He is, as he reminds the distrusting American General, “about as American as they come!” He arrives at this decision after a soulful one-on-one conversation with a Christian minister while sitting in front of a gigantic stained glass window of Christ. Kal-El at age 33 (the year Jesus was when he was crucified) is ready to sacrifice for the good of his new home. (For what it’s worth, nice Russel Crowe hoped he would figure out some sort of workaround where everyone would be happy – though it is hard to see how this is possible without altering the planet’s atmosphere, as evil Zod tried to do.) Kal-El has the Codex – and instead of returning it to the people of Krytpon – he keeps it hidden and unused. Kal-El ultimately rejects this evil plan, this protocol dreamed up by the elders of Krypton. The suffix El, of course, means “of God” in Hebrew, with Kal-El defined by some as “Voice of God.” Before Krypton’s doom, Kal-El’s parents put him in a Moses-like basket, sending him down the Nile of intergalactic space until he landed safely on Earth.
Superman’s real name is Kal-El, son of Jor-El. Superman’s “old country” is Krypton, an advanced realm that ultimately destroyed itself. Superman was created in the 1930s by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, two Jewish-American children of European refugees. In case you’ve been living under a cultural rock, some quick facts. A quick look at will offer up books like “From Krakow to Krypton: Jews and Comic Books,” “Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics and the Creation of the Superhero,” “Superman is Jewish?: How Comic Book Superheroes Came to Serve Truth, Justice and the Jewish-American Way,” and, my personal favorite, “Up, Up and Oy Vey: How Jewish History, Culture, and Values Shaped the Comic Book Superhero.” Yes, the movie is a great deal of fun and, yes, Superman has just as much blatant religious symbolism as ever. But does the new Superman turn its cape on its Jewish past?įinding Jewish roots in DC Comics’ “Big Blue Boy Scout” is not exactly a new avenue of scholarship. The last son of Krypton, Kal-El, better known to you puny Earthlings as Superman, is making yet another appearance on the silver screen with “Man of Steel.” Having seen the film twice I’m here to answer your two biggest questions.
0 kommentar(er)
