I saw the movie. A popular movie, I was among those looking forward to it coming to the family theater near me, where tickets are $2 for anyone, and refills on popcorn and soda are free. So, yes, I waited to see it until this weekend, although it was first released in June.
The story was of a father who sent his only son to earth, because the people of earth needed someone to bring them the light. Ah, yes, you saw that movie, too, you say?
So I'm three months late getting in on the the discussion that followed. At least, I think there might have been a discussion, maybe even a controversy, or even a healthy debate. Maybe not a debate... religion is at best difficult to debate. In fact, the discussion may be over, history. I don't even know. Like I said, I didn't have a clue what it would be about. Another Superman movie. But I had seen the previous movies, the prequels, I suppose you would call them.
Yeah, even as we watched the first few minutes, when the words of Jor-El speak of his only son, of sending him to earth, there is no doubt of the biblical connection the producers, directors, and writers are making. Even my husband leaned over and said, "The Christian people are not going to like that statement!"
"Oh, I think they will," I smiled.
Yes, the movie is sprinkled heavily with Christian symbolism, from the obvious ones of Superman's outstretched arms as he floats above our planet, or when he lifts the asteroid-sized black rock of evil and sin from the ocean and casts it out into space, to the more subtle ones as when Lex Luthor's accomplice and whore-like girlfriend cries when she sees LL's henchmen beat Superman nearly to death because he has been disabled by the krypton embedded within the black ocean fortress. Action, dialogue, and plot all lend themselves to reminders of the story of Christ.
Lois Lane is about to receive the Pulitzer Prize for writing an article, Why the World Doesn't Need Superman. What she is really saying, if you read between the lines, is the world doesn't need a savior. Confronted with his return, he carries her out for an evening flight and tells her, as they gaze upon the view below the clouds, "Yet, I hear them crying out for one every night."
Jesus. Hearing our prayers!
I don't find this activity of looking for Christ symbols in our stories and movies as a negative concept, nor is it a new one.
Many of my favorite stories resemble or retell the story of Christ. Most recently, and more well accepted in this motif is the story of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Aslan the king lion is led to an altar and killed, and he walks to his death peacefully and willingly, like a lamb. Jesus was led to his crucifixion in much the same way. "He fought like a lamb," are the lyrics of Roar sung by Ray Boltz.
I'mnot going to rewrite here what has already been written. A search of Christian symbolism in Superman movies results in articles too numerous to read. The Journal of Religion and Film published an article, Superman as Christ-Figure: The American Pop Culture Movie Messiah, about just this topic.
When we watch a movie or read a book, and the hero of the story gives up his life for the world, or for one single person, we remember Jesus dying on the cross. When the hero is kind to others, supports the weak, provides for the poor, and battles against injustice, we think of Jesus healing the sick, curing the crippled, and giving hope to those enslaved. And when the hero is rejected because he is misunderstood, and beaten, and killed, we also think of Jesus who was betrayed and led to be tortured and humiliated on a hill of rocks. There's no way we can hear new stories like this and not think of the one story that changed our lives first.
I say we and our ... I know not everyone sees these things the way I do. I didn't see them before, either. But I see them now, and that is part of who I am, now.
So yes, when I watched Superman Returns this weekend, I did notice the symbolism, and found it delightful that even today, we can tell a story and make it one that people want to hear again and again. That's how I see the story of Jesus, and I want to hear it over and over again. I like telling it to anyone who wants to know.
Not everyone wants to know, though. They would much rather hear the stories of Superman, Batman, or the X-Men. I love super-heroes, how they live dual lives, how they are called to save the world, how they grew up unaware of their true nature, only to discover a supernatural strength and power within themselves as they matured. The world, indeed, needs a superhero. A real one.
Jesus isn't a mythical fantasy played out on the movie screen. He had a turning point in his life too, and when he could have walked away from the suffering and dying part, he chose to go through with it. For the world. For us. Would we ever understand?
How could we?
For starters, there's the New Testament.
Photos of Superman by Matthew Workman found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/hexane/sets/72157594198821625/
