Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny--comments on movie Supergirl--

Because the makers of this film were so careless in the plotting, they cannot have seen that carelessness is the center of their story.

We are meant to understand Supergirl as an anti-hero; but she isn’t; she’s a slob who mindlessly endangers herself and others. An anti-hero is someone who represents virtues that are in tension with the established order; it is not someone who is just unhappy and who, when the stars align, can beat up everyone else.

The Athenians who gave us the notion of tragedy believed that art allowed us to see a flaw in others and thereby recognize the possibility of unseen flaws in our own character; we should therefore be careful in our judgements, because the reality of freedom depends upon the practice of self-criticism.

Later, in their decadence, the Greeks gave way to the idea that everything was written in the stars, that gods and heroes rise or fall with this heavenly body or that. Gilbert Murray called this the “failure of nerve.” We are meant to be joyous when the yellow sun emerges, but should we celebrate our submission to careless powers?

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PS: Please also see my positive review of Superman).

PPS: Next week, likely Wednesday July 15th, will see the rollout of the public version of my University of Toronto course “Hitler and Stalin Today.” The ten-lecture class will be accessible free of charge to anyone around the world. You're currently a free subscriber to Thinking about.... For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.

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