Will 'Captain America' Movie "Sell" Overseas?

Marvel Studios/Paramount Pictures

Ever since it was announced that a Captain America movie was being produced, I've wondered how the character would be accepted by audiences, both in the U.S. and overseas. Let's face it, we live in an age in which ultra-patriotism, like the kind Cap is famous for, is seen by many to be a character flaw. I worried about there being some unintended chuckles during the movie if Cap said anything like "America is the greatest country on earth," or other lines that could be seen as too nationalistic. 

It looks like the issue of how to market a World War II era super-patriot has been on the minds of the filmmakers, as well. On July 3, Brooks Barnes posted an article on the New York Times' Media Decoder blog that outlined the challenges that Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures have in marketing Captain America: The First Avenger to foreign audiences.

Captain America #1 -1941 Timely/Marvel Comics

Here's a sample -

"Selling a quaintly patriotic war hero in a politically divided United States would be tricky enough. What about overseas, where movies can generate over 70 percent of their total box-office revenue and the word “America” can be a downright dirty one?" -Brooks Barnes - New York Times, 7/3/11

The article raises some interesting questions in terms of what American movie distributors are willing to do in order to market films with a pro-America stance. You can find the full article at the link below -

Soft-Pedal Captain America Overseas? Hollywood Says No - NYTimes.com