Popular culture is an excellent, but little used intermediary for education and dissemination. Modern educational theory (e.g. constructivist pedagogy) has been long arguing that the only really integral parts of consciousness are those that can be related to earlier cognitive schemata. Such is typically the case in works of popular culture, which, moreover, often reflect on important social problems. This is particularly important where civic education is virtually absent from school education. Hungary is such a country, that is why a series of books on well-known popular culture works for the purpose of science communication and education has had a strong resonance. The book series currently consists of 7 volumes with 83 papers by 72 authors. In addition to the MCU, examples are drawn from the Star Wars and Harry Potter universes, as well as from works such as The Handmaid's Tale. The specific studies in the book series also show how the phenomenon of disinformation and fake news can be explained in terms of the MCU films. The films Iron Man 3 (2013) and Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019) are excellent examples to illustrate the post-truth situation. Iron Man exploits the audience's curiosity and fear of terrorism through the character of the "Mandarin", while Spider-Man is a spectacular illustration of the cognitive weaknesses behind disinformation. He makes us believe that he is stuck in spectacular clichés, and then asks us: how could we believe this transparent tale? The indirect aim of the presentation is to discuss that in the current populist political environment of Hungary it is particularly important to find alternative discourses and narratives that make the problems of fake news and the post truth phenomenon articulable, understandable, and negotiable. The MCU provides an excellent framework for this.

1. THE MULTIVERSE OF LIES :
EXPLAINING
POST-TRUTH POPULISM
USING MCU EXAMPLES
Ádám Nagy, Series Editor, Director at Excenter Research Center
Gábor Polyák, Professor, Head of Department, ELTE University
Annamária Torbó, Assistant Professor, University of Pécs
The Superhero Project: 7th Global Meeting
August 25-27, 2023, Herstmonceux Castle, Sussex, UK

2. Who said, learning cannot be fun?
Hungarian aspect from fantastic universes

3. The Usage of Fantastic Universes in Hungary
 Pseudoscience is easy, science is hard
 Contstructive pedagogy
 Conclusion: use these universes to help understand and
promote science

4. Examples
 HP´s Boggart & quantumphysics
 Shrek & procedural law
 Joker (2019, Joaquin Phoenix)

5. Fantastic Worlds & Science - Seven Volumes of a Book Series
 The Politology of Sci-fi (politology)
 Fantastic Worlds (politology, social science)
 Educate a Jedi! – the pedagogy of imagination (pedagogy)
 Parallel Universes (misc incl.natural science)
 A Galaxy Away (misc)
 The Legal Force Awakens (law)
 Beyond Spacetime (misc)

6. Best Articles Somehow Marvel Related 
Everyone has the X in Themselves – Mutants and Talents
Deadpool: Bad Looking Love (the Psychology of Love)
Deceived Superheroes - Fake-news and Disinformation in the Marvel Universe
Who Guards the Guardians? - International Peace and Security in the Marvel Universe
The Prosecution is Saving the World - Criminal Law Analysis of the Characters of the
Marvel Universe

7. Fantastic Worlds & Reality
 Fictional worlds = analogies of reality
 Popcultural franchises (Harry Potter, MCU…) as good
starting points for audiences to reflect on the social
processes that affect them (van Zoonen 2005, Jenkins
2012)
 They can primarily do this by taking elements of the
fictional universe and transforming them into reality
(fanarts, fanfictions, performances...)  This includes a
strong stand for marginalised groups such as racial,
ethnic or sexual minorities.

8. The Role of Participatory Politics
 The intersection of the fictional universe and reality creates an alternative cultural-political arena.
 This is in contact with, but distinctly separate from, the traditional forums and themes of institutional
politics.
 The activities that belong here can be labelled as participatory politics:
 this term was created by the
 an interactive, peer-based action through which individuals and groups seek to have a
voice and influence on public issues of interest to them

9. Multiplicity
 One of the 7 principles of transmedia storytelling (Jenkins 2009)
 Most transmedia franchises strive to maintain continuity  it
contributes to preserving the coherence of the universe (canon)
 There can also be multiplicities when the larger transmedial universe
can be divided into further segments  parallel continuities can be
discovered
 Alternative versions of each character can exist, and the stories can
take place in parallel universe versions (e. g. Spider-Verse)
 This is traditionally the case with fan works  preferred alternatives

10. New Possibilities of Transmeda Storytelling
 Transmedia storytelling can create new possibilities beyond fiction-based entertainment.
 As Schiller (2018) points out, scholars from a variety of disciplines are exploring the potential of such
storytelling
 to enhance learning opportunities in higher education (i. a. Fleming 2011, Kalogeras 2014)
 to tell non-fiction stories in journalism (Moloney 2011)
 to engage in politics and activism (Brough & Shresthova 2012) (strongly related to participatory
politics)

11. Connection Between the Multiverse & Social Polarisation
 In the era of post-truth, we can realise parallelism between the multiverse phenomenon and social
polarisation.
 Especially true for Hungary where the society is deeply polarized  a huge distance between supporters of
the government and the opposite parties, it is very hard to find a common ground
 Serious social conflicts emerge when these parallel universes converge

12. „The mass media generate a transcendental illusion”
(Niklas Luhmann)
 Is the media capable of representing reality?
 Escape from reality
 Fiction vs lies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Feige;
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2834060864/

13. „You give evil a face, a bin Laden, a Gaddafi, a Mandarin, you hand the
people a target” (ldrich Killian)
 Images of terror
 Conspiracy theories
 „I had a thought that would guide me for years to
come. Anonymity, Tony.” (ldrich Killian)
https://screencrush.com/kevin-feige-defends-iron-man-3-mandarin-
twist/

14. „Please do not start calling it my Peter Tingle.”
(Peter Parker)
 The impact mechanism of disinformation
 Cognitive biases
 „It's easy to fool people when they're already fooling
themselves.” (Quentin Beck)
 „People, they do believe. And nowadays they'll believe
anything.” (Quentin Beck)
https://www.deviantart.com/vamkiretrannel/art/Peter-
Tingle-805014540

15. „The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world. Lies
will pass into history.” (George Orwell / MJ)
 Perfect illusion - Deep Fake
 Private universes
https://beforesandafters.com/2019/07/09/how-that-insane-illusion-battle-in-spider-
man-far-from-home-was-created-and-what-didnt-make-the-final-cut/

16. „This is breaking news.”(Jonah Jameson)
 The role of the media in spreading disinformation
 Self-reflexivity
https://www.thedailybugle.net/

17. OUR TEAM

18. Bibliography
 Brough, Melissa M. – Sangita Shresthova (2012): Fandom Meets Activism: Rethinking Civic and Political Participation. In Henry Jenkins
– Sangita Shresthova (eds.): Transformative Works and Fan Activism. Special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 10.
 Cohen, Cathy J. – Joseph Kahne (2012): Participatory Politics: New Media and Youth Action. Oakland, CA: Youth and Participatory
Politics Research Network.
 Fleming, Laura (2011): “Pedagogical Considerations of the Transmedia Mythology.” EdTech Insight: Transmedia and Education.
 Jenkins, Henry (2009a): The Revenge of the Origami Unicorn: Seven Principles of Transmedia Storytelling. Henry Jenkins hivatalos
honlapja, 12th December 2009. URL: http://henryjenkins.org/blog/2009/12/the_revenge_of_the_origami_uni.html
 Jenkins, Henry (2012): „Cultural acupuncture”: Fan activism and the Harry Potter Alliance. In: Henry Jenkins – Sangita Shresthova
(eds.): Transformative Works and Fan Activism. Special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 10. University of Southern
California. URL https://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/305/259
 Kalogeras, Stavroula (2014): Transmedia Storytelling and the New Era of Media Convergence in Higher Education. London: Springer.
 Luhmann, Niklas (2000): The Reality of the Mass Media, Polity
 Moloney, Kevin (2011): Principles of Transmedia. Transmedia Journalism. URL: http://transmediajournalism.org/contexts/principles-
of-transmedia/
 Schiller, Melanie (2018): Transmedia Storytelling: New Practices and Audiences. In: Ian Christie – Annie van den Oever (eds.): Stories.
Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 97-108.
 Torbó Annamária (2021): Kulturális és részvételi politikák egy magyar Harry Potter-rajongói közösségben, (Cultural & Participatory
Politics in a Hungarian Harry Potter Fandom. ) PhD dissertation, University of Pécs, Hungary.
 Van Zoonen, Liesbet (2005): Entertaining the Citizen: When Politics and Popular Culture Converge. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

19. Slide Chef
THANK YOU
FOR YOUR ATTENTION!