Making really good things look really bad
It’s all too easy to take pieces of uncomfortable truth to fashion an unflattering and deceptive picture of something deeply, ultimately, fundamentally good.
In last year’s block-buster Superman movie, the centerpiece of the movie’s tension wasn’t the Kryptonite that almost finished the hero off, it wasn’t the Ultraman or gigantic kaiju monster he had to fight. And it wasn’t even the squirrel or dog he saved from certain squashdness.
Instead, it was the brilliant PR campaign Lex Luthor instigated to take pieces of uncomfortable truth about Superman’s life and use them to paint a darkly-deformed picture of America’s hero of heroes as someone who was (if you really understand the truth about him) downright malevolent - a threat to the American public, despite all his apparent niceness and goodness.
This isn’t simply a movie plot, however. It’s happening in real life, all around us … to many genuinely good causes and to people of faith, especially.
‘Scary Superman’
On the face of it, it’s obvious Superman is always good. Just look at everyone he saves!
But alas, a new historical tidbit emerges in this latest movie, with a tinge of sexual scandal. And in the 2025 James Gunn production, Lex Luthor pounces, leveraging that information with the PR genuis of a blood-thirsty corporation when a leak of its competitor reveals something unflattering.
The Metropolis media are all too ready to go along with Luthor’s hijinx. “Can’t say I’m surprised, Cleavis” says a lower-level, wannabee superhero on a news program. “It’s guys like this, they always got a whole bunch of dark, ugly secrets.”
Like a bull led by its nose, thought leaders follow Lex Luthor wherever he wants to take them.
Hating Superman
Despite all his lofty language about higher causes, viewers eventually cue into the deeper motivations behind Luthor’s deceptive, mean-spirited portrayal of Superman - especially the moment he declares his spite for someone he calls an “it” rather than a human.
“A thing with a cocky grin and a stupid outfit - that’s somehow become the focal point of the entire world’s conversation,” is how he describes Superman. Luthor then adds, “Nothing’s felt right since he showed up.”
My boys groan when I try applying movies to real life. So if you’ll indulge me, I couldn’t help thinking after this movie about other examples of someone doing great work, but getting smeared-and-spun into something unrecognizably awful.
Do you see that happening anywhere around you right now.
Those ‘scary’ people of faith
I sure do. In fact, almost everything I consider truly beautiful and deeply good in the world, has been portrayed - in one way or another - as dangerous, reckless and something-to-be-kept-at-arms-length.
That includes dialogue, mindfulness, complementary/alternative healing approaches — all of which have been framed in darkly-suspicious tones. And then, of course, there’s my faith.
This movie came to mind when spotting yet another media spectacle targeting the Church of Jesus Christ critically - this time, a Bravo series led by a former Latter-day Saint who had previously starred in “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” Heather Gay.
Given all the petty drama and childish feuds that make a show like “real housewives” famous, one would think that Gay might evince some public contrition - especially in the way she speaks so spitefully about her former family of faith.
But instead, this woman has gone all-in in denigrating her former faith with a calumnious assemblage of different people grinding an ax against the church - all of which is presented as definitive evidence of how awful the church is, so much so that it’s something to be “survived.”
If a Bravo hit-piece is your barometer of truth, I guess that settles it.
‘By their fruits’
But maybe you’re someone who wants something more before reaching a conclusion about truth. Maybe you’re not satisfied that histrionic reality TV stars offer you the best guidance.
That would be a good call. Because the full truth about everything sometimes depends on keeping your eye on the full picture.
In the end, Superman comes on top again, along with a true narrative of who this superhuman actually, with a news broadcaster proclaiming: “We all owe Superman an enormous apology. He is, of course, the hero we always thought he was.”1
But in that earlier darker moment, when he’d been smeared to the whole world, Clark Kent got some great advice from his simple, loving father.
“I’ll tell you something, son...Your choices, Clark. Your actions... that’s what makes you who you are.”
That’s true for all good things.
It’s not what the loudest, most cynical voices say about you online.
It’s about how you live, what you say, and the good you bring into the world.
I hope that’s how people evaluate ultimate truth, instead of in any other way.
Caution, there’s one bad word on that linked clip - and one good word that shouldn’t be used as a bad word.