6. Pa Kent Keeps Speaking At Clark, Not To Him
Kevin Costner's Johnathan Kent speaks in a rare Kansas dialect that's comprised entirely of rhetoric, moralizing, and subtext. This dialect is specifically known for its use of the monologue, which many historians believe was used by early settlers to impart wisdom that would only become relevant decades after the initial conversation, to be recalled when dealing directly with the frontier challenges of famine, drought, typhus, bullying, or the unlikely but not impossible chance of a crazy-ass super-villain coming from another planet to harvest your bodily fluids and demand that you kneel before them. Although it turned out to be surprisingly useful in movie flashbacks, this dialect largely died out by the late 20th century - partially because it sounds stagey and obvious, but mostly because everyone finally realized that teenagers don't actually listen to a damn thing their parents tell them. Kevin Costner delivers one hell of a Pa Kent, but every scene he shares with Clark isn't about their relationship. These flashbacks to Pa Kent are merely there to set up the next scene in Clark Kent's adult journey to becoming Superman. Take, for example, this deleted scene from an early draft of Man of Steel: * * * * INT. PA KENT'S OLD TRUCK - DAWN (FLASHBACK)
YOUNG CLARK and PA KENT drive down a dusty road. The sun begins to rise ahead of them. YOUNG CLARK: Dad, can we have McDonald's for breakfast? PA KENT: We have bran flakes at home. YOUNG CLARK: But I want a Sausage McMuffin... PA KENT (stern but tender): We all do, son. We all do... But at some point a man has to make a decision about what he puts into his body. Fats, fiber, good versus bad cholesterol. It may come a time when you'll have to make a dietary decision for all of us. And when you do, Clark, you're going to need to be ready, 'cause you're going to change the world... YOUNG CLARK: OK... (Beat.) Dad? PA KENT: Yeah, son? YOUNG CLARK: Have I mentioned yet that you're not my real father? * * * * What's even worse is the messages that Pa Kent actually imparts to his son in Man Of Steel, which leads me to...