The use of the subtext as sexist propaganda in the character of Lois Lane in Man of Steel (Zack Snyder, 2013)

Abstract

The aim of this article is to uncover the existence and analyze the content of a subtext associated with the character of Lois Lane, eternal girlfriend of Superman, in the film of Zack Snyder Man of Steel, 2013. First I will define the concepts «text» and «subtext», and I will relate them to the historical technique of «writing between lines» described by the philosopher Leo Strauss. Then I will carry out the textual (and subtextual) analysis of the character. My conclusion is that the character has been designed with the intention of emitting two types of contradictory messages: at the textual level she is an intelligent, independent and capable woman, but at the subtextual level she reveals herself as a stupid and dependent woman, unable to complete satisfactorily her tasks without the help of a man.