Words mean things.
This may seem only slightly less obvious than “the sky is blue” or “monkeys are awesome,” but in a world of euphemisms where every American is hyphenated (I’m an Anglo-Teutonic-Pancreatically-Challenged-Differently-Haired-Gentile-For-Jesus-Pasty-American), it bears repeating. Words mean things.
And sometimes, a lack of words means things. My wife and I saw “Superman Returns” yesterday. On the whole, we both really enjoyed it. It may not be the best movie ever burned to celluloid, but it was very well done by all involved and worth seeing on the big screen. But there was one statement in the film that stood out to me. After Superman returns to earth after a five-year sojourn in search of his home planet, “Daily Planet” editor-in-chief Perry White is instructing his staff reporters to find out everything they can about the Man of Steel’s return. Specifically, he wants to know if Superman “still stands for Truth, Justice – all that stuff.”
“All that stuff.”
Hmmmmm. Last time I checked, “all that stuff” was the American Way. You know: Mom, apple pie, sticking it to the Nazis, saving France again for the sole purpose of eating their cheese, Route 66, funnel cakes, purple mountain majesties. Pretty good stuff, really. So, why the change?
Theories abound:
1. “Superman Returns” has to play well in foreign markets if it hopes to make a profit on its reported $260 budget. Trotting out such a jingoistic phrase like “the American Way” would drive people away in droves, clamoring for U.N. aid to relieve their post traumatic stress disorders. Riiiiight.
2. Kofi made them do it. In “Superman Returns,” our hero no longer belongs to the United States alone. He’s the worldwide go-to-guy for pulling kitties out of trees and mimes out of their imaginary boxes. He’s U.N.-friendly. He’s SuperKofi. And he’s allowed to act unilaterally, so he obviously isn’t a stand-in for America.
There is some truth to this theory. Much is made of S being (or not) the savior of the world. We see him -- in sweet, A-Team montage fashion – saving people, buildings, etc. the world over. Even if he’s from Kansas, he’s still the BMOE.
3. The filmmakers were just getting back to the original source material. “The American Way” was not originally in the Superman canon. It was added during the Cold War to distinguish him as a truly American hero. Lest he be mistaken for a Laplander, as he often was. Considering the ages of the director and screenwriters, I find this hard to believe.
4. The writers thought it would be cool to jack with a well-known bit of Americana. The screenplay for “Superman Returns” is credited to Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris who are 31 and 26, respectively. They’re young. And, more importantly, they’re writers. All writers have a proclivity for change. We want to tweak sensibilities, twist conventions and, basically, make something our own – especially when we’re reworking an existing source. And it’s not that this desire wanes as writers age – we just learn that some things are best left untouched. Things are iconic for a reason. And it’s best to put your stamp on something by making it the best example of it yet, instead of stripping away the things people love.
So, which theory is correct? Well, I’m going with a whole lot of #4 with a bit of #2 thrown in.
Jim Croce once sang: You don't tug on Superman's cape / You don't spit into the wind / You don't pull the mask of the old Lone Ranger / And you don't mess around with Jim.
And you shouldn’t mess around with the American Way.
Happy Fourth of July,
Fox
No comments:
Post a Comment