Home Entertainment Zack Snyder talks the mythology of MAN OF STEEL

Zack Snyder talks the mythology of MAN OF STEEL

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Coming out of Man of Steel, I had one thought on my mind: What an asshole. You know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t seen the film yet, I suggest you stop reading right now. Like all big hero flicks, it ends with the big face-off a battle between the last son of krypton and General Zod, who at this point is overdosing on rage-ohol.

Each Krypto-klap thrown in that movie demolishes a building, with Metropolis looking like whatever Syria will be next week when the US starts bombing that country. Needless to say, people died in that film. Scores of them. But according to director Zack Snyder, all those deaths helped build the mythology of the character.

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Speaking to the Japan Times, Snyder explained that yes indeed, plenty of people perished in the battle of Metropolis. But that all enhances the myth of Superman:

I wanted the movie to have a mythological feeling. In ancient mythology, mass deaths are used to symbolize disasters. In other countries like Greece and Japan, myths were recounted through the generations, partly to answer unanswerable questions about death and violence. In America, we don’t have that legacy of ancient mythology. Superman is probably the closest we get. It’s a way of recounting the myth.

Erm ok? To be honest, that’s an excuse that only makes sense to Snyder right now. But then again, in a film which stars a flying alien zapping fellow members of his race with eye lasers while cities implode around him, I shouldn’t be looking for excuses. Technically, I enjoyed Man of Steel, but that was a film which was really lacking some soul and warmth which the character of Superman embodies.

It’s the Superman film for people who don’t like the character. But at least that’s one debate that’s finally been settled.

Last Updated: August 30, 2013

One Comment

  1. I suppose he’s referring to to how Superman put a stop to all the death that was sure to come from the World Engines. It’s a different take to superhero story telling. Not sure if it works completely and as a stand alone story. I mean they really could have addressed the destruction at the end or cleverly worked around supposed accidental deaths during the fights. That’s part of the drama for superhero stories, not letting anyone die.

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