You may have come across this at some point during a film or a review of a film, and that would be The Jesus Metaphor, a character or a character arc in a film franchise is actually reflecting or sharing similarities of that to Jesus Christ. Now this is a common convention in movies that honestly has never really bothered me that much, mostly because the metaphor normally always goes over my head Nothing goes over my head! My reflexes are too quick, I would catch it Sorry, I saw Guardians of the Galaxy a couple weeks back and I've been quoting it every chance I get. My point is, I never noticed it, not even when it is insanely obvious, say for example...Man of Steel. Man of Steel is not very subtle with its Jesus symbolism, not only does he do "the pose" several times in the movie, but there is even a point where he literally goes to a church and the priest there tells him of the responsibilities of a saviour...subtle? Not at all. Did I notice it? Same Answer.
Now look, this isn't the first time that Superman has been portrayed as a Jesus metaphor, I mean he's a man who fell from the heavens and and became the saviour of our planet, the dude has a lot of Jesus goin' for him. But the reason why I never saw the two like that is because apart from that very vague backstory, the two are nothing alike. Superman came from an alien planet that blew up so his parents sent him here where he flies, shoots lasers and beats up bad guys, I don't remember Jesus ever doing that. I've never actually read the bible but I'm just taking a guess.
The same with other characters like Robocop, Anakin or even E.T. Yes, E.T. is a Jesus Metaphor, fell from the heavens, heals the wounded, dies for our mistakes just to be reborn, the dude is one big Jesus Metaphor. Are the two similar in any detailed manor? Absolutely not, Jesus wishes he was like E.T.
However, there is one fairly famous Jesus Metaphor out there that has always bugged me, just for being the least subtle Jesus Metaphor there is, and that would be: Neo.
Now look, as bad as the symbolism is in general just for being absolutely pointless, at the very least no movie ever came out and straight up said I AM JESUS! I mean sure Man of Steel and Phantom Menace weren't exactly subtle about it but they never literally said they were Jesus. But in The Matrix I shit you not they literally refer to Neo as "My own personal Jesus Christ"...wow...that is without a doubt the worst symbolism I've ever seen, when you genuinely refer to your leather wearing, kung fu fighting, computer geek as Jesus Christ...are-you-fucking-kidding-me?
And being honest, I never understood why movies need to keep putting the Jesus Metaphor in, and why audiences keep on making that comparison. It's such a vague metaphor that it really doesn't have a place in the entertainment industry or be classed as a metaphor, if that's how metaphors work then can I compare Star Wars to Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Because they both use swords and have white people in it? Or how about comparing Uncharted 3 to L'Age Dor because they both take place in France and have a romance. Hey if the Jesus Metaphor can be so vague then why can't I!? Also, no offense to Christians out there...well...a little offense. But Jesus wishes he was as cool as Superman or Robocop. I don't know about you but I'd rather be Kal-El or Officer Murphy over Jesus any day of the week.
-Danny
Now look, this isn't the first time that Superman has been portrayed as a Jesus metaphor, I mean he's a man who fell from the heavens and and became the saviour of our planet, the dude has a lot of Jesus goin' for him. But the reason why I never saw the two like that is because apart from that very vague backstory, the two are nothing alike. Superman came from an alien planet that blew up so his parents sent him here where he flies, shoots lasers and beats up bad guys, I don't remember Jesus ever doing that. I've never actually read the bible but I'm just taking a guess.
The same with other characters like Robocop, Anakin or even E.T. Yes, E.T. is a Jesus Metaphor, fell from the heavens, heals the wounded, dies for our mistakes just to be reborn, the dude is one big Jesus Metaphor. Are the two similar in any detailed manor? Absolutely not, Jesus wishes he was like E.T.
However, there is one fairly famous Jesus Metaphor out there that has always bugged me, just for being the least subtle Jesus Metaphor there is, and that would be: Neo.
And being honest, I never understood why movies need to keep putting the Jesus Metaphor in, and why audiences keep on making that comparison. It's such a vague metaphor that it really doesn't have a place in the entertainment industry or be classed as a metaphor, if that's how metaphors work then can I compare Star Wars to Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Because they both use swords and have white people in it? Or how about comparing Uncharted 3 to L'Age Dor because they both take place in France and have a romance. Hey if the Jesus Metaphor can be so vague then why can't I!? Also, no offense to Christians out there...well...a little offense. But Jesus wishes he was as cool as Superman or Robocop. I don't know about you but I'd rather be Kal-El or Officer Murphy over Jesus any day of the week.
-Danny
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