Yesterday I received my copy of Smallville, Season 3 on DVD from Amazon.com. Yay. So I thought I'd put it in the DVD player around 8 pm and watch an episode or two. Funny how that never works.
I was still watching at 2AM. Forget work, forget clients, forget walking the dog, I must watch Smallville.
Funny. They're all episodes I've seen before, but watching them is more familiar than just reruns on TV. For some reason, they have lots of appeal. And it's not just because Tom Welling is so damn hot.
I mean, there are lots of hot guys on TV, but you don't see their shows mentioned in my blog. I searched and Smallville now shows up in 3 different entries.
What is it about Smallville and the whole "secret identity, but I'm here to save the world"-ness of superheros that appeals to everyone so? I mean, having to keep his true identity secret is truly something that every Gay person goes thru at some point, at least in American society. But the appeal is more universal than that.
I remember when I watched the first X-Men movie, I commented on the huge parallels between the Gay civil rights movement and the Mutants of the movie. The non-gay people I saw it with got all reflective and admitted that they hadn't even seen that angle in the film. But they identified with the outsider trying to fit in for different reasons.
Do you suppose that everyone feels like they have something that they hide from everyone else that make them just a little bit superior? Why is the outsider such a universal thing in human nature? is it because we all went to high school? what? what?
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One Comment
I have to admit, that I'm not much of a fan of Smallville. It's easy to get my attention, but it takes more than a pretty face to keep it. The themes of the show haven't really changed:
"Lana, I just wanna help. Waaah!"
"Clark, why is it so hard to get close to you? Waaah!"
"Lex, why can't I trust you? Waaah!"
"Clark, what are you hiding? Waaah!"
"Barf!"
I think Tom Welling makes an excellent Super-whatever, but he's simply not believable as a *high-school junior.* He's got a great Superman face, and he's growing into the body for it, too. Or rather, he has been working out! But watch out for those jelly donuts. Spandex is not very forgiving.
I noticed the huge gay parallel in the first X-Men movie within the first five minutes. I don't know if that was intended, of course. The "outsider trying to fit in" is a common theme and applies pretty well for the high schoolers – and just about everyone else, too.
Mid-teens include that period of transition into adulthood – and that means finding an identity other than being the son or daughter of someone. It happens sooner for some people, later for others, and never for some presidents.