If you’ve been following pop culture, you know the newest Superman movie, released in July of 2025 and directed by James Gunn has been extremely popular at the box office. Starring David Corenswet as Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, this iteration is being praised for its similarity to the original Superman comics, while also gaining criticism for its ‘woke’ ideals. As a huge DC fan and as a political science major, examining the ‘wokeness’ in this film was something I wanted to cover since I first watched this movie.
One of the main plots points in Superman is the ongoing conflict between the countries of Boravia and Jarhanpur. The countries of Boravia and Jarhanpur seem to elude to the ongoing conflict between Gaza and Palestine. In Superman, Boravia is a militaristic company that wants to invade Jarhanpur. Eventually Boravia does and they invade with tanks and armies against a country defending itself with small guns and people not trained in combat. This dynamic mirrors the military powers in Israel and Gaza.
In real life, the ongoing war between Palestine and Gaza started in 2023.The Gaza vs. Israel conflict started because Hamas, the current leaders in Palestine, took roughly 250 Israeli hostages. Israel retaliated by sending bombs and blocking access to the Gaza strip, where roughly 2 million people live. Since then, roughly 60,000 Gazans have died from bombs, starvation, lack of medicine, etc. Over 13,000 of them have been children. There have also been as close to 2,000 Israeli deaths. This war has been going on since October 7th, 2023 and despite international criticism and hopes for a ceasefire, the conflict continues and humanitarian conditions remain dire.
In the movie Superman, the main villain Lex Luthor creates a prison in a pocket dimension and fills it with all the people he doesn’t like. This could be a reference to detention centers and the fact that ICE has put people in detention centers without warrants or a trial, which is something Lex Luthor also does.
In reference to real world illegal detention centers being run in America, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency or ICE, has been criticized for its treatment of undocumented immigrants, specifically Hispanic immigrants. Reports have emerged of people being detained without due process, including some who have been living in the United States for years or arrived legally. These detention centers are known to have low water, low food and little to no sanitary efforts being made. A particularly contentious detention center is known as Alligator Alcatraz and is surrounded by natural barriers including huge alligators and other wildlife making it impossible to leave. Alligator Alcatraz has until the end of October to close thanks to the efforts of the Miccosukee tribe.
Superman also references Police Brutality. This is something that came to light in America during the George Floyd protests when an unarmed black man was slowly killed by a police officer unnecessarily. The video of his death went viral and George Floyd protests happened in 60 countries around the world, all of them demanding justice about police brutality. While this protest cannot be directly connected to Superman, at one point in the film, Superman turned himself in to the authorities peacefully and the police then slammed his face into the ground and didn’t read him his rights.
Whether or not you agree with the political messages in Superman, it’s hard to deny that certain movie events correlate with real world problems. From the moments that remind us of the Gaza vs. Israel conflict, to illegal detention centers, to police brutality shown during Superman’s arrest, this movie challenges us to think about life beyond the movie and consider real-world oppression, resistance and people in power. Superman’s theme is truth and justice, and now we need these more than ever in our daily lives.
If you haven’t seen the movie yet, I highly recommend it if you want to see a classic superhero story in a new iteration, the romance between Lois and Clark, the comedy that Krypto the dog brings, the political events mirroring life or just a new movie! After all, superhero reality is fictional, but all superhero stories are based on something.