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Superman on the Screen: Counterfeit Myth?Superman on the Screen: Counterfeit Myth?

Heroes have disappeared. They have been replaced by superheroes-fantasy creatures.

Harold O.J. Brown | posted 7/09/2007 11:54AM

This article originally appeared in the April 20, 1979 issue of Christianity Today.

If the 1960s and early 1970s became an age without heroes, an age of the antihero in literature and on the stage and ...

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Joseph McCall

Posted: July 16, 2007 11:46 PM

I agree. This piece is lacking. Not only do I question the writers understanding of the Superman myth- let alone his urge to fluidly make no distinction between the flims and the comic books- but I also balk greatly at the writers understanding of good and evil in comic books, looking from a present day perspective. Written in 1979, most comics at the times were indeed probably "good vs. evil". Today, with the comic books often being talored towards adults, the line between "right" and "wrong" can be foggy. What drives the hero? Is vengence a good reason to be a hero? What is a just punishment? What responsibilities do the heros have with the powers they have? While as a mere story, one can interpret it many ways, but we can see that the writers- especially those for the films- did have a certain slant they shooting towards when writing the films. This should be respected in interpreting I believe.

David Buckna

Posted: July 16, 2007 11:21 AM


Superman as Super Savior http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2006/s06070029.htm

Sharp

Posted: July 11, 2007 12:32 PM

Brown was touching on some legitimate themes in pointing out that the concept of any type of heroism during the amoral 1970s was laughed at, but he may have missed the boat in making 'Superman: The Movie' an example of that. Other readers have pointed out that Clark Kent the farmboy was always the moral center of Superman's deeds, not Kal-El the alien. But that was in the comics. In the film, much is also made of Jor-El "teaching" him about the ethics of superpowers. But it wasn't a satire of heroism. If anything, 'Superman: The Movie' was a link in a corrective, nostalgic chain posited by Lucas, Spielberg, et al, that renewed the heroic ideal at the dawn of the Reagan era. Of course, it quickly spiraled into the overcompensatory, machine-gun-toting, unkillable likes of the Stallone and Schwarzenegger films. But it was good while it lasted.

Julie

Posted: July 09, 2007 4:13 PM


Drivel is right. It's obvious the writer did absolutely no research into the Superman myth and hasn't a clue as to what it is that inspired the Man of Steel to devote his life to fighting evil and helping the oppressed. Thanks, Superfan, for pointing out that Clark Kent's virtuous upbringing helped make him the hero he became.

Superfan

Posted: July 09, 2007 3:11 PM

In hindsight, I wonder if the writer of this drivvel would be embarassed by his thesis and conclusions. He should be. He is obviously unqualified to speak to either the Richard Donner movie or the Superman myth. If he were more educated on the subject he would understand that Superman's goodness has never been attributed to his being a Kryptonian. Kryptonians were never portrayed as devine. Instead, Superman's moral center is founded in his upbringing as the son of good simple midwestern "folk" with a traditional sense of right and wrong. It was the guidance of his adoptive parents that set him on the path to be the hero he became. Is this such an un-Christian message. Minus the science-fiction/fantasy trapings isn't this a message consistent with Chistianity; "Teach your Children well" The writer is apparently so insecure and uncertain of the strength of his faith and his Church's teachings that he attacks any perceived threat regardless of how ridiculous his argument may be.

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