It is fallacious to believe that supermen are things of antiquity and that they belonged to a long-forgotten era. A superman, whether real or imaginary, is an integral part of any society
An old and ailing woman in her late 80s came to the house of Abu Dada, the muscular macho of Bhimpura, one of the old localities in Karachi. “Nani, what brings you to Abu Dada’s abode?” He asked.
She narrated to Abu Dada the pathetic tale of her grandson, Nooru, a labourer who was implicated in a theft case by his employer, Seth Sattar Dodiwala. With the connivance of the police, her grandson was wrongfully confined at a private prison of the influential employer, and he was being tortured for the last one month.
Abu Dada slowly rose to his feet. He held the wrinkled hand of the old woman, and said, “Nani, go back to your house, and prepare a delicious meal for your grandson. He will be with you before sunset, today.”
Abu Dada banged into the palatial bungalow of Seth Sattar Dodiwala who at that time was gleefully engaged in entertaining corrupt police officers. Abu Dada beat up Seth Sattar Dodiwala and his tough henchmen, and then he thrashed the corrupt police officers. He succeeded in rescuing Nooru from the private prison of Seth Sattar Dodiwala. As promised, the old woman had hardly prepared the delicious meal consisting of coarse boiled rice with dal when her grandson arrived.
Doesn’t the story resemble a scene from an Amitabh Bachchan movie? It does to a great extent. But then all movies do not necessarily depict fictitious or imaginary characters. In fact, movie makers remain on the lookout for astonishing characters woven in absorbing stories. Fiction doesn’t mean something alien or concocted. A story loses its relevance when it doesn’t address the problems of the society.
When alive, Abu Dada, in his own right, was a superman for the poor people of Bhimpura. It appears a crude definition of a superman. However, the fact remains that a superman helps the helpless. He comes to the rescue of the wretched of the earth. He solves their problems. For the sake of the weak and the destitute, he battles against the demons of destruction that inflict misery and suffering on mankind.
It is beyond the scope of this brief article to discuss whether the ancient supermen have been real, concocted or contrived by man, thus imaginary. Man is capable of creating gods, deities and supermen. It is not for us to discuss the form and figure of Prometheus, the heroic Greek god in the guise of a superman. Rather, it is valid for us to examine what he did for human beings. From Zeus he stole fire, and gave it to mankind that differentiates humans from rest of the creatures. Zeus, the creator of Pandora and her box of problems, imprisoned Prometheus and fastened him with chains to a great rock, to be devoured by a huge eagle. Prometheus was rescued by Heracles, another superman who killed the eagle and liberated him.
Similarly, Samson, the Israelite superman depicted in an epic narrative in the Old Testament, was a legendary warrior who, with his incredible strength, had moved the enormous gates of Gaza. With his massive strength, he outweighed the Philistine pressure, demolished the temple of god Dagon of Gaza, destroying himself along with his tormentors who had blinded him. The history of mankind is adorned with numerous similar legendary supermen.
The purpose of this discourse is to portray man’s everlasting fascination for a superman. What is worth taking note of is that man’s fascination for superman has survived the test of time. Social consciousness coupled with amazing advancement in science and technology has gradually given new form and figure to the superman in our era. Although unconventional, Tarzan, Captain Marvel, Zoro, the Six Million Dollar Man, Spiderman and the Terminator-type of fictitious characters wage war against the forces of evil, help the helpless and rescue society from dons, mafia and drug barons. Through their exploits, these characters have assumed the status of supermen for juvenile viewers. Science and technology have enhanced their authenticity, acceptance and appeal. Cinematography has provided new dimensions to the legacy of ancient supermen. Thus, it is fallacious to believe that supermen are things of antiquity, and that they belonged to a long-forgotten era in the history of mankind. A superman, whether real or imaginary, is an integral part of any society.
If you come up with the pertinent question: Have supermen really solved the problems faced by men in a society in any era? I, without mincing words, would say: I do not know. Physical strength cannot either undermine or surpass the mental prowess of man. If physical strength had an answer to the complexity of problems, then bulls and rhinoceroses would have ruled the world.
I have collected the opinions of deprived persons who watch Indian action movies regularly. Such movies leave a soothing effect on their agitated and angered minds. They feel relieved when Amitabh Bachchan, Sunil Shetty, Hrithik Roshan and Bobby Deol, in the role of supermen, maul, beat, thrash, humiliate and kill corrupt police officers, ministers, chief ministers, pseudo religious leaders and the dons of the underworld. Vicariously, the wretched feel vindicated.
