To clarify, I mean Superman as his "Superman" persona, the alien who just pops in the save the day when there's a landslide and "won't enter human politics", even if he's casting his vote as Clark Kent. Etc.
Now, you're Smallville version is slightly flawed. So far, within the boundaries of Smallville, Clark Kent uses his powers because of his family and friends. He's not yet searching the world for people who needs saving, just those who need saving that he knows personally. There's a pretty big difference between scouring for the world's scum to hunt down and saving your friend from imminent hand-through-heart death.
As for your comics extreme, albeit I don't have a very good grasp of him, his interaction with random scientist/official/priest or supporting Superhero is hardly what one calls "social interaction" in the concept of "social responsibility". Interacting with one person is not a social interaction. He, that is the Superman persona, is not affected by the laws passed (or he'd've been arrested for vigilante behavior by now). He isn't restricted by due process. He isn't even a citizen, let alone capable of performing a citizen arrest. He doesn't qualify for any sector of the government hierarchy (at least we're still the bottom rung researcher/worker) nor is his affiliated with any organization under societal supervision (unless the Justice League pays taxes and undergoes safety inspection). He doesn't have to deal with figuring out homeless policies or debate the validity of tax breaks. In short, Superman doesn't interact with society, he just steps in, as far as the humans can tell, when he damn well feels like it.
Now, you ask me if it's a matter of degree, and I will tell you, uh, hell yeah. You cannot honestly tell me that if a person (not even alien) who is not affiliated with another country suddenly started throwing his/her weight around about how things should be done (a la U.S.), they wouldn't be told to butt out, even if they may have trade relations. A normal civilian needs the water, food, shelter, and even jobs that their society provides for basic survival. That need dictates that these normal people need to interact on even the most basic level. They need to pay rent, pay for food, earn a wage, etc. But Superman (again, not Clark Kent), is mysterious. It's a thing that doesn't eat, doesn't sleep, doesn't need humans or need to interact with humans. It chose to jump in, as far as the innocent civilian could tell.
But that's speaking from the fictional humanity's point of view. In other words, when you are dependent on the society in which you live for your survival, yeah, you damn well have a social responsibility to keep it alive. If you aren't...well...
Think of it this way, we, humans, are probably mysterious, superior, super beings to many animals out there. Are we morally or socially charged for their survival? No. However, unlike Superman, we choose to protect because we need them on a different level from survival, because we see them as our property (in a way). Are they (the writers) willing to consider Superman as protecting what he believes is rightfully his? Because if he does, it's not longer about the "right" thing to do so much as the thing he needs to do.
As for the super-intelligence thing, I thought that's what you were implying regarding the comics extreme of the Super persona vs. Clark Kent persona, that the Super persona is capable of some Super-Smart thinking that goes beyond mere humans. Color me misinterpreting.
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2009-02-03 01:42 am (UTC)Now, you're Smallville version is slightly flawed. So far, within the boundaries of Smallville, Clark Kent uses his powers because of his family and friends. He's not yet searching the world for people who needs saving, just those who need saving that he knows personally. There's a pretty big difference between scouring for the world's scum to hunt down and saving your friend from imminent hand-through-heart death.
As for your comics extreme, albeit I don't have a very good grasp of him, his interaction with random scientist/official/priest or supporting Superhero is hardly what one calls "social interaction" in the concept of "social responsibility". Interacting with one person is not a social interaction. He, that is the Superman persona, is not affected by the laws passed (or he'd've been arrested for vigilante behavior by now). He isn't restricted by due process. He isn't even a citizen, let alone capable of performing a citizen arrest. He doesn't qualify for any sector of the government hierarchy (at least we're still the bottom rung researcher/worker) nor is his affiliated with any organization under societal supervision (unless the Justice League pays taxes and undergoes safety inspection). He doesn't have to deal with figuring out homeless policies or debate the validity of tax breaks. In short, Superman doesn't interact with society, he just steps in, as far as the humans can tell, when he damn well feels like it.
Now, you ask me if it's a matter of degree, and I will tell you, uh, hell yeah. You cannot honestly tell me that if a person (not even alien) who is not affiliated with another country suddenly started throwing his/her weight around about how things should be done (a la U.S.), they wouldn't be told to butt out, even if they may have trade relations. A normal civilian needs the water, food, shelter, and even jobs that their society provides for basic survival. That need dictates that these normal people need to interact on even the most basic level. They need to pay rent, pay for food, earn a wage, etc. But Superman (again, not Clark Kent), is mysterious. It's a thing that doesn't eat, doesn't sleep, doesn't need humans or need to interact with humans. It chose to jump in, as far as the innocent civilian could tell.
But that's speaking from the fictional humanity's point of view. In other words, when you are dependent on the society in which you live for your survival, yeah, you damn well have a social responsibility to keep it alive. If you aren't...well...
Think of it this way, we, humans, are probably mysterious, superior, super beings to many animals out there. Are we morally or socially charged for their survival? No. However, unlike Superman, we choose to protect because we need them on a different level from survival, because we see them as our property (in a way). Are they (the writers) willing to consider Superman as protecting what he believes is rightfully his? Because if he does, it's not longer about the "right" thing to do so much as the thing he needs to do.
As for the super-intelligence thing, I thought that's what you were implying regarding the comics extreme of the Super persona vs. Clark Kent persona, that the Super persona is capable of some Super-Smart thinking that goes beyond mere humans. Color me misinterpreting.