Here's one of my stupid posts i guess but Super 4 actually has a huge subtext i recently noticed (not sure if this is intentional or im just too sleep deprived but here we go)
-> Social rules reference: "men are stronger than women"/"women can't do what men can do" in Gunpowder Island
So, we all know how Sharkbeard and most pirates treat Ruby, right? Even Rubens said she couldn't be a pirate because she was a girl. This, intentional or not, is a way of showing women being oppressed by men throughout history, where men decide who can do what and most importantly, who can't do it. This certainly shitty behavior is reflected in the series in episodes like Sharkruby where after Ruby wins the games, she gets thrown to the water. I'm pretty sure if she wasn't a girl she would've become the ruler of the pirates.
-> Fear of the unknown: fear of Gene's thinking outside the box and his "bizarre" ideas
We see in Gene, Techno-Explorer part 1 that everyone laughs at Gene's idea of proving air outside of the dome is breathable. This is actually not so new. Through history we have seen scientists with unique or innovative ideas called "witches" and killed for their intelligence. And even in an advanced world like Technopolis, there's still fear of the unknown, something that would break a reality they have known for their whole lives, like in the past people were scared of the idea that the Earth wasn't flat, because it shattered their way of thinking.
Gene was laughed at for having an idea when he hadn't been proved wrong before, it was Computer Supreme's word against just a hypothesis. And who did everyone choose to believe? The one they knew. Not a single person supported Gene's idea.
-> Unforgivable mistakes: Twinkle's turning the queen into a frog and her ban from the castle
Now, it is true that turning the queen into a frog isn't very nice, but was it really unforgivable if Twinkle apologized over and over again for that? If it wasn't on purpose? Because i get that she made a huge mistake, and that the queen was angry, but is it as bad as to ruin a person's life? She is one of the most powerful fairies, the Grand Fairy said it herself. So she could've done some research to fix it (and she did even fix it sometime but those three assholes intervened) so that's. It's not unforgivable.
-> Tradition and choosing a person's future: Alex having to study/Leonora having to get married
Let's be honest, these two didn't choose their fate. It's true that it's most likely how things worked in the Middle Ages but i still want to talk about it because i feel like it. So, we see in Origins part 1 how Alex was bored out of his life and Gareth just rambling on lessons about how to be a king. Alex did NOT want to be a king. What he wanted was adventure, some more fun other than just having to study all day. And what did Gareth do? Punish him. Not only that but he insults him various times. Why? Because he's pissed that Alex goes on adventures instead of doing what he doesn't want to do.
Same goes to Leonora. She's pressed into getting married throughout the series, and although she isn't directly forced to it, it's pushing her into making a decision she doesn't want to make. But yet again she's asked when she'll marry someone.
-> Breaking the social rules: "being different is fine, we're all people" by the team
After being crafted into misfits, these guys meet and even with all their differences, they still choose to stay with each other. They are friends and didn't mind the others' origins or habits or anything, even if sometimes they can't stand each other, they're still friends. They look nothing alike, speak nothing alike and most times have no ideas in common other than saving the world, but here's a thing, they don't mind. They are a team no matter what. And that's what makes it beautiful.
And i think this would be a good lesson for people to take: break the social rule. Ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, all of that doesn't matter. People are people no matter what. If they aren't problematic, why push them away from society? Super 4 team really made a difference in their world. They really are an example to follow (NOT LITERALLY BUT IN THE SUBTEXT)
Or i might just be going insane. It's 3am and im tired
About Gene's part, I think it could also have to do with how totalitarian regimes (and fascist ones, but I wouldn't call Technopolis that because although Computer Supreme is "worshipped," there's no exaltation of nationalism) will inevitably hinder science, no matter how "advanced" the society subjected to the regime is.
The Technopolians' fear of having their reality and beliefs challenged is an undeniable part of their rejection of Gene, as Geek said, but it also has the layer of Gene going against the leader of a dictatorship.
True, and this would only implement the fear of the unknown, since the reality they've always lived through where Computer Supreme just cares about them and would never lie to them in a fake perfect world they were given through words of manipulation is getting challenged by someone's beliefs. People often call for a totalitarian regime because they need someone in control that provides safety, but these people have to face the fact that said safety was fake all along and that they need to adjust to a new reality. They listened to Gene challenge their leader's words in a way that's not only their reality that's shattering but the figure they believed in vain, and you can see this when X also considers this possibility but dismisses himself (i think that was it, i don't really remember) you see the fear of the lie, of the reality crashing and of having lived in a pointless sequence of events that will no longer make sense
(yet again hope im not saying anything so weird that i look high, im running on one hour of sleep so i probably repeated the same idea 6 times)
