2010 Movie News Archives

September 27, 2010: "Waiting For Superman" Documentary

Back in January we reported on Paramount's acquisition of Davis Guggenheim's documentary titled "Watiting For Superman", an indictment of America's public school system.

The recently released documentary (which apparently includes a clip from The Adventures of Superman television series episode "The Mind Machine" showing Superman [George Reeves] stopping a runaway school bus) is receiving increasing media coverage in the U.S.

A New York Post article (titled "Protesting teachers give it an 'F'") states that "About 50 public-school teachers and parents of students - some dressed in Superman costumes - raged against 'Waiting for Superman' before a sold-out screening...".

Whether someone is a Superman fan or not, I think a good argument can be made that this film's use of the Superman character as a counterpoint to a crisis in U.S. education is yet another indication that Siegel and Shuster's fictional hero is far more than merely just another comic book/TV character. What Superman symbolizes is extraordinary in the literal sense of the word. He's an at-a-glance icon as relevant today as he was in 1939 when Hitler set Europe aflame.

Otherwise, why Superman? Why not Santa Claus? Merlin? Zorro? Batman? Hamlet? Ishmael? Gilgamesh? Donald Duck? James Bond? Harry Potter? Or "Dirty" Harry Callahan?

The title of the film was inspired by Harlem Children's Zone founder Geoffrey Canada. When Mr. Canada was a child he hoped that Superman would rescue his poverty-stricken New York neighborhood. He was disappointed when his mother told him that Superman is only a make-believe character. Canada decided it was up to him to be a Superman, and years later his Harlem Children's Zone is a super success story.



2010 Movie News

Listed below are all the Movie News items archived for 2010 organized into various categories:

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