Views From The Long Box 199: Man Of Steel Round Table – A three hour scene by scene discussion about Man Of Steel a year after by Superman fans.
Joining Michael Bailey (of The Superman Homepage, Fortress of Baileytude, From Crisis to Crisis/Superman Podcast Network, and more!) “in this mammoth episode are Andy Leyland (of Hey Kids Comics, The Palace of Glittering Delights, The Fantasticast and Listen to the Prophets fame and my permanent semi-regular co-host), Paul Spatro (of Back to the Bins and Listen to the Prophets fame) and Bob Fisher (of Superman Forever and Long Play fame). We spend over three hours discussing Man of Steel in depth and deal with the more controversial aspects of the movie including the depiction of Jonathan Kent, the amount of destruction seen in the movie and the final battle between Superman and General Zod. It’s a long conversation but I think it proves that you can talk about this movie with people and still walk away as friends.”
I have a ton of respect for the participants (and their work), their discussion, and civility. Of course, I don’t agree with them on every point, but “reasonable minds will differ” and they prove the essential point that a difference of opinion doesn’t need to be accompanied by acrimony or degeneration. They don’t pretend to speak for all fans but are honest about their feelings without belittling the feelings of others.
I appreciate the intelligent and genuine criticism as opposed to counter-factual bashing… and, of course, I’ll enjoy doing my best to answer some of the topics from my perspective eventually (not a direct reaction, just as the topics emerge). It is not a love-fest, but an open-minded Man Of Steel fan should be able to listen to this without problems. Not a “must listen” (then again, what is?) but I enjoyed it for what it was. As illustrative as the podcast is of cordiality, it’s interesting that the venom to which some can approach this mere film almost proves the skepticism towards humanity presented by the film. Be better!
A minor language warning, depending on where and how you’re playing it and the sensitivity to some swearing.
Anyways, if you can’t get enough commentary on a film that still has people talking even this far out, this might be the antidote to some of the mind numbingly bad bashing commentary out there, with a more even take on the film. Enjoy!
