English 10R
Mr. Honig
Period 8
14 February 2014
Superman Research Project
"Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.” Power within oneself is driven by a force of self determination.
Putting society before himself, superman wanted to change his label as just a “hero.” Robert
Maxwell and
Alfred Gough conveyed different perspectives on their ideal superman.
The
Adventures of Superman produced by Robert Maxwell, created a dramatic realistic version of superman who protected society from evil within.
Smallville
created by Alfred Gough transformed superman into a man who fights for the good, and not fall into unnecessary drama in the town of Smallville.
Determined to prove himself to society, Superman fights through struggles on how he is not just a man with powers. Robert Maxwell was born in 1908 in the Bronx, New York City.
Maxwell began working with The Adventures of Superman in 1952. He had always wanted a different approach to the character Superman, and this was his time to do so. Maxwell wanted something more dramatic and adult like. The previous cartoon and comic book editions didn’t satisfy his initial idea. He wanted to incorporate realism into Superman. Realism is the practice
of accepting a situation and dealing with it accordingly. He envisioned it to be something being any ordinary person can relate to on a daily basis. Maxwell’s overall goal was to make his superman appeal to adults and children. In order to do this he needed to create a dramatic series filled with real crime. For this to be suitable Maxwell needed to find his perfect rendition of superman. He found him when interviewing George Reeves. This perfect superman would live in a real world, with real people, and fight with real criminals. Maxwell was determined on making
The Adventures of Superman a dramatic series. He was so determined critics began to call the early episodes the “Dark Series” of Superman. They claimed that it was too action packed with fighting crime in the neighborhoods rather than the original idea of Superman. Little did they know, this was exactly what Maxwell wanted. He wanted a hard working Superman, that would do anything to protect the people in the town from robbers, murderers, and thieves. One who is a
“fleshandblood Superman [who] would be a determined crimebuster”. Maxwell also hoped to make the most realistic superman there could be. One who would be remembered for his good, not for his powers. “Reeves' legion of fans think he was the epitome of truth, justice and the
American way”. George Reeves fit Maxwell’s ideal goal perfectly. He created this perfect
Superman who fought for his country. The Adventures of Superman became a show that people of all ages could watch. It was mature enough for adults yet perfect for children. It taught people the idea of fighting for one's country and what it takes to be a true hero.
Balancing reality versus his secret identity, superman overcomes many difficulties throughout Smallville.
Alfred Gough reflects teenage problems while challenging what is behind
“closed doors.” Alfred Gough was born in 1967 in Leonardtown, Maryland. Gough had always worked with many scientificfiction packed movies. He began working with Smallville in 2001
and ended in 2011. Gough’s initial goal was to take problems in real life society and reflect it in his show. He wanted a show that people could relate to with situations happening at home. He wasn’t obsessed with the original idea of Superman. That all people think of when hearing his name is him flying. He wanted to make Superman a hero to everyone, and to do so he must incorporate real life problems into the show. When interviewing Gough, he tells people that
“You know where the journey ends, this is where it begins”. He was determined to keep the show as long as possible to keep people on a “hook”.