Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Jesus Goes to the Movies

The Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship (UUCF) Revival 2009 began on a stormy Thursday in Tulsa, OK. After flying through dark, angry clouds that were hurling lightning bolts and rain with equal ferocity, a safe landing drew my fervant prayers of gratitude. I think God wanted me to remember the opening scene.

I made my way to the Twilight Zone Cinema Room, an intimate movie theater on the lower floor of All Souls Unitarian Church and dropped into a series of film clips selected by Rev. Ron Robinson to show portrayals of Jesus through the years. From silent movies like "King of Kings" through talkies like "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (Charleton Heston as John the Baptist), Jesus is Brother Alien (thanks, Ron, for this phrase), a mystical pale ghost, brooding, intense, set apart. Light skin, light eyes (usually blue!), long medium brown hair and wearing a spotless, long white garment (how does he keep that clean?!). The retelling of his story is a mixture from all the Gospels and sticks closely to traditional Biblical interpretations. With only one or two exceptions, this other worldly image dominates the screen.

Until...

1973. Two films burst on the scene.

The first was "Godspell", a musical that opened off Broadway on May 17, 1971 and was translated to film in 1973. Riotous, joyous, shimmering with energy, the film is based on a series of parables lifted from the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus is a young man with a large afro, baggy pants with suspenders and sometimes dons the makeup of a clown. The music has many styles--vaudeville, rock, folk, pop--and lyrics not written by Stephen Schwartz were taken largely from the Episcopal hymnal. The setting is New York City and the cast plays an acting troupe.

The second was "Jesus Christ Superstar", a rock opera created by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice which was staged on Broadway in 1971 and hit the theaters the same year as "Godspell". In the film, the setting is modern Israel (the scenery is glorious) and the cast portrays a movie company going on location to make a movie about Jesus. Although Jesus is shown as being touched by Divinity, this Jesus is totally human--tender, angry, frustrated, questioning, prodding, loving, hurting. The rock music underlines the emotions and the lyrics, punctuated with modern language and idioms, mirror the Gospel stories.

After these two films, the doors are open for work such as Zefirelli's "Jesus of Nazareth", "The Last Temptation of Christ", "Jesus" (The Mini Series), "Color of the Cross" and "The Passion", working with a more human Jesus, new interpretations and attempting to bring historical authenticity to setting and context. But even with these portrayals, the storyline remains fairly traditional.

I was in high school when "Godspell" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" arrived. I have to admit the Brother Alien image of the past left me cold. The Jesus of these two movies roared into my blood like Spirit fire. I saw, no felt, through music and images that here was a Jesus to whom I could relate, who really did know what life on earth was like, who at times argued with God about His purpose for him, but pushed on with his ministry, knowing ultimately that God was with him. I still hum and sing the music of "Godspell" when I need a lift, and I watch "Jesus Christ Superstar" every Good Friday.

Close your eyes. What image of Jesus comes to mind? Is that an image that will propel you to live his teachings? If not, maybe you need a different image.

1 comment:

  1. Hello Laverne Coan! I found your post through Google and I read through your post!

    You wrote: “The Jesus of these two movies roared into my blood like Spirit fire. I saw, no felt, through music and images that here was a Jesus to whom I could relate, who really did know what life on earth was like, who at times argued with God about His purpose for him”

    (le-havdil), So who was the historical Messiah from Nazareth?
    Since you and many of your readers are Christians I think the website www.netzarim.co.il will be of interest to you. It contains research, previously unknown to most Christians, about Ribi Yehoshua (the Messiah) from Nazareth and what he and his followers taught. Teachings in accordance with the Creator’s instructions manual Torah.

    Have a nice day!
    Anders Branderud

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