I admit having a special fondness in my heart for Superman.
Like most kids in the 1950’s and 19060’s, I sat transfixed in front of our black & white Zenith TV as actor George Reeves flew across the 15” screen and crashed through those incredible brick walls (which I now know were plywood.) Fast-forward to 1978, as actor Christopher Reeve brought the Man of Steel to the big screen as star of Richard Donner’s smash hit SUPERMAN: The Movie. And yes, he delivered on the promise of the Italian movie poster hanging in our game room “SUPERMAN:IL FILM.. crederete che un uomo puo volare.” You will believe a man can fly. And audiences did.
Donner’s masterpiece (and Superman II which was even better) were the apex of Superman in pop culture. Crummy sequels like III and IV were just embarrassing. Various TV incarnations—including Dean Cain’s Superman & Lois—drove the kryptonite farther into Supe slowly but surely. And then in 2006, Warner Brothers “reboot” of the franchise featured Frank Langella as Perry White asking if Superman has changed after the plot’s 5 years in outer space. “Does he still stand for Truth, Justice and all that stuff?” he wonders. All that stuff??? Uh-oh. Perry, do you mean Superman’s iconic “never ending battle for truth, justice, and The American Way.” The American Way is not “all that stuff”…it is what the character has stood for since he first appeared in Action Comics #1 in June 1938.
And why Superman has endured for decade after decade…so solid and so much a part of America that my wife and I even blessed our son with his middle name Clark. For you-know-who.
So it was with no little sadness I noted media reports this week that DC Comics—the publisher of Superman comic books—announced it is launching a “coming out” for a new, gay Superman. With storyline featuring Jonathan Kent—“son” of the original Superman (don’t ask)—as a woke superhero who fights climate change—ugh—protests deportation of refugees in Metropolis—double ugh—and finally, has a same-sex relationship with another male. Only thing DC is missing is having the new Superman fix the increasingly-ratty hairstyles of MSNBC’s Joy Reid.
Tom Taylor, writer of the new gay Superman storyline at DC, is quoted as having said “The idea of replacing Clark Kent with another straight white savior felt like a missed opportunity.” Right. If there’s anything little kids need to be shielded from when they buy DC comic books, I’m sure the average American would agree that “another straight white savior” would be at the top of the list. (Well, maybe not average Americans…but Taylor’s ridiculous worldview probably will get two thumbs up from whacky nuthouses like the Journalism Department at Baylor University.)
DC Publisher Jim Lee wraps it all up with a pretty bow, saying “We couldn’t be prouder to tell this important story.”
In his 1954 book, "SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT," German-born American psychiatrist Dr. Frederic Wertham was a lone, often ridiculed voice sounding warnings about parents who were allowing their children to immerse themselves in comic books. “To advise a child not to read a comic book works only if you can explain to him your reasons, “ Werthan stated. “For example, a ten-year-old girl from a cultivated and literate home asked me why I thought it was harmful to readWonder Woman. Suppose,” I told her, “you get used to eating sandwiches made with very strong seasonings and onions and peppers and highly spiced mustard. You will lose your taste for simple bread and butter and finer food.”
Wertham then told his young patient that the same rule applies to reading violent comic books. “If you’re reading a good novel describing how a young boy and girl sit together and watch the rain falling..talking about their innermost thoughts. That is what is called literature. But you will never be able to appreciate it if—in comic book fashion—you expect that at any minute someone will appear and pitch both of them out the window.” Wow. Pretty good advice.
But today, many lazy parents abdicate their responsibility to steward their children’s futures wisely. They fold like a cheap suit when a 7-year-old demands an iPhone. Or a teenager wants the SnapChat™ app (described by human trafficking experts as about the most toxic technology available to ruin young lives.) And we’ve devolved from Dr. Wertham’s 1954 warning about violent comic books to now letting kids attend parties at friends homes where the group watches “Saw III” or “Bride of Chucky” or other horrific, violent films that degrade the sanctity human life as they laugh at various dismemberments and stabbings onscreen.
So it shouldn’t have come as much surprise that in North Texas last week, a high school student (whose excuse was that he had been “bullied”) showed up at school with a .45 and shot four people including a teacher. He was quickly identified and arrested..but spent only one night in jail and walked out the next day after posting $75,000 bond. Pictures of this young man “partying” at home after being released were posted on social media, even as his victims remained hospitalized.
I know, I know. Our culture is not ever going back to the 1950s of TV’s Superman George Reeves and Dr. Frederic Wertham raising the red flag about violent comic books. But in a way, it’s America’s loss that we can’t.
And if we allowed “pop culture” to bring us to this sad point in our 2021 culture, the tone-deaf and agenda driven people at DC Comics won’t be the lastfolks helping us step up for our seats on the handbasket to Hell.
SRN financial commentator Lou Dobbs succinctly summed-up DC’s new Superman comic about his “relationship” with another male with just two words: “Poor Lois.”
Yup. And poor us. Another statue falls…another icon becomes “woke.”
Tom Tradup is VP/News & Talk Programming for DALLAS-based SALEM Radio Network. He can be reached at ttradup@srnradio.com