“Now this is a Superman movie that I will love,” I thought to myself after seeing the opening shot of the teaser trailer for “Superman,” which releases July 11. In the first few seconds of the trailer, the Man of Steel (David Corenswet) — bleeding from his mouth and barely able to move or speak — crash lands in the Arctic.
The first half of the trailer is a beautiful showing of the two sides of the hero as Superman and Clark Kent — the mild-mannered, bumbling journalist at The Daily Planet that Superman lives as his ‘human self.’ We first see a near-death Superman, followed by Kent’s romantic eyes for colleague Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and then a heart-to-heart and dialogue-free moment with his adoptive Earth father, Jonathan Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vince).
Herein lies a spectacularly humanizing portrayal of the character. We don’t just see the Superman who is known for having sneezed solar systems into nothingness and bench-pressed Earth’s weight for five days in the comics. We also see his more grounded experiences of love and what I assume is a heart-wrenching father-son conversation on what it means to be Clark Kent and Superman. I welcome this eloquent duality, speaking as someone who wholeheartedly believes that the previous live-action film portrayal of Superman “lacked compassion and warmth.”
I love how this lays the groundwork for a stunning depiction of not just the strength, but the hope and justice that Superman has represented throughout his 86-year-long history. After all, his very origin story — his parents sending him to Earth as a baby to escape their exploding home planet — and feeling so ‘alien’ in his new home are deeply intertwined with his Jewish–American creators’ lived experiences. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the sons of Jewish immigrants that fled the growing dangers of pogroms and broader anti-Jew hatred in Eastern Europe, created a character that mirrors the story of the Hebrew prophet — “Moses, a baby saved from doom in a small ark sent adrift, found and raised by strangers, who grows to reclaim his heritage and become a miracle-working savior.”
I truly see “Superman,” with the titular character played by a half-Jewish actor, faithfully living up to that “miracle-working savior” story. There is a specific scene of hundreds, if not thousands, of people fleeing the chaotic destruction and violence of a war zone. It focuses on a little boy going out of his way to raise a flag dawning Superman’s logo, which billows in the wind as a symbol of hope for those fleeing. The little boy clings to the flag for dear life, closing his eyes to seemingly pray to himself in a whisper: “Superman.” Superman offers that boy hope for a safer, more just world for his people, and with that, we see him in a world of darkness as an even greater force for good.
Eagle-eyed viewers will take note of the slo-mo shots of Superman shielding a little girl from certain death and a stone-cold Superman walking away from a crowd of anti-Superman protestors. With the strength of a god and the heart of a small town immigrant navigating an ignorant, fateful and hateful world, this Superman embodies the refugee “using his original heritage for the greater good” and his WWII-era use as a symbol against the KKK’s rising white supremacy.
A message of hope, truth and justice is the lens through which we must view “Superman.” Powerful enough to force humanity into submission and turn the planet to dust, Superman chooses to do good anyway. He stands tall and flies high as the definitive example of what those in positions of power and privilege, from everyday citizens of the Global North to those commanding vast resources, must do for the world.
We might be tempted to hate ‘the other’ or let ourselves become hopeless in a world of darkness, but Superman tells us that we can stand for what is right and show that brighter days are ahead. This is a beautifully hopeful message that we are indeed capable of ushering in a more just world, especially when society demands that we accept its cruelties.
At his best, Superman is the god among men who moves Heaven and Earth to radiate hope in the name of a more just world. To the tune of a divinely inspiring soundtrack composed by John Murphy, the teaser radiates those feelings perfectly.
“Superman” is shaping up to be a masterpiece that unapologetically confronts the hateful, destructive and greedy forces plaguing this world. On all fronts, the film dutifully situates the Superman story within the moment of this world as a hopeful spark for justice. That is what makes this film the call towards a brighter tomorrow everyone should see.
Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.