There has been a lot of angry reaction to the movie by people on the right-of-center side of the political spectrum. The critiques have three major problems with the film: its "acceptance" of gayness (or gay agenda), Superman having a child with an unmarried Lois Lane, and the absence of the "American Way" from dialogue.
Have a look for yourself:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=supermanObviously the response to Superman is off for three reasons:
1) Superman isn't gay. Director Bryan Singer said that of all the characters he's ever done, Superman is one of the straightest. Superman has been characterized as heterosexual for decades: Superman has had a lot - a LOT - of girlfriends: Sally Sellwyn, that girl from Krypton he was into during "The War Between Krypton and Earth," Triplicate Girl/Duo Damsel, Lois Lane, Lana Lang, that mermaid chick, and so on, ad infinitum. And saying that Superman is gay would deny the very real passion that he obviously has with Lois Lane in the movie.
It is true, however, that the gay cable television network, Logo, has been hyping up the Superman movie - but this has more to do with the fact that Superman is a character leading a double-life, which many people that are gay can empathize with (and many that aren't gay do as well; even this isn't an intrinsically "gay" theme).
Many call Supeman a "Metrosexual girly-man," however, I think this says more about our culture's unrealistic and unattainable concept of masculinity than anything about someone as obviously macho as Superman.
2) The absence of the "American Way" line. It is true that a kind of old school Americanism was a big part of Superman, however, Superman has gradually been creeping away from signs of red-blooded nationalism into a "citizen of the world" status as a character for DECADES now, that it just
isn't fair to focus exclusively on SUPERMAN RETURNS for doing so. Arguably, the move away from the "American Way" started in the Weisenger Years, when Dorfman, Binder and other writers wrote Superman more and more as a lonely alien being who, because he was not from Earth, thus did not see the distinctions that we human beings make amongst ourselves as being truly meaningful.
3) Lois isn't a "slut." Of all the critiques of the film, this one gets my goat the most, because it is the most ugly, degrading, and hypocritical. The fact that Lois Lane had a child by Superman does not make her an immoral woman. Clearly, she loves the child and raises him, and together with Cyclops she gives the kid a home. Lois even married some square so that the kid could grow up with a Daddy.
Ultimately, I think the problem with these critiques is they have a flawed view of what it is that entertainment is supposed to do. Their view is that escapist entertainment is a platform for moral instruction. This is not to say that you can't learn quite a bit from entertainment (I doubt I'd be unique in this board if I said that I probably learned more from Superman in my life than I did from anyone else except my Father). However, ultimately, the goal of entertainment and fiction is NOT to provide role models or how to live one's life - that's what responsible parents, educators and religious leaders are for.
And finally, one person had THIS to say:
"I have no clue about modern Superman continuity. The last Superman comics I picked up was shortly after the Byrne reset. It left me cold at the time. That's coming up on 20 years now? I'm almost 2 decades behind the times when it comes to both Marvel & DC Comics."
I absolutely love how, in the sea of phobia for "the queer lobby" and the Lois Lane slut-calling, somebody took the time out to slam John Byrne.