Lois and Clark/Smallville Analysis

One of the most well-known and successful superheroes, Superman, excelled in in comics and began stretching to different forms of media. A popular form is television, which created many different Superman show that presented their own unique view on Clark Kent and his story. The time between old series and modern series shows us different ways how the audience is attracted and how the hero is presented in that time. Two examples of old and modern series that can be used are Lois and Clark and Smallville.

The portrayal of Clark Kent varies with every series, suiting the time that the series was made and is set in. In Lois and Clark, Clark is viewed as a hardworking and determined man trying to acquire in a position in the newspaper agency, The Daily Planet. He tries to adjust from moving away from the country town of Smallville to the bustling city of Metropolis and tries fit in like everyone else, as he wants to live a normal life. He is humble, optimistic and courageous. Even though he pursues normality, he is willing to use his powers secretly to help those in need.

In Smallville, Clark is in his adolescent years, believing he is human with unnatural and superhuman abilities, that only his parents adopted parents know of. He is shy and secluded, but humble and reliable. He wants to live like a normal person, but will sometimes use his powers to his advantage or to help those in need. Both portrayals of Clark Kent stay true to each time period they are set in and the original style of Superman, creating relevance of the settings and engaging the audience.

The setting for Lois and Clark resembles the classic 90’s style American city, which is demonstrated through the sets, costumes and props that they use throughout the series. The costumes used for most of the characters include trench coats, jackets, blouses, big glasses and more, which define their status of Middle class or Lower class. Characters belonging in the Higher class can be seen wearing suits, formal clothes, tuxedos, dresses and other superior clothing, making a distinct difference between the statuses of each class, giving the feel of realism and creating interest for the audience.

In Smallville, the setting remains in Smallville and consists of rural and modern buildings, basic and high quality cars and recurring sets. The clothing and props represent a contemporary style for the series that include casual clothing such as flannelette shirts, basic t-shirts, jackets, jeans and trousers for the normal Middle class people and flash suits, shirts, jackets, coats and trousers for the High class. These factors both contribute to the show’s style and appeals to the audience.

The special effects and editing techniques for both series have a lot of importance, as they capture the supernatural abilities that Superman possesses. The execution of these techniques helps determine to quality of the series and the level of attraction. In Lois and Clark, special effects and editing are used to display his powers and how he uses them. Examples of this are shot angles and denting to show super strength, rays of light emitting from the eyes for heat vision, fading of walls for x-ray vision, fast forwarding footage for super speed, an animated representation of the earth for flying and super speed and more.

These effects were considered successful in their time, as higher grade effects were not available. In Smallville, effects and editing are used less prominently, showing Clark’s desire to be normal. Parts where effects and editing are used to show his powers include motion blur and fast forwarding of footage to show super speed, explosions and animation for crashing asteroids and debris, ripping of metal for super strength, shot angles and animation for super jump and more.

These elements help create interest for the audience and relate to the style of Superman. In conclusion, each series portrayed each element well and displayed Superman uniquely and efficiently. The different shows appealed to their time zone in when they were created and produced, effectively entertaining and engaging the audience. The content of each show suited the setting and atmosphere of the series, proving successful in each element.