
 |
|
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Feb. 7, 2006
/ 9 Shevat, 5766
Superman, we need you now more than ever
By
Dan Neil
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Look, up in the sky! It's a bird, it's a plane, it's ... oh my G-d, I'm already bored.
Superman, strange visitor from the Roosevelt administration, will soon be among us again in the form of a very large and, I'll warrant, very loud movie called "Superman Returns," due in theaters in May. The marketing tsunami is even now approaching the mainland. Mattel has already announced a small mountain of movie-themed toys and merchandise, including an inflatable Superman muscle suit and a radio-controlled flying action figure.
(I wonder if the suit comes in my size? Honey, I've got a surprise for yooooou. ...)
All of this raises the question: Can Superman die of overexposure? Along with the new movie, we have the prospering WB series "Smallville," now with 100 episodes in the can. Not enough of the guy with the big chassis? You may seek out the 2005 novel "It's Superman," which is a respectable literary reinvention of the ur-myth by Tom De Haven. There are boxed-set DVDs of the '90s series "Lois and Clark"; director's cuts of the "Superman" movies starring Christopher Reeve; and collections of all the various animated series, from the breathlessly Moderne 1940s cartoons by Max Fleischer to the weird, Dada-esque Hanna-Barbera "Super Friends" series, which gave the language the indispensable phrase: "Wonder Twin Powers, activate!"
You may also purchase a collection of the 1950s TV series "The Adventures of Superman," starring the ill-fated George Reeves, who may or may not have committed suicide but was definitely not faster than a speeding bullet. A big-screen bio-pic about Reeves starring Ben Affleck is slated for release this summer.
And then there are the forests of pulp comics, the graphic novels, the fictionalizations, the radio shows, the songs, the Broadway musical, the subversive histories good Superman, bad Superman, Christ Superman, gay Superman. Oh my.
And yet, for all that, do we really know the man in tights? One problem is that Superman's back story was written on the fly, so to speak. Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster created the comic book character in 1938 (Action Comics No. 1), but soon Superman became the collective construct of an army of animators, radio and TV script writers and comic book authors all trying to catch the tail of the blue comet. Superman's familiar creation myth the spaceship crash near the Kent farm in Kansas, the adopted parents the Achilles' heel of Kryptonite, the Daily Planet, the X-ray vision, all that was ginned up for radio.
So there's been a fair amount of what they call in the military "mission creep." I'm guessing Siegel and Schuster would have been flummoxed by "Smallville," a soapy melodrama that has been nicknamed "Smallville's Creek" for its portrayal of young Clark as a victim of super-teenage angst and ardor. Apparently the only thing more powerful than Kryptonite is hormones.
"DC Comics has been more than willing to let the mythology get played with," says Michael Chabon, author of "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay," a brilliant summoning of the early days of the comic book industry. "If you counted every writer and artist who ever worked on Superman, it's a huge number of people."
It's understandable how this collective myth-making would have unleashed huge Jungian geysers. "It's hard to find a parallel," says Chabon, except perhaps in the Talmud or the body of Arthurian legends.
In the realm of comic books, the constant month-after-year overlay of heroes and plots a cosmic filigree of alternative universes, multiple Earths, time travelers, various leagues and societies of justice periodically becomes so convoluted that the whole enterprise is scrapped and begun over again. Such a four-color cataclysm occurred in 1991, when DC Comics published John Byrne's "Superman: The Man of Steel."
In Hollywood, such a narrative do-over is called a reboot "Batman Begins," for example. The new Superman movie will begin with the Man of Tomorrow returning to Earth after an absence of five years to ponder: Am I still relevant?
My very question. Doesn't it feel strange to have Superman fight harlequin arch-villains to save the planet when its inhabitants are so industriously pursuing its destruction? What of Superman's mission, when "Truth, Justice and the American Way" seem to have so comprehensively parted company?
As long as we're rebooting the Superman myth, I propose we return him to the righteous, New Deal populism of his beginnings. The operating trope of Superman is Revenge of the Nerds mild-mannered Clark Kent splits his shirt and strikes back for the powerless and disaffected. He is not the flag-waving tool of the power elite.
It's worth remembering that in Action Comics No. 1, Superman bursts into the governor's residence with evidence that will exonerate a woman who is about to be sent to the electric chair; he smacks around an abusive husband; he goes to Washington, D.C., to expose evil lobbyists and corruption in Congress anyone come to mind?
Superman, we need you now more than ever.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment by clicking here.
Previously:
01/11/05: All that sass
01/06/05: Is debonair even possible in 2006?
12/26/05: Be careful what you ask for
12/20/05: Monster's Ball: Reconsidering Beowulf
© 2006, Tribune Media Services, INC.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Tony Blankley
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Alan Douglas
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
Marybeth Hicks
David Horowitz
Jeff Jacoby
Renee James
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ed Koch
Ch. Krauthammer
Michael Ledeen
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Pat Sajak
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Ben Wattenberg
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
Lisa Benson
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Jimmy Margulies
Rick McKee
Michael Ramirez
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Ed Stein
Danna Summers
John Trever
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters

Mr. Know-It-All
Dr. Peter Gott
GET A JOB! by Marty Nemko
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
Tech Maven
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|