Hanne

‘Superman Returns!’ proclaim all the posters. Devoted to the promotion of "truth, justice, and the American way," with trademark curl and piercing blue eyes, he is the very model of the perfect man. Or is he? His new film reveals that Superman is not the idol he is held up to be and it is time today’s women knew the truth.

To begin, let’s take a look at values. First he gets Lois Lane pregnant and then disappears for, oh, five years or so. No explanation or anything, not even a goodbye. And then when he does return he has a Ulysses moment, expecting that Lois will have waited faithfully for him, ready to swoon into his waiting arms. Penelope may have sat and pined while her husband was out on his adventurous voyage but Lois lives in the real world and life goes on. So she does what any self respecting woman would do and moves on, getting *shock horror* engaged in the meantime. Engaged to Richard, a man who is actually around, whom she can contact whenever she wishes. This provides a stark contrast to our elusive superhero who conducts relationships strictly on his own terms.

So what does Superman do when he hears of this? Plucks her from the roof of the building to hover several thousand meters above the city, putting Lois in an incredibly vulnerable position. Anything she says that he doesn’t like the sound of and he could simply let go, sending her plummeting to her death. Are the audience worried at this point? No, of course not because this is Superman we are talking about, Superman who is good and moral and would never do such a terrible thing as to harm a lady.
What sort of message does this send to the young women in the audience? That as long as the man is a handsome hero you should simply surrender to his will? A woman should never put herself in such a powerless position- at the very least a parachute would have provided a safeguard should things turn sour.

Half an hour into the movie the scene has been set and things do not improve. For a while our hero swoops around, rescuing helpless women and saving the planet, as good American heroes do. Then it is back to family matters.

Superman’s realization that he has a son hails the end of the film, as he sneaks into the sleeping boy’s room to deliver a heart wrenching monologue about how ‘you’ll be just like me when you grow up’, before flying out the window and up into the stratosphere, never to be seen again for all we know. So much for truth, speaking to the boy while he was unconscious can hardly be counted as a confession. And so much for justice, just leaving his son is hardly fair either. For the sake of all the young women of the son’s generation we had better hope that his prophecy doesn’t hold true.

And Lois? ‘Will I ever see you again?’ she asks, eyes filled with emotion. She still loves him, girls in the audience take note. She would take him back! (Note to males watching this scene: this is fiction) Once again Superman shatters the tension of the moment with his reply: ‘Oh, I’ll be around’. So nonchalant, so dispassionate. Such a role model for young men.

Superman is no idol. His behaviour in his latest film is not to be praised, to be aspired to. He manipulates Lois and harbours unhealthy attitudes towards women. He is simply another father who has abandoned his family and thereby abandoned his responsibility. ‘Superman Returns’? He could have just stayed in the first place.