Superman v. El Tata

July 16, 2023 11:19 AM

In 1987, Christopher Reeve visited Chile during the Pinochet dictatorship to lend his public story to actors being threatened by the military regime. Link is to a Radio Ambulante segment transcription/translation in English, but you can also read/listen in Spanish.
posted by jacquilynne (3 comments total)

This was amazing. Thank you so much.
posted by toodleydoodley at 9:06 AM on July 17, 2023

I’m bummed this didn’t get too much attention, because it’s a really good story. (I’m only commenting now because I insisted on working my way through the audio in Spanish, which was worthwhile but not especially quick).

Christopher Reeve comes off as an incredible human here: here is one of the world’s biggest stars at the time putting his own safety on the line on behalf of actors from another country whose lives were endangered. And yet even that pales compared to the Chilean actors and their supporters who gathered together to defy those who were threatening them, and did so by celebrating the very things they were being attacked for.

In any event, if you found this story interesting, I highly recommend No by Pablo Larraín. It is about the advertising campaign run by the No side in the 1988 plebiscite, and was shot using the same cameras used by Chilean television at the time so that archival footage (including, I am pretty sure, Reeve’s quote at the end that the ballot is secret) can be included without standing out.
posted by thecaddy at 5:00 AM on August 9, 2023 [1 favorite]

Thanks, thecaddy! I don't think I have ever posted anything that got so little response so I was happy to read your comment! I feel like the way the story is framed, centering the Chilean actors is correct, but it might have lead a lot of people to drop off because it takes awhile to get to the bits with Superman.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:18 AM on August 9, 2023 [1 favorite]