Re-visiting Superman: My Thoughts On Masculinity, Privilege, and Hope
Cause I'm A Punkrocker, Yes I Am!
Spoiler Alert: The following content will refer to various scenes from the new Superman movie. While it won’t reveal the story, read forward at your own risk.
A couple of weekends back, I went to watch Superman, and honestly, I was blown away by what James Gunn, David Corenswet, and the team at DC Studios achieved with this movie. While my social feed is primarily filled with people cheering for the movie, I’ve seen several “opposing opinions” around the idea of Superman (looking at all you “Snyderboys”!).
Personally, I’m glad that we have a Superman on the silver screen who actually feels like the Superman of the comics after 19 years. I think many people have forgotten everything Superman is supposed to stand for. In a world as harsh and cynical and conflict-affected as ours, we need a Superman who stands for hope, kindness, and empathy.
Therefore, in this issue, I will share my thoughts on what Superman stands for, especially in the context of masculinity, privilege, and hope.
The perfect embodiment of masculinity 🙍♂️
If you have to characterize Superman, there are certain aspects that every single person can undeniably see, like the fact that he is VERY VERY STRONG (he once benchpressed the weight of the Earth for 5 days straight!) or that he can fly through the skies at super-sonic speeds or that he can shoot rays of energy from his eyes or even that he is handsome (he literally looks like a model carved from steel). But there is a further layer beneath Superman’s awesome exterior that many people don’t notice or admit. Under the surface, Superman is the perfect archetype of a good man. Despite all his strength, Superman is immensely kind, humble, compassionate, courageous, honest, hopeful, selfless, and more.
Superman’s the kind of character who takes a moment to save a squirrel while fighting a 100-metre Kaiju because every life is worth protecting (the Injustice storyline is an aberration in the history of Superman, not the standard). He fights world-threatening events but also helps save a kid’s cat stuck in a tree because it’s the good thing to do. He works as an investigative journalist at the Daily Planet not only because it keeps him more closely informed of events around the world, but it also allows him to fight crime and corruption in the light of day as a human would, inspiring others around him to do better. He stands with a kid at the verge of suicide for over 12 hours straight, only to remind them that their life is precious and he’s there for them when they’re ready to ask for help.
And this is precisely how we need to be defining masculinity in a world that treats it as a weapon to attack not just people in their weakest moments, but people who aren’t the same as us. We don’t need another Andrew Tate or Adin Ross trying to manipulate vulnerable men and shun the voices that need uplifting. Superman is strong without ego or vanity. He’s out there to help and serve and protect, not to command. Superman isn’t always perfect (check the graphic below); he has moments of doubt and gets scared, but he carries his heart on his sleeve and chooses to stand and fight for those he loves and those who need him every single day.
Exemplary ownership of privilege 🤝
Anyone who knows Superman also (probably) has heard of Lex Luthor. For those who haven’t, imagine if J. Robert Oppenheimer and Elon Musk merged into one person and turned 10x more evil. He is as smart and cunning as a human can possibly be and hates Superman with so deep an obsession it burns like the fires of hell.
Now, Lex hates Superman for several reasons. He hates Superman’s almost limitless (innate) power and the endless love he receives for being an alien saviour from the rest of the world. But more than anything, Lex resents Superman because he did not have to earn any of his powers. When you think of it, isn’t this exactly how we perceive “privilege”?
When it comes to owning one’s privilege, Superman is the best example I could possibly give. He doesn’t deny the immense power he was born with. Instead, he chooses to use it in the service of the world that adopted him when his spaceship crashed on Earth as a baby. He acts with empathy, grace, and deep responsibility, and holds himself accountable when he falls short, even when the world doesn’t demand it. And his privilege extends far beyond his powers. It is driven by the steady, values-driven upbringing he received from the Kents in Smallville, parents who taught him humility, compassion, and the strength to do what’s right, even when it’s hard.
In a world where power and privilege often corrupt, Superman shows us that they can also illuminate when guided by conscience and care. For those of us born with real and/or metaphorical “silver spoons” (including me), he reminds us that our privilege is a responsibility we must fulfill, especially when we stand on the shoulders of giants. And for those who unfortunately aren’t, he helps us remember that we can feel warmth generated by the light others created and extend it to those around us, even in the darkest times.
As Jonathan (Pa) Kent reminds us in the movie,
“Parents aren't for telling their children who they're supposed to be. We are here to give y'all tools to help you make fools of yourselves all on your own. Your choices. Your actions. That's what makes you who you are.”
Our world needs hope today more than ever! 🫂
A lot of people today don’t know that Superman was created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, sons of Jewish immigrants, at a time when Hitler’s anti-Semitic campaign was at its peak (he actually punched Hitler before Captain America did!). He was supposed to be a beacon of hope for the weak and the mistreated around the world, especially when one of its superpowers wanted to eradicate a group of people for the sole purpose of being who they were.
Almost 80 years since World War II ended, and our world is more divided than ever, with more hatred, distrust, and fear in our society than ever. We live in a world where war crimes are livestreamed, where children are being bombed, where trans lives are constantly under threat, where women’s rights are being rolled back, and where the richest people on Earth are too busy building rocket ships to notice the planet burning beneath them. Masculinity is being twisted into a loud, insecure performance, power is confused with cruelty, and empathy is seen as weakness.
Even in a world so harsh, Superman has the power to make a little boy believe that he can fly high above the skies and remind us all that there is beauty in the people of this world that is worth preserving. (Whether you believe me or not, please watch the video below. It is everything the movie is about.)
Maybe the point of Superman was never just about saving the world. It was supposed to remind us what kind of people we could be if we chose kindness, stood up for others, owned our privilege with humility, and never gave up on hope, even when the world tells us that’s naive. Superman reminds us that strength isn’t about domination. It’s about choosing to show up with courage, grace, and love in the face of cruelty.
If even a fictional alien from another planet can help us believe in the best of humanity, maybe we owe it to ourselves and each other to try harder to be worthy of that belief.
Love the analogies and the thought behind what I now feel that I really missed seeing in Superman 🤌
Love the blog post! So true and such good points! Thank you for writing this, Aditya!