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| Needs no introduction. |
As film
writer Max Landis (too joyously, perhaps) explains in his parody, The Death and Return of
Superman, nobody cares about Superman. Enlisting the help of “comedic
effect” and multiple celebrity cameos (look out for Frodo Baggins as “The
Villain”), the film re-presents the events of one of the most ground-breaking Man
of Steel story arcs, in which our hero faces off against the aptly-named
villain, Doomsday. To make a long story
short, Superman is killed, only to return to life once again. This previously unthinkable event is, Landis
claims, the last-ditch effort of a comics publisher (DC Comics) trying to make
a 50-year-old character relevant again. Landis
states that Superman’s popularity stems solely from his primacy among
Superheroes: he was simply the first. Since then, the genre has spawned innumerable
heroes with similar or even identical powers, and one power, according to
Landis, even greater: “pathos.”
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| Plato and Aristotle, talking about last night's Swamp People, probably. |
“Pathos,”
as used in literature and art, is an appeal to the emotions of the audience. In short, it is used to stir up a desired
emotion in order to convey a specific message to the audience. The concept of Pathos was most notably
expounded upon by Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher and student of
Plato. He described it as a method of
persuasion by which one would utilize emotion in order to manipulate the
audience. Contrast this with alternative
methods of persuasion: “ethos,” by which a message is conveyed by the character
of the speaker/author, and “logos,” (literally “word”) in which logic is used
to arrive at a truth. In short, there
are three methods by which to communicate a particular message: Pathos
(emotion), Ethos (character), and Logos (logic).
Back to
Landis. He suggests that “pathos” is the
ultimate appeal of superhero stories. For
the reader, the importance of the story lies in its ability to stir up emotion. I couldn’t disagree more. Sure, emotion draws us in, it helps us to see
ourselves in the story, but I believe there is more to superhero stories than
emotion. I believe there is truth.
Something
bizarre happened in popular culture around the turn of the 20th century. It began in the United States in the 1990’s
and spread to the rest of the globe with the new millennium. Millions of people were glued to their
television screens with one question in mind: “Who will be voted off of the
island?” Of course, I’m referring to the
phenomenon of reality television.
Everything from The Real World, to
Survivor, to Big Brother, to (God help us) Here
Comes Honey-Boo-Boo: we couldn’t get enough. These television shows, designed to
entertain, did more than just that: they helped us to feel. Whether it was disappointment that our
favorite celebrity fell in Dancing with
the Stars, relief that our guy/girl made it through on American Idol, or confusion/elation at the hijinks of those kids on
Jersey Shore, we felt something that
we believed was real. Sometimes we
laughed, sometimes we cried, but there was never a dull moment. Pathos to the extreme. There was also very little of worth. Pure entertainment – nothing of
substance. It’s like we cried a
collective shout (undoubtedly in the voice of Kurt Cobain): “HERE WE ARE! NOW
ENTERTAIN US!” And we got just that.
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| In the early 21st century, 3000 years of Western Civilization culminated in this. |
Herein
lies the problem. Culture needs to do
more than entertain; it needs to instruct.
The stories and characters that we create do so much more than give rise
to emotions. They inform our own society
(as well posterity) of just WHO WE ARE. TAKE
A MOMENT TO LET THAT SINK IN. That you
and I are members of the culture that creates an art form, means that we are
reflected in that very art from. So when
WE watch Duck Dynasty, like it or
not, it’s like looking in a mirror.
“What
does this have to do with Superman?” you might ask. “Everything,” I might respond. By latching onto these types of stories, “real”
stories about “real” people, we focus our attention on characters (and in the
case of reality TV shows, media) that are deeply flawed. After all, we are all flawed and can relate
to others who are also flawed (sometimes to the extreme). One complaint I often hear about the
character of Superman, is that he is “too powerful.” In other words, “he’s nothing like us: how
can he have an interesting story if he’s nothing like us?” This might be why someone like Max Landis
would think it was important to kill Superman: at least this way he can die –
he’s unlike us in all things but death.
That at least is something (finally) that we share could with Superman.
Connecting
ourselves to our stories primarily through emotion ignores two UNIGNORABLE
concepts: ethos and logos - Truth with the power to transform. By its very nature, the superhero story is
unrealistic: it is about someone who can do things that ordinary people
cannot. They routinely show the
impossible. Feats of superhuman
strength, unassisted flight, near invulnerability, etc. are all commonplace in
the superhero story, yet unheard of in the real world. What Superman displays (aside from these
powers), is a strength of virtue. The desire to do that which is best. Historically, he is driven by “truth, justice
and the American way.” What else is
truth but logos, and justice but the practical application of that truth (which
shows itself through character – ethos)?
In short, Superman embodies the ideals of truth, justice, virtue and
goodness. We hold such a story up as a
model. Superman is meant to be an
example of the best possible version of ourselves. As stated in Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie
(1977)*, “(Humans) could be great people…they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way.” This concept appears to have found a new
incarnation in Zack Snyder’s upcoming film, Man of Steel: “You
will give the people of earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind
you; they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the
sun. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders.” When we break from a myth of virtue and
truth, embracing instead stories of weakness and vanity, we deny our true
identity: a people who are intrinsically good and capable of wonders! In his magnum opus, Kill Bill, writer/director Quentin Tarantino comments on Superman’s
identity. Following is a clip from that film:
“Now, a staple of the superhero
mythology is, there’s the superhero and there’s the alter ego. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is
actually Peter Parker. When that
character wakes up in the morning, he’s Peter Parker. He has to put on a costume to become
Spider-Man. And it is in that
characteristic Superman stands alone.
Superman didn’t become Superman.
Superman was born Superman. When
Superman wakes up in the morning, he’s Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red “S” – that’s the
blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears – the glasses, the business
suit – that’s the costume. That’s the
costume Superman wears to blend in with us.”
I
propose that you and I share this unique “alter ego” situation. Just as Superman disguises himself as Clark
Kent, so too are we the stewards of truth, beauty, and goodness. Those ideals dwell within our flawed
humanity. We are a “great people,” we can
“accomplish wonders,” facts which have been demonstrated by great men and women throughout history – and sometimes
it takes incredible acts of selflessness and fortitude in the name of those
ideals to stir them up in us (witness the examples of Socrates, Jesus of Nazareth,
Martin Luther King Jr., etc.)! THIS is
why a mythology of virtue is critical: a mythology of virtue preserves and
defends transcendent truths (logos), while at the same time transforming us
into the “superheroes” we were meant to be (ethos). They help us to see the difference between
how things are and how they ought to be.
I have
yet to see the new film, Man of Steel,
so I can’t comment on its quality or presentation of the story; I can only hope
that it suitably preserves the Superman mythos – giving us an “ideal to strive
towards,” showing us the best possible version of ourselves.
Until next time – get out there and live.
TL
*This links to the Superman
Returns trailer, which borrows Marlon Brando’s epic words from 1977’s Superman.
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