Thoughts on the Upcoming "Man of Steel"

Back some time ago, I added a Man of Steel version of Superman to my Springfield Punx blog and on that post I mentioned how much I'm looking forward to this film and that this could be the right movie at the right time. 

We'll see how it actually turns out, but having seen more interviews and trailers for this movie, (while trying to avoid spoilers) my anticipation has certainly increased.

I said in that post that I thought people are ready for a symbol of hope - and since then we've all seen the trailer where Superman is explaining to Lois that it's not an "S" on his chest, it's his world's symbol for hope. That's exactly the kind of stuff I was *hoping* to see!

We need some hope right now. For the past several years, the real world has been especially disheartening for a lot of people. Some of us are even afraid to go outside. The paycheck can't pull the weight it once could. Politicians reassure us about things they know are not true, and they go back on what they said they would do - or they expose how wrongheaded their plans were in the first place.

Preachers become more decadent as their teaching becomes shallower. Ratings-driven, polarized name-calling has replaced the desire to hash out the truth in rigorous debate. We've given up the whole idea of truth.

We sit back impatiently waiting for the other guy to do what we should be doing. We let ourselves down. We buy into the fashion of the day without asking "why?" We don't stand on anything, or for anything.

I want this movie to show me what really is so great about Superman, why he's an important symbol for today.

Superman puts no stock in focus groups or fashion. He doesn't take polls. He doesn't care about a bleeding heart politician's approval rating, or a defense contractor's stock numbers. He knows that truth and justice are not "to each his own" and arbitrary - but real things. He acts with certainty and with conviction. He knows that right is right and wrong is wrong, not because he gets to decide it, not because majority opinion or a UN panel decides it, but because it's something higher. He knows the pain of loss, but keeps moving anyway. He's unchanging, unflinching, compassionate resolve. He can't be bought and he can't be bent. He's not just strong, he's solid. He's a Man of Steel.