• thanks AV@lemmy.world
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      He’s also not white so what does he gain from making a stink about this? Japanese superman was the most woke thing to exist until 2018, he’s got no room to talk. His show was also basically about superman’s girlfriend, an extremely woke interpretation of superman. We can do this all day lmao

      • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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        9 days ago

        basically about superman’s girlfriend,

        And casting Teri Hatcher in that role, someone who’s very expressive and versatile, was a huge success.

        • thanks AV@lemmy.world
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          9 days ago

          My girlfriend and I watched a couple episodes of Lois and Clarke recently because we were like “woke superman?” and then found out about dean cain being a maga idiot lmao I had never heard of dean cain before but it was so weird to have that kind of whiplash. Pick a lane, guy.

  • pjwestin@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    Superman as an immigrant’s story is one of the oldest and most obvious analyses of the character. It’s barely even subtext; it’s just text. Imagine how he’ll react when he finds out Superman was originally a New Deal socialist who went around smashing up corrupt capitalists’ businesses for safety violations.

    • kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world
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      The quintessential symbol of heroism, of ‘The American Way’, Superman, was created during the rise of fascism and nazism by two Midwestern Jewish boys, one of whom had immigrated from Canada and whose parents were immigrants from Russia and The Netherlands. In the story introducing their character to the world, he saves a wrongly convicted woman from execution, stops a wife beater from killing his wife, and stops a slimy lobbyist and corrupt senator from roping the US into a war with Europe. i.e. it acknowledges that the justice system gets it wrong, that women can be abused and endangered by their husbands, and that congress has a huge corruption and bribery problem. Sounds pretty fucking woke to me. And a few years later had him literally punch Hitler. The idea that they didnt have anything to say with the character about prejudice, about immigrants adopting their new home and being adopted in turn, about politics, is fucking laughable… “too woke”. No, Dean, you’re too ignorant to think that he ever wasn’t “woke”.

      • pjwestin@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        Oh, that’s the tip if the iceberg. There’s one comic where he smashes up the city’s slums because he finds out the government will replace them with nicer, rent-subsidized apartments. There’s another where he traps a mine owner and all of his rich friends in a cave-in because of unsafe working conditions. Then there was the time he decided to take on traffic safety by smashing cars until the mayor promised to start enforcing traffic violations. Old-school Superman was one of those violent, radical-leftists the conservatives are so scared of.

    • Wolf@lemmy.today
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      9 days ago

      An Illegal alien at that. He can’t even claim Birthright Citizenship, if we still followed the Constitution I mean.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        He can’t even claim Birthright Citizenship

        Canonically, I believe he was still technically gestating in the pod before he arrived. So he’s more of an Anchor Baby.

        • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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          8 days ago

          Wasn’t he a child getting told to become space Jesus by Marlon Brando when he was still in the space pod?

  • AItoothbrush@lemmy.zip
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    9 days ago

    Wait can someone explain since when is superman not an immigrant? Bro literally fell from the sky or some shit from an alien planet. How the fuck is he not an immigrant? Oh right hes white.

    • wolframhydroxide@sh.itjust.works
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      Not that it is incorrect to call him an immigrant, but I do think “castaway” and “refugee” fit his situation a little better. Still a xenophobic thing to say he’s not an immigrant. Every single document regarding Clark Kent’s existence is falsified, so he is, by definition, an illegal alien.

      • Mirshe@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        They actually changed this in the mid-90s (and since changed it back). From 96-09, he was a legal US citizen because his “rocket” was somehow just incubating the embryonic Kal-El and thus he was ACTUALLY born on American soil from the Birthing Matrix.

        • AItoothbrush@lemmy.zip
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          8 days ago

          I mean from a lore standpoint thats interesting but for the overall story him being an immigrant works much better.

          • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world
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            8 days ago

            In principle a baby found on U.S. soil that you cannot find the parents of is assumed to be a baby born in the U.S. and therefore a U.S. citizen by birth according to the 14th amendment.

            Anyone who thinks they are going to be sent to a concentration camp could ditch their baby at a fire station and I can’t see how it wouldn’t be a citizen.

            You can’t prove the child came from insert country unless you are taking blood samples from all the kids and populous and cross checking them to see if they match. It would cost way more than just ignoring it.

            Mother’s give home births all the time. And if people are anti abortion, then they better be ready for a lot of babies dropped off at fire stations without paperwork

            • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de
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              fortunately the US recently solved this problem by simply making it “legal” to toss people out even if they’re actively shoving proof of their citizenship in the face of an ICE agent

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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          8 days ago

          he was ACTUALLY born on American soil from the Birthing Matrix.

          Reader: “How is he not an immigrant alien?”

          90s DC Retconners: Slaps the side of a weird techno-widget “Space Wizards did it.”

          • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de
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            8 days ago

            right wingers will accept that explanation and then start screeching about made-up stories of mexicans bringing birthing machines onto US soil to replace the population

    • Heikki2@lemmy.world
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      You’re also forgetting he is generally considered a good guy and wears Red (valor and bravery) and blue(vigilance, peserverence, and justice) on the American flag. He doesn’t wear white as that represents purity and innocence.

  • ideonek@piefed.social
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    He’s litteraly immigrant. It’s objective fact. What he’s talking about? He think calling Wonder Woman a woman is “making her woke”?

    • misterdoctor@lemmy.world
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      He think calling Wonder Woman a woman is “making her woke”?

      That sounds exactly like something this twerp would say

    • abbiistabbii@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      9 days ago

      “Woke” literally means “anything the right doesn’t like”. It’s used in the same way the Nazis used Degenerate. Remember that.

    • Bunbury@feddit.nl
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      9 days ago

      Not just that. Pretty sure he fits the definition of “illegal immigrant” pretty well. Doubt that either the baby of the Kent family filled out any immigration or asylum forms

  • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    Superman isn’t just an immigrant. He’s a refugee when his home was destroyed by civil war. He came to the USA and made it better because he’s an immigrant.

  • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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    8 days ago

    That’s literally his backstory. He’s a refugee from another planet that’s like the whole point.

    Imagine being this goddamn stupid.

    • CerealKiller01@lemmy.world
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      Well, Ackchyually…

      The “Superman isn’t an immigrant” is a bad faith argument… but I think it’s technically correct.

      Being an immigrant implies intent of moving from one country to another, which Superman didn’t have. Especially since he came to earth as a baby and has no ties to krypton. I wouldn’t call someone who was born in another country and was adopted as a baby into another country and immigrant.

      Superman does explore themes of immigration from its conception. Though it’s worth noting that if viewed from this perspective, it’s a very old fashion American model of immigration, that might be viewed negatively today - he adopts his American upbringing in every meaningful way, especially his values, while his own culture is abandoned (nearly?) completely.

      Supergirl, on the other hand, is an immigrant.

      • Glytch@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        Superman is an immigrant created by two sons of immigrants.

        His parents sent him to Earth to have a better life (any life at all really). Something similar happens in reality where parents in Central and South America send their children, alone, to the US.

        Also happens with babies adopted from other countries. You may not consider them immigrants, but the government sure as hell does. There’s quite a bit of immigration paperwork that needs to get filed in order for one of those adoptions to go through.

        • CerealKiller01@lemmy.world
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          Err… Superman’s an immigrant because the parents of both his creators were immigrants? Is that actually what you’re saying?

          His parents sent him to Earth to have a better life (any life at all really) - Right, that was my main dilemma. Not saying you’re flat out wrong, but I think ‘immigrant’ exists in a cultural and social context. Let’s go over some examples:

          1. A woman gives birth on vacation
          2. A family moves to another country has a child and then moves back when the child is 12
          3. Having a child a day before immigrating.
          4. Having a child a day after immigrating. I’d say 2-4 are immigrants, because they and society would probably view themselves as immigrants.

          If he were human, the government would consider him an immigrant - Legal status is irrelevant.

          Superman didn’t have to translate things to his parents because he knew English better than they did, his upbringing didn’t give him an outsider insight to the culture that surrounded him, he doesn’t have an accent or not can code switch from English to Kryptonian, he isn’t viewed as different by his peers. He was raised as a whatever-generation farm boy from Kansas.

          He does have Kryptonian heritage, which would make him closer to second generation immigrant. Just like his creators.

          • sugarfoot00@lemmy.ca
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            7 days ago

            Superman’s an immigrant because the parents of both his creators were immigrants?

            Joe Schuster is Canadian. It’s not just his parents. They moved to the US when he was 10.

      • Duamerthrax@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        You just wrote an essay to argue semantics. Why? Maybe “refugee” would be more accurate, but the two are synonymous in the current political discussion. You’re creating a conflict here for no reason other than your own enjoyment from arguing. If that’s what you want to do, go to twitter.

        • CerealKiller01@lemmy.world
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          disagreement != conflict

          It’s not semantics, I think the social and cultural elements of being an immigrant are interesting. And I found that by talking to people who disagree with me, it improves the chances of learning something new.

          Didn’t know trying to analyze the things posted here or voicing a different opinion is frowned upon here. How about:

          What a boomer, he’s so stupid! Fuck Dean Cain!

          (If you think that’s unfair, these are all upvoted posts)

      • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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        7 days ago

        Really because art doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Art is influenced by the culture in which it is created.

        Are you seriously trying to argue that a man with unprecedented godlike powers from another world isn’t an allegory.

  • whotookkarl@lemmy.world
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    If the only thing Cain has to whine about in 2025 is denying Superman’s leftist origins written by depression era immigrants, he’s really got nothing to complain about or is trying to distract from some bullshit or sell something

  • barnaclebutt@lemmy.world
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    Worst Superman has harsh words for creator of better Superman. After playing the part for a decade, Dean Cain still doesn’t understand the character.

  • GaMEChld@lemmy.world
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    I mean, he may be right that it’ll hurt the box office to polarize the public, but Superman is as much an illegal alien as you can get.

    Come to think of it, what is the story regarding his birth certificate, citizenship etc? Did Ma and Pa Kent claim a home birth and get him documented?

    • Crashumbc@lemmy.world
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      Probably, when did the original Superman even come? 40’s? Records were pretty lazy back then, especially in rural America.

      I don’t even know if being “illegal” was a thing, we might have still had an open immigration policy.

    • boonhet@sopuli.xyz
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      In Smallville, I think mama and papa Kent had help from papa Luthor in the paperwork department so officially they adopted an orphan. I don’t remember what, if anything, happened to the original orphan whose info they used.

    • DacoTaco@lemmy.world
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      Depends on what comics. From what i read in some comic series he was actually birthed on earth and was able to run for president. While in other comic series he came as a baby and was adopted ( which, if unknown origins, means us citizenship iirc ).

      Edit: not sure why im getting downvoted. I said what is true, that in most comics he’s a baby that came from krypton, and due to us laws was basically adopted as a us citizen. Doesnt make him less of an immigrant…

      • Honytawk@feddit.nl
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        That is only the story in a couple of comics of the 90’s.

        Since its conception in the 30’s, Superman has always been an illegal immigrant from Krypton.

        • DacoTaco@lemmy.world
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          Correct indeed. Not sure why im getting downvoted though.
          He was an immigrant in most comics, yes. But not illegal lol

          • T156@lemmy.world
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            Would he not be considered an illegal alien? It’s not like he was sent to the US under standard procedures. He was basically dumped at a US homestead.

            • GaMEChld@lemmy.world
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              Yeah, and I’m sure that any of the paperwork that was involved in getting him a SSN or birth certificate must have involved some form of fraud in the process. Someone had to tell a lie at some point.

      • Wolf@lemmy.today
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        I don’t think they adopted him as in a legal process, I think they just pretended that he was their biological son. You can’t just go to the court and be like “We found a baby, can we keep it?”. They could have surrendered the infant to law enforcement and then petitioned to adopt it, but afaik this never happened the Comics, Movies or TV Shows (including the one Dean Cain was on). So while it’s true that he was a US citizen, it was because the Kent’s lied about his origin.

        From what i read in some comic series he was actually birthed on earth and was able to run for president.

        If you are referring to Kalel/ Calvin Ellis from Earth 23, he wasn’t born on Earth either. He was born on Krypton like the other Supermen.

        The point that GaMEChld and James Gunn are making is that even if Kal-El was made a legal citizen he is still very much an immigrant (and technically an illegal Alien) and none of that matters one single bit. Being born on U.S. Soil to American parents doesn’t make you a good citizen and being born somewhere else doesn’t make you a bad one.