James Gunn is seemingly taking the lead in Superman’s promotion. A weird way to go, if you ask me – Superman stars David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult, three very attractive and charming actors. Certainly, they should do the heavy lifting on promotion? But no, Superman director James Gunn is everywhere! He’s a bird, he’s a plane, he’s a 58-year-old white man who already survived one Hollywood “cancellation.” Anyway, Gunn’s recent interview with the Times is making all kinds of headlines. Gunn didn’t even say anything groundbreaking – he’s simply pointing out that Superman, the character, was invented by first-generation Americans – the sons of Jewish immigrants – in 1933. And he’s pointing out that Superman is fundamentally an immigrant story. People are losing their minds. Some highlights from the Times:
Gunn is tired of all of the superhero backstories: “There are three things I don’t ever need to see again in a superhero movie. I don’t need to see pearls in a back alley when Batman’s parents are killed. I don’t need to see the radioactive spider biting Spider-Man. And I don’t need to see baby Kal coming from Krypton in a little baby rocket. We have watched a million movies with characters who don’t have their upbringing explained, like when we see Good Night, and Good Luck we don’t need to know the early life of Edward R Murrow to explain how he became a journalist. Who cares?”
The declining interest in superhero movies: “Well, it’s different to how it used to be. Up until Iron Man the only superheroes that made money were the big three: Batman, Superman and Spider-Man, plus X-Men. But then visual effects improved, so even though people thought Iron Man was a C-tier superhero, the film looked real. It changed everything and there were a few glory years when Marvel could put out anything and it would make $650 million. But those days are gone. Now it has to be something that really grabs an audience.”
Superman’s woke history: Superman was written by men from immigrant families and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees once released a book in Italy titled Superman Was a Refugee Too. Less than ten years ago DC Comics backed World Refugee Day: “The Man of Steel’s story is the ultimate example of a refugee who makes his new home better.” In the edition of Action Comics No 987, Superman saves a group of undocumented workers from a violent racist.
The refugee story: “I mean, 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 we have lost.” I ask if he has considered how differently the film might play in say, blue state New York — aka Metropolis — and Kansas, where Kent grew up? “Yes, it plays differently,” Gunn admits. “But it’s about human kindness and obviously there will be jerks out there who are just not kind and will take it as offensive just because it is about kindness. But screw them.”
Superman’s goodness: “This Superman does seem to come at a particular time when people are feeling a loss of hope in other people’s goodness. I’m telling a story about a guy who is uniquely good, and that feels needed now because there is a meanness that has emerged due to cultural figures being mean online.”
This is such a dumb “scandal” – oh, spoiler, Clark/Superman is a refugee/immigrant, but what about the current politics?!?! What’s even dumber is that Gunn is actually trying to de-emphasize the fundamental refugee backstory of Superman. He wants Superman to be seen as a broader story of basic decency and kindness. Which is also central to Superman’s story, only that will be “controversial” in the current climate of rage, hate and stupidity too.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
