“Faster than a speeding bullet, stronger than a locomotive, jumps tall buildings in a single bound.” Superman is known throughout the world for being the savior of a city called Metropolis. In every comic book, movie, or action figure ever presented to the public, Superman is a handsome, strong man who can defeat all odds at all times. The movie Superman was a success, showing how the superhero saved lives and yet lived a humble life. As one watches the movie, though, he might notice the many similarities between the plot of the movie and the story of Christ’s coming. Superman, savior of the city Metropolis, mirrors the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.
Throughout the movie Superman, the names and the actions of the characters were similar to those of the Holy Bible. Two of the major name references to the biblical version deal with Superman (Kah-lel) and his father, Jor-el. In the Greek language, the name Jor-el means “God,” while the name Kah-lel means “Little God.” Another instance where the name game is played is in the case of Superman’s parents, Martha and John. It does not seem as if there is any other way to make these names be closer to Mary and Joseph, who are the parents of Christ. Zod and Ursula are two other characters present in the movie whose names may not be similar to those in the Bible, but represent the devil and all that is considered evil. These are some of the examples of how the use of names plays an important role in linking Superman the movie to th...
Films from the 1950s were largely science fiction, The Day the Earth Stood Still is one of those films. The movie focuses on an alien named Klaatu that comes to Earth with an important message, that will affect all of humanity. After watching this film it’s common for those with a small background in Christian beliefs to see the references to Jesus Christ throughout the film. During this period, most Americans believed in the religion of Christianity and its views, which made it easy for the predisposed comparisons to Klaatu and Christ easy for people to see. As presented in the article by Krin Gabbard, it can be easy to conclude that Klaatu from The Day Earth Stood Still is an indirect allegory to the Christian figure, Jesus Christ. Through the films multiple signs and clues, such as Klaatu
Society favors the outlaw hero because we relate with that character more. We see ourselves more so in the outlaw hero than in the official hero. The outlaw hero has the child like talents that most of us wish we had as adults. To civilians it may seem that the outlaw hero lives more of a fantasy life that we all wish to have. Superman’s image has remained unchanged over the years. A blue suit accompanied by boots, a belt and cape have always been the Superman style, along with the Superman emblem on his chest. Superman’s real name is Kal-El, a descendant of the Kryptonian family of the house of El, with his father known as Jor-El and mother Lara. Krypton was discovered to be in the last seconds of life due to the coming supernova of its sun by Kal-El’s father. The other members of Krypton did not believe Jor-El could not tell others of his answers and examinations. Jor-El promised that neither he nor his wife would leave and with every last possible choice eliminated, Jor-El would send his newborn son to the planet Earth. Kal-El then crash landed into the care of Jonathan and Martha Kent, two farmers in Kansas. He then adopted the Kent family name,...
Everyone has a favorite superhero, it might be a hero who hides himself behind a mask and no one can see who he really is, or a hero in iron suit who saves the world from weapons that he created. Ironman and Batman have some similarities, both of them fight the villains to protect their people and their cities. They both don’t have superpowers and they use technologies and weapons to build their suits. Ironman and Batman also have many differences between them, Ironman is a hero while Batman is consider a dark hero since everyone in Gotham City was afraid of Batman.
An essay “Man and Superman: In athletic competitions, what qualifies as a sporting chance?” by Malcolm Gladwell is attempted to answer an issue “Do genetic advantages make sports unfair?” The essay contains two arguments: human biological diversity makes sports unfair, and, consequently, as human attempts to equalise all the players as considered a moral obligation, the sports industry has no problem with athletes’ self-transformation while doping athletes is prohibited which, in his opinion, they should be justified just like those self-transformations. Gladwell also criticises the sports industry who is actually a culprit of this fairness, they try to level the playing by measuring that no one has an advantage over others but the consequence is a catalyst of science intervention.
The mythology of Superman is a paradigm that embodies the cultural reality of the era; constructed around an archetype of ideology, fantasies of human spiritual ambiguity, a religious messiah, and a semiotic representation of modernity. In further study, Superman can be identified to have specifically changed to adhere to American culture in three distinctive periods; midst the Great Depression and WWII, post WWII and finally the socially progressive change of the Vietnam period. In each chapter Superman was re-imagined to meet the definition of the period, a tool of propaganda over that of entertainment. Currently, America is entering a new phase of cultural shift, and thus Superman will be redefined to represent the ideologies of truth, justice, and the American way of that required era. Yet, the mere surface mythology of Superman has applications to cultural ideologies, questions of human freedom, dreams in a Freudian nature, and the complex relation of fantasy and reality which required introduction before in-depth research.
Essay: The Bible says Jesus of Nazareth was a teacher who used miracles to help people. In reality he was a wandering man whose simple tricks and healing remedies were mistaken for miracles. He wandered Judea preaching about the validity of the jewish laws. This gained him a large following. Roman officials caught wind of this and were scared of an uprising. So they had him executed; however this had the opposite effect. The jewish sect that followed Jesus was pacified for some time but emerged again as Christianity, with a larger following than before. Eventually, and ironically, it ended up surviving the Roman Empire.
In his essay “Superman and Me”, Sherman Alexie details how he rose above the limits placed upon him because of his ethnicity. Alexie begins the essay by opening up to his audience and recounting how he taught himself to read by using a Superman comic book. Alexie’s family was living paycheck to paycheck, so he began reading anything and everything that he could get his hands on. The purpose of Alexie’s “Superman and Me” is to inform the audience of how one does not need to be affluent to learn. With pathos, repetition, and elaborate metaphors, Sherman Alexie evokes a change of mind from his audience.
Wright, N. T. Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters. New York: HarperOne, 2011. Print.
An ordinary person cannot relate to having superhuman abilities. Although Barton’s Jesus was portrayed to be greater than he was portrayed in the Bible, most people would be able to relate more to the Bible version of Jesus. Barton took Jesus and made him into an even greater character. The Jesus in Barton’s book is a very strong and muscular man who can use his words to influence anyone. ...
Jesus Christ Superstar, while meant to be strictly musical entertainment, has stirred up much controversy for various subtle and blatant attacks at the Jews. The film’s focus on the final week of Jesus’ life emphasizes the role of the Jews in his ultimate crucifixion and fails to portray the positive effects Judaism had on Jesus during his initial preaching. The film portrays the Jews responsibility for Jesus’ crucifixion and the Jewish priests’ manipulation of Judas into turning Jesus into them. Though the title suggests that Jesus is the superstar, the film suggests otherwise, that it is the Jews who are the true star of the show.
The image of Jesus nailed to a wooden cross by the palms of his hands and with a crown of thorns wrapped around his head is one that has transcended all time barriers. It has inclusive been replicated into figure form that is utilized in various ways but whose primary function is to serve as a constant reminder of the physical suffering endured by Jesus. In The Dream of the Rood however, the perception of Jesus Christ as not only the son of God and savior of mankind but also as a human with the capacity to feel pain, is subverted when through the perspective of a personified cross he is conveyed as a warrior in the midst of combat. The portrayal of Jesus in this way immediately evokes the image of an ideal stereotypical hero who is strong, courageous, and unrelenting in appearance. Nevertheless, it can be said that this type of hero is more inclined towards fantasy than it is based on reality because these idealized heroic figures have only ever truly existed in a fictional universe. The depiction of Jesus as a warrior thus, undermines forms of heroism that stem from explicit suffering that is not concealed but rather expressed by the individual.
Whenever one thinks of Christianity and the Christian church, one cannot avoid Jesus Christ. This is understandable because, for without Jesus, Christianity would not exist; Christianity is based on Jesus. Jesus has become so well associated with Christianity that it is assumed and widely accepted that Jesus was a Christian. Followers of Christianity often use the reference “being Christ-like” as a model for ideal human behavior (meaning to use the life of Jesus as a blueprint).
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.
The influence of Jesus of Nazareth, the man, was enormous in his lifetime two millenniums ago, but even more incredible is how his influence has increased today as a member of Christianity's Holy Trinity. Nearly two billion of the world's people worship Jesus as the Son of God today, and even more participate in the mission he began of giving oneself through service to others.
be. With his courageous efforts to save people in need, Superman has instilled one view of