can you please point out where snyderman actually verbalizes any of this in the film? i only remember reaction shots of snyderman frowning toward the people who don't like or question him.
Sure, I can. One of the most obvious themes in the movie was about powerlessness and what people do when they do or do not have power. Part of the exploration of that theme was that at Superman's lowest point, the lesson he needs to learn isn't to be okay with people not getting him. It's to cope with the unintended consequences of his actions or, to put it more simply, to come to terms with his agency in the world. However, the entire film, like other DCEU films including
Wonder Woman, was about choices.
Diana learns that humanity is capable of dark and light, and that light is a choice and thus gods like her shouldn't interfere. Superman's journey in BvS changes that, creating a paradigm shift. Caught between the extremes of the ultimate hero of man, Batman, and the ultimate hero of the gods or the last Olympian, Wonder Woman, Superman is neither man nor god. He is a Super Man. He is a man who has the powers of a god, but the agency and fallibility of a human. Accordingly, he has the potential to be, as Jonathan put it, someone who can change the world just by acting on his good character or his bad character. Humanity and Superman reconciling the conflict between their mutual agency and power in the world is crucial both to the narrative of BvS and to establishing the foundation for the Justice League going forward.
Let's look more closely at Superman's journey in BvS, then, shall we? At first, Clark reacts to the scrutiny of Superman with ease, telling Lois that he didn't kill anyone in Africa, and that he doesn't regret choosing to save her life. He focuses on Batman, who he believes is the real danger. He even defends Superman to Bruce at the library gala when he says, "Most of the world doesn't share your opinion, Mr. Wayne." What's interesting here is that Clark's concerns about Batman are because Batman continues to behave in a way that is harming people and inflaming fears, despite public criticism in the newspaper (and criticism from allies like Alfred). The message is clear that a humble and true hero is one who is willing to listen and consider concerns and not one who considers himself above criticism.
However, as time passes, he comes to see how even a choice like that can have unintended consequences, like the government reprisals on those living in the villages. He listens intently to Kahina on the news, and when Senator June Finch speaks at the end of the news montage, she speaks about Superman's choices. It's also addressed in this part of the film:
Finch: How do we determine what's good? In a democracy, good is a conversation not a unilateral decision. So, I urge Superman, to come to this hearth of the people tomorrow, to see those who have suffered. The world needs to know what happened in that desert. And to know what he stands for. How far will he take his power. Does he act by our will, or by his own?
Martha: People hate what they don't understand But they see what you do, and they know who you are.
For Finch, and the movie, the conflict is about whether the relationship between Superman and the public -- god and man -- is a unilateral decision or a conversation. A person who doesn't care what people think of him or about people not getting him, and proceeding to never reflect or change, is someone who would be a god-like tyrant worthy of humanity's and Bruce's fears. A person who does care enough to engage with their concerns, is someone who is trying to be the bridge Jor-El always wanted Kal to be. Clark, in other words, isn't moping about people not getting him. He's struggling with how his actions have consequences and how to define and engage with the public he is protecting. He seeks out Kahina to speak with her, and he goes to the Capitol to address the public's concerns.
Earlier in the film, Clark stands up for journalism saying that "when you assign a story, you're making a choice about who matters and who's worth it," and that is something humanity is struggling with. It's not so much about not getting Superman or Clark feeling misunderstood. The major conflict or area of concern is about choices and actions, and how much agency or power Superman should have to act according to his will and his will alone. It's about how both sides of this divide can coexist with each feeling secure in each other's agency, as the montage dialogue illustrates:
Vikram Gandhi: We, as a population on this planet, have been looking for a savior. Ninety percent of people believe in a higher power and every religion believes in some sort messianic figure. And when this savior character actually comes to Earth, we want to make him abide by our rules? We have to understand that this is a paradigm shift. We have to start thinking beyond politics.
Andrew Sullivan: Are there any moral constraints on this person? We have international law. On this Earth, every act is a political act.
Charlie Rose: Is it really surprising that the most powerful man in the world should be a figure of controversy?
Senator June Finch: To have an individual engaging in these state-level interventions should give us all pause.
Glenn Woodburn: Human beings have a horrible track record of following people with great power down paths that led to huge human atrocities.
Vikram Gandhi: We have always created icons in our own image. What we've done is we project ourselves on to him. The fact is, maybe he's not some sort of Devil or Jesus character. Maybe hes just a guy trying to do the right thing.
Neil deGrasse Tyson: We're talking about a being whose very existence challenges our own sense of priority in the Universe. When you go back to Copernicus where he restored the Sun in the center of the known universe, displacing Earth, and you get to Darwinian evolution and you find out we're not special on this Earth; we're just one among other lifeforms. And now we learn that we're not even special in the entire Universe because there is Superman. There he is, an alien among us. We're not alone.
Charlie Rose: Are you, as a United States Senator, personally comfortable saying to a grieving parent, "Superman could've saved your child, but on principle we did not want him to act."
Senator June Finch: I'm not saying he shouldn't act. I'm saying he shouldn't act unilaterally.
Charlie Rose: What are we talking about here then? Must there be a Superman?
Senator June Finch: There is.
The memory of Jonathan's is what addressed this key aspect of Superman's characterization and the plot when Jonathan recalled "We worked 'til I think I fainted, but we managed to stop the water. We saved the farm. Your grandma baked me a cake, said I was a hero. Later that day we found out we blocked the water alright - we sent it upstream. A whole Lang farm washed away. While I ate my hero cake, their horses were drowning. I used to hear them wailing in my sleep." To which Clark asked, "Did the nightmares ever stop?" and Jonathan responded, "Yeah. When I met your mother. She gave me faith that there's good in this world. She was my world."
It's a variation on the message in
Man of Steel and Diana's experiences with Steve in
Wonder Woman. In
Man of Steel, Martha teaches young Clark that when the world seems to big, to make it small. In
Wonder Woman, Diana learns to accept and believe in humanity as beings of agency as a result of Steve's example. Clark's character arcs reach their resolutions when he recommits to his mission as Superman and later dies for a doubting public, because, as Diana would put it, he chooses love in the abstract (the world) and the specific (Lois) even though he knows there is still the darkness of humanity's doubt and the possibility he will make decisions with unintended negative consequences.
What about you? Can you point out where in the visuals and script you got the impression that Cavill's Superman had "the depth of character of a mopey teenager complaining about how the world just doesn't 'get' him" and who was "just a really unlikable, boring and one-dimensional" character? To help, you should first define what a one-dimensional character is according to you and according to professional writers. Then, try to locate when Superman complained about the world not getting him. Also, consider your preference for people who don't care about people not getting them. Is that the kind of attitude you would want someone like Zack Snyder or DC/WB executives to have about Snyder's movies? They should just not care about audiences not liking or getting what they were going for? To not want to listen and learn from the people who are affected by your choices is not the ideal way to behave.
many people with equally valid opinions, including actual creatives involved in writing superman comics disagree with you.
That doesn't make their opinions any more right or valid than mine.
