I've always considered Kill Bill to be my favourite Tarintino movie for a lot of reasons, it's creatively shot, the action is phenomenal, the story is well told, there's a lot to love about it. But there's something about it that's always fascinated me, Bill's analysis on Superman. Now I don't know how much of this is based on Quentin Tarintino's personal views on Superman but it doesn't really matter, this isn't me saying this view is wrong, it's just someone's own interpretation, but it's also something i've always felt doesn't seem right. Bill discusses the difference between Clark Kent and Superman and that Clark Kent, the bumbling reporter is the mask while Superman is his true identity, now that's a fair enough interpretation, Kal-El behaves more like himself when he's Superman than he does when he's Clark Kent. But where i grow an issue with this is when he says that this is Superman's critique on the human race, that he views humanity as weak, pathetic and cowardly.
"Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent? He's weak, he's unsure of himself, he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race"
Frankly, that's not true. Clark Kent is not Superman's perception of humanity, it's his disguise so no one would suspect him of being Superman, to behave as opposite as Superman as possible. But the idea that this is how Superman views the human race is what I take major problems with as a Superman fan. Superman loves humanity, it's why he constantly fights to protect us, to stop the bad guy, to save as many people as possible no matter how big or small a problem, because he believes we are worth fighting for, that there is good in us, there is potential, he may have qualms with us but he doesn't see himself as better than us, he's humble and non-judgemental. Even more so, even though Superman is alien, he was raised on Earth, he was taught morals and opinions from humans, he sees himself as an American citizen, a simple farmer and a person who's not worth more than anyone else just because he has powers. To suggest that he looks down and pities us as a species brings into question why he would care enough to fight for us day in and day out in the first place.
So no, Clark Kent is not his critique on the humanity, because Superman is as human as anyone else.
-Danny
No comments:
Post a Comment