Alright , “Superman” is now “woke.” That’s the rap on the film from MAGA. And frankly, their opinion is beneath consideration; but it does expose something about them.
So Superman, as ever, is from Krypton, and he thinks his biological parents sent him to earth to help the people there. Basically, (in line with all the other “Superman” movies with an origin story, he’s Jesus, or, less accurately (because the term comes from literary criticism, and doesn’t mean what you think it means), he’s a Christ figure. He thinks this because his parents included a video message in whatever form of transport sent him to earth.
But the message was damaged, so he only knows the first part, the part that tells him he’s been sent earth for the people there. Bad guys recover the whole message, and it turns out his Kryptonian parents wanted him to be Elon Musk: rule the world with his superpowers, and fuck as many women as possible, to recreate the Kryptonian race. White people rule, IOW, with Kal El as their progenitor and overlord. A Tech Bros dream.
The dream of Elmo, for one.
It gets better: Lex Luthor is uber rich and has the technological genius Elmo only imagines he has. And, we find out, he really hates aliens; or any other meta human (the rest of DC’s superheroes), because they are “better” than him. Mostly he hates Superman because he’s stolen the world’s attention, that should rightly be on Lex. And Lex proves he’s willing to destroy the world to destroy Superman and reclaim his place on the world stage.
Yup. Lex is Donald Trump. Or close enough for highway work.
The central point of the plot, the point the story resolves on, is that Superman cares, and that he’s trying to do the right thing (not as easily accomplished as it is in the comic books or lesser movies). He is, in other words, fully human (I’m not doing that part of the story justice; but it’s the rest of the movie). In other words, he wants to do good. Lex doesn’t; Lex is as narcissistic as Trump. Kal El’s parents wanted an ubermencsh to supplant humanity. The classic sci-fi alien invasion scenario. They embody Musk’s raison d’etre. Enough, I suppose, to condemn the story as “woke.” But the joke is on MAGA. Because the movie is really about how Superman is a good man. A decent man who thinks of others more than himself. Not a Christ figure, but someone struggling to embody fundamental Christian teachings: to be last of all, and servant of all.
No wonder it drives MAGA crazy. Coming or going, this story confronts their selfishness, their narcissism, their disdain for anyone they consider “NOK.” Because the good guy in this movie is the dead opposite of everyone they admire most in the world.
Superman was always for truth and justice, both of which are like kryptonite to Maga. It was bound to be anathema to them.
ReplyDelete