By Steven Stein
Spoiler alert - if you haven’t seen the movie, this may give away some of the plot.
I was on a flight to Israel, and I decided to watch a movie. I don’t usually watch superhero movies, especially modern ones. I read Superman and Batman comics and saw the TV series as a kid, and have good memories of them. Modern versions tend to twist the characters and plots in ways that diminish those memories.
Anyway, for whatever reason, I thought I would watch the new Superman movie. I didn’t think I would stay with it for very long. Overall, the film is not that great, the plot is thin, but something glued me to the screen.
It starts off with some early Superman history, then jumps to the Superman we know, loved by everyone good, strong, saving the world from wars and other disasters. Kind of a light unto the world. (Israel 1967?) Early on, he stops a war between Boravia (Arabia?) and a neighboring country it wants to conquer. Very Trump-like peace making.
Enter the villain, Lex Luther (George Soros?). He’s the corrupt billionaire, starting wars around the world that he can profit from. Such as the one in Boravia that Superman prevented. Seems like he’s not too happy about Superman stopping it.
He decides he wants to do away with Superman. Here’s where modern times really kick in. Using traditional and social media, he turns our hero into a pariah. He comes up with a story that Superman‘s parents placed him on the planet in order to mate with as many women as possible to produce enough children that he could eventually take over the world. Sort of like Elon Musk.
This is hard to believe since his only relationship is with Lois Lane. And that’s kind of rocky at best, and there are no children. Anyway, the lie spins so quickly and widely that everyone in the world turns out hating Superman (Israel, October 8).
Demoralized, Luther (Soros) takes advantage of the situation and has his minions beat down and kidnap Superman, keeping him prisoner with Kryptonite. (Israel, October 7). At this point, Luther (Soros) gives the green light for Boravia‘s war to annihilate (genocide) the neighboring country.
Fortunately, Lois Lane, Superman’s love interest, together with one of the members of the Justice League - Mister Terrific (USA?) set out to help save him. Using his own wits (I won’t go into the details) and help from America (Lois and Justice League), Superman escapes.
Somehow Jimmy, the cub reporter who works with Lois at the Daily Planet newspaper, used to date Luther’s not too bright current girlfriend. She is the target of an abusive relationship with Luther and reconnects with her past love - Jimmy. She sends him an email detailing evidence of the lie that was used to discredit Superman.
In a PR move that we only wish we could use today, the Daily Planet breaks the story and social media spreads it around the world. Superman (Israel) is a hero again. Obviously, the Daily Planet is not the New York Times.
Thus begins a major war. Thousands get killed in all the destruction of buildings and explosions.
Surprisingly, at the end of it all, Luther and Superman end up face to face, having a calm and rational discussion. Very strange since earlier they were trying to kill each other along with all their allies.
Anyway, here comes the money shot. The part that really blew me away. In fact, it was worth watching the movie just for this insight.
Superman (Israel) is perplexed as to why Luther (Soros) expended all of his time, energy, and money in trying to destroy Superman (Israel). Was it because making peace around the world cost Luther so much money in weapon sales, etc.? Was there an innate hatred?
The answer is a forceful no! Nothing to do with money or hate. What was the motivation then? Again, this was all very calmly discussed in a world that was all explosions and destruction just seconds before.
Luther’s revealing response was, ready for it - Envy. ENVY. The answer that was very calmly and emphatically presented was envy. While Superman (Israel) was loved for being righteous and helping others, Luther (Soros) was seen as a greedy, profiteering, uncaring billionaire. By turning the tables around - making Superman look bad and Luther stepping in to capture and punish him, he thought he would get even. The world would view him as the hero and Superman as the loser.
In a PR move that we only wish we could use today, the Daily Planet breaks the story and social media spreads it around the world. Superman (Israel) is a hero again. Obviously, the Daily Planet is not the New York Times.
Luther ends up the villain he really is and Superman the superhero that he is. Superman also gets the girl in the end, kissing Lois in the final scene.
This is cathartic in movies, but could it happen in real life? Not likely in today’s world.
When it comes to understanding the root causes of antisemitism, maybe we need to look beyond acquired hatred and look more at envy. Who would have believed such an enlightening lesson from a Superman movie?
