I agree with this interpretation, but it bugged me. It bugged me a LOT! Superman isn't like Spider-Man or Batman. He doesn't turn those instincts on and off because he doesn't want to be Superman. Superman is who he IS - not just what he can do. (Oh, how I hated that line from L&C.)
I'll let an expert sum it up...
"The reason he puts on the suit and goes out and actually uses his powers to make the world a better place, is because it's the only way that he knows how to connect with humanity. That's his connection. We all need to feel as though we're a part of something, and there's no time we feel more like we're a part of something than we're doing what we do best, and when we're letting our light shine...
"Superman has, since his creation, been a shining example to readers everywhere of the virtue of selfless heroism - but he has accomplished this by acting in his own self-interest. Yes, Superman aids those in peril because he senses a higher moral obligation, and yes, he does it because his natural instincts and his Midwestern upbringing drive him towards acts of morality - but along with that genuine altruism is a healthy amount of self-awareness and a surprisingly enviable ability on his part to balance his own internal needs with the needs of others in a way that most benefits everyone. In helping others, Superman helps himself. In helping himself, he helps others. When he comes to the aid of other people, he is exercising his distinctive powers and fulfilling his authentic destiny. That, of course, benefits him. When he embraces his history and nature and launches out in the one set of activities that will most fulfill and satisfy him, he is helping others. There is no exclusive, blanket choice to be made between the needs of the individual and the needs of the larger community. There is no contradiction here between self and society. But it's a bit paradoxical in a very inspirational way. Superman properly fulfills his own nature, and his destiny, and the result is that many others are better off as well."
- Marc Waid
To me People understood Lois & Clark completely wrong. He never said Superman is just that! Through the whole show many episodes show that to be Superman is necessary to have more than powers.
Did people forget the episode where Lois says to this guy who has Clark`s body and powers
"You`ll never be him. To be Superman you have to have something more. You have to care for things that are beyond yourself".
Did people forget when in the episode "Whining, Whining" he was going to give up of being Clark Kent to be just Superman?
He says in court
"All the things I can do. All the powers that I have. I've asked myself a thousand times why, and the only thing I can come up with is ... to help, as quickly and decisively as possible. And maybe because of that I've become a target," he said and glared at Barry Barker, but then his tone became wistful as he shifted his gaze towards Lois. "Maybe there are things I will never have, but when I save a life, in that instant, I know two things most people will never figure out. Why I'm here and how I can make a difference."
Lois & Clark got Superman completely right.
Superman isnt just what he could do. It was himself. It wasnt a desguise. Clark Kent was the great guy raised by the kents who put the costume to be a symbol. And during the day, he also did the world good through Journalism.
People just pretend to watch the show but did they really watched? They just say, oh Dean Cain doesnt have blue eyes or the spit curl. Or he doesnt look like Christopher Reeve. Oh the costume of 1(!) episode sucks! And people post terrible pics of him in the costume But they never considered the later seasons, how the costume at least was blue, red and yellow. Singer couldnt get not even THIS right. I guarantee the writers of Lois & Clark got Superman more right than Singer and his "dynamic duo" will ever get.
I suggest you to read this
http://www.redboots.net/tnaos/lc_relationship.htm
Maybe it might change people`s mind regarding the show.
If you want a stupid bafoon Lex, a Superman out of character, a Lois Lane who acts like a child, a superkid, watch SR.
If you want a fairy tale, something that inspires relationships in a family Tv show format and the best Lois Lane ever, watch Lois & Clark.
I did have a problem with that scene though, and I think it was that it seemed to indicate that everything Lois had said in her article had been nothing more than her own opinion, and not in any way a reflection of the general public's attitude, and I think this indicates a level of subtlety beyond the scope of the film, but perhaps I'm just reading too much into it.
