Apr
Superman
Like many folks my age, I had watched the old Superman TV series as a child. It was in reruns at the time, and it came on the same time every weekday. The hero was played by George Reeves, who had the role from 1951 to 1957, when the series ended. By today’s standards, George would have been a bit old and stocky, but in those days he was the ideal type to play a super hero.
Years later there were the Superman movies with Christopher Reeve. They never felt quite right to me. To me, as to many others my age, George Reeves was the “real” Superman.
To some extent, we are conditioned by our experiences. Conditioning does not explain everything about us, but it does reveal a few facts. Some of our choices are inborn, some learned elsewhere, and some are part of our early conditioning. It may be a favorite snack, a favorite song or your favorite Superman.
George Reeves may have acted the part, but he was not a Super Man. He was an average actor struggling to make his mark. He was lucky enough to get a role he could keep, in times when most average actors got much less. George wanted the movie roles and the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle. He got less than he wanted, but more than most of his peers.
Our Superman died mysteriously. It was proclaimed a suicide, but there are lingering doubts. A half century later, George Reeve’s death is still controversial. Murder, suicide or accident? The middle-aged actor succumbed to a gunshot. His death was tragic.
George Reeves was always careful in his role as Superman to make a good example for children. At public events, he was scrupulous about that. In his private life, he had a broken marriage, an affair with the wife of a movie executive, and a penchant for partying. No matter how he lived privately, the key thing is that he still had the integrity to maintain a positive public image in front of his young fans. At heart, he was a good man.
Many folks do not live picture perfect lives. Many have a few skeletons in the closet. Our choices may not have been the best. Does that make us bad? Not necessarily. Many things our society considers “bad” are not evil. At worst they are indiscretions. Maybe they define us, and maybe not. But sometimes it only takes that one good act, that one glaring example of integrity to show us the character of the person. Being a good person is not a matter of living a perfect life, but of doing the right thing when it is most necessary.
Perhaps George Reeves was playing the better part of himself when he took the role of Superman. Perhaps of his many roles in life and on screen, that was the one that was true.
How often do you show the better part of yourself?
Which of the many roles in your life defines you?
Here again we meet the Mannar Rune. It asks:
Who are you?
What are you?
Which is the most true of you?
