Hill

Jhaleel Hill
Professor Ditch
English 114 A
6 November 2014
Super Unrealistic Man
Comic book heroes are very popular for most boys all over the world, especially
the well-known comic book hero Superman. Superman is considered one of the most
popular comic book heroes in the comic book world franchise. The comic book figure
Superman is almost single-handedly responsible for establishing comic books as viable
commercial industry (168 DeForest). States Tim DeForest the author of the book
Storytelling in the Pulps, Comics, and Radio. Supporting that Superman is a popular role
model to many people around the world, but he is not necessarily a good model for all
males. As his body image and actions promote unrealistic traits, influencing society to
believe that everything he does is the epitome of masculinity. The Superman films, video
games, and comic books of Supermans hyper masculine body and his aggressive actions
can cause issues for males such as, body health problems and male violence.
In 2013 the film Man of Steel came out to theatres, telling the story of Superman,
the super masculine man with his God-like powers from the planet Krypton. In more
detail, the film tells the story of how Superman becomes the defender of his new home
Earth whenever citizens are in peril. Furthermore, in the film Superman defeats all of his
enemies due to his unbelievable strength, iron fists, and invincibility. This is one of the
problems as it allows men to feel as if they are able to fight out every problem they face.
Making some men feel superior and as if they have to meet the super masculinity

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standards rose by Superman. Although, all men are not equal in power and males cannot
all be equal in superiority, dominance, and aggressiveness. Different masculinities are
not equal some are more dominant or powerful than others (Gill 30). Explains
Rosalind Gill, the author of the scholarly book Gender and Media. In other words, not all
men can be as powerful and strong as the fictional character of Superman.
In 1978 the very first Superman film, called Superman: The Movie came out,
starring Christopher Reeve a more realistic and down to Earth portrayal of masculinity.
Back in the 70s this movie was considered to be the prime example of what masculinity
is. In comparison, to the newer film Man of Steel, Superman has evolved from a healthy
looking human being to an unrealistic man with an infinite amount of muscles. In other
words, Christopher Reeve still looks like a typical in-shape male while the new Superman
looks like a Hercules on steroids. Making it seem as the hero Superman is evolving more
and more in each new generation. Superman continues to evolve to an unimaginable size
in muscle mass and more violent man in films, comic books, and video games.
Moreover, Superman can make some men potentially believe that they are
invincible fighting machines that can fight out all their problems. Unfortunately, these
traits are negative aspects that surround the Superman image because it leads men to
become super masculine, dominant, strong, and violent towards others. These violentlearned characteristics from the actions of Superman can lead to issues such as: gun
violence, rape, and murder. Instead men should be taught by the media to fight with their
words, not their fists. In addition, if Superman were to promote fighting with words
rather than fists it could possibly lessen the amount of male violence across The United
States of America.

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Furthermore, male violence has been an arising issue in The United States of
America and continues to grow in statistics. One of the most obvious and historically
consistent elements of gender in the media is the notable pervasiveness of representations
of gender-based violence (Cuklanz 32). Proclaims Lisa Cuklanz an author of the article
Mass media representation of gendered violence. Feminist scholars have researched this
subject since the 1970s about how the media has promoted male violence by the usage
of advertisement, films, comic books, and video games. Masculinity in these media
products is understood to shift in relation to social and political changes in the
mainstream culture, but always retains the elements of competiveness, effectivity, action
orientation, and the use of violence to solve problems (Cuklanz 39). States Lisa Cuklanz
the author of the article Mass media representation of gendered violence. Many males
have sometimes felt the need to be superior over one another. In addition, most actionbased films similar to Man of Steel, teach males to be dominant and aggressive towards
each other. Overall, males have always been taught to be super-masculine and violent by
media in the Western society.
Besides there being Superman films influencing violence there are gory and
explicit Superman video games that add wood to the fire on the issue of male violence.
The name of one of these violent video games is Mortal Combat vs. DC Universe. To
briefly describe this game, it is a game where to players can beat the life out of each
others character till one can no longer stand-up and fight. This game promotes reasons
why many men possibly feel the need to be dominant and aggressive to prove their
masculinity. Masculinity usually characterized by dominance and aggression, and
femininity by passive and submission (Devor 39). In greater detail, the comic books,

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films, and action figures of Superman teach men to feel invincible like a supernatural
being or deity, as if one male can be superior to all of humanity.
In the film Man of Steel the actor Henry Cavil acts as the heroic, super masculine,
and supernatural being, also known as Superman. The problem with this is that the new
era of Superman has created unrealistic ideas of how a male body typically looks like.
These super-masculine bodies with massive muscles, mountain-sized shoulders, and
super robust chested men are not typically seen on an every day-to-day basis. Superman
and many other mass-produced media characters continually change the ideas of how
men look. This being said media adds the dramatic trend towards idealized and
eroticized presentations of male bodies that have transformed the visual landscape over
the past two decades (Gill 32). States Rosalind Gill the author of the book Gender and
the Media. In addition, Supermans body: massive muscles, broad shoulders, and chiseled
masculine chin can possibly cause men to feel the urge to enhance their bodies, which
may cause physical health issues with the overuse of steroids and/or drug abuse amongst
males. For example: steroids and physical health problems such as hernias. Most males in
the western society do not look nearly as close to what Henry Cavil looks like as
Superman. Plus the older generations of Superman surely do not compare to the body
mass of the new actor Henry Cavil.
Although, Supermans image and actions can lead to body health problems and
male violence amongst men there could be some good in the popular hero. After all he
does protect the citizens of Earth from foreign invaders. In addition, he seems to care for
all people of Earth in the films, comic books, and certain video games. For many

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Superman fans he may create a symbol of hope, freedom, or even peace. Overall, he
seems to be the perfect loveable hero that saves the world from all danger and villains.
However, in the end the medias product Superman is just a fictional and
unrealistic man that negatively influences many males in the western society to have
physical health problems and resolve to violence. He creates the hyper masculinity that
many men wish to conform to. In general, the whole Superman franchise that consist of
films, comic books, and video games negatively affect males. To an extent, the story of
Superman does not promote more righteousness than wrong. The new generation of the
superhero continues to hurt the western society. Therefore, the story of this superhero and
his image needs to be changed to better influence and benefit all men.

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Works Cited
Cuklanz, Lisa M. Mass media representation of gendered violence The Routledge
Companion to Media and Gender. (2014): 32-39 Print.
DeForest, Tim. Storytelling in the Pulps, Comics, and Radio. Jefferson: McFarland &
Company, 2004. Print.
Devor, Aaron. Becoming Members of Society: The Social Meanings of Gender
Composing Gender. (2014): 35-43 Print.
Gill, Rosalind. Gender and the Media. Malden: Polity Press, 2007.
Print.
Greenspan, Jesse. 8 Things You May Not Know About Superman. History, 16 January
2014. Web.