World Amnesia Kiss: Superman's Motivation

[mego joe]

I've been discussin this in another thread and thought it deserved it's own discussion and poll so here's the question.

In Superman II what do you consider SUperman's motivation for laying the amnesia kiss on Lois Lane at the end.

Feel free to discuss your choice.



I chose aleviate Lois Lane's pain.

 

[captain_jimbo]

I definitely think it was to aleviate Lois of her pain, it wasn't to aleviate his own, because he could still remember.

 

[Dr. Fate]

I definitely think it was to aleviate Lois of her pain, it wasn't to aleviate his own, because he could still remember.

Same here.

 

[El Payaso]

OTHER: A mix of both.

Everyday people break up and they can do things to aliviate the other person's grief. But it is nothing involving mind manipulation. Specially if that other person is unaware of it.

By deleting Lois' memory, Superman is no better than the Superman who spies Lois with his X-rays vision, only by his decision and Lois being unaware.

Superman is just violating - because it is not with Lois' permission - her mind, incapacitating her to move on. Now, Lois doesn't know she and Superman can't be together and therefore is incapacitated to forget him and find happiness somewhere else. At the end of the movie, she's still in love with Superman and he's letting her believe so.

Now, Superman had different other ways to aliviate Lois' pain but opted for the one that was easier and faster for him. He could have quit Daily Planet so she wouldn't have to see him everyday, all the time. After all, he's Superman, he doesn't need to work in that particular newspaper or even work at all. THAT way he would have been brave in his actions, sacrificing himself and only himself in the process. Lois would have started to forget and, most important, to learn from her experience.

By deleting her memory Superman took Lois' right to learn from experience.

By deleting her memory, Superman just ensure he would keep his job and he wouldn't have to watch Lois' pain, which he is directly responsible of.

By deleting her memory, he basically was at the same time, relieving himself from the burden.


And at the very least he could have told her: I can relieve you from the pain, let me make you forget. It's your mind so I CAN'T decide for you; it is forbidden to interfere in human history, let alone in human minds.

But no, he decided that himself. He wasn't honest at all about it and when you love and when you have the other person's sake in your mind first than your own, you tell the otheer people, you get the other people involved into a couple's decisions. This was a one man decision.

 

[afan]

The intent of the amnesia kiss is to save Lois from what appears to be an oncoming nervous breakdown at best, a devestated life devoid of solace and wracked with emotional turmoil at worst. That's fairly obvious. Superman's action, the amnesia kiss, is not intended to remove the memory of the sexual encounter in order to protect himself from repercussion, or to protect his dual identity, it's to remove the source of her emotional trauma. That is the only motivation for the act. To use his abilities to aid someone in dire need of help. She was drowning in an emotional whirlpool, Superman as he always does, rescued her. If Lois were an emotional rock, capable of maintaining status quo, of being just friends, with Superman / Clark, with all the knowledge of his secret, the kiss would not have occurred, plain and simple.

 

[matthooper]

His motivation was Richard Lester not understanding even Superman can't do that. It was a hack directors way of tying up loose ends the easiest and dumbest way way possible.

That said, if I had to guess it was clearly to aleviate Loi's pain and struggles.

 

[El Payaso]

The intent of the amnesia kiss is to save Lois from what appears to be an oncoming nervous breakdown at best, a devestated life devoid of solace and wracked with emotional turmoil at worst. That's fairly obvious. Superman's action, the amnesia kiss, is not intended to remove the memory of the sexual encounter in order to protect himself from repercussion, or to protect his dual identity, it's to remove the source of her emotional trauma. That is the only motivation for the act.

If that's the only motivation he would have made her forget she's in love with Superman in the first place. That way she could move on and not fall again in the same thing. But Lois is still in love woth Superman at the end of the movie.

Superman made her forget the affaire but not the source of the problem.

o use his abilities to aid someone in dire need of help.

It's odd to think Superman has this new way to help people since then he should be kissing any person with emotional problems the same he saves any person in physical danger.

Now I won't deny the Donnerverse Superman often uses his powers for personal reasons: he doesn't reverse time to prevent the earthquake in California when the missile makes impact; he reverses time only when his Lois is dead.

She was drowning in an emotional whirlpool, Superman as he always does, rescued her.

He always kisses her when she has emotional problems?

If Lois were an emotional rock, capable of maintaining status quo, of being just friends, with Superman / Clark, with all the knowledge of his secret, the kiss would not have occurred, plain and simple.

And how did he know what Lois is able to do in that respect? People needs time in order to get over problems and pain. Superman just gave her like 5 hours.

It was her right to try and get over it naturally and naturally learning from her experience, as all of us do when we have romantic break ups, without dying or have a nervous breakdown - even when the first day it feels like the end of the world, it never is, right? Lois Lane could not be an emotional rock but she isn't certainly a fragile psyche.

 

[mego joe]

His motivation was Richard Lester not understanding even Superman can't do that. It was a hack directors way of tying up loose ends the easiest and dumbest way way possible.

Couldn't agree more.