I have never been a big Superman fan. I acknowledge that he is the template for modern superheroes. I recognize the first two Richard Donner movies as being good films. But I'm just not that into Mr. Goody-2-Shoes. He's a big dork who always does the right thing, never waivers, never falters -- and never doubts. Give me Batman, or the Punisher, Wolverine, or even Spider Man (who's also kind of a gogdy-goody). I like my heroes dark and conflicted.So why am I so excited about the new Superman film? I even dug out my copy of the original Donner movie and tried showing it to my kid. She hardly noticed. But there I was: Lois Lane precariously perched hundreds of feet above the Metropolis city street, dangling from a wrecked helicopter, and I got a lump in my throat when Christopher Reeve glances at phone kiosk (no more phone booths in 1978! Surely you remember pay phones?) and then ducks into a revolving door to emerge in his red, yellow and blue tights.
"Man. That's a bad out-fit!" says a corner pimp. Amen, brother. The stirring John Willimas score rises as Supes plucks Lois from certain death. Tears are rolling down my checks and I'm sniffling.
What is it? I don't know. Maybe I'm more moved knowing how brave Christopher Reeve really was as a man. Maybe I'm tapping into some childish part of myself. Maybe I'm fatigued from all the bad news (true, false, or simply biased) swirling around about my country. Superman is the best part of all of us, and that's why we like his image. Maybe we do need a little Superman again, whether we admit it to ourselves or not.
Doesn't it get you? The image of the hero emerging from within a perfectly ordinary man.
This is one of my favorite Superman images. It was the cover of a tribute to the men and women of 9/11. The arrangement recalls an old image (I wasn't able to find it online; maybe one of you can) of a young boy with a homemade red cape and his dog looking up at a larger than life billboard of Superman. We all have heroes, it seems to say. So does this picture. There's a truth to this picture too. It's easy for Superman to be a hero -- he's invulnerable. It's easy to believe that he would admire the courage of mere mortals without any of his advantages.
Superman is an enduring symbol of strength that speaks to the better angels in all of us. I hear the movie is good. I hear it even still uses the old John Williams theme. I think I'll try to find some time to see it.
No, that's enough seriousness... On to the cheesecake!
3 comments:
The dog's name is Krypto.
Um. Yes, it is. I didn't mention that before. But you're right. And Supergirl's name is Kara. And there's a Kryptonian monkey, too. And all kinds of other camp garbage that accumulated over the years.
DC had the good sense to eliminate most of it. So should you. Except for Krypto, of course. Everyone loves dogs.
Saw the movie on Thursday. Very slow beginning, got better and then like many comics, had an ending that was obviously not the end. I still believe Mr. Reeves did the best job on the big screen in the first installment. I guess I didn't like Kevin Spacey. He was not the Joker, Jack Nicholson, opposite Michael Keaton's Batman. Very empty as a villain. The kid with the inhaler was a distraction. Anyway the kids liked it, off to P of the C: Dead Man's Chest next week.
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