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Title: Messianic tone of Superman is obvious and calculated
Source:
Houston Chronicle
URL Source: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl/ent/3996541
Published: Jun 24, 2006
Author: JACOB ADELMAN
Post Date: 2006-06-24 23:57:28 by Morgana le Fay
Keywords: None
Views: 266
Comments: 6
LOS ANGELES - As one of society's most enduring pop-culture icons, Superman has often been observed as more than just a man in tights. And as the hype machine shifts into high gear for the upcoming release of Superman Returns, some are reading deeply into the film whose hero returns from a deathlike absence to play savior to the world. ADVERTISEMENT "It is so on the nose that anyone who has not caught on that Superman is a Christ figure, you think, 'Who else could it be referring to?' " said Stephen Skelton, who wrote a book examining parallels between Superman and Christ. In his early 1930s comic-book incarnation, Superman was a hero of the New Deal, aiding the destitute and cleaning up America's slums, said Tom De Haven, author of a book about Superman's status as an American icon and a novel about the hero's high school days. By the 1950s, fears of postwar urban lawlessness had turned Superman into a tireless crime fighter, and his early television persona envisioned him as an idealized father figure, De Haven said. More recently, Quentin Tarantino had the villain of Kill Bill: Vol. 2 wax philosophical about the Man of Steel: "Clark Kent is how Superman views us. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race." Some have also seen the hero as a gay icon, forced to live a double life with his super-self in the closet. A recent edition of the gay magazine the Advocate even asked on its cover, "How gay is Superman?" But the comparison to Jesus is one that's been made almost since the character's origin in 1938, said Skelton, author of The Gospel According to the World's Greatest Superhero. Many simply see the story of a hero sent to Earth by his father to serve mankind as having clear enough New Testament overtones. Others have taken the comparison even further, reading the "El" in Superman's original name "Kal-El" and that of his father "Jor-El" as the Hebrew word for "God," among other theological interpretations. Superman Returns, which premieres late Tuesday, has been drawing its own comparisons to biblical accounts, especially after the appearance of its trailer earlier this year. The preview shows the hero with his eyes closed as the voice of his father — Marlon Brando's, courtesy of 1978's Superman — tells him he was sent to Earth because humans "lack the light to show the way." "For this reason," continues the voice, "I have sent them you, my only son." Online message boards and Web logs quickly latched onto the biblical resonance of those lines. "The allusion to Jesus Christ could hardly be accidental," wrote Christian blogger Tom Gilson. "Is this a new Superman for the new Evangelist red state America? Superman as Jesus?" asked one contributor to the Portland-based blog site Urban Honking. The premise of the new Superman movie alone has fueled speculation that it's wearing its biblical comparisons on its long, tight sleeve. Superman, in the film, returns to Earth after a long absence, a narrative that's been likened to Jesus' death and resurrection. Meanwhile, news reports that Passion of the Christ star James Caviezel was originally in the running for the lead role in Superman Returns, which eventually went to Brandon Routh, convinced others that the film's makers were playing up the New Testament comparisons. Movie goers who enter the theater looking for Christian imagery are unlikely to be disappointed. At one point, Superman sustains a stab wound reminiscent of the spear jabbed in Jesus' side by a Roman soldier. In another scene, Routh poses with his arms outstretched as though crucified. Not everybody welcomes the Superman-Jesus comparisons. "It's a misrecognition," said Amy Pedersen, who is writing her doctoral thesis in art history at the University of California, Los Angeles, on superhero comic books. Pedersen said Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, who introduced Superman in 1938 in a comic book, were Jews who were inspired by the Old Testament story of Moses and the supernatural golem character from Jewish folklore. The Christian allusions are recent innovations that compromise the integrity of the Superman myth, she said. "This does not need to be a consistent cultural form from its beginning to its present, but something has to be maintained," Pedersen said. Superman Returns director Bryan Singer said the notion of Superman as a messianic figure is simply another case of contemporary storytelling borrowing from ancient motifs. Singer, who is Jewish, said his neighbors' Christianity played a powerful role in the community where he grew up. "These allegories are part of how you're raised. They find their way into your work," he said. "They become ingrained in your storytelling, in the same way that the origin story of Superman is very much the story of Moses." It's unlikely that studio executives, conscious of the size of the Christian audiences that were coaxed into theaters by the biblical echoes in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, would discourage religious associations. "The way in which the Christian population can get behind a movie that they can agree with is a huge push financially," said Skelton, who also distributes Bible-study kits that draw scriptural lessons from classic television episodes. "It's a smart move in terms of attracting an audience." At the same time, Superman is fixed firmly enough in popular secular culture so that the religious accents are unlikely to alienate a mainstream audience, said Craig Detweiler, who directs the film-studies program at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. "Just like Jesus, in some ways (Superman) transcends parities and politics and cannot be co-opted to serve the narrow interests of others," he said. "That could be one reason why studios aren't afraid to let Superman go that way, toward the religious." Fuller Theological Seminary
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#1. To: Morgana le Fay (#0)
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
But sometimes Freud was right though...The Jewish authors/creators of Superman's "Truth, Justice and the American Way" character had him killed off for a reason...and apparently, at precisly the right time...
the original superman I believe was killed by throwing him out of a window in a high-rise. and on the tv show he used to go over to the window and dive out, then fly away of course. In real life he was unable to fly and when his killers threw him out he died. but the story I had heard in the media was that organized crime people he borrowed money from killed him. do you know a different story? It is so fascinating that whatever actor plays the superman role it seems meets a bad end.
#4. To: Red Jones (#3)
I was refering to the Marvel Comic edition... The messages to the sheeple always come in "trilogies"...this one's no different. SUPERMAN: Death, December 19, 2005 Reviewer: Steven Hancock (Winston Salem, NC United States) - See all my reviews Superman has become one of the most beloved comic book characters of all time. In his words, he has come to stand for "truth, justice, and the American way." When faced with an obstacle, he would always overcome. That is, until he came face-to-face with his deadliest adversary: Doomsday. "The Death of Superman" is an exciting, action-packed and emotionally-exhilirating graphic novel that depicts the Man of Steel in the most destructive fight of his life. No adversary before or since has been able to go toe-to-toe with the Man of Steel for so long and so hard. Hell-bent on death, Doomsday will stop at nothing until everone and everything in it's path is destroyed. In the seven comics collected from the various "Superman" and "Justice League" comic books, we see the greatest of the superheroes meet his untimely demise in a duel to the death that takes everything he has, and sacrifice himself to save the people of Metropolis. If you're a fan of Superman, or of comic books and graphic novels in general, "The Death of Superman" is one of the finest ever created. Fans will not be disappointed. Always a lot of unaswered questions that the sheep have no hope of getting their herded heads around...
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#2. To: orangedog (#1)
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
#3. To: Eoghan (#2)
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