What a week. First my man Rodney, then Jacques Derrida (which didn't affect me much as I thought he was already dead and I thought his theories actually made people dumber) and now Christopher Reeve.In Rodney's honor, I've been watching Easy Money and later tonight I'll watch Superman.
Every obit for Reeve will mention that he played Superman, just as it was mentioned in every report of his spinal injury. It's not just because that role made him a star, and not just cuz the rest of his career didn't measure up (which is understandable given that his accident in 1995 - when he was 43 - got him in his prime).
It's mentioned because Superman is a critical part of American culture -- and by extention Western culture -- and he was so damn good in the role. A character created by two Jews in 1939 invented the Superhero (and guaranteed the perdurence of the Comic Book; the role had many inhabitants, but Reeve was the best to a level beyond anyone who ever played the role, or who played any Superhero.
Reeve acted so well, was convincingly this man in the way that only few actors have managed - the only one close enough was George C. Scott as Patton. In those two cases (any more?) the actor and the man became synonymous. And Scott was based on a real person! Reeve inhabited a cultural icon and it made that movie the best comic book movie yet made, and that legacy is indeed a cause for honor.
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