Skip to main content

Is Superman an American Character?

Superman represents America. He is the ultimate American character. He is an example of what America and the American dream is. He started with nothing and became successful, which was the opportunity that so many immigrants saw in the 1920's and 1930's that coined the term "American Dream". Superman is what you immediately think of when you think superhero. He even wears the American colors as part of his uniform. He is as American as it gets.
I think the part that people don't see immediately about Superman is that he seemingly always fits in with American trends, culture, and the times. Part of American culture is to keep up with the times in a continuously changing society, and Superman does that perfectly.
Another major part of Superman that makes him an American character is his background. His human form, Clark Kent, is what makes him even more American. Kent was born to middle class parents that lived in the heartland of America. They led an honest life with wholesome values. The family that the authors paint for Superman is the classic old time American family. It doesn't get any more American than his Superman and his family.
The authors of Superman is also another reason why he is an American Character. The two jewish immigrants who created Superman were chasing the American Dream, and consequently when they created Superman they put alot of those thoughts into their character.
So is Superman an American character? Yes, Superman is the representation of what an American character should be.

Comments

J Chambliss said…
Is Superman is an American character, why is he so popular around the world?

Popular posts from this blog

Understanding Comics Ch. 1-2 & Comic Book Nation Ch.1

To begin with, I really do like the idea of reading a comic about comics. I think it's a great idea and it's very well executed. As I was reading the first two chapters, I was surprised at how many examples there were of art in recent (and ancient, in some cases) history that are variations of "sequential visual art" and thus the foundations of modern comics. I'd never even thought about it before and it was hard to believe how many different kinds there were. I also love all the discussion about how our human brains automatically interpret certain images in a specific way, how we see others constantly but we identify ourselves when we look at cartoons, and how inanimate objects automatically becomes extensions of our bodies. The pyramid of styles was very interesting too as a way to conceptualize and almost graph or "place" a specific art style in comics. In Comic Book Nation , I enjoyed reading about the evolution of early comics from "funnies...

MegaCon 2011 Mobile Blog Entry

Next up, the Crime Noir Panel hosted by The Rack Pack Comic Podcast . Jimmy Palmiotti, Frank Tieri, Darwyn Cook and Dave Johnson are the speakers. MegaCon has matured as the comic industry has grown in importance in popular culture. Orlando's native convention should be attracting this kind of top talents and now it seem to be doing it.

Why blame comics for societal failure?

Why blame comics for societal failure? Society blamed comics for the societal failures because it was a fairly new industry, and as things seemed to go “wrong” they figured it must be comic books. When a child grew up during the war, his father was probably killing people and the military and his mother was probably making things in factories to help kill the opposition. The only things kids had to “babysit” them was comic books, and they read many different kinds. So when kids starting acting differently in this new generation the figured it must be the comic books. Society didn’t want to believe it may have been the internal and external scars war causes on the soldiers and their families. Also the fact that young unattended children are reading these comics may not be able to differentiate between fantasy and reality. When society fails it always needs a scapegoat then it was comic books next it was rock and roll. Society naturally resist change.