Pop Culture icon about Superman - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... Superman originated from Krypton where he was conceived but he was sent to earth before he could be “delivered” from the incubation chamber and he was the sole survivor from the doomed planet. Superman was then “born” on earth as his parents the Kents found him in a field and adopted him, he was named Clark Kent, as he grew up he discovered his superpowers and origins and he decide to use his powers for the good of mankind. When he was first introduced to Action comics he became an instant hit, this because prior to his appearance, there had been very few costumed crime fighters and definitely none with a superhuman abilities. His predecessors like the phantom got their powers from being physically stronger and smarter than their villains as well as sometimes incredible coincidences contrived by their creators to keep them winning all the time. The arrival of superman was therefore a refreshing change since audiences could read about impossible feats and not feel cheated since the hero had superhuman powers after all. Nevertheless, the very nature of- superman was a source of controversy and criticism from the onset and which have persisted even today, by virtue of his kryptonite heritage, he is omnipotent by earth’s standards and impervious to any physical danger known to man (Shannon). He is immune to bullets, solar radiation, he has the strength to stop fling rockets lift buses and he can virtually achieve any physical feat without breaking a sweat. However in literature and film, suffering provides the key to sympathy and by extension identification all which are hard to come by in a character that can escape any foe and is virtually incapable of suffering at least in the physical sense. Nevertheless, this criticism wasn’t so apparent in the onset owing to the euphoria of a superhero character, in fact the idea of a perfect savior stuck a cord with the post-world war two audiences who probably appreciated the fantasy of a morally incorruptible sentinel who could watch over the world and vanquish any forces of evil. When the first superman movie came out in 1978, it was a resounding success in regard to direction and cultural programming, for the first time, in a long time the film audiences encountered a protagonist who want unlikeable and deeply flawed. Prior heroes included the likes of Michael Corleone and Randal Murphy and other antihero-like protagonists who were just as much villains as they were heroes. His appeal was added to by the fact that there had not been, before him a character powerful enough to stop trains and pick up buses with his bare hands. He is however vulnerable to Kryptonite radiation and magic, his power although superhuman is not infinite and when he flies off to space he has to fill his lungs with air otherwise he would suffocate. Superman’s inflexible moral compass that drives him to use his powers for the sake of other has been touted as one of the appeals of the superman films and cartoon as it was seen to impart moral virtues in young viewers who were likely to model superman. Nonetheless, with time, the magic appeal of superman begun to fade and chinks started ...Download file to see next pagesRead More