Superman

I has brushed this off as a YAS (Yet Another Superhero) movie, but then all the reviews came in and the "anti-woke" (aka facists) backlash. Now I was interested.

The aesthetics were the first thing that hit me. The trainer before was for the Fantastic Four movie, which leaned heavily into a 1950’s retro-future idealism. Superman continued this trend with his robots and costumes looking like creations from a 1950s comic book.

It’s a common trope that horror movies highlight the anxieties of their eras. The alien invader movies of the 1950 were about communist invasions. Dystopias like Soylent Green and Logan’s Run were reactions to a growing distrust in our own institutions. 2012 and The Day After Tomorrow spoke to environmental anxieties. The aesthetics of pop art show the opposite, the hopes of an era. The 1990’s and early 2000’s were filled with hypercolored, fast-paced techno-fettism. The look was sexy, cyber, and multi-ethnic. The next phase was a backlash against the artificial. It popped up everywhere from video games like BioShock to shows like Loki. Bars became speakeasies, everything was lit by Edison lightbulbs, food became artisanal, and beer crafted. Everything had to look authentic and intentional.

This 1950s comic book retro-future revels in space age designs, curved cathode ray TVs, and robots out of a cereal box. Instead of being a rejection of authenticity, it seems to be an escape to optimism. In the 1950s, our better days were still ahead. We had faith in science and our institutions.  As Superman would have said, the Earth was full of good people who believed in truth, justice, and the American way.

Gunn’s Superman leans heavily into this motif. The titles and score call back to the 1978 Christopher Reeve version. Instead of the giant special effects, dark colors, space ships, battle armor, and modernized outfits of the other intermediate versions, we are treated to bright colors, more humans on screen than CGI, and a plot that doesn’t involve 32 intertwined story arcs and a side hustle about Lois Lane self-actualizing. In otherwords, it was good!

I love this Superman for reclaiming the Midwest. Clark’s parents call him Clark with a “w,” the way we say it where I am from. “Claw’ark.” Midwesterners have an uncanny ability to add syllables to words. Lois asks him all the tough, nuanced questions. Is what you did political savvy? Will it be popular? Did you clear it with the authorities? Clark goes back to the basic ethics of 1950’s Midwest America — if he didn’t help, people would die. ‘Nuff said. It is a rejection of the constant excuses made by modern society. It is a rejection of realpolitik that allows for us to ask to do a risk analysis before doing what is right.

I am flummoxed by the charge of being “anti-woke.” This is the quintessential Superman. The bad guy has always been the wealthiest man on Earth, with his bought-and-paid-for bureaucrats. He was always adopted by Midwesterners who raised him with Midwest values. He was always standing up for the little guy and against bullies. The only change is a revision in how we see his true parents, which, honestly, was amazing.

I really enjoyed it. The acting, script, visuals: everything was tremendous. I loved how Gunn reclaimed a kinder and more human Superman; and a truer and kinder vision for America. If you think that is woke, then you probably didn’t grow up saying “Claw’ark Key’ent.”