Superman 2025 sparks debate: fans say Netanyahu look alike, Gaza parallels are no coincidence
The new "Superman" movie from director James Gunn has sparked heated debates online. A lot of people who watch it say it has political messages that are against the war between Israel and Gaza.
The story is about a high-tech military attack on citizens that happens through a border fence. Some people say that these scenes are like recent events that happened in real life.
Superman Instagram profile
A review from a user on the well-known film review site Letterboxd has been seen 9 million times. The review caused a stir when it said that the movie showed "Israel's actions in Gaza in a blunt and direct way."
Gunn or anyone in the group has not said that the movie is about the Gaza war. Still, a lot of people watch the movie to think about what's going on in the Strip.
That the movie "deals with politics and morals" was something Gunn said to The Times. After calling it an "immigrant story," people who support President Trump's strict immigration policies spoke out against him.
Some strong similarities can be seen in how the story unfolds. The story starts about three weeks after Superman steps in to stop Boravia, a made-up US ally, from striking Garhanpur, a country next door.
Boravia seems to have a strong navy that is backed by the US. Garhanpur, on the other hand, seems like a weak state that doesn't have the right defenses. The movie shows the Boravia plan as a way to get rid of the Garhanpur natives so that Boravia can take over more land.
In one scene, Lois Lane, a reporter, talks to Superman. He backs Boravia and says that the bloodshed that happens afterward might be caused by leaders in Garhanpur who don't have any checks and balances in place.
As more scenes show Garhanpuris gathering near the fence that separates the two places, the argument gets more heated. As they move toward the fence, groups of men, women, and children hold sticks and stones. Boravian troops on the other side point their rifles straight at them.
Some people think that these scenes, which show attacks on citizens through a metal wall, are very much like what is happening in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)
Netanyahu's Double Vasyl Glarkus, who is the boss of Boravia and is played by Zlatko Boric, looks a lot like Benjamin Netanyahu, who is the prime minister of Israel.
Lex Luthor, the movie's main bad guy, teams up with Glarkus. Author of comic books John Byrne once said that in the 1980s, Lex Luthor was based on Donald Trump.
In the movie, Lex Luthor is shown to be the reason for the fight. The people of Garhanpur see his plan to take over part of the city as an attempt to force them to leave.
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