At the start of the movie, Superman has just stopped an invasion. The fictional country Barovia, a US ally, has advanced weaponry and attempts to invade and annex a much smaller and poorer fictional country Jarhanpur which doesn’t appear to have a military of any kind. Barovia is ethnically white (coded as Eastern European/Russian) and Jarhanpur is ethnically more middle eastern.
It is not a giant leap to correlate these countries to Isreal and Palestine, but really those superficial details are where the the similarities begin and end. There is no apparent religious connection to the invasion, nor terrorist activity. No ongoing tensions, direct involvement from the US goverment in the invasion, or any act of war or other event that triggers Barovia to invade. It is just a powerful country attacking a smaller country for their resources on the orders of a power hungry dictator. It’s a trope that is not exclusively related to current events, that made as much sense 50 years ago as it does today. And the purpose of it in the film is to both critique Superman’s naivete of geopolitics, and to reinforce his values that every life matters.
People that are mad about it and pretending that it is explicitly a depiction of the Isreali-Palestinian war are projecting meaning that isn’t there, at least beyond maybe some subtext. It’s always a bit telling when people see generic bad guys in a movie and think, “this is about me!” But, of course, if they felt that the depiction of the overwhelming military force against civilians made the Palestinians seem sympathetic to them… maybe they should think a bit more about why that is.
No I was wrong. It’s the almost identically named Boravia. Getting my fantasy settings mixed up. Boravia has been in DC comics since Superman #2 in 1939 though, so not a nod to DnD. Maybe the other way around.
I mean, what else could it be? Stalwart American ally coded white with advanced weaponry attacking mostly defenceless brown neighbors without cause and with the intention of occupation and annexation. Their weaponry is mostly from America. The cherry on top, they would scede some of the land to an American billionaire.
I said that it wasn’t a leap to connect it to Isreal and Palestine. Depending on the details you fixate on though, I’m sure you could connect it to any number of real life historical conflicts. The Isreali Palestine conflict/genocide just has the benefit of being at the forefront of our minds, and I’m sure at least some of the similarities are actually intentional. But it’s not so close as to make it unquestionable that they are one and the same.
The Reconquest of Spain? White Eurpoeans pushing out Middle Easter occupiers, made possible in part by advancements in war technology.
Some of the Crusades? White Europeans annexing a foreign land of Middle Eastern people, using advanced armor and seige weapons.
Colonization of North America? White Europeans annexing a foreign land and displacing it’s much less technologically advanced darker skinned inhabitants?
World War II? Advanced German war technology and annexing their peaceful neighbors?
Russian-Ukraine War? White Russians attempting to annex the lands of their neighboring nation unprovoked for a land grab using what would have been their overwhelming war technology without international help, all while Russia lies and claims to be liberating the people.
At the start of the movie, Superman has just stopped an invasion. The fictional country Barovia, a US ally, has advanced weaponry and attempts to invade and annex a much smaller and poorer fictional country Jarhanpur which doesn’t appear to have a military of any kind. Barovia is ethnically white (coded as Eastern European/Russian) and Jarhanpur is ethnically more middle eastern.
It is not a giant leap to correlate these countries to Isreal and Palestine, but really those superficial details are where the the similarities begin and end. There is no apparent religious connection to the invasion, nor terrorist activity. No ongoing tensions, direct involvement from the US goverment in the invasion, or any act of war or other event that triggers Barovia to invade. It is just a powerful country attacking a smaller country for their resources on the orders of a power hungry dictator. It’s a trope that is not exclusively related to current events, that made as much sense 50 years ago as it does today. And the purpose of it in the film is to both critique Superman’s naivete of geopolitics, and to reinforce his values that every life matters.
People that are mad about it and pretending that it is explicitly a depiction of the Isreali-Palestinian war are projecting meaning that isn’t there, at least beyond maybe some subtext. It’s always a bit telling when people see generic bad guys in a movie and think, “this is about me!” But, of course, if they felt that the depiction of the overwhelming military force against civilians made the Palestinians seem sympathetic to them… maybe they should think a bit more about why that is.
Off topic question but is the country really Barovia? That’s a hilarious nod to Dungeons and dragons if so
No I was wrong. It’s the almost identically named Boravia. Getting my fantasy settings mixed up. Boravia has been in DC comics since Superman #2 in 1939 though, so not a nod to DnD. Maybe the other way around.
So it’s Borat’s country then
Borat is canonically from Kazakhstan, which is a real-life country.
no it’s not
I mean, what else could it be? Stalwart American ally coded white with advanced weaponry attacking mostly defenceless brown neighbors without cause and with the intention of occupation and annexation. Their weaponry is mostly from America. The cherry on top, they would scede some of the land to an American billionaire.
I said that it wasn’t a leap to connect it to Isreal and Palestine. Depending on the details you fixate on though, I’m sure you could connect it to any number of real life historical conflicts. The Isreali Palestine conflict/genocide just has the benefit of being at the forefront of our minds, and I’m sure at least some of the similarities are actually intentional. But it’s not so close as to make it unquestionable that they are one and the same.
But I can’t think of any other conflict it would match.
The Reconquest of Spain? White Eurpoeans pushing out Middle Easter occupiers, made possible in part by advancements in war technology.
Some of the Crusades? White Europeans annexing a foreign land of Middle Eastern people, using advanced armor and seige weapons.
Colonization of North America? White Europeans annexing a foreign land and displacing it’s much less technologically advanced darker skinned inhabitants?
World War II? Advanced German war technology and annexing their peaceful neighbors?
Russian-Ukraine War? White Russians attempting to annex the lands of their neighboring nation unprovoked for a land grab using what would have been their overwhelming war technology without international help, all while Russia lies and claims to be liberating the people.