Like I said, I think today's post might be a little more interesting, or at least, thought-provoking, than yesterday's, so here it is.
Superman is said to stand for "truth, justice, and the American Way". Superman has also changed somewhat as a character over his history in terms of personality, powers, and types of conflicts dealt with. Is there a correlation between how Superman is portrayed and the America of that time? In other words, does the Superman of a given time reflect the time he's in? Show your work.
OK, that's it, I'm done. See you most likely in a week.
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3 comments:
Uh...do we get credit for this on our finals?
Ha! I love this. I wrote a paper on this exact subject for a history class a couple of semesters ago. Here goes:
Absolutely, I think. In his original inception in the Depression Era, Superman was a complete crusader for social justice, battling against people who would step on the little guy. After "The Big One," when everyone was coming home from the war and settling down and suburbanizing, Superman did the same, becoming more of a patriarch, promoting safety and urging kids to listen to grown-ups (specifically police and the government).
The 70's saw a bit of a return to the social change aspect, but I think it was a lot more subtle in Superman and more noticeable in Lois Lane (with the whole Women's Lib thing). Also, the 70's were the first time we saw Superman used as a Christ/Messiah figure, which reflects the general rise in spirituality that happened around that time.
Superman didn't really change in the 80's, but his biggest villain did. Lex Luthor's retooling (from a mad scientist to a ruthless businessman) after Crisis on Infinite Earths reflected the greed and materialism of the Eighties.
I dunno what, if anything, the current iteration has to say about the world we live in, though. Perhaps the various Crises have made it difficult to pin down, or maybe the fact that we're living right now prevents us from taking a step back and looking at it all.
Short answer: a resounding yes.
-M
Yeah! What Matt said!
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