I haven't seen the new Superman movie that opens today. Between one project and obligation after another there hasn't been much time lately for anything like going to the theater. I hope to catch it soon though. For as long as I can remember I've been a Superman fan to some degree. Superman is the superhero. The prototype by which all others are measured.
In some ways, by which all of us in the real world can be measured, too.
Over the past few days I have heard some bits about Superman as he's being portrayed in the new film. Now, the character is almost ninety years old. There has had to be some growth and acclimation during that time to keep up with the times. But one thing in particular about this latest incarnation that I've been hearing about and... well, it kinda bugs me. Because there is no reason why this should be a problem, for anyone.
It seems that Superman is not about "Truth, justice, and the American way" anymore. Superman is now now for "Truth, justice, and the human way."
Ehhh, no. That's not right. Superman should be for "the American way". And here is why:
The "human way" left to itself doesn't have a good track record. The American way is about believing in something better than ourselves, the people recognizing that it's what they have to aspire toward, and then doing their best to make that happen. That ONLY happens if there is that belief in something higher than man's own nature. Heed that and humanity can do great things. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the American way. It's not perfect and it never will be, but the American way that was traditionally part of Superman's mythos was the best that could be in this world still dominated by baseline Homo sapiens. Superman isn't here to force us to be for the "human way". He sees something greater within us and is going to do HIS best to help us come to that of our own. Superman is an avatar of what is still best in men, something that for all the rotten that human nature is capable of inflicting, is still going to be there in defiance of the bad. Superman calls out to that remnant (as the prophet Isaiah called them) who hold to incorrupt principles. They are the ones who truly "get" Superman and always will.
Maybe that's one of the reasons why Christopher Reeve's will always and forever be the platinum standard by which every Man of Steel is held to.
No, I haven't seen the new Superman movie. I want to though. But I'm just a little disappointed to hear that there's been that much of a change in Superman's guiding morality. We are supposed to see the best in Superman. And he is supposed to see the best in us. And strictly speaking as a historian, who may happen to be an American citizen, this would have been a far different past century if it had not been for American exceptionalism. We must be doing something right, for so many people wanting to come here.
Superman symbolizes the best in us, that looks to something larger than us. And in turn, America is supposed to symbolize what is best in other people, when THEY look to something larger than even America.
There is nothing wrong with that.
(Superman image by Alex Ross)