i'm a punkrocker
a yap session about superman without spoilers
Don’t worry, no spoilers here. I still respect the sanctity of cinema.
I might write a more detailed piece when more people have seen the film, but for now I just want to talk about the essence of it and what it's doing to people, based on conversations I’ve had and what I’ve seen people saying online.
Believe it or not—and I say this while holding your hand—there are actually people who hate a movie where an all-powerful superbeing is kind and helps people…this is the part where you pause and reflect.
When I saw the first tweet complaining about the movie, I thought it was just ragebait. Maybe the person didn’t mean it. But then more posts started popping up, talking about how awful the movie was and how it “ruined their Superman.” I was honestly so confused (having seen the movie i think i know who was making those tweets. iykyk)
At that point I hadn’t seen the film yet, but in true internet fashion, people were already posting clips and breakdowns. Lucky for me, spoilers don’t ruin anything—I still enjoy the experience of a film regardless. So I got the general vibe of it before watching, and even then, I still didn’t get why people were upset.
You know how they say art is a mirror to society? This movie does that really well. It tackles a lot of current issues, but the one that stood out most to me was empathy. The simple idea of just being human. The reactions to the film have been extremely revealing. Some people even drew comparisons between one of the film’s conflicts and the Israel–Palestine war, which is, let’s be honest, a genocide. And of course, some Zionists were very upset about this.
The funny thing is, the film never actually mentions Israel. This isn’t even the first time the country has come up in the DC universe—this goes back to the 90s. And yet, people were calling the film anti-Semitic, talking about boycotts, the usual drama. Honestly, fuck them. I won’t get too deep into it to avoid spoilers, but if a movie shows a fictional country oppressing a smaller one, and your first instinct is to think it's about you... maybe the noise is coming from inside the house.
Another strange reaction I saw before the movie even came out was people saying the movie is “pro-immigrant,” as if that’s a flaw. It reflects current immigration issues in a certain country, and I guess that alone made people uncomfortable. I didn’t see a ton of tweets about it because I blocked the first one I saw, but wow. Just wow.
And then there are the complaints about the movie being “washed” or “lacking testosterone.” I wish I was kidding. People really said that. As if every superhero movie needs to be soaked in violence and grit to be considered good. Apparently kindness and restraint are too soft now.
But honestly, the positive reactions have been incredible. If you check my Twitter account, at least 70% of my timeline is filled with people talking about how much they loved the movie. People have been absolutely dragging the haters, and I love to see it.
As much as we complain about social media—and rightly so—one of my favorite things ever is when people unite over a piece of media they love. You get memes, fan art, deep dives, edits, conspiracy theories, playlists. You feel like you’re experiencing the story alongside a whole community. It happened to me with K-Pop Demon Hunters. My whole timeline turned into this beautiful mess of art and obsession, and it’s happening again now.
I know some people act like it’s cool to hate on anything popular, but seeing so many people be vocal about what they loved in the film actually made my heart melt a little. So many folks said they came out of the theater feeling hopeful. And I completely get that. When I walked out, I had this huge smile on my face. My chest felt lighter. That’s what art is supposed to do. It’s meant to make you feel something.
People have even been doing good things because of the movie. Helping strangers with groceries, being more patient, even adopting dogs. I saw that Google searches for “adopt a dog” went up after the film came out. That’s beautiful.
Oh, and of course there’s the funny part—people identifying with the villain. Saying he was a real hater. And yeah, he was. But every great movie needs a hater. Just don’t be him in real life.
Superman gave us a reminder of what we’re capable of when we choose hope over cynicism. And some people hated that. But even more people loved it and that’s all that matters.
