We could all use new Superman’s ‘poptimism’ of hope

The world is a pretty bleak place at the moment. Around the globe, it doesn’t seem much better. Amid all of this turmoil, with humanity seemingly at one of its lowest points, we could really use a Superman in our lives. In fact, we’ve never yearned for such a person to be real as much as we do now.

Instead, we got the next best thing: James Gunn’s “Superman,” a bastion of hope on the silver screen, about the best example of what analysts call “poptimism” that we’re ever likely to find: optimism in pop culture in the face of doom all around us. See him stop wars! See him rescue kids and squirrels! See him take down a bald technocrat billionaire! (Whose look predates a couple of egg-shaped billionaires we’re contending with now.)

And soon after, we’ve got Superman times four, with “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” featuring Marvel’s beloved First Family. This one’s an equally optimistic throwback story with the fabulous foursome up against Galactus, the devourer of worlds, who could be seen in this day and age as a metaphor for climate change. In the recent past, superheroes on the big and small screen have tended to be quite dark and cynical, perhaps as a contrary response to the “hope and change” Barack Obama era.

“The Boys” and “Invincible” are deliberately satirical and bloody. The “Spider-Verse” movies are on a yearslong cliffhanger with the hero captured by his dark alternate self. Even Superman was not immune: “Man of Steel” featured a dark blue suit and a neck-snapping climax.

It seems that as the world makes a running dash down a Slip ‘N Slide toward fascism, much of our pop culture, from music and television to streaming and big-screen movies, is going hard toward bright and sunny, to shine a little light in the darkness, provide a much-needed escape and show all of us how things could be, if only we tried a little harder. Even shows such as “Ted Lasso” deal with the concept of toxic positivity or going too far toward being positive that you fail to deal with real problems.

Zohran Mamdani

In the yawning void that is the absence of Superman in our own world, and in between forays into fiction where he exists, it behooves us to act more like Superman in our own little corners of the world. What would the Fantastic Four or Superman do? Superman’s three pillars these days (revised in the comics after it seemed a bit jingoistic to have him care at all about the American Way, whatever that is):

1. Truth. Seems in short supply these days, right? Lying and dishonesty are the name of the game, not only when you hear a politician open their mouth but in the workplace, too. We could all do with quite a bit more honesty, even when it hurts.

2. Justice. It also feels like the cup has run dry here. Famous people with dozens of felonies fail to be punished in any significant way. Those with the best lawyers dodge serious charges after long trials. There’s not much the average person can do when the system fails, other than speaking out collectively through protest.

3. A better tomorrow. The master speculative fiction writer Lois McMaster Bujold wrote, “Guard your honour. Let your reputation fall where it may. And outlive the bastards.” We have to hope that eventually, the world will turn toward the better, if we would just live long enough to see it happen.

Seeing an uplifting film about an immigrant refugee who gets the job done or a fantastic foursome that watches over humanity makes us look for bright spots elsewhere in our current worldview. For example, the undeniable rizz of New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. It inspires us to try to look for silver linings wherever we can, no matter how tiny.