The negative reaction to Superman has nothing to do with the film's merit

The Superman reboot just came out last week, but it's already creating a lot of buzz. Garnering both praise and backlash, Superman himself has become a symbol of current political conversations.

Today on Commotion, host Elamin Abdelmahmoud sits down with film critic Siddhant Adlakha and filmmaker Sonya Ballantyne to talk about their thoughts on the new Superman and its part in the larger cultural conversation. 

We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player.

Elamin: Sonya, I'm gonna start with you because Superman means so much to you that you literally did a TEDx talk about this. Tell me about your personal investment in Superman. What's the relationship there?

Sonya: I have been a Superman fan since I was born, basically. I love the Christopher Reeve movies, basically Superman 2. And what really attracted me to the character was the idea of sincerity when he said he was fighting for truth and justice. And that just stuck with me. I grew up in such a negative world as an Indigenous person, so somebody who just wanted to help because it was the right thing to do was something that just connected with me as a little girl — and still continues to connect with me.

And this new movie really captured that, that feeling of sincerity, without being naive. Because I'm an adult now, of course, I will always be skeptical of people who are like, "peace and love." But I was just so surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie.

Elamin: James Gunn is the director of this new Superman, he's also the new head of DC Studios. He's got this recent interview where he said that "Superman is the story of America, an immigrant that came from other places and populated the country, but for me it is mostly a story that says basic human kindness is a value and is something that we have lost."

I don't think it's news to people that Superman is an immigrant. He's quite famously an alien who's from a different planet. But James Gunn's comments didn't sit well with a lot of people, including Dean Cain, who played Superman on TV. He felt that Gunn's comments made Superman "woke." He said it could hurt the box office numbers.

Siddhant, talk to me about the ways that this Superman movie is landing politically for people. How did it become so alienating?

Siddhant: I think, in this case, it's also just a very obvious statement that yes, in the most technical sense, Superman is an immigrant … an immigrant and an undocumented immigrant.

It's just a part of the Superman story. It's like saying, "What do you mean Batman's parents get killed? That's woke." It's just nonsense. It's complete nonsense. And also the reaction speaks to this hypocritical way that even the term "immigrant" has become so racialized in the American consciousness. You look at Superman, yeah, he's this white, blue-eyed kid from Kansas. But the term itself has become so racialized and politically charged in this vitriolic way that I think part of the response from a lot of these right-wing talking heads comes from this disingenuous anxiety of an immigrant being some sort of outside invader, someone who doesn't look like you. — the "you" in this case being a white American. And it's nonsense and it's unfortunate that we have to talk about it so much. 

But, at the same time, it has become a part of the conversation, and probably would become a part of the conversation, whether or not James Gunn had said anything.

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.

Panel produced by Ty Callender.