14/11/2025
๐๐๐๐๐๐ | Superman is Right: How to Save the World with a Notebook
Your choices, your actions โ that's what makes you who you are.
Watching the latest Superman film, directed by James Gunn and starring David Corenswet as the charming Clark Kent, a journalist for The Daily Planet living his double life as Superman, led me to a profound question: why do so many superheroes in the media have journalism as a day job?
The recurring portrayal of journalists as superheroes in popular media is no mere coincidence; it reflects a profound truth about their role in society. Another classic example is your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, or Peter Parker, who works at The Daily Bugle as an investigative photojournalist. Even his coworker, Eddie Brock, infected by the symbiotic entity Venom, is considered an anti-hero but also a superhero in some cases. Another character worth mentioning is April OโNeil from our favorite pizza-eating mutant turtles, who is a news anchor. All these characters in their respective fictional worlds have a daring similarity that superheroes choose journalism as their profession as their day job.
In times of crisisโbe it storms or scandalsโwe look for hope. In Superman (2025), Clark Kent lives a double life: reporter by day, hero by night. But in truth, that line barely exists. When Lex Luthor hacks Supermanโs secret base and twists a farewell message from Krypton into a false threat, the media turns on Superman instantly. Because Kal-El, or Superman is an alien, during the scene where Jor-El, his father, shares his request to repopulate Krypton, spreads faster than truth, forcing even a hero to surrender. And like Clark, todayโs journalists risk everything to fight as an alien whose duty is to protect Earth and its inhabitants.
When Superman turns himself in to find his loyal superdog Krypto, Lex Luthor introduces him to his pocket dimension. This dimension, a vessel of Lex Luthorโs greed, envy, and wrath, showcases "troll farms" run by monkeys attacking Superman online. It also holds political prisoners, whether those opposing the dictatorship of the fictional country of Bravia or individuals personally opposed to Lex Luthor, such as his ex-girlfriend who maintained a blog against him. Lex Luthor studied Superman meticulously; he knows his every move, and his weakness, Kryptonite, is effectively used against him.
This is a painful reflection of the current world we face: journalists attacked for their integrity, corruption feeding into politicians to create propaganda machines simply to retain power. However, how does it reflect our reality? Lex Luthor abuses the media the same way dictators ravage the integrity of journalists, dividing the shared reality.
Clark Kent as a journalist and Superman as a superhero is a direct attack on oppression and hate. Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster as a way to cope with the discrimination they faced as Jews in the 1930s. Their intention was to embody virtues of integrity and truth, seeking to uplift the people.
Superman or Clark Kent embodies the virtue of love and kindness. Even if he was an alien, he is human and lived his life as a human being. This contrasts Lex Luthorโs character, apathetic to humanity even if he is human himself. The movie itself is a metaphor of fighting against oppression and how media practitioners and movements can change the world.
The encyclical Inter Mirifica, written by His Holiness Pope Paul VI and translating to โAmong the Wonderful Thingsโ or "Among the Happiness," is relevant here. The encyclical discusses the use of social media, which by 1963, became more accessible in both creation and reception. This accessibility, however, posed a threat, as these very mediums could be used to harm the population through depictions of sin, violence, propaganda, and hate speech. As Maria Ressa noted in her speech at the Vatican for the Jubilee year, social media is actively used to attack the integrity of media practitioners worldwide, with algorithms designed to scare users and ensnare them on platforms. Ressa's courageous fight against this algorithmic manipulation exemplifies the heroic struggle of modern journalists.
In this era of monsoons, typhoons, and political clashes, it is journalists who take the first leap. Journalists step into coverage knowing the inherent risks, especially in this modern age of social media where hate can be directly targeted at them. The fictional Superman movie, despite defying the laws of science, powerfully encapsulates the world we live in today. It's a world where genocides are funded by the wealthy 1%, where the search for truth is attacked amidst propaganda, and where morals are questioned in a dark period. When the media is weaponized against the very people protecting it, the movie teaches us that our morals should stand firm.
Even Superman, the icon of hope, was attacked with lies that ruined his integrity, yet he continued to stand for truth. Oppressors weaponize hopelessness to consolidate their power. In reality, this very hopelessness is their greatest weapon, but as long as a community works together amidst disasters, we can find ourselves looking for superheroes in the sky when, in reality, theyโre on the field with cameras, microphones, reporting the truth.
What makes superheroes "super" and "heroes" is that even when the world is against them, they will continue to push forward. And having solid morals is the strongest superpower anyone can have.
๐๏ธ | Paula Therese Pensader Jaranilla
โ๏ธ | Eahrzon Poblete
๐จ | Kathrin Lorenzano
