Superman Returns: A Gay Sensibility
Superman Returns:
A Gay Sensibility
By
BradyGirl_12
Why aren’t slash fans all over Superman Returns? Brandon Routh’s Man of Steel is the gayest Superman we’ve had yet.
The gay sensibility of this film is astonishing, though perhaps not all that far-fetched. The director, Bryan Singer, is an out and proud gay man. Why wouldn’t he envision the well-known tale of this American icon through a lavender lens?
There are reasons for the criticisms of this film, to be sure. Clark goes off to find the remnants of Krypton without telling anyone except his mother? No wonder Lois was bitter and had moved on. Clark as a Peeping Tom stalker doesn’t set well with me, either. And Lex? Pretty uninspired plan for an evil genius.
Yet despite these plot holes, why so much hostility toward this film? Poor Brandon Routh is destined to become the George Lazenby of Superman actors. Lazenby was sandwiched in between Sean Connery and Roger Moore in 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service in the Bond films. Routh never got serious consideration for Man Of Steel despite his professed interest.
Some of the criticisms were leveled at the restrained performance of Routh, but I’d say that was his director’s choice. And why not? After five years in space, Clark was bound to be subdued, at least for awhile after his return to Earth as he tried to re-acclimate himself.
That restraint subtly underscored his sense of alienness, of being an outsider. And what’s more gay than that? He even lost Lois and the promise of the heterosexual family as she set up housekeeping with Richard White and they raised her son Jason. It’s like he was relegated to gay best friend in his own movie.
Everything falls into place: Clark has a run with a former lover but she moves on to a conventional relationship, while Clark remains alone. And for slashers, how could it have worked out better? The famous Clois romance is sidetracked. Richard White is a good man, not a jerk. And, hey, there’s a certain Bat in Gotham who’s lonely, too, within our fanfic world. ;)
But the most shocking scene in the film is Lex’s brutal beating of Superman which comes across as a gay-bashing. Lex’s pure hatred for the alien, the Other, is like any homophobe’s for a gay man.
Lex is aided by his minions, and Clark’s alone, weakened by Kryptonite in a scene that’s difficult to watch. Lex’s girlfriend Kitty is appalled. The tone is hateful mockery as they punch and kick a vulnerable Clark, who crawls in the mud in an attempt to get away from them. The violence is not sugar-coated as we see every vicious blow and Lex’s stabbing of Clark, whose agonized cry pierces the viewer to the heart. Clark makes a final stand of defiance at the end, but he is truly alone, surrounded by those who hate him for who and what he is.
Despite the evil of the human heart, Clark is saved by its goodness as the Lane-White family comes to his rescue in a harrowing scene during the storm, which was a good mood choice. Storms always ramp up the angst!
After his rescue, Clark sacrifices himself to save the world, using Christ-like imagery as he falls to Earth (“I gave you my only son”) and is rushed to Metropolis General Hospital by the humans he has always protected. The scene as the doctors and nurses work on Clark is underscored by haunting, melancholy music and one of the best scenes in the film. In the end, they can do little for him but do their best to make him comfortable. It’s up to his superpowers to save him if they can.
One of the most heartbreaking scenes in the film is Martha standing outside Metropolis General Hospital with the crowd during the vigil, unable to go in and take her rightful place by her son's bedside.
The architecture and music are both lush, and could be called gay in sensibility, though of course interior design and evocative music could be considered stereoptypical.
The architecture in many scenes is a fitting Art Deco look for the Man Of Tomorrow: Lex’s yacht and Metropolis General Hospital are painted in muted blues and greens and the windows are porthole-style in the hospital, too. The Daily Planet is more 19th century in some ways with its solid structure but the giant globe gives it that futuristic look.
The entire film’s music score is hauntingly beautiful, lush and heroic and almost like a pastel hung on the wall with its soft colors.
All of Superman Returns has a muted tone, restrained yet heartbreaking. Even Lex’s megalomania isn’t as over-the-top as it could be.
Is this what puts people off about this movie? Too restrained? Clark too detached? Well, get used to it, friends: Christopher Nolan’s Man Of Steel is likely to be even more remote from humanity, so I’ve heard, which is all wrong for Superman. Ironically, his film will probably be praised for the very things that Superman Returns was pilloried for since 2006.
So, I love Richard White! I love the way he connects with both Clark and Superman. Clark can’t even hate the guy. He’s too nice! Not to mention a good boyfriend and father figure. I can see why people slash them. ;)
I was glad to see the Superman tradition maintained with cameos by Noel Neill and Jack Larsen (gay himself).
To sum up, Superman Returns has its flaws and I can see why it might have disappointed creatively as it did at the box office, but it has a great many positive features. Its use of rich music reminiscent of Romantic 19th-century composers and Art Deco settings underlines a storyline that can be interpreted as Clark’s gayness in a heterosexual world. And it endlessly amuses me that this gayest of all cinematic Supermen was hailed by Christian fundamentalists as a Christ-like figure.
Slashers, pair up Clark with Richard or head over to Gotham! Better hurry before Nolanverse Clark tag-teams with Smallville Clark to match up with Nolanverse Bruce.
Enjoy this little gem of a film before it’s forgotten.