Man of Morality

The Man of Steel 

is the

Man of Morality 

06-14-13 & 06-15-13

"You will give the people an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun. In time, you will help them 

accomplish wonders." Jor-El

Only Zach Snyder, the director of Man of Steel, could tell you what he was going for in his most recent blockbuster, but intentional or unintentional, he produced a movie in line with Catholic teachings and filled with truth. 

The story of Superman is one most of us know.  With the planet of Krypton on the verge of destruction, two loving parents, Lara and Jor-El, send their only son to planet Earth, hoping he can live, and also in hopes that he can save Earth from suffering the same fate. Kal-El arrives and is found by the Kent family, who then in turn raise him. As Kal-El, now Clark, grows, he learns about his powers and understands that with them, comes great responsibility. Based on his own knowledge, and with the help of the Kent family, Clark becomes a rock of morality, never wavering in his beliefs. In the end, he becomes Superman.  

Snyder gives us Superman, but with that, he also portrays him as something all Christians can easily understand - a Messiah. 

He shows that Superman, probably better then most, tries to fulfill the qualities Jesus so wonderfully displayed, with the biggest being that sacrificial love. 

When looking at the quote from above, it is easily seen that their is an underlining message we Catholics can take from this - Superman is a symbol for Jesus. Lets break it down. Just like Jesus, Superman is his Father's only son, and just like Jesus, he is asked to give of himself for humanity. Jesus, ultimately through his Pascal Mystery, saves us from death and brings us to new life, and while Superman does nothing of that magnitude, he still gives fully of himself, and does exactly what Christ calls us to, "take up your cross, and follow me." Matthew 16:24 

 The thing is, Snyder had no choice but to add these elements. Unless he wanted to change the whole background and story for Superman, these ideas needed to remain. But even so, there comes a point when the comparisons and similarities end, and Snyder could have pushed the movie a different route, away from the faith. Instead, Snyder ran with it, telling the viewers that the age of Superman is 33, which is the age Jesus was when he died for our sins. 

The subtle pushes of Christianity kept coming though, with one scene showing Superman in a Church. It is up to the viewer to decide if the Church is a Catholic one, but it appears while he is there he speaks to a priest. Now doing a bit of a background check on Snyder, he himself is an Episcopalian, so it is unlikely he was envisioning that Church as a Catholic one, but as the viewer, we can chose what to make it.

Did I forget to say this movie is packed with Christian messages? One line that Jonathan Kent says sticks out -"But somewhere out there you have another father, and he sent you here for a reason. And even if it takes you the rest of your life, you owe it to yourself to find out what that reason is." I would like to think that this line is not just meant for Superman, but for all of us. A.K.A. God in relation to us. 

There is more though. What about that Superman symbol, the classic S? Turns out, the S stands for hope. Just as we have hope in the Resurrection!

It can't be said what Snyder was really going for throughout this movie, but what I saw what a movie packed with a moral push, something we don't often see from movies these days. Superman isn't perfect and does make mistakes, but it is hard to see them in this film, and with that, you have to thank the director. 

A fun, exciting movie, Man of Steel is going to be remembered for a long time. I was pleasantly surprised by it, and I hope you are as well. 

And a last message to the director - Keep producing Christian films, cause as we all know, this society needs it! 

"He died for me, so I will live for him."