Last night I went to the theater with my wife and my in-laws to go and watch the new superman movie. I knew from the previews that it was going to be good, and I hoped that it would be everything I wanted it to be. It was more. Man of Steel overnight has become my favorite movie of all time. I don’t think I’ll ever experience a movie in the same depth as I just witnessed this one last night.
Over the last decade I have taken my own ‘hero’s journey’ starting with the year that I met my wife. I picked up the courage to fly 4000 miles to meet her in another country, and eventually move here and become a US citizen. None of it was easy, and I had to grow as an individual to accomplish it.
The new Superman movie embodies the classic tale of the individual vs the collective. In ‘Man of Steel’ Kypton is destroyed by collectivism, by a planned society, where once it had flourished under expansion and individual achievements.
What I enjoyed the most about the movie was the philosophy behind it. It’s the classic hero vs villain story. General Zod represents a planned society where collectivism rules, and Superman represents the individual as the hero. “what if a child decides to become more than what society had intended for him”. The movie illustrates what can be achieved when individuals are allowed to expand and societies thrive. It also illustrates the pitiful of planned societies which are strangled by bureaucracy. Not only did it play homage to the original movies and comic books, but it set the stage for future movies like it. Even if you don’t read into the philosophy as deeply as I did, it’s still a great action movie, the audience around me actually clapped at the end of it.
If you have the time this weekend, I suggest you treat yourself to this once in a lifetime movie. As for me, I’m off to by the soundtrack, and don’t be surprised if you see me in the theater again watching it.
Becoming American 