{"id":2187,"date":"2006-06-30T11:38:00","date_gmt":"2006-06-30T11:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/06\/the-politics-of-superman-e-g-all-that-stuff\/"},"modified":"2006-06-30T11:38:00","modified_gmt":"2006-06-30T11:38:00","slug":"the-politics-of-superman-e-g-all-that-stuff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/06\/the-politics-of-superman-e-g-all-that-stuff.html","title":{"rendered":"The politics of Superman (e.g. “all that stuff”)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>
In the early days \u2014 for example, in the cartoons<\/a> produced by the Fleischer studio during World War II \u2014 Superman fought for \u201ctruth and justice\u201d. In later years, certainly by the time of the 1950s TV show<\/a>, this was revised to \u201ctruth, justice and the American way\u201d. But now, it seems that Superman Returns<\/a><\/i> has taken \u201cthe American way\u201d back out of the equation; in one scene, Perry White asks if Superman still stands for \u201ctruth, justice and all that stuff.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Via Reuters<\/a>, the Hollywood Reporter<\/i> \u2014 which erroneously says that \u201cthe American way\u201d goes back to Superman\u2019s beginnings in the comics back in 1938 \u2014 reports that the screenwriters behind Superman Returns<\/i> left the phrase out very deliberately:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were always hesitant to include the term \u2018American way\u2019 because the meaning of that today is somewhat uncertain,\u201d Ohio native [Michael] Dougherty explains. \u201cThe ideal hasn\u2019t changed. I think when people say \u2018American way,\u2019 they\u2019re actually talking about what the \u2018American way\u2019 meant back in the \u201940s and \u201950s, which was something more noble and idealistic.\u201d<\/p>\n

While audiences in Dubuque might bristle at Superman\u2019s newfound global agenda, patrons in Dubai likely will find the DC Comics protagonist more palatable.<\/p>\n

And with the increasing importance of the overseas box office \u2014 as evidenced by summer tentpoles like \u201cThe Da Vinci Code<\/a>\u201d \u2014 foreign sensibilities can no longer be ignored.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you play the movie in a foreign country, and you say, \u2018What does he stand for? \u2014 truth, justice and the American way.\u2019 I think a lot of people\u2019s opinions of what the American way means outside of this country are different from what the line actually means (in Superman lore) because they are not the same anymore,\u201d [Dan] Harris says. \u201cAnd (using that line) would taint the meaning of what he is saying.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Interestingly, despite the screenwriters\u2019 best efforts, it is not too hard to imagine that their Superman might still be seen to have certain parallels with current American policy. Jeffrey Overstreet<\/a> recently received an e-mail<\/a> from one of his readers which stated:<\/p>\n

He still stands for truth justice and \u201cthe american way\u201d even if the film is too embarrassed to say it. Many people say we as a nation don\u2019t belong in Iraq or Afghanistan. Its not our problem. In the same way, Superman has no right to interfere with human problems. He\u2019s an alien, no one asked him to solve the worlds problems. BUT HE DOES ANYWAY! Not because he does it out of some moral oblegation (ie great power comes greeat responsibility in spiderman) but because thats who he is; who he was raised to be as an American. He does the right thing no matter what. Likewise, America will always be there for the world even if its unpopular for us to interfere.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Similarly, some moviegoers have wondered if the Superman of this film really has the right to hover above the city and eavesdrop on everybody\u2019s private conversations, or to snoop on Lois Lane\u2019s home life by looking through her walls \u2014 which, in its own way, brings to mind recent allegations regarding the current American government\u2019s efforts to track phone calls, and the like.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all rather reminiscent of the criticisms of the superhero genre, and the possible cultural and political influence of this mythos, that Robert Jewett and John Shelton Lawrence make in The Myth of the American Superhero<\/a><\/i> \u2014 criticisms that I don\u2019t always agree with, but I do find them interesting, and worth thinking about.<\/p>\n

UPDATE: Here\u2019s another thought. The first film<\/a> came out in 1978, only a few years after the Vietnam War and Watergate . And in that film, Superman tells Lois Lane that he is there to fight for \u201ctruth, justice and the American way\u201d \u2014 a statement that prompts a cynical Lois to laugh and say that he\u2019ll be fighting every politician in the country. So the film acknowledges the disillusionment of its era, and responds<\/i> to it, by presenting Superman as the noble and idealistic embodiment of all that the country once stood for.<\/p>\n

It could be interesting to explore why the new film, coming at a time of similar disillusionment, does not<\/i> go this route, and instead seems to steer around<\/i> the political debates of our times even as it inadvertently lends<\/i> itself to those political debates.<\/p>\n

For example, might it be because, in 1978, Americans had a much stronger sense of what \u201cthe American way\u201d stood for, and could easily see their politicians as traitors to that cause, whereas in 2006, Americans are no longer so confident that their politicians are at odds with \u201cthe American way\u201d, whatever that means?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the early days \u2014 for example, in the cartoons produced by the Fleischer studio during World War II \u2014 Superman fought for \u201ctruth and justice\u201d. In later years, certainly by the time of the 1950s TV show, this was revised to \u201ctruth, justice and the American way\u201d. But now, it seems that Superman Returns […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe politics of Superman (e.g. "all that stuff")<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the early days -- for example, in the cartoons produced by the Fleischer studio during World War II -- Superman fought for "truth and justice". 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