The American Ideals and Superman

In one of my more recent journal entries, I posted a list of questions at the end of the journal, and one of them was about Breitbart and whether or not I should analyze a couple of their articles. So, I did, and I found a pretty interesting one that involved a cherished American icon: Superman. Apparently, on Wednesday September 13th, DC Comics released a comic that had Superman saving a group of undocumented immigrants from an over-the-top white supremacist. The white supremacist was mad that these undocumented immigrants were taking his job, and he decided to retaliate by going on a rampage. Luckily, Superman arrives in the nick of time and tells the man that "The only person responsible for the blackness smothering your soul — is you!” when the white supremacist blames the immigrants for ruining him.

However, the responses to this comic varied. A popular far-right website, Breitbart, argued that this act of Superman betrayed what Superman has always stood for, that Superman went against the United States by defending the undocumented immigrants and guaranteeing their safety. They said it “became the end of justice, truth, and the American way”, and they bemoaned how Superman had become a citizen of the world instead. But what is the American way? What is truly American? If leaving people to die by being shot by a man on a rampage is American, then I don’t want to be American. If watching innocent people die because they are "them" and not "us" is American, then I don't want to be American.

Other individuals posted on Twitter how they didn’t like how Superman had been used as part of a political debate; they wanted their comics and modern politics to stay separate. On the other hand, there were many that praised the comic, with one saying that Superman himself may have even been a Dreamer. He wasn’t born in America, but was brought there as a young child, so why wouldn’t he stand up for the undocumented immigrants? In their eyes, Superman was living up to the American ideals of protecting the innocent and “standing up to bigotry”. After all, that is what a hero is supposed to do.

In my opinion, I think this was a very bold step for the comic, and I believe that Superman would have protected them, regardless of the fact that they were undocumented immigrants. He’s a superhero. He defends the innocent and helps keep social order, so why wouldn’t he save these people? This was probably a political statement given the turmoil with Trump and the DACA agreement that is occurring, so it does beg the question of what should be politicized. Superman could be a symbol of pride for the Dreamers, a source of inspiration because he is like them. Is it wrong to deny them identification with this hero? Additionally, this is kinda an uncomfortable question, but if this was for the opposite side, and Superman was defending a group of white Americans from a homegrown Islamic terrorist, would I have the same reaction to the comic? Would the general populace have the same reaction? These are all important questions that I don't have the answer to right now.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/superman-action-comics-987-daca-undocumented-workers-white-supremacist-right-wing-a7947196.html

http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2017/09/13/in-new-comic-superman-beats-up-white-people-for-attacking-illegal-aliens/