When I was a kid, somewhere between 5-8-years-old, I used to dress up as Superman and pretend to fly around the house as I watched Superman 1 & 2. The brilliant score by John Williams made it easy for me to lose myself in a world filled with wonder and imagination. 15-18 years later, I find myself a 24-year-old, jaded young man, whose taste for superhero stories now includes a preference for angst, edginess, and sociopolitical comentary. I am simply an example of how growing older, and experiencing the negative forces that permeate this world on a daily basis, can shape a once benign and benevolent boy into a hardened young man with pessimistic tendencies.
This is why presently, comics (graphic novels) such as Dark Knight Returns, Preacher, Sin City, Watchmen, and Y: The Last Man are much more to my liking than the Spider-Man, X-men, and/or Superman comics from my childhood. Perhaps this progretion is a common occurence, and there is, in fact, nothing necessarily wrong with it. However, when I watched Superman Returns for the first time, I found myself being jealous of the 7-year-old boy who I was sitting next to. As my eyes rolled at dialogue or plot developments that I deemed "cheesy", the young boy next to me, simply smiled and continued to watch in wonder at what was transpiring before him on the big screen. After the movie, the boy stood up and began spinning around, while sounding the classic theme song, "da, da-da, da-da, da, da, da, da, da-da, da-da, DA-DA-DA!" Oh to be a young boy again. Oh to have the eyes, mind, and imagination of a child, and watch as a man in tight red and blue spandex carried out heroic acts before me.
It was the above sense of nostalgia that compelled me to see the movie again, and this time, I would force myself to view the movie through a child's lenses. In doing so, I found that Superman Returns is truly a great film. I found myself having chills everytime that iconic theme blaired up as the Man of Steel performed acts of heroism. When the credits started rolling, I found myself humming the song in my head, as thoughts of me as a kid in a Superman suit flew from my memory banks. This is why I think Superman Returns is an exemplary film, for it allowed me to not only further accept my inner child, but imbrace it. Oh, and what innocent fun it was!
On another note, I got to thinking about the character of Superman. What makes him so iconic, what he stands for, i.e. truth, justice, strength, etc. I am left with asking myself, (1) What is wrong with those principles? Simplistic as they may be. (2) Why shouldn't kids, or even adults look up to Superman and the ideals he represents? (3) Does the present world need a Superman? I find myself answering, (1) Nothing; (2) If more people in this world emulated Superman, the world would be a better place. (3) Hell, yes!
Presently, as much as I like my heroes deconstructed and made "real", I will always have a special place in my heart for Superman. For the same reason, I always enjoy visits to Astro City.
3 comments:
Should you have to think this hard to enjoy a comic book movie?
Depends on what you are looking for from a "comic book" movie. Road to Perdition and A History of Violence were each based on graphic novels, and they were definately of the thought provoking mold.
I suppose I was essentially trying to make the point that if you step back and enjoy a Superman film for what it is, perhaps the experience will be better for you.
...you jaded old man.
I earned this jadedness, and I wear it proudly... :)
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