Between Immortal and Man: A Colonialism and Post-Colonialism Analysis in Superman (2025) Movie

Authors

  • Jonathan Syah Putra MAKARIOS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
  • Jeshua Nathanael MAKARIOS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
  • Josh Fitzkioshi Wijaya MAKARIOS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
  • Evan Denzel Rustandar MAKARIOS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
  • Michelle Whitney Ang MAKARIOS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
  • Zefanya Christania Evangelina Runtuwen MAKARIOS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL

Keywords:

Colonialism, Post-colonialism, Superman, Hybridity, Homi K. Bhabha

Abstract

The purpose of the work was to investigate the Superman (2025) movie, by employing a postcolonial approach to show how the movie creates the concepts of identity, the rules of power, and cultural identity in modern society. Within a qualitative approach, the study used scene based textual analysis, narrative sequence close reading, and visual analysis of cinematography as the main methods of data collection. This methodology involved the interpretive analysis of dialogue, interaction of characters, political symbolism and media representations in order to discover how the postcolonial tensions, instilled in the movie. Based on a theoretical framework formulated by Homi K. Bhabha (1994/2004), the concept of hybridity, mimicry, ambivalence, and the Third Space, the paper studied Superman as a hybrid character who struggles with opposing identities between his kryptonian heritage and human origins. The findings: 1) Superman is not depicted as a unified national hero but as a form of ambivalent subject, shaped by the plays of hybridity; 2) Lex Luthor thus represents Bhabha, the mimicry, as it employed imitation, technological reproduction and performance to challenge a superior Other; and 3) the film demonstrates heroism as a moral cultural struggle not a physical one, subversing the discourse of traditional hegemonies. The paper concludes that the Superman (2025) movie introduces the superhero as a colonizer and colonized, exposing interstrata tension of belonging, power, and resistance in the world of the film. The study contributes to the modern postcolonial discussion in popular cinematography and that the future research may conduct the comparative analysis of other texts of superheroes, how the audience receives postcolonial images, or how the theme of hybrid identity becomes reflected in the world media.

References

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Bhabha, H. K. (1994). The location of culture. Routledge.

Gunn, J. (Director). (2025). Superman [Film]. Warner Bros. Pictures.

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Loomba, A. (1998). Colonialism/postcolonialism. Routledge.

Morrison, G. (2011). Supergods: What masked vigilantes, miraculous mutants, and a sun-god from Smallville can teach us about being human. Spiegel & Grau.

Reynolds, R. (1992). Superheroes: A modern mythology. University Press of Mississippi.

Said, E. W. (1978). Orientalism. Pantheon Books.

Spivak, G. C. (1988). Can the subaltern speak? In C. Nelson & L. Grossberg (Eds.), Marxism and the interpretation of culture (pp. 271–313). University of Illinois Press.

United Nations. (2021). World social report 2021: Reconsidering rural development. https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/world-social-report/2021.html

Yang, G. L. (2016). Superman and me: The immigrant experience. DC Comics.

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Published

2026-02-28

How to Cite

Putra, J. S., Nathanael, J., Wijaya, J. F., Rustandar, E. D., Ang, M. W., & Runtuwen, Z. C. E. (2026). Between Immortal and Man: A Colonialism and Post-Colonialism Analysis in Superman (2025) Movie. Boanerges: Makarios Education Journal, 3(2), 143–153. Retrieved from https://streamfly.tech/index.php/boanerges/article/view/47

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 2 (2026): BOANERGES

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