| |
|
I don't think that's a good reading of the show, though. Or at least not very thorough. The show goes out of its way to show that father figures are very influential in the shaping of an individual.* However, although all three major father figures (Pa, Lionel, Jor-El) are strong and authoritarian, it is Jonathan's willingness NOT to control everything his son does that makes Clark into the Superman he will become.
As much as Jonathan grumbled and disapproved of Clark going out for the football team, he lets Clark make his own decision (this past episode with Mxyptlk, while not a great episode, makes this point clear). On the other hand, when Clark acts contrary to Jor-El's wishes, Jor-El lies to and manipulates his son (with the "Supergirl"), threatens his existing family (giving Jonathan too much power and blowing out his heart) and, when all else fails, brainwashes him (the split "Kal-El" personality of the season premiere). As much as Jonathan was opposed to Clark on the football team, he would have never dreamed of completely subverting his son's personality to make him fall in line.
Lionel is a less extreme example of this as well. He may believe himself to be the "disciplinarian father figure" "preventing [his son] from collapsing into total anarchy," but it is his father's twisted manipulative form of affection that's made Lex into a bit of a mess (though Clark seems to be helping a lot too). Therefore, the show doesn't unilaterally advocate right-wing father figures (as two out of three of them are negative influences), but rather suggests that they need to be tempered with the ability to trust their sons/society to make their own decisions.
Also: "if poppy kent didn't hate lex so much, lex and clark could have given us a worldwide paradise before graduation". Good call. See, even the "good" one's not infallible.
(*-Interesting notion, probably unintentional on the part of the writers as Lana's supposed to be a "good" character: fans of the show who can look beyond Lana's attractiveness seems to agree she's a horrible passive-aggressive bitch, and many of them prefer Chloe. Now, both grew up in a single parent/guardian environment, but Chloe is raised by her father whereas Lana was raised by her Aunt Nell. Of the show's original two young female leads, the one with the father figure is caring and seeks to help others, and the one without one is enormously self-centered.) |
|
|
Superman is Good with a capital G.