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Of course Superman is an immigrant — so why are Republicans mad about it?

JL;DR SUMMARY Conservative media's backlash to director James Gunn's characterization of Superman as an immigrant underscores a recurring cultural debate over inclusion in superhero stories. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

ImmigrationInclusionSupermanJewish CreatorsConservative MediaAmerican ValuesJerry SiegelJoe ShusterCultural DebateJames Gunn

Places mentioned

Cleveland, Ohio, United States
"Superman is the ur-superhero, created by a duo of underachieving Jewish teens from Cleveland one, Jerry Siegel the child of Lithuanian immigrants to the U.S."
Lithuania
"one, Jerry Siegel the child of Lithuanian immigrants to the U.S."
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
"the other, Joe Shuster, an immigrant from Canada"
Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands
"whose parents hailed from Rotterdam and Kyiv."
Kyiv, Ukraine
"whose parents hailed from Rotterdam and Kyiv."
Smallville, Kansas, United States
"Theres a reason Supermans space pram lands on a farm in a town called Smallville where the young Kryptonian is raised by kindly farmers."
Glenville, Ohio, United States
"No, Superman is likely simpler than all that. While created by liberals, and regarded by some as an unruly nbsp; violent socialist in his earliest appearances, the character is effectively and this explains someone like Ben Shapiros fondness for the character an expression of a simplistic American ideal that at its core is conservative, if not inherently nativist. Theres a reason Supermans space pram lands on a farm in a town called Smallville where the young Kryptonian is raised by kindly farmers. This, to Siegel and Shuster, was America."

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Retrieved 2025-07-10 05:30:47 UTC
Curated 2025-07-10 08:31:21 UTC