TV Supergirl [Spoilers]

[AnakinFlair]

I just watched the third episode of the fourth season on Netflix, the one that goes into the history of Agent Liberty.

I certainly agree that what is happening in the real world right now is ridiculous. Trump has taken something that was and is a minor problem at best and escalated it- in people's minds- into some kind of major crisis in order to win the election. In the process, he has fanned the flames of ethnic, cultural and religious bigotry. However, I'm dubious about how it's working in the world of Supergirl.

When the first X-Men movie came out, Roger Ebert said that while we understand that mutants are a metaphor for all victims of bigotry, the problem is that, in the world the X-Men live in, it's not all bigotry. We understand that, when the Senator says, "Do you want a mutant moving into your neighborhood?", the metaphor is, "Do you want a black family moving into your neighborhood?" Sheer bigotry. Or, "Do you want mutants teaching your children?" really means, "Do you want someone who is gay or a Muslim teaching your children?" Again, sheer bigotry. BUT, in the world of the X-Men, it's more like, "Do you want an atomic bomb moved into the house down the street? Oh, it means well. It's a decent atomic bomb. But were it to lose it's temper for one instant, it's not just going to punch a wall. It's going to flatten the entire neighborhood and probably the entire city." That's where the Mutant metaphor breaks down. It's a very rational and justified fear.

That's the only problem I have with Supergirl where aliens are taking the place of mutants. There have been two invasions, countless damage and loss of life and most of the aliens seem to have powers and abilities that make humans look like nothing. The resentment of aliens in the world of Supergirl is simply not comparable to the real world situation. Yes, some of it is bigotry but a lot of it is very justified fear.

The bigger problem is the sheer number of aliens that are suddenly living on Earth. In season 1, the DEO existed to keep alien activities under wraps, implying a relatively small number of aliens on Earth. The number grew somewhat in Season 2 with the introduction of the Bar and Maggie Sawyer, who had relationships with many aliens living in secret on earth. But by season 4, there were suddenly entire towns where aliens and humans existed in peace for decades. Suddenly aliens were everywhere, which just made no damn sense.

[Jackalope89]

True, but what's the percentage presently? It's pretty small, I believe.

You'd think so, but last season had a number of metas popping up, and some like Caitlyn didn't even need the particle accelerator to be one. And with Black Lightning joining, that's another group of metas with a different background.

[AnakinFlair]

Agreed. Way back in the 1950s the opening theme of Adventures of Superman was that Superman fights a never ending battle for Truth, Justice, and the American Way.
Yet here were are in 2019, 60 years later, and there are people complaining about Supergirl wanting justice for everyone like as if that is something political. The only thing
political about it is there are certain politicians in Washington that are trying to deny justice to certain groups of people mere because of their county of origin. All Supergirl
does is point out the unfairness of it and to try to encourage people to be better. If people have a problem with Supergirl maybe it is on them, not Supergirl.

I think the problem with last season was that there is so much **** happening in the real world, I just wanted to escape into my DC shows, but the Agent Liberty story line kind of made that impossible. I think that's why Lex worked so well- after so long doing an immigration story, to finally get the man flying around in the Lexosuit belting out Sinatra was a breath of fresh air.

[AJBopp]

True, but what's the percentage presently? It's pretty small, I believe.

Does that really matter when a single one of them could take out the planet?

[The Darknight Detective]

Does that really matter when a single one of them could take out the planet?

That was my point. The vast majority of humans aren't metas, so they are at a great disadvantage regarding those who have powers.

[Riv86672]

I think the problem with last season was that there is so much **** happening in the real world, I just wanted to escape into my DC shows, but the Agent Liberty story line kind of made that impossible. I think that's why Lex worked so well- after so long doing an immigration story, to finally get the man flying around in the Lexosuit belting out Sinatra was a breath of fresh air.

I agree 100%.
The immigration stuff should have been a running SUB plot the last few seasons, not the driving force of the show. It just bogs down an otherwise good show and cast.
I want my Supergirl smiling and having adventure, not scowling and brooding over the root cause of bigotry.

[Powerboy]

That was my point. The vast majority of humans aren't metas, so they are at a great disadvantage regarding those who have powers.

I hadn't thought about it that much but it is true that the whole world of Supergirl seems to have changed to make season 4 work with aliens everywhere including virtually entire towns of them. Also, yes, a few metahumans is nice but insignificant compared to the number of aliens.

Riv86672:

I agree 100%. The immigration stuff should have been a running SUB plot the last few seasons, not the driving force of the show. It just bogs down an otherwise good show and cast. I want my Supergirl smiling and having adventure, not scowling and brooding over the root cause of bigotry.

I would say the root cause of bigotry is pure and simply the survival instinct. My territory, not yours. My hunting grounds, not yours. My nest, not yours. So said the eagle. But once you have intelligence, fake reasons for it get manufactured and we have human history with all its racism and bigotry.

But so far having seen only the first three episodes of season 4, I think that if they were going to do this aliens story line at all, they should have taken it further. Instead of having Agent Liberty being completely off the deep end and murdering people, have significant characters that focus on legitimate reasons why they want the aliens off the planet and resent them. Make it really a question of whether anyone is anymore in the right than anyone else.

I'm just saying that if you are going to do it, then really do it. I'd also drop the metaphor that this has much of anything to do with the real world except using the real world as a vague idea for the story since the situation in the show bears only the most vague resemblance to the real world situation.

[MyriVerse]

...I could do without getting a lesson in morality in my superhero show.

There's no sense in doing any superheroes without a morality lesson.

[Malvolio]

There's no sense in doing any superheroes without a morality lesson.

True. Even if it's as simple a moral as "good triumphs over evil."

[Bat-Meal]

There's no sense in doing any superheroes without a morality lesson.

I can only think of two at the moment:

Spider-Man: "with great power comes great responsibility".
Batman: "it's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me".

No idea what Supergirl's one is, if she has any specific one, that can be summed-up in a single quote.

[AJBopp]

I can only think of two at the moment:

Surely you're not suggesting that it requires a specific line of dialog for a movie to express a moral POV.

[Bat-Meal]

Surely you're not suggesting that it requires a specific line of dialog for a movie to express a moral POV.

No, just the ones that are obviously moral lessons are the ones with quotes most remember.

[Captain Smith]

One of the appeals of Superman was he uniqueness as the sole survivor of Krypton. Adding Kara as a relative who made it because of family ties was OK. Now we have thousands of Kryptonians zooming around the place. A Mars full of equally powerful folks and tons of immigrants who repeatedly knock Kara on her butt. Plus, preachy, preachy issues on every show. I like drama but genre focus is important. I am simply not interested in Alex wanting a baby and her partner not wanting a baby. We have enough of a screwed up Presidency in the real world. I don't need a shadow play of that.

I stopped watching with the extended alien immigration focus. It just got boring.

[AnakinFlair]

I can only think of two at the moment:

Spider-Man: "with great power comes great responsibility".
Batman: "it's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me".

No idea what Supergirl's one is, if she has any specific one, that can be summed-up in a single quote.

Supergirl's would be 'Hope, health, and compassion for all.'

New trailer is out. Looks like the new costume is nanotech.

https://youtu.be/dsUcHpuz4oU

[AnakinFlair]

One of the appeals of Superman was he uniqueness as the sole survivor of Krypton. Adding Kara as a relative who made it because of family ties was OK. Now we have thousands of Kryptonians zooming around the place. A Mars full of equally powerful folks and tons of immigrants who repeatedly knock Kara on her butt. Plus, preachy, preachy issues on every show. I like drama but genre focus is important. I am simply not interested in Alex wanting a baby and her partner not wanting a baby. We have enough of a screwed up Presidency in the real world. I don't need a shadow play of that.

I stopped watching with the extended alien immigration focus. It just got boring.

Do yourself a favor- check out the episodes with John Cryer's Lex Luthor. It was just the kind of over-the-top comic book action I needed to get me back into the season. Because I agree with you- the extended focus on the immigration issue really took me out after a while. And don't get me started on Mary Sue Keily.