If you were to ask someone who the most iconic figure in the Americas is, I wonder how long it would take for Superman to swoop into the conversation. A powerful white man who could do virtually anything would become the perfect torchbearer for American Exceptionalism. Truth, Justice and the American Way is the catchphrase for an intergalactic alien who grew up on a Kansas farm. His greatest adversary is a comic book rendition of Jeff Bozos, a bald, brilliant businessman with seemingly endless money. To maintain his connection with the common man, his alter ego works as a reporter for a newspaper.
I’m not so sure the Man of Steel would fly today, and not just because his disguise being pair of glasses(he’d have to stick to a touch ID iphone). Would he be considered a Trump supporter? What would his stance be on Gay Rights? How could he not consider war unjust to only combat crime in the United States. Or only take Alien invasions seriously, because that would also mean the demise of the American superpower. How many inequities could he combat by ensuring through his powers that oil couldn’t be a resource entire nations fight over. At worse he could be a eco-friendly renewable energy source to replace the sources of greenhouse gases.
Today Superman and all his superfriends are the intellectual property of Warner Brothers. A Parent company that left his original creator in financial hardship until Christopher Reeve made the character the first superhero movie star. Marvel’s union with Disney has all but made DC superheroes an also ran of fiction, and their run of monthly adventures may soon see its conclusion this year. To boost morale of the United States, I would consider after 70 years he could be used a symbol of national pride, right up there with Uncle Sam. Warner Bros has ensured their properties won’t fall to the public domain. In an attempt to boost readership, DC has relaunched and retconned their characters origns stories multiple times in the last decade. Their most recent crossover mega-event, Dark Knights:Death Metal, hoped to tie all the ongoing stories together. However, rumors abound throughout the brothers Warner that if sales don’t increase, as a result of the pandemic causing sales to decrease ort not, DC Comics flagship Superman title may no longer be monthly. Could you imagine? The thought of Superman not saving the day every month is practically anti-American.
Removing ourselves from the white savior complex that craft these heroic figures, I now present the Sasquatch! Known in some circles as BigFoot, Sasquatch is actually a Salish word meaning benign faced one. They aren’t owned by any media conglomerate, and they are the figurehead for several Seattle businesses from Pagliacci pizza boxes, to music festivals in Central Washington. Sasquatch’s film depictions have also evolved with the times. In 2019’s Missing Link, despite appearing male and being voiced by Zach Galifianakis, he decides when asked what his name should be he chooses Susan, even after being told that’s a “girl’s name”.
Superman was always great of the thought experiment for when absolute power doesn’t corrupt absolutely. He came to us by chance to defend the greater good. His era was bolstered by stories of immigrants such as Albert Einstein departing the injustices of the old world to revel in the bounties of the freedoms the new one provided. Superman, being an immigrnant himself stood as an example of ow excellent white immigration to the American effort was, so long as it was powered by almost all white new entries. Was Superman pro civil right movement? How bout the equal rights amendment for women? Did Los lane gross as much as Clark Kent? Most conflicting to his alleged values, would he allow ICE to keep brown people in cages?
The country we live in today has most propaganda charged concepts, like we the people help the world function neater with democracy, are beginning to wash out. The American Way is whatever has to be done to keep America, and its closest co-conspirators rich. Telescopic vision only goes so far when looking through a narrow view.
The Sasquatch, or sasquatch’s as some legends or studies describe them as a distinct species, don’t carry the weight of any particular agenda. Their existence inspires a belief in what we can’t be certain of. Or better, that something should not be controlled by humanity. In British Columbian, Sts’ailes First Nation peoples believe the Sasquatch exist to travel between the physical plane and the spirit realm. Some Area 51 conspiracy theorists are of the belief their race was spawned from alien experiments on apes prior to departing earth. Cryptozoologists continue to consider it a possible evolutionary connection between apes and humans.
Most important to note it isn’t a monster. There’s never been a sighting or reporting of it killing or harming a human being, or even destroying the property of a human being. Superman’s existence in his fictional is a onslaught of property damage and municipal destruction. For all his reports, but those designed to be fanciful or taken as scientific fact, they just wanna be left alone.
For Cascadia, they’re our symbol for that which hasn’t been proven true. A cryptid that doesn’t have to be defined by our societal norms and social constructs. The forests and waterways we know and love will forever be their homeland. Their gender is not up for our judgement nor classification. A genuine harmony with the land and rivers that we wish to protect from greed and personal gain.
We don’t need to read of a hero to protect us, but look toward ways we can work to protect what we didn’t create. The American way, I believe cant be defined without white supremacy. Superman as a white immigrant who has every superpower at his disposal and preaches peace cant represent us. Cascadia is the last region to be colonized by the British Empire, but still can’t ignore the effects of the great white majority. A fusion figure of American folklore and a name rooted in salish culture seems like a good figure to save us from our own need to think of ourselves as heroes.
We’re here for you Sasquatch, as long as they’re not bothering anyone, why not choose peace with land and man?
