During the early 2010s, the Harry Potter Alliance – now known as Fandom Forward – used its Imagine Better Network to combine social justice issues with the latest box office blockbusters. The initial effort coincided with the premier of The Hunger Games and explored real world hunger under the guise “Hunger Is Not a Game.” The Imagine Better Network next teamed with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas and non-profit Define American for the 2013 release of Man of Steel, using the Superman film to shine the spotlight on immigration issues within the United States.
“Born on Krypton, Superman, or Kal-El came to America with the promise of Hope – the symbol he bears on his chest,” Vargas, himself an undocumented American, explained during the launch of the “Superman Is An Immigrant” initiative. “I understand Superman’s hope and his alter ego, Clark Kent. He’s a journalist like me, and like many undocumented Americans, for many years he had to conceal his true identity before letting people in. This is a great opportunity to have a conversation about immigration in a fun way that anyone in America can get behind!”
The fact that Superman would have been labeled an “illegal alien” by the Immigration and Naturalization Services was not lost on those involved in Man of Steel. “His motivation to me, is a lot about wanting to fit in, and be a part of our world because his is gone,” Zack Snyder, the director of the film, told the Toronto Star. “It’s like the ultimate immigration and adoption story.”
Artist Jim Lee, who illustrated the Superman Unchained comic book series released to coincide with Man of Steel, similarly told Today that the character was the “ultimate immigrant” who embodied “truth, justice and the American way the same way an immigrant that comes to the United States would hopefully feel.”
The main focus of “Superman Is An Immigrant” was a tumblr page on which undocumented Americans could post their stories under the heading “Superman Is an American – Like Superman, We Are the American Way.” Truth and justice were also explored within the context of the ongoing immigration debate in the United States, offering casual fans the opportunity to better understand the issues and ultimately stand in solidarity with undocumented Americans throughout the country.
“We’re excited to connect the Superman and Man of Steel fandoms and communities to the issue of immigration,” Andrew Slack, cofounder of the Harry Potter Alliance, explained at the time. “The idea is to use story parallels to realize our capacity to change the world. In this case, we hope to engage people to support a better world for undocumented Americans.”
Julián Gustavo Gómez, campus engagement manager at Define American, was one of many who appreciated the efforts of both “Superman Is An Immigrant” and the Harry Potter Alliance. “In the summer blockbuster Man of Steel, Superman struggles with his identity as an immigrant, terrified that if he tells the American people that he’s from another place, they will reject him,” he wrote on the Huffington Post. “I felt that same fear when I was old enough to understand what it meant to be undocumented. Last year, I finally found the courage to publicly speak about my undocumented status in a video blog that has now been watched over 16,000 times.”
The success of the video went beyond mere hits. “The outpouring of support that followed was astounding,” Gómez continued. “Through the support of the Harry Potter Alliance, a non-profit organization that uses analogies from the Harry Potter series to channel fan enthusiasm into social change, it was featured on every major Harry Potter fansite, rallied the support of celebrities, created a movement that allowed me access to an important conference despite my lack of papers, sparked a fundraiser that raised $100,000 for equality, and supported the movement to pass the Maryland DREAM Act. Most importantly, it started a conversation that is too often silenced by fear or confusion, and gave others the courage to find their own voice.”
Not everyone was thrilled by the “Superman Is An Immigrant” campaign, however, arguing that it was an attempt to “piggyback” off the success of Man of Steel to push a political agenda. Others questioned whether using a fictional character to highlight immigration issues was the right approach, and that comparing Superman to undocumented Americans would not change anyone’s views on immigration.
In reality, the political has always been a part of popular culture, and fictional narratives are often used to better understand the factual world. This is especially true of Superman, who was born during the Great Depression of the 1930s and initially fought against corrupt politicians and organized crime rather than supervillains. Using the character to give voice to undocumented Americans and exploring the issue of immigration was therefore a logical extension.
“Superman is not real, but I have met many people like him,” Julián Gustavo Gómez explained in the opening paragraph of his Huffington Post piece. “Chances are, you have too. Superman is an immigrant. Born on Krypton, he came to the United States with the promise of Hope – a symbol he bears on his chest. My own parents came to this country with that same hope when I was only two years old. I am an undocumented American. My story is one of eleven million.”
Superman may not be real, but he no doubt considers himself part of those eleven million nonetheless.
Anthony Letizia