July 12, 2007

• The Mythology of Superman – Truth, Justice and “All that stuff”

    

  One of my guilty pleasures, as far as television shows, is Smallville, though if I met you on the street I would deny it. The acting is incredibly cheesy,  but the production values are excellent for a weekly television show.  That said, I rarely get to watch it, but I had about 5 episodes on my DVR from months ago, so I decided to watch them and they were really quite good.  I love the fact that the show stays true to the original comic with minor exceptions.  I’ve been a Superman fan since I was a kid.  I loved the mythology of Superman before I even understood what mythology was.  When I started reading the comic books in the 70′s, I was struck by how seemingly modern Superman was.  I still have many of my old comics, including the bicentennial edition from 1976.  When I discovered a batch of Superman comics from the 40′s and 50′s at my grandmother’s house as a kid, I thought I had struck gold.  I read them cover to cover and was so impressed how Superman changed with the times.  In the 30′s he fought Al Capone and organized crime, in the 40′s he helped sell War Bonds and defeat Hitler, and in the 50′s he ushered us into the post nuclear age.  He has always fought for ”Truth, Justice and the American Way“.  Though as a child I didn’t quite realize the extent to which he was used as propaganda.

  

  Japanazis??
  

  After seeing Superman Returns last year, the one thing that bugged me about the movie was the fact that they changed the “Truth, Justice and the American Way” tagline to “Truth, Justice and all that stuff“.  I remember thinking that changing that phrase was sacrilege to the mythology of Superman.  Couldn’t Bryan Singer have kept the original line in the American cut, and changed it in the international editions, or better yet, not changed it at all?  To me Superman is the quintessential American hero, and in the post 9/11 world we need his mythology more than ever.  There certainly aren’t a lot of real role models for kids to look up to.
  

  A.C. Grayling wrote in “The Spectator” that,
  

  “As a nation caught between the terrifying George W. Bush and the terrorist Osama Bin Laden, America is in earnest need of a Savior for everything from the minor inconveniences to the major horrors of world catastrophe.” 
  

  I couldn’t agree more.  Unfortunately, as an adult, I know that Superman is not that Savior.  How I long for that childhood naiveté.

  Superman has been compared to a Christ like figure.  In truth I wish we could see him as a more progressive hero in the 21st Century secular world.  I wonder if Bryan Singer was thinking that when he changed the tagline?  If so, I wish he could have come up with something better than “All that stuff”.  How about, “Truth, Justice and an end to Tyranny”?  I think this distinction in important because it relates to how the rest of the world views America through its movies and television.  I wrote about it in a previous post entitled “America’s Most Influential Export, that talked about the world wide popularity of “Desperate Housewives” (except interestingly enough in China).

  

  Anyway, the movie is halfway decent, if you grew up with and appreciate the mythology (just like those who appreciate the Star Wars mythology).  And the show, laughable acting aside, is a nice escape for real Superman fans (and teenage girls looking for eye candy).  Coincidentally, I was surprised when I scored 100% on this silly “Which Superhero Are You Quiz” and found out that I am Superman.

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  Which Superhero Are You?? 

  Superman 100% Batman 70% Catwoman 70% Spider-Man 65% Green Lantern 65% Supergirl 50% Wonder Woman 50% Robin 50% The Flash 45% Iron Man 45% Hulk 40%

  Like Superman, Carey Anthony is mild-mannered, good, strong and he loves to help others.

  Click here to take the “Which Superhero are you?” quiz…

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  Song of the day

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