Cinematic Christ Figures

Laura Green

Week 4 Reading: Reflections on the Uncritical Appropriation of Cinematic Christ-Figures: Holy Other or Wholly Inadequate

Christopher Deacy discusses the recent trend in studies in religion and popular culture to study modern films and their supposed representations of Christ figures, with particular reference to Anton Karl Kozlovic’s research into this topic. I found Deacy’s argument that much more careful analytical skills should be applied to modern films when searching for a Christ figure, quite intriguing. He mentioned that many studies are conducted which seem to promote the existence of a Christ narrative in certain popular films when there is in fact no real evidence of one. This would be a danger in any theoretical study of film, and I do agree with his theory that there may be Christ figures apparent in some films, but these need to be critically analysed to ascertain their significance. I would think that there are Christ figures and religious themes and motifs evident in quite a few modern films and this, as Deacy suggests, shows that religion has not declined so significantly in the modern era as was predicted through the enlightenment. These themes may have been incorporated, I believe, without the director’s conscious knowledge, which suggests that in Western society we are still enculturated by certain religious ideals and so we fashion heroes after the Christ figure subconsciously as we have been taught to see him as the ultimate. 

References:

Deacy C. 2006. Reflections on the Uncritical Appropriation of Cinematic Christ-Figures: Holy Other or Wholly Inadequate? Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, 13, Summer.