I left the theater 37 years ago gobsmacked. A being comes to Earth, is feared and persecuted by the authorities, is loved and accepted by the children, performs miracles pf healing, and is finally captured and put to death. After a period, he is resurrected and ascends into the heavens.
The babblemutts were waxing ecstatic over the film’s originality and creativity. I was thinking what a transparent
ripoff I had just witnessed.
The uses of symbolism to Christianity and the story of Christ’s life on earth were what grabbed the hearts of many people back then. The story of Superman also borrowed from that same plotline.
I don’t know if it would work today on anyone who went through the public school system, where many teach kids to feel fear, disgust and doubt about any thing that is even faintly related to the Christian view of life.
Today’s “Hate Crime” laws almost do not allow free expression of these mores, unless it’s being done as a crude parody.