American Jesus

National Review ^ | June 17, 2013 | National Review

[National Review]

The Gospel According to ‘Man of Steel’

By Kevin Williamson

Superman is an object of dispute — at least comic-book-nerd dispute — between Judaism and Christianity. One camp sees Superman as Moses in tights: an infant sent away by his parents to avoid certain death, discovered by members of an alien culture who adopt him as their own, who eventually discovers his true identity, whose characteristic activity is delivering his people to safety. They note that Superman was created by Jewish artists (writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster) at a time of Jewish crisis (1933), and that as an immigrant struggling to fit into mainstream American society, he was a familiar figure to American Jews (Mr. Siegel and Mr. Schuster were both children of immigrants).

[National Review]

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/351193/american-jesus-kevin-williamson

[count-your-change]

I tried to watch part of Superman Returns. Couldn’t do it. Bad color, too much dramatic symbolism, Superman is turning a deep blue from the older pleasant blue....it was just impossible to enjoy and that’s the only reason to watch... to enjoy, no deeper messages or social commentary.

[avenir]

You need special glasses (and popcorn) to see all that allegory.

[NurdlyPeon]

I tried to watch part of Superman Returns. Couldn’t do it. Bad color, too much dramatic symbolism...

And too much screwing around emoting with Lois. Still, tell me you didn't LOVE the airplane-rescue scene.

[bravo whiskey]

since everything of importance in the world has already been solved.

[count-your-change]

You mean the little single landing on the water? I didn't love it. I didn't like it. SuperMan has become Soupy Sales without the giggles.

[Maelstorm]

I went to ‘The Man of Steele’ with my boys Friday night. The theater sold out but after watching it I asked my boys what they thought and one hit on exactly what I thought ‘It was good but not that good’. I actually liked the Krypton footage and Russell Crowe did an excellent job as Jor-El. I really enjoyed the first part of the movie and the very end. The rest was just too much. Henry Cavill was an excellent choice for Superman. He has the look, he has the presence and had he been in more competent hands this film would’ve been a true masterpiece but instead it degenerates into a tiring affair of cliché and special effects.

My biggest complaint is that they went all Prometheus with Kryptonains. If you didn’t know better you’d almost think that the Kyptonians were the ‘engineers’. There were just so many incredulous moments too that just drained away the substance and awe that could’ve been there. The point I identity things going down hill is with the arrival of General Zod and things get immediately better with his demise.

Lois Lane unfortunately is left as a truly filler character and though they didn’t pull in some Megan fox they might has well have given the lack of resonance and screen time she had. I suppose some who have no reason to expect better might be taken with this film but it was disappointing to me. I hope they do better in the next iteration. We can take a bit of solace that they didn’t portray Kansas as dullsville and they even displayed a warning of what happens when reproduction is severed from family and ones role in life is severed from individual choice.

[Trentamj]

As a teacher of World Myths, the "Savior/Hero" myth is a huge and powerful favorite of virtually all cultures, times, and places. Key to this myth is the theme that a mysterious someone comes from somewhere else, whether from another (foreign) parent, or a foreign country, or another place such as Olympus/Valhalla/Heaven, or another planet. (This explains why, when running back in 2008, Obama-boosters had to check-off at least two of my just-mentioned tick-marks for his being a Savior or Messiah, even if such myth-making courted questions about his legal eligibility to be POTUS.) This myth is actually a metaphorical way of epically explaining how, if and when a culture ever "hits the wall" in terms of no longer being able to cope with its problems, then it is forced to look to other outside cultures and other outside peoples for advice and assistance. Of course, no self-respecting culture is ever going to admit that it has run out of creative gas; so instead, it will a invoke the Savior or Hero myth to explain where the new idea came from, rather than state directly that it borrowed a "cup of sugar" so to speak, from its cultural next-door-neighbor.

[longtermmemmory]

The same hero story is from the ancients with Heracles, Hercules etc.

The man conceived of woman and a god and raise by a mortal man.

[livius]

I agree on Man of Steel. It was very good, but not as good as it could have bee. I think the authors were actually afraid of going for any more depth. There were a few good lines - about morality, love, etc. - and it’s interesting that (like Gattica) the character was conceived naturally and outside of the conception controlled by the government, where everyone was hatched designed for his station in life and had no freedom or possibility of change.

And as you say, it was positive about human life and even positive about Kansas! It was also positive about Christian imagery.

But I could have stood a reduction in the special effects and a little more focus on story.

[livius]

Good review.

I didn’t think Swanwick was supposed to evoke Obama, btw. I thought he was meant to be more like Colin Powell, that is, not an arrogant and self-obsessed “executive” but a somewhat bureaucratic chief officer, probably trying to do the best job he can, but not really understanding the scope of things.

[NurdlyPeon]

You mean the little single landing on the water? I didn't love it. I didn't like it. SuperMan has become Soupy Sales without the giggles.

No, the scene with the airliner/space shuttle. Did you actually WATCH the movie???