Bridgeport Film Fest Bridgeport, CT
Paul Gasparo
Assistant Professor of English, CT State Community College
Superman (2025)— Superheroes and Society: Comics, Culture, and the Science of Humanity
Program Description
Before the screening of Superman (2025), Professor Paul Gasparo leads an engaging discussion exploring how superhero stories reflect the complexities of the human experience and the society we live in. Through the lens of the humanities and social sciences, the conversation will examine themes such as identity, morality, justice, power, media influence, and the lasting cultural impact of comic book storytelling.
Audiences will explore why characters like Superman continue to resonate across generations and how these stories often mirror moments of political, social, and cultural change. The discussion will also touch on the psychology of heroism, mythmaking in popular culture, and the ways film and comics help shape empathy, resilience, and community connection. Blending pop culture with academic insight, this thought provoking conversation invites audiences to look beyond the cape and into the humanity at the heart of superhero storytelling.
Presented At
Bridgeport Film Fest Bridgeport, CT
Film Synopsis
Superman must reconcile his alien Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as reporter Clark Kent.
When Superman (David Corenswet) gets drawn into conflicts at home and abroad, his actions are questioned, giving tech billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) the opportunity to get the Man of Steel out of the way for good. Will intrepid reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and Superman's four-legged companion, Krypto, be able to help him before it's too late?
Photo credit: DC/Warner Bros.
About the Speaker
Raised by a multi-generational family in the heart of Long Island, New York, Assistant Professor of English Paul Gasparo teaches English 2260: Graphic Novel at CT State Community College, among other courses. As a first-generation community college graduate from a working-class family, Paul understands the values of truth, justice, and the humanitarian way.
To encourage a young Paul to read, their mother bought them comics hoping this would spark the fire of literacy in her child. Little did she know, that child would amass a staggering collection of comics and would some day bring that passion for reading and understanding comics, and literature as a whole, into the classroom to influence future generations.
Mild-mannered Professor Gasparo has been teaching for nearly twenty years and is exhilarated to bring their love of the comics medium into the classroom, while teaching students to appreciate the medium by examining literary devices used by comics creators, as well as contextualizing these stories in their social and historical roots. Critical thinking is vital in the consumption of any media, and this is a skill Paul helps students hone throughout their college experiences.
Paul is excited to discuss James Gunn’s 2025 superhero action-drama about the man of tomorrow, Superman, and what it means to be punk on contemporary America, and beyond.
Come sign up for classes at CT State and see what you can learn about literature, about comics, about reading and writing, and most importantly, about yourself. Your future is waiting.