Aloof and Dignified - Analysing Kryptonian Culture

As I was browsing the Internet today, I saw that many websites hosting what is popular in today’s culture; such as BuzzFeed, Yahoo, and The Daily Beast among others; have been in a race to decide “The Best .... in 2013”, “The Worst .... in 2013”, and even “The Top 10 .... in 2013”, since the start of the year. I get the appeal. The general public adores this kind of thing, me included. Often times, I found my mouse clicking the link just to amuse myself in an otherwise boring day.

Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who is the fairest one in the land?

Going through my exploration, an article on screenrant.com reminds me why 2013 is such a great year for me. Three guesses what. Man of Steel.

Are you in disbelief yet, with your jaw hanging off the floor? Or are you currently laughing out loud at your computer, phone or tablet screen, thereby making you look like a retard to those oblivious folks around you?

It is true that this Zack Snyder’s movie has this girl completely fanboy-ing. I always like the myth of Superman, even though teenagers today prefer edgier superheroes like Iron Man or Captain America. I enjoy a good Marvel vs. DC debate with my sister. She is an avid supporter of Iron Man. She was also completely crazed out when the third Iron Man movie came out last March. I had to be patient enduring all her rants. So, when Man of Steel came out two months later, it was a payback time.

However, this entry will not discuss about whether or not the movie was good or not. There have been many blogs and sites that have done that since its release. No. I am here to write about one personal musing that unexpectedly came into my mind when I was wrapped up in my college search.

Huh? What’s the relation?

I am in a state of unrest, very much afraid, that the choice I will make is the wrong choice. I open my eyes to the world around me. I see that everything is so complex, even down to the smallest people. There are so many kinds of jobs – so many paths to choose in life. What kind of person do I want to be? What do you want to be? That is the ultimate question.

Then I thought, “It would be so much easier if every person had been chosen and briefed for their respective destiny. Time would not be used idly. The person would launch right away toward the road of destiny. Without any fear of getting lost.”

Ultimately, this is exactly what happened in Man of Steel.

Planet Krypton, as depicted in the popular culture

Krypton is the planet where Superman (Clark Kent/Kal-El) came from. Their civilization was captured very interestingly in Man of Steel. It is a civilization more advanced from Earth by thousands of year. Science and technology reign supreme on the planet. In scientific mindset, everything must be done efficiently. It’s no wonder that Kryptonian lifestyle has been engineered to be rather meticulous.

The jarring difference mentioned primarily in the movie is the way babies are born. There is no natural birth on Krypton. Advanced genetic engineering has chosen the best DNA accordingly, forgoing the process of natural selection. A baby is analysed, chosen and tasked with a particular “destiny” according to their best talents. They cannot go outside their designated purpose.

Krypton's Genesis Chamber, where babies are superficially "coded"

As the consequence, there are people like Zod. General Dru-Zod is the villain of the movie. Nevertheless, I can’t help but admire his steadfastness and devotion toward his job, which is ensuring Krypton’s survival – through whatever means, including destroying planet Earth. There are also people like Jor-El, the brilliant scientist. His scientific mind has been nurtured from the beginning. Everyone has their purpose.

Wouldn’t it be great if our Earth is heading toward the future?

Free Will vs. Destiny

Let’s do some hypothesizing here. If everyone was already chosen for one specific purpose, it would create a more efficient human labor. There would be no confusion in choosing what you are going to do. There would be no more wrong university major for the job. Moreover, there could be possibly no more unemployment. Everything would be running in order. The planet could quickly prosper because of it.

Everyone had been trained for their purpose since their childhood. There would be more experts popping up all over the world. Maybe, everyone would be an expert!

On the other side ...

Free will is a special gift from our Creator. A gift not given lightly since only us, humans, who own the gift. It is what differentiate us from animals. Why do we have free will? Humans are known to make mistakes anyway. Isn’t the very purpose of genetic engineering is to remove flaws?

“We’ve had a child, Zod. A boy child. Krypton’s first natural birth in centuries, and he will be free, free to forge his own destiny.” – Jor-El to Zod

“Every child was designed to fulfil a predetermined role in our society; as a worker, a warrior, a leader and so on. Your mother and I believed Krypton lost something precious, the element of choice, of chance. What if a child dreamed of becoming something other than what society had intended for him or her? What if a child aspired to be something greater?” – Jor-El to Kal-El

Quotes are taken from moviequotesandmore.com

In the end, Krypton, with all of its scientifically advanced culture and superior lifestyle, lost its way. A society known for its aloofness and dignified way of living, no longer knows how to be genuine - expressing warmth, joy, and even pain. The element of choice is both wondrous and terrible. Used correctly, the choice you make will bring you far greater than your wildest dreams. Used irresponsibly, the consequences are dire.

Therefore, I am willing to endure all the confusion that a person has to go through in their life. I know that there’s something out there for me.

Isn’t our aspiration what makes humanity thrive in the first place?

Martin Luther King once said, “I have a dream.” This speech alone went down to history as one of the greatest inspirational speeches in the world. Whenever humanity needs power, you can play back the speech again.

The element of choice is what I look for every morning I get up from my bed – facing the new day with a renewed sense of hope. We thrive in unpredictability because we believe that everything even better than before will follow.

Controlling fate?