Posted on 07/01/2006 10:57:38 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
Call it "The Passion of Kal-El"? "Superman Returns" is splashed with enough Christian imagery for a cathedral full of stained-glass windows.
The movie's director is Jewish. So were the two teenagers who created the Superman character -- based in part on Jewish sacred stories and legends -- in 1932. Nonetheless, obvious images from iconic Christian art and stories are as common in this film as product placements are in most summer blockbusters.
Superman, having been sent by his father, saves the world while (almost) sacrificing his own life. The villain, Lex Luthor, stabs him in the side. While he is being brutally beaten, the only sympathetic face belongs to a "fallen woman."
Director Bryan Singer has said he sees Jewish and Christian roots in Superman.
"So it's sort of the American dream combined with a little bit of the myth, the concept of Messiah. He's the Jesus Christ of superheroes," he told the magazine Wizard last year.
More recently, in an interview with The Associated Press, he said: "These allegories are part of how you're raised. They find their way into your work. . . ."
Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, high school classmates in a Jewish neighborhood in Cleveland. They were both steeped in the immigrant Jewish culture of the day, said Rabbi Simcha Weinstein, author of "Up, Up and Oy Vey!: How Jewish History and Values Shaped the Comic Book Superhero."
In the Superman story, young Kal-El's father realizes their home planet, Krypton, is about to blow up. He places his infant son in a tiny rocket. Kal-El escapes to Earth, is adopted, and becomes a mighty superhero.
The character's creators might have borrowed from the ancient story of parents who saved their child from death by placing him alone on a river in a small basket. He was found, adopted and grew to be a mighty hero. That's Moses from the Book of Exodus.
"Was it conscious? I don't think so," Rabbi Weinstein said of the parallel. "But they tapped into their own mythology."
Since the days of Siegel and Shuster, control of the character has passed through the hands of many dozens of writers. Some have emphasized the quasi-religious roots more than others.
The 1978 Superman movie, cowritten by Mario Puzo and directed by Richard Donner, resonated with many Christians.
In a line resurrected for the new movie, Superman's dad (played by Marlon Brando) says: "They can be a great people, KalEl, if they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you . . . my only son."
That's almost straight out of the Gospel of John, said Reg Grant, a professor of pastoral ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary. But there's a vital difference from the message of Christianity: The caped, comic book "savior" is not sent to save people from their own evil. "He comes to help us find our potential," Dr. Grant said.
In fact, the new movie, despite its Christ imagery, could hardly be less theological. There's nothing of prayer or heaven. Superman offers salvation only from the perils of this world.
Still, one hardly need be a theologian to spot Christian-flavored scenes in "Superman Returns."
The movie starts with Superman returning to Earth after five years in space. When he slams into the old Smallville farm, his adopted Earth mom rushes out to him. He collapses in her arms in a pose evoking Renaissance images of the dead Jesus in Mary's arms.
Later, when Luthor gets the upper hand, he and his henchmen briefly pummel Superman with the brutality -- if not the gore -of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." The one compassionate face belongs to Luthor's girlfriend, a fallen woman straight out of the old church tales of Mary Magdalene.
Luthor stabs Superman in the side with a shard of Kryptonite, an image that evokes the fate of Jesus on the cross. But the hero recovers and plunges into the fiery bowels of Earth -- which look hellish enough for any brimstone preacher.
He rises, carrying an entire evil continent, the creation of Luthor, which would otherwise destroy much of the world. Superman takes on this burden of "sin" even though he knows the effort may kill him. And when he succeeds in his work of salvation, he falls to Earth, arms outstretched in a classic crucifix pose.
The parallels, however, break down more than once: The movie makes it clear that Superman slept with Lois Lane at least once. And he's prone to jealousy and other emotional insecurities.
"Superman is a fictional alien. He is neither Jewish nor Christian," said Rabbi Weinstein, adding that he's amused by the discussion.
On the other hand, he recognizes that people of faith are drawn to the character.
"When I talk about my weekly Bible portion, my congregants usually start sleeping," he said. "But when I bring in Superman, they wake up."
How original.
"This might require a "hurl alert""
Why? Didn't the Lord of the Rings series provoke the same kinds of images? Or the Matrix? There are other movies of that caliber that do the same thing. I don't see the difference in this one and those.
Every cult usurps grains of truth...
I'd put "Matrix" down in the same category of cultic usurpment.
"Lord of the Rings," on the other hand, does not usurp; There is no Messiah. There are angels (elves) and heroes who have "hope beyond all hope." But their hope is diverted away from its proper object, even if they do not know Him. Gandlalf is not Frodo's Messiah, for, ultimately, he can do nothing for Frodo other than encourage his faith.
Simply someone's opinions, and like "elbows", LOL! everybody's got a couple.
In the actual, real 9-5 world of the Real Jesus Christ, He responds instantly, like the folks crying out: "Superman {boy}!" "JESUS!"
Heaven's seen this Superman, but the one I grew up with came from the heavens.
Uh, there ain't no perils in Heaven, brother, so how is Superman "less theological?!?!?"
"hang in there superman,
you always came out fighting at the bell,
hang in there superman,
one billion grown up children wish you well."
The United States could use a super-leader, that's for sure.
I view the reason why comic book heros like "Superman", "Batman", and "Spiderman", ete. have become sucessful both in the comic books, but in the movies and tv as well is because of the hunger that is out there for REAL spiritual faith that only faith in the God of the Bible can fill.
You are right about "LOTR". That movie series like another sucessful Christian based movie, "Narnia" have a Christian spiritual side to it. I know that J.R.R. Tokan was a devote Catholic Christian.
PS : Typo, the word should be, devout.
"But the hero recovers and plunges into the fiery bowels of Earth -- which look hellish enough for any brimstone preacher."
This part brings to my mind that there is a traditon and pratice that is done in my church, the Roman Catholic Church, that during from the end of the Good Friday services through all day of Holy Saturday of each Holy Week, the tradition is to not have any worship services until after sundown on Holy Saturday night itself when the special vigil for Easter begins. There is a reason. This period represents the period of time after Jesus dying on the Cross, when His soul went down to the dead to rescue the just souls that had died before he came to rescue as well as to preach to them during that time. Also it was a call for the Church to keep watch at the tomb of Christ, to wait for His resurection from the dead. So during the day on Holy Saturday is the most quiet day in the Church calandar year. Also gives the faithful time to get things ready for Easter.
I think it qualifies as "another gospel "
2Cr 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
2Cr 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or [if] ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with [him].
Making a character into a Christ figure is risky business. It works in Uncle Tom's Cabin, probably because the metaphor is not pushed so hard that Tom comes of as an impossible being, while the metaphor is probably overdone in the case of Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea.
The "Lord of the Rings" has Christian motifs where appropriate none of the heroes are pushed as Christ figures-- while the Matrix is basically a presentation of "Gnostic Christianity" while trying to keep it interesting by at times questioning aspects of that belief system.
Well, the "Superman is a Christ figure" motiff in Superman Returns is inapt, clumsy, overdone and nonsensical imo.
Superman was in no way intended to be a Christ figure by his creators. Superman, on the other hand, follows in the tradition of Thor, Gilgamesh and perhaps especially Hercules. Whereas Christ proclaims He is the Way and the Son of God, Superman recognizes he's just a mere defender of principles that have roots in the Way--- namely, truth, justice and the American way. It's always the villains that don't understand why Superman doesn't have pretensions of godhood, and can never imagine why he would want to live as a "mere human".
As for the movie, it has some good aspects-- the special effects technical direction and cinematography are fantastic, and when Superman flies-- and they do a beautiful job of presenting his power of flight--- high above Metropolis, you have to gasp a bit at the beauty of the lights of the grid below him.
But the movie is TERRIBLE.
First, Roush's shoulders are way too narrow for him to be Superman and his face lacks the rough aspect Reeves and Reeve were able to bring to bear. He looks too much like a fashion model, a sort of metrosexual Superman.
This isn't helped by the fact that Superman doesn't land ONE PUNCH in the entire movie and (SPOILER) gets his ass handed to him by Luthor and maybe four other guys in an ass kicking the likes of which you would THINK demands a response. But NO, Superman is content with stopping Luthor's scheme--- capturing him, defeating him, or even paying him back is out of the question. Anyone who's seen "Superman II" remembers a much, much cooler ending as regards payback. Singer would have done well to rip it off.
IF you want to see Superman done well, check out this cartoon:
http://livedigital.com/content/362882/
I daresay it's far better than "Superman Returns" in every single respect and it's shorter, too.
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