Wednesday afternoon, while Mark was reviewing “Superman Returns,” I mentioned that in the new movie, there’s a line that says Superman stands for “truth, justice, and all that stuff” instead of “…and the American way.”
I predicted that before the week was out, the right-wing media in this country would jump all over this as more proof of how Hollywood hates America. The only thing that would have made it a hotter topic for them is if it had been printed in the New York Times.
Sure enough, this morning, Drudge has the screaming headline: “EVEN ‘SUPERMAN’ IS NOT AMERICAN ANYMORE?” with a link to a Hollywood Reporter story about the controversial change, including an explanation from one of the screenwriters (Dan Harris, no relation) as to why they did it:
“The world has changed. The world is a different place. The truth is he’s an alien. He was sent from another planet. He has landed on the planet Earth, and he is here for everybody. He’s an international superhero.”
What he leaves out (but the Reporter doesn’t) is that Hollywood blockbusters count on an international audience for a huge part of their box office success. And the fact is, right now, “the American way” just isn’t that popular in many parts of the world.
But that won’t stop a lot of loudmouths from making this their divisive cause celebre today.