the film. What was that like and what were his thoughts on these so-called superheroes?
Stan is the man. He’s amazing. He’s awesome. And he’s 88-years-old!

We thought about trying to interview all kinds of figures in the comic world but ultimately we realized there was only one person we needed to talk to and that was Stan. He understands what it means to be a superhero better than anybody. A lot of these guys (the real life superheroes) are very wary of the media and kind of protective of their community. But once they heard Stan was involved it was pretty easy to get them at least on the phone.

Mostly [Stan] was worried that one of these guys is going to get killed or injured. And yeah, somebody is probably going to get hurt. It’s going to be a sad day for the superhero community when that happens but it seems inevitable.

Phoenix Jones isn’t in the film at all. Why? And have you met the guy? What are your thoughts on him and his impact on the superhero world?
Never met the guy, never had a conversation with him. There’s so many of these guys and we were meeting them [Phoenix Jones] didn’t even exist yet. When we were shooting we rolled through the Pacific Northwest and never even heard his name. And then while we were in production he sort of came out of nowhere and was suddenly everywhere. So I don’t know what my opinion is. If he is just in it for the attention it’s a bad thing. But he is trying to be iconic, and for a message of good so that’s a good thing.

Superheroes screens tonight at 7 p.m. at Central Cinema, and Barnett will be in attendance, along with several members of Seattle’s superhero scene. (Barnett notes that two other Seattle superheroes, Skyman and White Baron, appear briefly in the film.) The movie also will also be shown tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. at the Jewelbox Theatre and the Rendezvous. Ticket info here.

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Originally posted: http://houston.culturemap.com/newsdetail/10-28-11-a-look-at-low-tech-real-life-crimefighters-at-14-pews/

By Joe Leydon

They don’t have the super powers of Spider-Man, or even the firepower of The Punisher. But that doesn’t stop the real-life Superheroes of Michael Barnett’s fascinating documentary – which has its H-Town premiere Friday and Saturday at 14 Pews– from donning home-made costumes, strapping on gadget-stuffed utility belts and patrolling the meanest streets across America. Among those doing derring-do:

  • Mr. Xtreme, a San Diego security guard who moonlights as a crimefighter decked out in green helmet and dark goggles;
  • Zimmer, a proudly uncloseted avenger who prowls Brooklyn in the hope of attracting gay-bashers for his allies to dispatch;
  • Zetaman and Apocalypse Meow, a colorful married couple who dispense necessities to the homeless in downtown Portland, Ore.; and
  • Mister Legend, who drives his beat-up van through the moonlit streets of Orlando and offers aid to the downtrodden when not grabbing beers from his well-stocked ice chest.

Why do they do it? Many of them – including Lucid, a member of Zimmer’s backup team – simply believe the police and other professional law-enforcers are “completely unreliable.” But director Barnett, who spoke with CultureMap this week, thinks the motivations of these caped crusaders may be a bit more complex than that.

CultureMap: Were you surprised to find something that happened way back in 1964 – the infamous murder of Kitty Genovese, who was stabbed while her neighbors reportedly failed to intervene – motivated so many of the superheroes you interviewed?

Michael Barnett: Well, if you think about it, the case became bigger than the case. So, somewhere along the origin of this community [of superheroes], they began to rally around this case of Kitty Geonvese. And it became the defining case of modern apathy in America. They rallied around what the case meant as much as the specific case itself. Because apathy is their villain. So it’s a unifying thread among the community at large.

With these guys, there is no rulebook, there is no manifesto. They go out and be whoever they want and try to help the community in any way they see fit. It’s a real grassroots movement that may not galvanize, that may never get too organized, because the reason they do it is to make up their own rules.

CM: Were you ever worried while making Superheroes that one of these well-intentioned folks might get seriously hurt?

Barnett: Yeah, certainly. I mean, they’d do this anyway without the presence of a camera. But it’s always a concern that you might be creating a moment that wouldn’t exist if you weren’t there with the camera. And that moment may turn tragic.

The interesting thing with these guys is, it’s such a growing population that, inevitably, one of them is going to get hurt, whether there’s someone there with a camera or not. So, hopefully, the people who get into this understand the risk they are taking by choosing to become part of this community and putting themselves in these situations.

But, yeah, occasionally, we did get into some pretty hairy situations. Because, basically, we were shooting in America’s Skid Rows, across the country. Sometimes at 2 o’clock in the morning. It was unpredictable, to say the least.

CM: How did you find out about this amazing subculture?

Barnett: I just sort of stumbled across it on line. And, actually, I didn’t think it was true at first. I thought I’d just found maybe a couple of people who were doing this. But then we started doing a little research, and we quickly discovered that all you had to do is Google “superhero” to come up with a webpage with names of people doing this all over the country, along with news clips and magazine articles. I spent days perusing through it all, and ultimately became fascinated.

CM: How many of these guys do you think have been traumatized by some violence in their past?

Barnett: Actually, that’s one of the few commonalities that I found within the community. I usually don’t generalize, but I did find very quickly that most of these guys had some level of trauma or tragedy in their lives. And this is how that trauma or tragedy has manifested itself. They’re doing this, and getting over that – and possibly over-compensating by going in the opposite direction, and trying to find light in the darkness, if you will.

CM: Maybe they view becoming a “superhero” – even one without super powers – as a way of regaining control of their lives?  

Barnett: Possibly. We found some pretty dark souls out there. And to find them wanting to better themselves, to almost find therapy in doing this – it was fascinating.

CM: Were you ever tempted to tell any of these guys that, hey, maybe you’re not really cut out for this sort of thing?

Barnett: Well, some of these guys that we worked with are untrained, while others are very trained. I’m certainly concerned. I wish they all had a real-life superhero school that they could all go to. So that they could at least know how to handle a situation. So that, rather than inflame it, they could defuse it. Because that takes training – that’s not instinctive. If you don’t have training, then your adrenaline kicks in. And when that happens – people tend to make situations worse. That’s just human nature, you know?

CM: Just to make sure potential audiences understand – these guys aren’t like the Guardian Angels, right?

Barnett: They are and they aren’t. You could say [the superhero community] is an evolution of the Guardian Angels. I mean, the Guardian Angels started out small, and grew to something like 500 chapters. And it’s a really politicized movement now, with a lot of bureaucracy.

Some of these guys used to be part of the Guardian Angels, and they decided they wanted something with less bureaucracy, less rules. They wanted to be able to do it their own eccentric way. The Guardian Angels have a uniform method, and a rulebook, and politics and presidents and leaders. With these guys, there is no rulebook, there is no manifesto. They go out and be whoever they want and try to help the community in any way they see fit. It’s a real grassroots movement that may not galvanize, that may never get too organized, because the reason they do it is to make up their own rules.

CM: During filming, did you find yourself tempted to try some superheroics of your own?

Barnett: I have to say, I get asked that question a lot. And my answer always is: I’m a filmmaker. I want to tell stories. And I thought this was a fascinating story. It’s changed my life in profound ways to see these people – often times with no resources – put everything on the line in order to help other people. So I think I learned a lot from these real-life superheroes. But I’m not going to join them anytime soon.

CM: OK, we’ve talked about the possible dangers facing superheroes. But turn the question around: Ever worry one of these guys might get too carried away with their derring-do?

Barnett: Well, Phoenix Jones was arrested just last week in Seattle for pepper-spraying people.  He thought he was breaking up a fight, and he started pepper-spraying the crowd – and now he has assault charges against him. So, yeah, that’s overstepping the line. Once again, it goes back to, there’s no rulebook for these guys. They don’t have a set of guidelines. So you’re putting yourself in situations where you’re acting instinctively.

And in the case of Phoenix Jones – it was probably not the right protocol. He pepper-sprayed some girls. That’s not good. That’s not a good result. That’s not heroic. I hope the activities of a few superheroes won’t undermine the whole cause.