Oh, My Pop Culture Jesus: Jesus in Musicals

The story of Jesus has been called “The greatest story ever told” and he has had a larger impact on the course of Western history than almost any other historical figure, so it’s no surprise that his story has been the subject of musicalization multiple times. The Passion narrative (Jesus’ suffering and death) and the events leading up to it tell a tale of love, personal growth, betrayal, and political unrest to name just a few. These themes lend themselves readily to musical narrative and can be emphasized or downplayed, depending on the creative team’s personal views on what’s important in the story and/or what’s important to the culture in which the piece is created. The three musicals I’m going to look at today are Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell, and !Hero. Since this is an “Oh, My Pop Culture Jesus” post and not a “Theatre Thursday” I will be discussing their religious themes rather than critiquing the shows themselves as is my usual game.

One of the first stage musicals I ever saw as a kid was a high school production of Jesus Christ Superstar and I loved it so much. I mean, I loved Jesus and though I hadn’t consciously defined myself as a musical fan yet, I always loved musicals so the combination of the two was magic for me. Even though many of the show’s themes went over my head, two ideas from my two favorite songs (at the time) stuck with me long after the show ended: “Let the world turn without you tonight” from Mary Magdalene’s “Everything’s Alright” and “Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, who are you? What have you sacrificed?” from the show’s title number. Both lines are directed to Jesus and both indicate this show’s overall portrayal of him: a good man, but a man only.

According to Christian tradition, Jesus is more than a man; he is the Son of God and to varying degrees from religion to religion his divinity is emphasized. In Jesus Christ Superstar, however, his humanity is emphasized to the point of ignoring his divinity. One of the things composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has said of his creation is that he was interested in the idea of Jesus as a “superstar”; what was it like for him to be the equivalent of what we would now call a media sensation? This was his driving force for creating the musical, taking a new approach to a very well-known tale. He was not trying to make a religious education piece and so the specific matters of faith, such as Jesus’ divinity, are left out of the piece and it’s up to the audience to fill in the gaps with his or her own beliefs. I appreciate the humanization of Christ; that’s the main reason those two lines I mentioned earlier stuck with me for so long. It’s easy to imagine Jesus as a character in a story, so it’s important to remember that he was also a living, breathing person with thoughts and emotions just like anyone else.

Godspell, a musical by Stephen Schwartz, carries the description “A musical adaptation of the Gospel according to St. Matthew” which, if I am remembering correctly, is the gospel which was meant to reach out to Gentiles and spread the word of Jesus beyond Jewish communities. Like Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell takes a very new and potentially challenging view on Jesus and his story. In this musical, Jesus is represented as a theatrical clown which, according to the show’s souvenir program, is meant to make him more likable, approachable. As a clown, Jesus is friendly, fun, and someone we want to follow. (I personally disagree and find clowns repugnant, but that’s neither here nor there, I suppose.) This Jesus is friendlier than the one in Jesus Christ Superstar, but there is a similar emphasis on his humanity eclipsing his divinity.

In Godspell Jesus is compared to philosophers more so than religious figures and he and his friends mostly hang around philosophizing and sharing stories. Eventually, the Passion narrative emerges and is handled quite nicely, but it isn’t the focus of the story. This musical shows Jesus as someone we should remember for his ideas and not his death which has its merits. Yes, Jesus’ sacrifice is central to Christians, but it’s important to remember that there is more to his story than just his suffering and death.

The third and final musical I’m going to talk about is quite different than the previous two. Not only was it produced considerably later (2003, according to the CD I have, while the above musicals came out in the early 70’s) but its intended audience is quite different. While Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell were written for general audiences as part of commercial musical theatre, !Hero, near as I can tell, was written for Christians by Christians which comes with its own problems.

!Hero is set in modern times, but in a world where Jesus was never born, meaning that Christianity doesn’t exist and the world is still waiting for the Messiah. In comes Jesus, known to most as simply “Hero”, to work his miracles, teach his lessons, and eventually die for the salvation of his followers. There are some similarities to Jesus Christ Superstar in the way Jesus is shown to be a media sensation, but what this show does that neither of the previous two did is emphasize Jesus’ divinity. We see this Jesus perform miracles and teach his followers not just to be nice to people, but to pray and follow the Word of God. This musical also includes the exchange between Jesus and the disciples of “Who do the people say I am? Who do you say I am?” to which Petrov (Peter) responds “I think you’re the Son of God”. Like the others though, this show still does try to make Jesus human and relatable as well, although perhaps not as likable as Godspell does. Hero, for example, seems to be very dismissive of Jude (Judas) in most of their interactions which seems to be an attempt to vilify Judas, whereas Godspell and especially Jesus Christ Superstar try to humanize him as well.

What really sets this story apart from the other musical adaptations of Jesus’ life is that it’s really about Jesus, front and center, all the way through. Jesus Christ Superstar is almost more about Judas, who is as important if not more so than Jesus in the show’s narrative; Godspell is kind of like “Jesus ‘n’ Pals”; but !Hero, as you can probably guess from the title, is all about Jesus, and unlike the other two, it includes his resurrection after his death. This is also a weakness of the show, however.

Because it seems to have been written with Christians in mind, Jesus is much less real than in Godspell or Jesus Christ Superstar and his importance to society is perhaps over-emphasized. The world in which Hero is born is broken; there is no religion in existence save for a single synagogue in New York City, and an ominous group known as I.C.O.N. rules the world. While I do believe Jesus’ existence and teachings have shaped much of the world, I don’t believe that his removal from history would cause the downfall of religion as this show would have us believe.

From the perspective of a person of faith, !Hero tells the most complete story of Christ, though, and gives the most credence to its source. I really don’t think that a story of Jesus ought to end with the crucifixion as Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell do, because Jesus’ story didn’t end there. Whether you believe in the Resurrection or not, Jesus’ impact lasted far beyond his crucifixion and I feel that Jesus Christ Superstar tends to leave the implication that Jesus’ teachings died with him. Godspell does a little more for his legacy as the final number proclaims “Long live God/Prepare ye the way of the Lord” indicating that the message goes on. If you’re looking for a full representation of Jesus as fully divine and fully man, however, you’re going to want to check out !Hero.

I think that all three of these musicals offer food for thought and have worthwhile depictions of Jesus. There’s something to be learned from each of them and I enjoy them all. If you know of any other musicalizations of Jesus’s story, please let me know in the comments! I know there are some lesser known shows that I’ve seen locally but these are the only three I know of which have been widely produced.

Oh, My Pop Culture Jesus: It’s Easter

I know last week I said that I would be talking about the antichrist in pop culture this week, but I greatly miscalculated my calendar and did not realize that post would fall on Easter. While I am not a superstitious person, it seems disrespectful to talk about the antichrist on the day meant to celebrate Christ’s victory over evil.

So for now, Happy Easter from all of us here at Lady Geek Girl and Friends!

See you next week when I will discuss the antichrist in pop culture!

Tune in next time and find some religion!

 

Oh, My Pop Culture Jesus: O Death!

Do I really need to explain why death is important to religion? Life, death, and the afterlife are key parts of any religion. That mysterious force that is death has perplexed humanity for… well, ever. Why do some people die while others live? And what part does God have in it all? Well, let’s look at my three favorite examples of Death as he/she is often personified in pop culture.

Check out the first appearance of Supernatural’s Death.

Man, doesn’t that video just give you chills.

The portrayal of Death in Supernatural is one of my favorites. Despite looking completely normal, if a bit skeletal, Death is clearly a wholly other being of great power. When Dean Winchester first meets Death it becomes very clear fighting Death will not be plausible. That becomes even more obvious when Dean actually talks to Death. Death describes how he is so powerful that to him Dean appears like nothing more than an ameba and even describes Lucifer, arguably one of the most powerful angels in exist as “a bratty child.” But Death’s power becomes even more obvious when he talks about God. He describes himself as being as old as God, maybe even older. He furthermore explains how in the end even God will die and he’ll reap God. And though it’s never shown in the TV series, it is implied that Death talks to God and knows where God is—God has been notably absent in the show. Death, like God, sees the big picture and understands how the world works. Because of his power and his ability to understand seemingly everything, Death appears as this indifferent larger-than-life figure.

Death spares Chicago because he likes the pizza, he pulls Sam’s soul from hell, but refuses to do the same for Adam, and seems to only do this because he wants something from Dean. The only person that Death seems particularly fond is actually God. When Dean, Sam, and Bobby bind Death to them in order to kill Castiel, who proclaimed himself god, Death doesn’t understand that they want him to kill the Castiel god and thinks that they want him to kill the God. Death tries to stall. He lies and says that he can’t, and when Castiel shows up calling himself god Death makes fun of him, calling him a “mutated angel” and says, “I know God, and you sir, are no God.”

I think the Death of Supernatural is portrayed as he is because he is based on humanity’s own feelings about death. Death is the awe-inspiring, impartial, unfeeling force in the universe, but for those of us with some spirituality we also have a sense that Death is part of something greater and more important. In this respect, Death in Supernatural is portrayed extremely well.

Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

I’m not ashamed to say that Good Omens is perhaps my all-time favorite novels with one of my all-time favorite portrayals of Death, or I guess for these purposes we should call him DEATH. In this portrayal, DEATH is not impartial. DEATH is excited for the end of the world. It is described by him and the other horseman as waiting for Christmas or your birthday. At the end of the novel, the antichrist Adam faces down DEATH because he doesn’t want the world to end. DEATH wants the world to end and tries to convince Adam to follow along with his nature, but when Adam and his friends defeat the other horseman, DEATH grudgingly concedes that the apocalypse cannot continue, but makes of point of saying that he is not defeated.

BUT I, he said, AM NOT LIKE THEM. I AM AZRAEL, CREATED TO BE CREATION’S SHADOW. YOU CANNOT DESTROY ME. THAT WOULD DESTROY THE WORLD.

The heat of their stare faded. Adam scratched his nose.

“Oh, I don’t know,” he said. “There might be a way.” He grinned back.

DEATH himself cannot be defeated and even the other horsemen seem to continue to exist in some form, but Adam implies that perhaps there is a way. I think this might be implying the idea that Christ defeats it in the act of his crucifixion and resurrection, or even the obvious fact that if DEATH does go through with the apocalypse there will either be Hell on earth or Heaven on earth, meaning that DEATH would no longer need to exist. In enacting the apocalypse, DEATH would actually be killing himself.

Neil Gaiman apparently owns my soul because he has another portrayal of Death that is my absolute favorite. Death in the Sandman Comics is very different for several reasons. First, unlike most portrayals of Death, this Death is a woman, shown as being a young attractive goth chick. She is also very different in the way that she functions. This Death is not distant, impartial, uncaring; she is invested in the world. She adds the spark of life to all babies when they are born and remembers them all, calling them by name when they die. She enjoys life and enjoys humanity and the many other creatures that inhabit the Sandman universe. She is often seen giving advice to her brother Dream and genuinely seems to care about everyone.

This Death is clearly a benevolent and caring one who understands the importance of Death, while understanding the fear and misunderstanding of Death that comes from those finite beings that can’t see the larger picture.

I hope all this talk about Death hasn’t depressed anyone. Personally, I find it extremely hopeful. This makes me think that though we humans fear our own death, we fear the death of everything just as much, while at the same time many people long for the end of days. Weird, right?

Next time on Oh, My Pop Culture Jesus: The End is Here

Tune in next time and find some religion!

 

Oh, My Pop Culture Jesus: Christ Figures

Believe it or not Jesus often comes to save many of your favorite geek characters. I have to assume at this point that Jesus was and still is a bit of nerd, because he seems to be featured much more often in nerd movies, books, TV shows, etc. Either that or nearly every nerd is a Christian, or maybe it’s because the Christ figure story is very compelling.

The story, for those of you who don’t know it, usually goes something like this, special baby is born, special baby grows up and faces horrible trials, dies selflessly to save everyone from whatever horrible thing they are facing, and then is resurrected and defeats evil for good.

Usually, there are other indicators denoting a Christ figure as well, such as some kind of Trinitarian aspect to the character, a descent into the literal or figural hell, and usually some connection to royalty or a very powerful father figure.

So let’s talk about some of my favorite Christ figures.

I know you’re all thinking it, so I’ll start with the first and most popular Christ figure.

“Because I’m Jesus.”

Aslan, from C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, I sometimes feel is less a Christ figure and simply Christ, but that’s just me being silly. Basically if Jesus isn’t actually in your book, then whoever stands in for him is a Christ figure, and Aslan is one of the best. Chronicles of Narnia is an allegory; that’s what C.S. Lewis meant it to be, so Aslan is literally Jesus. He is the king of Narnia (meaning Everything), he selflessly sacrifices himself for Edmund (humanity), is tortured and killed for it, then rises from the dead to defeat the White Witch (Satan/evil). Furthermore, it is clear that Aslan has always existed, the same as Christ: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (Jn.1:1)” Aslan describes something similar to the Witch in the movie saying, “Do not cite the Deep Magic to me, Witch. I was there when it was written.” There are so many parallels to be drawn between Aslan and Jesus, because C.S. Lewis intended it to be a pretty literal retelling of Christ’s story. Though the books have much to offer adults they were originally intended for children, and it shows. There is no way to confuse the message in Chronicles of Narnia, at least where Aslan is concerned.

J.R.R. Tolkien, a close friend of Lewis’s, wrote a little series that you may have heard of called The Lord of the Rings. If anyone has a market on Christ figures it’s Tolkien—he has a total of three Christ figures in one story. I should note here that Tolkien was very, very, very Catholic and it shows in his writing. Our three Christ figures in The Lord of the Rings are Frodo, Aragorn, and Gandalf. Gandalf is probably the most obvious, because he literally dies and is resurrected, and when he comes back he’s white, glowy, and impressive. Yeah, Tolkien pretty much hits you over the head with Gandalf, but I think he did that on purpose. The reader expects Gandalf to do something amazing and mystical because he is a wizard, so when Christ figure aspects start appearing with Frodo and Aragorn we’re pretty surprised, but it simply shows that grace/Christ/goodness can be found in the strangest of places. A ranger can be a king underneath, and a simple Hobbit can save the world.

Aragorn is a king that has been gone from his kingdom and is destined to return and bring harmony back to the land. If it sounds like the second coming of Christ, that’s because it’s supposed to. There is also a reference to a journey into hell when Aragorn journeys to find the Dead Men of Dunharrow.

Frodo is another Christ figure. He carries the ring to Mordor, which gets heavy throughout the journey. This parallels Christ carrying the sins of the world, as well as Christ carrying the cross to his crucifixion. The parallel between Christ and the cross and Frodo and the ring is made even more explicit by Sam helping to carry the ring and Frodo up to Mount Doom when the weight gets too heavy for him, in the same manner that Simon the Cyrenian helped Christ carry the cross. Frodo is also pierced in the side by the Witch-King on Weathertop, similar to Christ being stabbed with the spear while on the cross. Though Frodo does not literally die nor is reborn like Gandalf, he does appear to be dead when poisoned by Shelob and later wakes up in Mordor. And finally in the end Frodo goes to the Undying Lands (aka Heaven) with the elves, reflecting Christ’s bodily ascent into heaven.

The reason that I mentioned Tolkien being very Catholic is because these three characters combined show the three offices of Christ. This is something I believe I have seen other Christians talk about, but it seems more often emphasized by Catholics, but to any Protestant out there, feel free to correct me if this is untrue. The three offices of Christ are priest, prophet, and king, and these three characters represent that almost perfectly. Aragorn clearly fits the kingly role, while I would say Gandalf represents the prophet role by revealing truth to his companions, and finally Frodo by going through a similar trial of crucifixion symbolizes the priestly role.

Now if you’re sitting there reading this saying, “but Lady Geek Girl, none of these three figures seem to be perfect analogies for Christ.” Well, that’s because they aren’t. In fact Aslan is probably the only one on this list that fits nearly perfectly into the Christ role, again because Lewis was writing an allegory. Tolkien despised allegories, which is probably why he had three Christ figures instead of one. All three characters, Gandalf, Frodo, and Aragorn together, could make up a perfect Christ figure, but separately they do not because Tolkien did not want to do a strict allegory.

Okay, phew! That’s enough talk about Tolkien; let’s move on.

I always find it funny that so many Christian groups burned Harry Potter books and refused to let their kids read them because of the “evil witchcraft.” I further find it hilarious that everyone, even fans of Harry Potter, where shocked by the fact that Harry died to save everyone and then rose from the dead to finally defeat Voldemort. J.K. Rowling actually tried not to talk too much about the fact that she’s a Christian. In an interview with Max Wyman from the Vancouver Sun on October 26, 2000 when asked if she is a Christian, she said:

Yes, I am. Which seems to offend the religious right far worse than if I said I thought there was no God. Every time I’ve been asked if I believe in God, I’ve said yes, because I do, but no one ever really has gone any more deeply into it than that, and I have to say that does suit me, because if I talk too freely about that I think the intelligent reader, whether 10 or 60, will be able to guess what’s coming in the books.

I’ll admit, I didn’t see it coming. I thought that it would be appropriate if Harry died but I never thought she would actually kill him. But Harry of course is a Christ figure and rose again to fight another day. But Harry’s resurrection is actually not what makes me love Harry as a Christ figure. I love him because of all the Christ figures he comes closest to being a pacifist. Yes, Harry uses the Unforgivable curses in the books—again it’s not a perfect analogy—but after Harry rises from the dead he seems to have a more Christ-like perspective on things. For the first time he truly empathizes with Voldemort. When Harry fights him he already knows Voldemort’s wand won’t hurt him so Harry is pretty confident at this point, but I do think it’s important to note that Harry could have just killed Voldemort here, but he doesn’t. Voldemort kills himself in the books, because he can’t kill Harry once again and his own killing curse rebounds on him. Harry never kills him. He actually tries to appeal to Voldemort’s humanity. He calls him Tom and, yes, he does kind of mock his arrogance, but near the end of the battle Harry practically begs Voldemort to repent for what he’s done.

Harry Potter: “Yeah it did, you’re right. But before you try and kill me, I’d advise you to think about what you’ve done…. Think, and try for some remorse, Riddle….”

Voldemort: “What is this?”

Harry Potter: “It’s your one last chance, it’s all you’ve got left…. I’ve seen what you’ll be otherwise…. Be a man…. try…. Try for some remorse….”

This scene is amazing! How many other stories show something like this! Harry wants to save Voldemort. He wants him to be human again instead of the monster he has become. I always kind of wished that this would have worked, that Voldemort would have repented. To see that transformation would have been amazing, but alas it didn’t happen, but we still get a great Christ figure out of it.

Now let’s step away from British fantasy novels, which seem to hold the market on Christ figures, and move into some American comics.

Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird… it’s a plane… no, it’s… Jesus…. But seriously if you don’t think Superman is a Christ figure then you are not reading his comics or watching his movies right. I mean dearest Jor-El basically spells it out for us when talking about humanity.

They can be a great people, Kal-El, 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.

Jor-El here takes the form of God and seeing that humanity is good sends his only son to help guide them. This quote is repeated in Superman Returns, which continues the Christ figure narrative. When Lex Luthor creates a continent made out of Kryptonite that will wipe out a good portion of the United States, Superman selflessly sacrifices himself and nearly dies when he hurls the landmass into space. In the movie, he passes out while still in space and his body plummets to earth in a classic crucifixion pose.

Add to this Superman’s basic good moral compass and his unwillingness to kill and Jesus is pretty much spelled out for you. There is a reason Jesus wears a Superman shirt in the Godspell musical.

Superman, furthermore, in the comics and the movies, has his dual identity as Clark Kent and Superman, which people argue can be viewed as him being God and man at once. It’s not a perfect analogy, but I can see how it works. However DC Comics has in my opinion a much better Christ figure and analogy for this.

If you have read the graphic novel Kingdom Come, then you probably already know whom the next Christ figure is. The title alone should give you a clue at how heavily religious this graphic novel is. The story tells about the growing conflict between humans and the growing superhero population. Superman tries to mediate between the two groups but fails. In the end an all-out war between the heroes—those with and against Superman—happens, while the humans simultaneously decide to bomb where all the heroes are fighting. Someone has to stop the bomb and save the day, but this isn’t a job for Superman. It’s for Captain Marvel. Billy Batson is a boy magically given the gift to be the great Captain Marvel, but Billy and the Captain are the same person, but also separate. It’s hard to explain. Perhaps the easiest way to do so would be to say that he is God and man, two natures, together and distinct. Yep, just like Jesus and just like Billy. Superman could stop the bomb, but if he does the heroes will run rampant. If he doesn’t they die. Superman proclaims that he can’t choose because really Superman has never been a human person. He’s always a hero—a god.

But you, Billy… you’re both. More than anyone who ever existed, you know what it’s like to live in both worlds. Only you can weigh their worth equally.

In the end, Billy dies. Choosing to sacrifice himself so that both groups can live, and like Christ, by doing so he leaves behind an example to follow.

I asked him to choose between humans and superhumans. But he alone knew that was a false division and made the only choice that ever truly matters. He chose life in the hope that your world and our world could be one world once again.

Billy may be my favorite Christ figure because the message he leaves behind is so powerful and expressed so beautifully here. In the other stories the death and resurrection seem to have little effect on people. It works like magic and is used to defeat evil. Billy doesn’t rise from the dead but is arguably the better Christ figure because he chose life and he let that be his answer to Superman. His legacy is that we need to choose unity and life over death and destruction.

Christ, the real one, didn’t die on the cross for himself or even to defeat evil. He was leaving  an example, a legacy, to follow. And out of all the Christ figures I know of, Billy is the only one that comes closest to this.

“But wait,” you say, “this can’t be the end of the article. There are so many more Christ figures.” Yes, there are, and I would be happy to discuss these and others with you in the comments below.

You know I am kind of disappointed there are no women on this list. There are female characters kind of like this but they are less Christ-like and more… divine.

Next time on Oh, My Pop Culture Jesus: The Divine Feminine

Tune in next time and find some religion!