Superman 1 Misogynist

Modern day superheroes still reflect the misogynistic and chauvinist society in which they were first created and this will be argued with reference to two of the films studied.

With reference to “Superman 1”, the leading lady, Lois Lane, is often placed in the face of danger and needs to be rescued. In the year in which “Superman 1” was created, woman were not yet seen as equal to men as they are in the present. With that in mind, Lois Lane would have been seen as a more independent woman as she was living alone in an apartment, working in a career field often dominated by men at the time of the movies creation, but never the less, Lois is still a passive woman who often is not able to escape from danger by herself. In “Superman 1”, the criminal Clark Kent and Lois Lane encounter, is a male who in actual fact

points the gun at Clark while trying to rob Lois, this shows that the criminal saw the male, Clark, as a threat and Lois, the female, as his target and someone who could be easily overthrown and beaten in a physical fight.
Another aspect of the film that supports this view is that the woman who helps Lex Luthor capture Superman, Miss Teschmacher, is: thin, has flawless skin and is not intelligent.

She is depicted as a woman who Lex Luthor only has due to her appearance. This is misogynistic as it provides the assumption that men are more superior and intelligent than women

With regards to Superman himself, in his interview with Lois, Superman’s voice can be heard more clearly and is louder than Lois’s voice. This places him in a position of power and authority over Lois. Superman is often flying or hovering when he is seen by Lois Lane and Miss Teschmacher thus the camera is forced to be at a low angle to him. This, once again, places Superman in a position of power. This can also be seen in “Man of Steel”.

With reference to “Man of Steel” and “Superman 1”, Superman is much taller than Lois resulting in her constantly having to look up at him and having him shot with a low angle from the point-of-view shot of Lois Lane, having the effect of Superman seeming more powerful. Superman’s adoptive mother is also a stereotypical, stay at home mother while his adoptive father

works.
Although Lois Lane, in “Man of Steel”, has the information to prevent Zod’s plan from occurring, she ultimately is not the one who is able to carry out her plan, some examples include: the people piloting the plane that contains Superman’s arrival ship, are men; the scientist who notices why the command key will not enter the ‘keyhole’ for the command key in Superman’s arrival ship, is a man; and Lois falls out of this previously mentioned plane and is needed to be rescued by Superman.
Although in “Man of Steel”, Lois fires a futuristic gun and releases Superman from Zod’s ship by placing the command key Superman gave her into the ‘keyhole’ in Zod’s ship, her own escape places her in danger once more. Lois, once again, needs to be rescued. In this scene, Superman is shot from a low angle and is seen on top of the world, literally. This again places him in power not only over Lois but over the world.
Modern day superheroes still reflect the misogynistic and chauvinist society in which they were first created and this has been argued with reference to two of the films studied.