Wow - this has turned into a really interesting exploration of the Lois Lane character. As ever, I'm fascinated by the critical acumen of the FoLC posters!
by Pam:
No, I think she said they would rather have gone with Lois Lane (although to the best of my knowledge, no version of Supes had Lois living in Smallville as a teenager), but couldn't get the rights to her. However, IMO, Chloe basically was Lois, just under a different name. Which set them up for a big problem, because when they brought in the "real" Lois later, her character niche was already filled, so they had to change her almost unrecognizably.
It's messed up.
Yes, that's what I meant to say, but it certainly didn't come out that way.
BTW, I ranted about Lois Lane to Bob in a private message and he sent back another well-reasoned and insightful analysis. I'm going to quote from his PM because it's what I've felt about "Lois Lane" in the "Smallville" universe:
by bobbart:
Lois Lane not being a well-trained journalist: In LnC, Lois is an educated, award-winning journalist that takes her profession very seriously. Smallville’s Lois is little more than a tabloid-trash reporter that has worked her way onto the pages of a real news source. She has worked hard, but I believe that much of her success is more based on luck than on skill. This is what I find most disappointing and irritating about the Lois of Smallville. I just don’t think of her as a real journalist at all, and that is sad.
Yes, Bob, that's true. They've trashed the backstory of Lois working hard to get to her position as the top reporter at the
Daily Planet.
And this quote by CCMalo really set off some interesting thoughts:
by ccmalo:
But with the 1960's and later, when ordinary women were struggling for meaningful equality, she became a problem, I think, for the men who controlled the Superman franchise. She was just "a little too independent " - in the words of L & C's Lex Luthor. She was a threat.
So her character was demoted, to "one of several of Superman's women". As well, I think the so called sexual revolution played a part - that was the era of James Bond etc - and strong female characters were largely missining in American films, replaced by women who lingered in the background, had sex with the hero and that was about it. we never got the feeling the male protagonist cared for them - they were disposable and compliant.
A very good point.
I read a very interesting book about 10 years ago, called "Generations: A History of America's Future". The authors posited (and had a lot of evidence to support) the theory that America has generations, that is, cadres of people born in a particular time period, and that these generations act differently. (Sorry, that sounds stupid when I write it, but the book explains it much better.)
Right now most people in America belong to one of the following: the Greatest Generation (born 1900-1924, a declining population); the Silent Generation (born 1925-1943); the Baby Boomers (1943-1960); Generation X (1960-1980); the Millenial Generation (1980-2001); and whatever they'll call the next generation. Hardly anyone is left from the Lost Generation (1883? - 1900.)
Each generation belongs to one of four types (that was the author's theory) which tend to repeat in a cycle of 80-90 years. Each generational type is marked by the events which happened during its childhood and coming-of-age years - a Secular Crisis (ex: Great Depression/WWII, Civil War, Revolutionary War) or a Spiritual Awakening (for example, the Great Awakening, the Transcendentalist movement, the Summer of Love).
Superman, "born" in 1938, was created by Siegel and Shuster who grew to manhood during the Great Depression (a Secular Crisis). People of this generational type (say the authors) tend to be "let's all pull together to solve the crisis" and "we'll make new institutions". (E.g., win WWII, form the United Nations.)
Those who come of age during a Spiritual Awakening (e.g., the Baby Boomers, late 1960's-early 1970's) tend to question institutions, be individualistic, "do their own thing".
With regards to Lois: Feminism tends to wane during the years during and after a Secular Crisis - the society ethos is that "we're fighting for our survival and don't have time for people who question traditional roles." Feminism tends to wax during the years during and after a Spiritual Awakening (note the growth of the women's movement in the 1970's and 1980's.)
Superman, "born" in 1938, has had to deal with 70 years of American society and the changing of the generations. It's no wonder that the conception and portrayal of Lois Lane have changed over that time too.
I think the generational type thing is also illustrated by the differences in "Star Trek". (Just go with me on this.)
In ST: The Original Series, (promulgated by Lost Generation and Greatest Generation producers and writers) the baddies were the Klingons (Russia) and the Romulans (China). (The Federation, of course, was the USA.) The drama was the conflict between the different star empires, and the big scary thing would be an interstellar war.
In ST: The Next Generation (produced and written by Silent Generation and Baby Boomers), the Big Bad are the Borg. Their motto: "Do not resist. You will be assimilated." The big scary thing here - loss of individuality.
As ever, I've gotten way off-topic on this. It started as an expression of my disappointment in the "Lois Lane" character on "Smallville". The way the Lois character is portrayed depends heavily on the generational experience of her writer, and on American society's culture and expectations at that particular time in history.
I'll end by saying that the Lois Lane on "LnC" is my favorite Lois ever. She worked for her position, she earned it, she deserves her Kerth Awards. Plus, Teri Hatcher portrays her so excellently.