Superman, Superiority of Men on Earth

As a Hollywood film, the series of superman was distributed all over the world from 1970s. In order to maximize the profits in the targeted markets, the film spent a lot of time on the patriarchal ideology which was one of the commonalities in the globe. Although not all the cultures are patriarchy, most of them are. The film Superman: The Movie, shared and eventually reinforced patriarchal ideology to its global audience. In the following paragraphs, I am going to give a brief description on the film, explain the beliefs of the patriarchal ideology and analyze its content and form in terms of the representations of man and woman’s bodies and dressings, the roles of hero and victim, and how the patriarchal ideology to be reinforced in the film Superman: The Movie.
Brief description on Superman: The Movie
The planet Krypton was rocketed. Kal-El who was an infant was sent by father to the earth for survival. Kal-El was raised by a farmer and his wife as Clark Kent. Kal grew up and discovered his superpower. Once he noticed where he came from and his unique background, he found his mission to save the earth and the one he loved. The content and the form of the scenes always show the superiority of men, especially those scenes that superman save Lois. The status between men and women is clearly represented.
Patriarchy
The term “patriarchy” literally means “the rule of father”. It refers to the ways in which material and symbolic resources (including income, wealth and power) are unequally distributed between men and women, through such social institutions as the family, sexuality, the state, the economy, culture and language. Many feminist theorists interpret the term “patriarchy” as the way in which societies are structured through male domination over, and oppression of, women (Edgar A. and Sedgwick P., 1999).
The representations of man and woman’s bodies and dressings
Christopher Reeve was chosen to play the role for Superman in the film. He was a muscular man with a height of 6 feet 4 inches. His strong body helped superman build up a powerful image. With a tight blue costume, superman represented the muscular body shape of man. And that was why the film put a focus on the scene that Clark (played by Reeve) turned himself to superman. The camera shot a close-up on that he ripped his shirt and showed a stylized “S” shield on his huge chest. The “S” was widened in a triangle to show his fine inverted triangular physique. This shot not only emphasized the perfect body shape of a man that had to be strong in order to protect women, but also showed the attitude of not minding trifle formalities of men. He did not mind to rip his shirt in order to grasp the time to save someone else.
On the other hand, the Margot Kidder played the role for superman’s lover, Lois Lane. She always wore skirts and dresses throughout the film. Her slim body, matching with the skirts and dresses which were regarded as the standard clothing of women, made her look physically attractive and feminine. During the date with superman, Lois wore a light blue see-through dress to show her body shape. She even flirted with superman by the question “What colour underwear am I wearing?” She tried to arouse the sexual desire of superman through her dressings and conversations. She left the initiative to superman. Lois was waiting the decision made by superman. In this sense, woman has no power to decide the future of an intimate relationship. She has to become a sexual object in order to gain man’s interests in the patriarchal culture.
The role of hero and victim
In the film Superman: The Movie, superman always acts as a hero to save people’s lives. For example, there was an accident in the helicopter that Lois rode. The helicopter kept turning round in the sky. Lois could do nothing but cried for help. The camera focused on her exaggerated facial expression and the worrying face of the pedestrians. The music was in up-tempo to create the atmosphere of urgency. However, at the moment that Lois was falling from the helicopter, superman got her. Lois was so frightened that she held superman so tight. The music of superman sounds, with the featuring of a female reporter, “I can’t believe it”. The dangerous situation of Lois, the reaction from the pedestrians and the lines of the female reporter created an image of superhero for superman. When superman was sending Lois back to the top of the building, the helicopter fell. Lois screamed again but superman got the helicopter very easily. His extraordinary ability to cope with the disaster cheers the commoners. The role of hero played by men is reinforced by the two accidents, Lois falling and the helicopter. Nevertheless, the role of hero is on the basis of women as victims. The more dangerous situation the women are in, the more capable the men are. Having landed on the top of the building, Lois was shocked and could not say anything. After she could speak, she asked “Who are you?”. The scene is just like a submissive little girl begging for love from a man. The superiority of men is based on the inferior status of women.

How the patriarchal ideology to be reinforced
According to Graeme Turner, the ideological approach refuses to view the film text as “unitary” in meaning (Turner G., 1993). The film text is a place for ideological competition although it usually ends with the victory of hegemony. In the film Superman: The Movie, the patriarchal belief that men are superior to women conflicts with the belief that women have the same abilities with men. There was a scene about plunder. Clark (superman) and Lois were forced to go into a narrow street by a gangster holding a gun. The gangster pointed the gun at them and asked Lois to hand her pulse to him. Clark convinced Lois to give the money to the gangster. However, Lois trickily threw her pulse on the floor and made the gangster to squat down and picked it up. Lois quickly gave the gangster a hard kick, but the gangsters shot at the same time. Fortunately, superman got the bullet by a quick move. The film represents a wrong example that women do not listen to men. If she listened to Clark’s advice, she would be safe even though lost some money. The last dialogue between superman and Lois at this scene was talking about what things are in Lois’ pulse. There were ten dollars, a hairbrush and a lipstick. The ending of this scene represents that what women concerned with are some trivial matters. It was a misuse of her ability. Also, this scene questions about the women’s abilities. Lois’s hard kick in turn led to a shot. It is a kind of female fatale. Kick and violence are regarded as belonged to men. Women are not capable in this area. Therefore, men still have to do the job of protecting women. Superman has to get the bullet by a quick move in order not to hurt Lois. The conflicts between the two beliefs in this film eventually reinforce the hegemony of patriarchal ideology and maintain the status quo of the domination by men.
To sum up, the patriarchal ideas of the Superman: The Movie empower the men to control over the marginalized women and shares the symbolic and materialistic resources in global society. Among the film, Superman were always superior and saved Lois’ life every time when she was in danger. The film tells the audience about the power relation of men and women and let them understand their gender role. That is, men are dominant, and women are the subordinate. For those markets which are in patriarchal culture, the film Superman: The Movie helps to consolidate the ideas and practices of patriarchy. For the others, the film can still fascinate its audience in great animations, and may, spread the ideas of patriarchy in those countries.

Kanas

Reference
1. Donner R. (1978). Superman: The Movie. Warner Home Video (Firm).
2. Edgar A. and Sedgwick P. (1999). Key concepts in Cultural Theories. London and New York: Routledge.Turner G. (1993). Film as social practice. London and New York: Routledge.