But they did know. They accepted Jor-El's conclusions about the core being unstable and the people being doomed. They never questioned or denied what he said. And why would the inhabitants have to die? Why not shepard them to another post with ships? And why sentence Zod if they know the planet is done anyway?
The inhabitants would have to die because the Council clearly finds the idea of saving all of Krypton from imminent disaster to be a ridiculous proposition. All of your questions underscore is the foolishness of the Council, which is not in dispute. No one is arguing that the Council was brilliant or logical. They were hubristic and myopic. Donner's Council was similarly blind and dumb. Rather than refusing to seek solutions to save their planet, Donner's Council won't even listen to Jor-El at all! They are so blind and dumb they won't even get past the first step of admitting a problem so they can begin to solve it! The reason why the Council in the DCCU is flawed is because it is impotent with its blind adherence to law and tradition. Everything must be debated. Nothing is done because no one can agree on anything. The law and protocol takes precedence over all else. Because that's what eugenically rigid bureaucrats would do!
And what's the point of genetically breeding warriors if someone bred for something different entirely can best them at their own skill? How is Jor-El the only one able to go against his programming? Surely the other scientists saw that genetic breeding was better so what was different about him?
Soldiers are bred to ensure the survival of Krypton at all costs. They are patriotic to a fault because they, according to Faora, are not bred to have any sense of morality. This is what makes them good soldiers for the state. Nevertheless, there are people who make excellent soldiers but terrible fighters. Jor-El is more fighter than soldier. Furthermore, there is nothing that indicates Kryptonians, especially a Kryptonian dabbling in experimental and evolutionary science, would be unable to read and learn from history or seek out friends from other bloodlines and castes for training. There are even versions of Kryptonian backstory in Superman comics that include an ancient Kryptonian martial art, Torquasm-Rao, that was essentially part of Krypton's culture and religion. It seems like Kryptonian culture is generally a warrior society in which all of its peoples have armor and a coat of arms for one's House. Ultimately, and most importantly, Jor-El doesn't best Zod. Zod defeats Jor-El because Jor-El was distracted.
I read the essays, she offered some interesting commentary but I still didn't get a proper answer to my questions. If anything her answers caused more questions to arise and make the material seem even more sloppy (to me).
What questions have been left unanswered? What is a "proper" answer? The material isn't sloppy or difficult to follow at all. It's all literally and explicitly stated. The degenerate and foolish nature of the Council is spelled out. The fact that Jor-El is a scientist and therefore understands the basic concepts of science is implicit. The fact that the Phantom Zone is not presented as a place where people can actually live is made clear when the only thing that allowed Zod and the other criminals to escape was a trick of fate. Jor-El's commitment to allowing the corrupted and genetically engineered Krypton to meet its evolutionary fate while making his son a living ark for reborn Krypton is at the very core of the film itself. None of this is inconsistent or sloppy.
Thank you dude^^ that was a really nice answer. Very coherently presented. Which the movie didn't really do IMO.
The environmental (climate change), religious (Noah's Ark), and genetic determinism elements are pretty straightforward. I think it was more explicit than even Tolkien's allusions to World War I, the growth of industry, and other environmental messages, particularly those presented through the vehicle of the Ents.
