Change is in the air for America, and not just politically. It’s also happening across popular culture. An interesting example of this sea change is the new Superman movie, scheduled to land in theaters this July. Director James Gunn recently talked to Variety about the movie, and the interview is notable for how quickly Gunn moves away from political correctness, which has become Kryptonite since Donald Trump was elected. 

Here is how Gunn responds when asked by Variety reporter Adam B. Vary whether, “his version of Superman is right for the current cultural moment.” Translation: How is Clark Kent going to toe the left-wing Hollywood line when he’s an all-American hero?

In some ways, I would say it’s the right Superman because I don’t think he’s a part of the cultural moment … He’s a character that stands for something that is solid, for basic human morals, basic human integrity, the basic belief in protecting others the weak and being good to people and being honest. He stands for what I think of as the rules that don’t change.

Another reporter then brought up “how skittish studios have become around questions of diversity, equity and inclusion, in the wake of President Trump’s relentless campaign to rid not just the federal government, but much of American public life of DEI initiatives specifically and women and people of color in positions of power generally.” 

Gunn didn’t take the bait. “I know what you’re saying,” he said. “I understand your words, but I’ve been off working on stories for three years, and I just try to tell the best stories I possibly can, and that’s all I care about.” 

Gunn added that he doesn’t read the news anymore or spend as much time on social media as he used to do. “We’re just off trying to make the best movies we can in the best way we can,” he said. “No matter who is telling me who I’m supposed to put in my movie, for whatever reason, I don’t give a shit. I was always about creating the best story possible with the best characters possible. It was that way, you know, five years ago, and it’s that way today.”

More direct was legendary director Quentin Tarantino, who recently blasted the new Hollywood racism in an interview with Bill Maher:  “Ideology is more important than art. Ideology trumps art. Ideology trumps good. Ideology trumps entertaining.”

Indeed. One thinks of all the great Hollywood movies that wouldn’t be possible thanks to “diversity” quotas: The Godfather, The Quiet Man, The Lord of the Rings. Likewise, the brilliant and hilarious Spike Lee films Do the Right Thing, She’s Gotta Have It, and Mo’ Better Blues would not be possible under the new diversity rules.

Gunn, Tarantino and other Hollywood luminaries are signaling a turn from the ideological stranglehold on the industry that began a decade ago. In 2015 the Academy was faced with the #OscarsSoWhite movement that marred the 87^th Academy Awards. In 2016 and 2017 #MeToo created momentum for wokedom. Then, with the George Floyd death in 2020, the Academy introduced its Representation and Inclusion Standards Entry (RAISE) platform, demanding films meet diversity criteria to qualify for Best Picture consideration. For a movie to qualify for Best Picture, producers had to give personal information about everyone involved in the making of the movie, but the film had to meet two of the Academy’s four diversity standards.

Not everyone has been happy with the new rainbow coalition. As critic Jamison Ashley observed, “these initiatives sparked concerns of replacing one form of exclusion with another. The industry’s embrace of diversity brought about not just demographic shifts but also ideological and cultural transformations, breeding fear of deviating from the prevailing narrative. It didn’t just bring about a demographic change. It brought about an ideological and cultural transformation, one that has not created better content.”

Former General Hospital actor Antony Sabato Jr. put it this way: “They’re destroying the Oscars—they already have done that. But now, they’re destroying an industry that used to be free to have the choice to make films based on merit, based on performances, based on so many things that were real.”

He went on: “They’re not trying to bring people together. They’re dividing people. They’re bringing racism. They’re choosing who and what and where. The more they do that, the more they talk about race and colors and gender, and all this other BS, excuse my French, they’re going to make it a lot harder for people.”

Howard Koch, who has been involved in the production of more than 60 movies, and is the former president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, put it this way: “I’m all for LGBT and Native Americans, blacks, females, whatever minorities that have not been served correctly in the making of content, whether it’s television or movies or whatever, but I think it’s gone too far. I know a lot of very talented people that can’t get work because they’re not black, Native American, female or LGBTQ.” 

As this pushback against Hollywood’s hard left turn bubbles beneath the surface, who better to disperse the evil fog of wokeness than the Man of Steel?

Superman is loved because of his morality, strength, and kindness but one thing sometimes gets left out: his Trump-like sense of male cockiness. In All-Star Superman, one of the best of the Superman graphic novels, the Man of Steel finds himself in a battle over Lois with Hercules. Readers expecting a colorful comic book battle may be surprised when Superman simply mocks Hercules and thereby easily dispatches him. Lois, likewise, is not some tiresome feminist girlboss like Rey in Star Wars. Then again, she is no passive or helpless figure. She is distinctively feminine, but also American. Still, there’s no doubt that Superman is, well, the man. He sometimes smirks or outright laughs at competitors trying to knock him over.

Recently the actor Timothee Chalamet surprised his audience at the Screen Actors Guild Awards by saying that he is happy to be recognized for his talent but that he wants more—he wants to attain objective greatness. “I can’t downplay the significance of this award, because it means the most to me,” Chalamet told a crowd in Los Angeles. “I know we’re in a subjective business, but the truth is, I’m really in pursuit of greatness.” He then mentioned Michael Jordan and Daniel Day-Lewis—two very powerful, very physical men.

The new Superman should be moral and just—and he should also be comfortable in his own very masculine skin, as he is in the comics. The world has shaken off woke and is ready for a real male lead. Up, up and away.