Lets assume that Dead isn't misreading the scene. Personally, I don't remember superman smiling at all, but that might be because the camera wasn't really focused on him. It was a wide panning shot that got his walking into the crowd of people, before zooming in on people touching him. But lets say he was smiling and 'trying' to connect with people. That scene ended with people awkwardly touching him (seriously, he could just go like "uh...personal space, people" or something) and him looking uncomfortable and just flying away I guess. So we can say the ending was superman being othered, even if he was being positively othered.
Lets look at examples of how he reacts from other movies. Just two disclaimers first:
First, I'm not saying these interactions are inherently better or that they are from better superman movies, because I don't really like them (the movies) myself. Also, not all of these mannerisms would work in a modern interpretation since they'd come off as a bit cheesy. I am just trying to prove a point that Superman could TRY to be more personal, because the other incarnations pull it off pretty easily. Second, I'm not saying that the new BvS superman should be personal no matter what in all contexts, but his refusal to be personal is simply at conflict with his desire to not be viewed as someone that's seperate from humanity. If Snyder's Superman wants to show the world that he's a normal guy, then he ought to act like a normal guy, not this wierdo that can't even look the people he's saving in the eye.
https://youtu.be/394jYH82s2o?t=171
Okay, here's Superman's premiere (iirc) as Superman. Despite Lois being in danger, he still finds a moment to excuse himself from having a conversation from a guy who comments on his clothing. Then, when he catches Lois, he verbally reassures her. Then, when he lands the helicopter, he notifies other men to help the man inside the helicopter, then jokingly mentions to lois that he hopes that this incident hasn't put her off flying in helicopters. This may seem like throwaway dialogue, but it's harmonious with the general tone of the movie. He's telling her that even though this was dangerous, she shouldn't let her fears prevent her from trying potentially dangerous things ever again. And when asked who he is, his response is "A friend", a term that immediately has warm, familiar connotations. By using the term friend, rather than something equally as innocuous like "Just someone who likes to help out" (which might place him as a savior, someone above) he's immediately putting himself in a position of equality with Lois. You might argue that I'm looking too much into what is generic superhero dialogue, but whether this much thought was put into it, it resonnates warmth and personality from Superman himself. Despite people looking all around him in awe, he's just so utterly casual about it. A bit formal in his mannerisms, sure, but not in a cold or distant way.
https://youtu.be/70OgnOXFolI?t=61
This scene is an interesting one for two reasons. It shows Superman's limits and it shows how him angry, or atleast tense. Superman here can't actually save everyone by himself. He can tell the doctors what is wrong with Jimmy, but he can't heal him. Similarly, he can make an impossible situation possible, but he wouldn't be able to put out the whole fire himself. Well, obstensively. Superman gets his powers as he needed them in these movies, and if the plot actually needed him to, yeah, he'd do everything himself, which he ends up doing. But what this scene interesting is that he doesn't just jump to "I'll do it myself". He involves the firefighting team as much as possible, until it's clear that they cannot do it and he has to perform a miracle to save them. They still have to get up their asses and work hard to save people with superman. And this is communicated by Superman's urgent acting. Most times, he's got the situation in the bag, and happily makes polite chit chat with the people around him even when everyone else panics (usually to soothe them, not just be a smartass). Here, he's urging the fire fighters on what is going on and what they need to do and what the consequences will be if they don't. There is a sense of danger, and Superman needs
them for once (even if he's being a bit of a liar here). The point being made here is that while Superman can do a lot of things by himself, he also participates in society. He doesn't tell the fire fighters they're obsolete, he gets them involved, and he means it when he says it.
I could go on with many examples, because between the Reeves movies, Routh Movie, The animated Series (both superman and Justice League), probably the Young Justice one if I looked, and god knows the amount of comics, they all have superman actually interacting with the people he saves.
Now, I know despite my disclaimer, people are going to think that I'm pointing at these movies and saying "That's how it should be done!" So let me try to clearly say again: I'm not saying that. In fact, I don't even really like these movies. Not even Superman 1. I feel bored watching them because despite the STELLAR acting by Reeves, there is never any believable tension when it's Superman vs Mundane Property, whehter that's a falling helicoptor or a carbine harvestor. Superman's not going to lose to those things, and I think the best movie is Superman 2, where he fights against Zod because he has an actual enemy that has atleast a sort of chance of beating him. So if you think I'm putting these films on a pedestal, believe me, you couldn't be more wrong, and I'm aware that Superman's exact personality can't be 100% replicated from there to now without some weirdness. Superman Returns attempted that, and...well, you saw how that turned out. I especially don't like that the Superman 3 scene ends with him solving the problem himself after the set up that he needs the rest of the firemen do contribute, especially when the resolution is that bullshit. And to be triply clear, I am NOT calling for a recreation of any of these scenes, because you'll have to revise it to meet modern standards. Like I said, they're very cheesy, and it would just come off as awkward at best, fake at worst, the way Reeves plays him here.
But what I'm getting out of all this is that people seem to think that if BvS's Superman talks to people, that is somehow a concept that can't be done because it's too complex or unrealistic, or that there's no way to do it without Superman talking down to people, or that it simply shouldn't be done. As much as I dislike these movies, when I compare them to Superman in BvS, I think I think the Reeves movies acts less wierd than the Snyder superman does. While the chipper, polite attitude might be unusual, even off putting, now, a complete refusal to speak with the people he saves make the interpretation that he's this weird alien god unavoidable. It can be SO easily avoidable, and can be entertaining or interesting. There are so many ways to incorporate humanity in Superman's life, and if you're smart about it, you can make some pretty interesting scenes that have Superman actively right this incorrect narrative that he's an alien force that society assumes he is. He can
show them they're wrong. He can go and talk to them and help them do their jobs while doing his and show that he's a part of their world. Which doesn't mean that the whole "alien god" narrative will die, of course, because we've all seen at some point how people will bend their minds around simple facts if it's inconvenient to their world view. So I'm not trying to stop Snyder's story of dealing with the godliness of Superman. I mean, even Reeve's Superman had been hero worshipped, despite his down to earth and friendly nature. But for the love of god, Superman should fucking
try, if he doesn't like being worshipped. If he doesn't like being treated as separate from humanity, he sure as hell doesn't do anything to discourage that by being as distant as he is. So just discourage it. Talk to people. Be friendly. Show them you're just a guy. Be a social human being, christ.
And if nothing else, it'd help Superman from being such a bland fish throughout the movie, because he's such a bore when he's not punching shit. Cavill can be charming, he was in Man from Uncle, so I'm guessing he's specifically told here to be as emotionless and robotic as possible when he's not RAGING over Luthor's shenanigans. And if that's all your character can do is punch shit and mope around, is he a really good character then?
