Written by Harry Molloy

Superman was created during the Great Depression in 1938 by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, Americans born to immigrant Jewish families. Forty years later, in 1978, during the Cold War, Superman: the Movie was released. The film oozes earnestness: the saturated colours, the campy dialogue, and a wonderful performance from Christopher Reeve – it’s no wonder our protagonist, Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve), is raised in Kansas. In an iconic scene where Margot Kidder’s Lois Lane interviews Reeve’s Superman, the hero states he believes in ‘Truth, Justice, and the American Way’, something Lane immediately laughs at and says he should ‘Tell the Politicians’. This scene exemplifies what this movie is about: an idealist striving for his perceived ideals. 

The film starts with Superman’s origins, showing his home planet of Krypton. Krypton is designed to be bright and beautiful, with complex sets and model work that create a pristine world of all-white with jagged crystalline structures making up most of the set design. After this we see Superman as ‘Clark’ in Smallville, tracking his life until age 18. These two sections set up the core conflict in the ideals for the character, one that mirrors the conflict felt by families affected by the holocaust. Superman comes from a world that was left destroyed by great tragedy, but one that did not presently affect him. He must battle with his human identity and a duty to keep his heritage of krypton alive. 

The real meat of this film, however, starts in Metropolis, where the camera snaps into the back of a taxi with an unstable close-up shot. The wide, bright, piercing white sky of the vast countryside is now blocked by the looming shadows of skyscrapers. The film intentionally draws a clear parallel between the sky and Superman, the visual symmetry of the pure white of Krypton, and the jarring white of the sky. The film is filled with these oppositions: Clark to Superman, Human to Alien, the American way to America – all of which are excellently performed by Christopher Reeve. His bumbling performance of Clark versus his charming stunt as Superman create a perfect dichotomy of a character split into two, his ability to sell both sides of this character very easily could have been perceived as purely comical, however, Reeves’ expert balance between these two sides allows for both genuine and comedic moments to flow seamlessly. The dichotomy between the two aspects of the character also further deal with the disconnect between the Kryptonian and American ideas. Clark is positioned as a wide-eyed naïve ‘country boy’, something reinforced by the gruff performances around him, especially those of Margot Kidder and Jackie Cooper. However, this optimism morphs into idealism with the Superman persona, the wide-eyed naivety becomes a wide-eyed potential – something Reeves expertly presents through his body language in his slouched look for Clark against his commanding look as Superman. Superman is a great movie, I love it, and I hope you can too as it shows a way in which we can strive, and hope for a better world despite the darkness of our origins.