Theological Meanings and Imagery in Man of Steel
Man of Steel offers many theological meanings and imagery to the life of Jesus Christ and the Bible. The character of Superman depicts a Christ like figure, but there are other things in the movie that have a theological perspective and shows aspects of Christ’s life here on this earth and His entire backstory. Superman will always contain the messiah myths told by Christians. Many good stories are written with the use of myths and cultures and religions. Some writers do this to give an idea for viewers to ponder on, while other writers use it for emotional attachment. Some of the best characters in the history of fiction are based off of myths, folklore and religion. This paper will discuss the details of the “Christ” figure, his symbolism, and his origin. It will also discuss the topic of faith that comes up in the film and the symbolism of hope.
The thing about the character is that he is a man who is also super and has these powers. As someone who is not of this earth, Kal-El has to try and fit in as a human. The beginning of the film shows the intergalactic backstory of Kal-El’s birth on the doomed and imploding planet of Krypton. Kal is born with the last name of El, which in Hebrew means God. His father, Jor-El, opposes the beliefs and tyranny of General Zod. Going against the planet’s genetics program, he and his wife, Lara, have Kal-El naturally and, to save the newborn, they send him to Earth. Lara worries that her son will be “an outcast, a freak,” but Jor-El says that “he’ll be a god to them.” When you put the origin into biblical terms, you can pick some things out that are in the Bible. For instance, you can see that General Zod is the equivalent to King Herod. He w...
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... Christian group. This movie is a perfect example of the origins of Christ in a non biblical form. Clark had his “heavenly” father and his earthly father and mother. They helped guide him and made him the man he grew up to be. But what I found most interesting was the resemblance of the emblem. The imagery that is in it is very distinguished. I loved what Skelton said the triangular shield, which has Superman’s S-shaped family crest. The “S” on his planet stands for hope. Jesus brings life and hope. Historically, a triangle is the symbol for the Trinity, the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. The triangle used on Superman’s costume points down signifying God’s relationship with man and the gift of His only son to mankind. Superman is a fictional character that has many aspects of a man who in fact is real. We have a Superman in real life and his name is Jesus Christ.
In Joseph Campbell’s book, The Hero With A Thousand Faces, he talks about the “Monomyth,” otherwise better known as, the “Hero’s Journey”. This is the major theme throughout this book as well as the majority of Joseph Campbell’s studies. Campbell’s idea of the hero’s journey can be seen in many books, movies, television series, etc. That is an idea I will discuss at a later date. For this paper I would like to discuss and explain the hero’s journey, as well as give my opinions on the idea. This is a very interesting and eye opening idea that Campbell has presented us with and has made The Hero With A Thousand Faces one of the most important books of the past one hundred years.
Christianity and Judaism are major world religions which, though they worship the same God, have marked differences which have caused two thousand years of strife and animosity between the two religions. In his book We Jews and Jesus, Samuel Sandmel likens the link between Judaism and Christianity to a type of parent-child relationship, saying, “Early Christianity was a Judaism; within a century after the death of Jesus it was a separate religion. It was critical of its parent, and hostile to it, and elicited from its parent reciprocal criticism and hostility.”1 Opposing views of Jesus Christ caused the initial rift between Judaism and Christianity and is the primary source of the tension between the two religions which has continued for the last two millennia. Therefore, in order to understand how Judaism and Christianity relate to one another, it is essential to understand the way Jesus is perceived in each religion. The way that Christians view Jesus is quite well known, but Judaism’s view of him is much lesser known, so it is important to explore Judaism’s perceptions of Jesus, beginning with New Testament times, and to examine the ways in which these feelings and opinions have changed over time.
Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) believed it was ‘natural for a “master race” of conquerors to have a mythology based on the “master morality” – in which the strong and powerful deserve to be victorious. Inversely, it was also natural for a “slave race” to have a mythology based on the “slave morality” – in which the meek shall inherit the earth.” (Indick, 2004, p.197). The all powerful, infallible ‘Superman’ hero, named ubermensch, is still present in modern stories, in super hero films for example. However, children are hardly ever in charge, and have to answer to their parents, teachers and other authority figures within society, so it seems unlikely they will relate to the ‘master morality’ of the ubermensch, as they often lack power and authority within their own society. Therefore, the underdog hero, or ‘untermensch’ is of a greater appeal to children, especially when these characters are victorious against powerful adult characters as the story progresses.
The heroic archetype is a creative expression borne of the individual's desire to know and to understand the uncontrollable and often chaotic world in which he lives. In the popular culture of America we can find many reflections of the heroic figure; in writing, in the graphic art of comic books, and most certainly in the aftermath of September 11th, heroes are ever present. Our cultural champions speak to our collective need to make sense of the nonsensical and to establish order in both our external and internal worlds. Indeed it is through the internal world of the psyche and the lens of psychological thought that we may gain a better perspective of the fusion of creativity and knowledge that we have come to call the heroic figure.
Wright, N. T. Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters. New York: HarperOne, 2011. Print.
Overall, O’Connor use of religious symbols as a literary device has conveyed the message to readers of Christianity and God’s grace. Critics have viewed her work as possessing thought-provoking and deep messages. It is clear that O’Connor attempted to accommodate readers of Christian faith and non-Christian faiths buy painting a picture in a way that most everyone could understand. Her lack of secular censoring in her work along with the vivid characters has helped give new points of view on grace, crime and religion.
Al Pacino and William Shakespeare both utilized their texts to illustrate cultural agendas and present varying interpretations of the same story. The analysis of this pair of texts served to heighten our understanding of the values and contexts of the texts and the commonalities between them. Whereas Shakespeare’s audience placed great significant value on religion and divine retribution, Pacino’s audience have independence placed on the individual rather than God. Finally, the contextual comparison of the texts furthers our understanding of the values portrayed in two different zeitgeists.
In Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling, the concept of the Knight of Faith is an exalted one, a unique title awarded to those whose devotion to God goes far beyond what is even comprehensible or expected for the average man, who has an aesthetic or ethical life. We are told by Kierkegaard that this Knight of Faith, when in a situation where resignation appears to be the only solution to a problem, puts his faith in what appears to be the absurd, and believes that the solution that he desires lies in God. This fuels his faith, and makes him better than the aesthetic man, who simply abandons or ignores the problem, or the ethical man, the Knight of Infinite Resignation, who accepts the problem and resigns himself to a life of despair. The Knight of Faith exists as a shining beacon of devotion to the will of God, and, according to Kierkegaard, there exist only two known examples of the Knight of Faith: Abraham, and Mary. These exemplary figures in history put their faith in God, and believed that God would provide a solution to their problems. This unconditional faith in their creator is supposed to be inspirational, and in a sense, make the reader feel incredibly pitiful and resentful of their own wavering faith. In the following paragraphs, I aim to argue that a moment of absolute faithlessness can prove to be just as powerful as a moment of pure faith, and that Mary and Abraham serve as God-given examples of an absolute faith that is inaccessible to all but a few humans who serve very specific purposes in this world. Finally, I will propose a different mode of existence, one in which a man’s free will allows him to find joy in whatever God provides for him.
Biblical references are a technique used in literature by authors to alter readers perceptions. The readers beliefs are challenged by using biblical references in literature. In “The Gospel According to Mark” by Jorge Luis Borges, Borges uses many biblical references to give readers a different view of the main character. With the biblical references being used in “The Gospel According to Mark”, readers are able to portray the main character, Baltasar Espinosa as a Christ-like person. Borges’ use of biblical references is important because it allows him to challenge the reader’s religious beliefs.
The presentation of Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson’ The Passion of the Christ, while certainly dramatized, largely stays faithful to the presentation of Jesus in the canonical Gospels. The majority of the differences between this film and the Gospels can be considered creative choices that do not substantially change the narrative, making this film by and large an accurate representation of the scenes in the Bible. However, its near-exclusive focus on Jesus’ trial and death omits much of the context and significance of this event in the life and teachings of Jesus and his greater mission of the salvation of humanity.
Since the days of mythological origin to the origin of pop culture, various mythological stories have been adopted and presented to newer generations. Some of these presented adaptations of mythological stories have significantly been modified in order to be deemed entertaining by audiences in a pop culture generation. Thus, my study will seek to compare mythological hero's during their time to how they have been depicted in modern day. Moreover, my study will analyze the similarities and differences between the Greek hero Heracles and his replica character, Hercules, depicted in Disney's adaptation of this myth. Although there are few similarities between the two versions, the differences between Heracles and Disney's Hercules are prominent. These differences help modern day audiences relate more easily to the characters in the story. Furthermore, the alterations have enabled a new aspect of heroism to emerge since Disney tailors it's movies towards youth who can seek valuable lessons from animated movies. Disney's choices through these alterations will be determined by focusing on the main plot, characters presented in the movie, peripheral details, and the notion of being a "true hero" that Disney presents.
From the beginning of time, mythology has appeared to be one key method of understanding life’s confusions and battles. Within these myths lies a hero. From myth to myth and story to story, heroes experience what may be called a struggle or a journey, which lays down their plot line. Bearing tremendous strength, talent, and significant admiration, a hero holds what is precious to their audience, heroism. Over time however, no matter the hero, the hero’s role remains indistinguishable and identical to the position of every other hero.
There are many biblical characters that are portrayed in popular culture through visual texts. Popular culture is the way that is most popular and implemented by mass audiences and gives insight into the ways and behaviors of contemporary society (Lynch, 2005). Jesus is described before his death in the Last Supper through America’s favorite television show, The Family Guy. Another film that depicts a segment of Jesus’s life such as his crucifixion and death is demonstrated through Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ. Moses, another character that is depicted through a children’s film the Prince of Egypt, shows his heroic deeds by redeeming the people of Israel. These different depictions show how societies interpret biblical text and demonstrate that as new generations come about, perceptions of the biblical text is continually changing
Thury, Eva and Margaret K. Devinney. “Theory: Man and His Symbols.” Introduction to Mythology: Contemporary Approaches to Classical and World Myths. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. 519-537. Print.