Mayim vs. “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice”

Disclaimer: there will be no spoilers in this post.  This is a post with some suggested questions for your consideration after viewing “Batman vs. Superman” but in theory, you could read it before seeing the movie and not learn anything about the plot really.  I repeat: there are no overt spoilers below, but if you don’t want to know anything about the dominant themes of “Batman vs. Superman,” please stop reading now.

If you did see “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” it is imperative that you read this long but hysterical and, I think, spot-on review of it by Rob Bricken from Gizmodo. The Gizmodo piece DEFINITELY has spoilers, but my post does not.

Here are some of my overall thoughts about the movie:

• “Batman v. Superman” is very enjoyable and it is very exciting and it is very visually attractive and the effects are amazing.
• I think Henry Cavill is a wonderful Superman and is the closest thing to the Christopher Reeve Superman of my childhood. Is he a perfect Superman? No. Does he sometimes fall short? Sure. But it’s okay. I think he’s super-dreamy and wonderful, really.
• I also think that Ben Affleck was pretty darn good as Batman. I was really surprised. He wasn’t as playful as Michael Keaton or as perfect as Christian Bale, and I prefer a Bruce Wayne who is a bit more refined and elegant and charming, but I think the fault was more in the writing and not in Ben Affleck’s performance. He did a great job.
• I loved that an Israeli actress is playing Wonder Woman. Who is the last Israeli actress you can remember being cast in a major blockbuster? I know: I can’t think of one either. (I bet most of us can’t even name any Israeli actresses.) Gal Gadot is a little bit on the waify side for me in terms of her casting as the Amazonian princess Wonder Woman.  Lynda Carter was the Wonder Woman of my childhood and in addition to her being beautiful, she was really powerful and she had a physical presence that was strong. I was missing that a little bit with this portrayal of Wonder Woman, but overall, she was pretty darn good.
• I will also say that the movie was extremely confusing. I highly recommend you see it, and I’m not just saying that because I am a Warner Bros. employee, but be forewarned: it was extremely confusing.

Confusion aside, here are some discussion topics for you to consider before or after seeing the movie.

Loyalty

1. Who should we be most loyal to in this world?
2. Is our allegiance to our family more significant, less significant, or of equal significance to our allegiance to someone we are in love with?
3. Are there situations that you could imagine where you might have to choose between someone who parented you versus someone you are in love with?

Morality

1. What does it mean to ascribe to a particular set of morals, such as, not wanting to kill people?
2. Are there situations where your preference for not killing people, for example, should be pushed aside to serve a greater good?

Subjectivity of good vs. evil

1. Are “good” and “evil” absolute terms? Can a good person do evil things? Can an evil or morally corrupt person do good things?
2. What if someone believes they are doing good but other people think that what they are doing is evil? Is there some subjective code of what is good and evil or does it vary by situation?

Misunderstandings & misinterpretations

1. Can you think of a situation in which you assumed someone had a certain set of intentions, only to discover that their intentions were completely the opposite of your assumptions?
2. Looking back on that situation, how would you or the other person have behaved differently to prevent the misunderstanding?
3. How can communication be a key to clearing up misunderstandings? What if someone doesn’t want to talk to you? What are some other ways you can try and get through to them?

There are so many ways to understand the Batman v. Superman movie, and there are so many ways to not understand the Batman v. Superman movie. I will save those thoughts, perhaps for another post, but I hope you will go if you see the movie, let us know if any of these discussion questions were helpful in your understanding!