Superman for a New Generation

Yesterday I caught an interview on CBC with Jeet Heer, a "cultural journalist" (whatever that means). He and Jian Ghomeshi were riffing about the way that Superman has changed over the years. From hard working farmer's son who wants a New Deal (1930's), to family man (1950's), to "the man" confronted by wild haired X-Men and angst ridden vigilantes (1970's- 1990's). Yet somehow he remains fresh and whole in spite of this. Other interpretations not mentioned were Superman's brief stint at Melrose Place (Lois and Clark) and his endless teenager hood (Smallville).

You can listen here . It is the first interview in the podcast for April 22.

Listening to the interview got me thinking about a subject I preached on a couple of weeks back. The relevance of The Bible, a 2000+ year old document that has nothing in it about how to use a blackberry, texting, genetic engineering and frankenfood, nuclear war etc. etc. Still, this book seems to both reinvent itself for each generation whilst remaining the same. The Bible retains its relevance in spite of its distance in time and space from us.

From there I wandered into thinking about progress versus tradition, change versus solidity. And then on the interconnectedness of growth and roots.

There have always been "back to the future" movements: pining for the nostalgic past is probably one of the favourite topics of every generation. There has also been a lot of the opposite feeling: away with everything in the past - time to move on. In Christianity (the only faith I am qualified to talk about really) these can be seen in the extreme conservatism (and rejection of anything perceived as modern) of some groups versus the extreme rejection of anything faintly "religious" if not faith itself.

How do we move beyond this and adapt, like Superman, while retaining our identity. To be fair, Superman was actually killed off about 15 years ago and then came back changed by the experience. This is somewhat analogous to the periodic calls for renewal in the church.

I don't know maybe I am trying to see into a lead lined box with my x-ray eyes but I think there are some wonderful lessons to be learned from Superman. Not least, that the one thing that has always been the most attractive thing about Superman - his essential goodness.

K