This story contains some “Superman” spoilers.
In “Superman” by James Gunn, the titular superhero is devastated when he learns that his biological parents sent him to Earth to subjugate humanity.
In theaters now, the film sets a few years in the Superman layer race. The Kriptonian, who grew as Clark Kent in a farm in Smallville, Kan., He always believed that a message left these biological parents was a stimulus to use their powers to be a protector and hero. It is more than shaken to learn that it was never the case.
He is Clark's human father, Jonathan, who points out that the intention of the message really doesn't matter.
“Your choices [and] Your actions, that is what makes you who you are, ”he tells his son.
Being an alien refugee could be the reason why Superman has his super powers, but he is who is a person that makes him a superhero. And although it is mostly without saying, the kindness and values of Clark come from how raised, by loving parents in the heart of the United States.
Although “Superman” is as American as ever, the film has become the most recent front of the United States endless cultural war due to the comments made by Gunn recognizing that the character is an immigrant.
But Superman is more a story about the triumph of assimilation and opportunity. As the new movie also shows, Superman would not be Superman if Martha and Jonathan Kent did not raise him on a farm in Kansas. And as much as Superman is undoubtedly an immigrant, it is difficult to deny in the current political climate that also resembles the type of immigrants who have traditionally been more hugged in this country.
Since the beginning of last month, the Trump administration has aggressively directed the Latin communities in California. Immigration raids have apparently brought people indiscriminately from their workplace, on their way to court and even in parking lots. Federal officials have delayed statements that these operations have attacked people “due to the color of their skin.” According to federal authorities, more than 2,700 undocumented immigrants have been arrested in the beginning of June.
This is not the first time that the United States government is aimed at specific communities due to its ancestry. During World War II, 120,000 people of Japanese descent were imprisoned in war camps, regardless of their citizenship.
Gunn, however, has long maintained that his “superman” is “a movie about goodness [and] Be good. “
The filmmaker, who has been opened in his criticism of President Trump, told London Times that “Superman is the history of the United States … an immigrant who came from other places and populated the country.” He reiterated that the film is about “human kindness.”
The reaction was fast, with commentators and family personalities of the right criticizing the film for supposedly being “superwoke” before its launch. Even the former Superman actor, Dean Cain, has spoken against Gunn's comments and the perceived politicization of the character's history.
In response, comic fans, including democratic politicians, have pointed out that Superman, an alien born on the planet Krypton, sent to Earth to escape the destruction of his planet, has always been an immigrant.
“The story of Superman is an immigration story of a stranger who tries to always do the best,” representative Robert García (D-Long Beach) published in X. “His arc nemesis is a billionaire. You can't change who it is because you don't like their history. Comics are politicians.”
“Superman was an undocumented immigrant,” wrote the press office of Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday about X in response to a Trump image like Superman published for the White House.
Others in social networks have circulated clips of the media media of previous superman, including the Cain “Lois & Clark” program, where the character's immigration state is addressed.
Despite the accusation and violent reaction, Superman has never been as “awakened” as the current debate seems to seem.
Created by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, both children of Jewish immigrants, Superman's first official appearance was in the first issue of “Action Comics” in the 1930s. With his iconic red and blue layer costume, the character is known both for his divine superpowers and for being the best good guy with American looks and charm.
His adventures have covered comics, radio, television and cinema. In addition to the evil billionaires, Superman has assumed super -powered supervillains, alien invaders and even their clones, as well as human threats such as the Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan. Yes, some Superman stories are more political than others.
But Superman has never been radical in his policy. As a Kriptonian raised on earth by human parents, the character has been shown in stories in which he struggles with his own sense of otherness and belonging because he extends to Horcajadas in two worlds. But apart from the rare atypicals, its history has never deepened how immigrants or those perceived as others are treated in the United States (for that, consider seeing some “X-Men”).
This is because the immigration or American state of Clark Kent will never be questioned due to its appearance. That in itself could be subversive, but that is a debate for a different “Superman” film.
