I find it hard to believe that Superman would be anything besides an American character, and here is why. First, Superman represents the migration of the rural population in the urban city and their contact with vice and other crimes. Like most of the people moving to the city, he was an immigrant. Second, Superman is a a symbol of American progress and values. Not only is his costume red and blue, he is a football player. If that doesn't say American, he is also referred to as the "Man of Tomorrow," the "Man of Steel," etc. He is an abstracted representation of a group of individuals in America that were seeking a voice against the wrongs inherent in the American system. Additionally, he was raised on a farm in the rural midwest by ma and pa Kent. He was taught to use his powers responsibly and only for the greater good of others. Superman had every opportunity to be something different, but he is an American character. Third, Superman is an idealized version of the American Dream. An immigrant from the recently destroyed planet Krypton, Superman was representative of other immigrants that had recently gone through similar situations in Eastern Europe. Also, he is the American success story. Superman became the most needed and recognized and loved person in America and Earth. Fourth, Superman represents American might and influence on the world. While most Americans would agree that America is power and influential in the world, most would not agree that we meddle in the affairs of others. Superman encounters this differing opinion with the Green Lantern Corps as he realizes that he assists the people of Earth too often, without allowing them to do things on their own. Finally, Superman is America. He is strong, super human. He is helpful (almost too aggressively so). He has good morals and values. He is smart and fast and industrial. His only weakness is to Kryptonite, which comes from his home planet. Consequently, I find it hard to believe that Superman is not an American character.
Ohhh my goodness... When I decided on trying to analyze the mythological origins and references in superhero comics, I had no idea the can of worms I was opening up... On the one hand, it was awesome to see just how many connections there were between superheroes and psychology/mythology/philosophy, but all the information also made it terribly difficult to distinguish what I should be using and how to tie it all together. When I was talking to one of my sorority sisters about it she said, "Oh yeah, well, research essays are kind of like putting together puzzles..." and I think that really sums up what writing this paper was like for me. Fortunately, I was really interested throughout the whole process and I very much enjoyed writing the paper. Being a psychology major, I was especially interested in reading about the Jungian archetypes that had a lot of parallels with major modern comic books superheroes. I was also able to incorporate Joseph Campbell's "hero cycle...
Comments