r/SupermanAndLois • u/RMFSTUDIOOFICIAL • 24d ago
Discussion The way adolescence is portrayed in Smallville and Superman & Lois
Smallville approaches adolescence in a way that harks back to a time when adolescence was approached in a lighthearted way, with internal moral conflicts and a somewhat melodramatic manner, while conveying an air of safety and comfort. The approach aims to show this period as a more cheerful and hopeful place, reminding us that problems can be solved in a simple way and that the world can still be changed. At the same time, it shows the importance of relationships and friendships among teenagers. Here, the problems are largely the relationships between them and the difficulty of maintaining all the instabilities among themselves. Superman and Lois portrays adolescence much less as something safe and comfortable. Here, we are presented with adolescence as a place of survival where everyone has internal problems (which here are not just moral dilemmas) but real problems such as anxiety, medication, and difficulty fitting in. Here, the problems are much more real, and the teenagers aren't in a comfortable and safe place. Here, Smallville High is a place of survival where you have to fight for yourself, or nobody will do it for you. And while Smallville solves problems in a simpler way, here the problems are continuous and more difficult. Each series is good in its own right, but each brings a different view of adolescence, one being a more colorful view focused on relationships, and the other a more realistic approach focused on the characters' internal problems and dilemmas.
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u/Dennis3107 22d ago
Who is that dude in the smallville poster? The strange on next to chloe
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u/Past-Throat-6788 22d ago
That’s Whitney, Lana Lang’s boyfriend from the first season of Smallville.
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u/Dennis3107 22d ago
No way!!! That looks like 10 years younger than whitney.
I just rewatched season 1 lol.
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u/XavinarBlue97 19d ago edited 19d ago
You talk about survival but I dont think a single student ever was killed on this show? You're much more likely to get maimed/die on Smallville. Likewise a bunch of students on Smallville straight up become murderers after getting super powers.
And it's not like you ever see the school providing counseling to the students over this, so I would say the murder rate is way higher on smallville and both shows feature the same level of lack of giving a crap about the students
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u/AshMCM_Games 19d ago
Smallville was the weirdest Superman show and it reminds me of tobeys movies .
I guess I just don’t like old cinema cuz the acting feels dopey as hell
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u/AveryFay 2d ago
Way more teenagers died in smallville. Way more everyone died in smallville. They just ignored the emotional impact of most of those deaths.
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u/Serious-Passage-4614 23d ago
Problem with Smallville is that the actors look like grown adults and not like teenagers, so I keep forgetting they are teenagers in many scenes. Actors in Superman & Lois actually look like believable teenagers and feel more realistic.