For this week’s post I was originally going to focus on the
ideas of Dr. Christopher Deacy and his views on Christ-figures in cinema for
the most part however I will now briefly discuss him towards the end as I have
found myself thoroughly engaged in the ideas raised in this morning’s tutorial.
Today Sylvie discussed issues concerning the various portrayals of Jesus Christ
in the media. The first issued rose which I found to be quite interesting is,
why is Jesus white? After giving that question significant thought I concluded
that Jesus is primarily white due to the fact that Jesus is a representation of
God; and if man is created in God’s image or vice versa then he must reflect
those that follow him. As a significant image associated to Christianity, the
face of Jesus needs to be relatable to the people that respond to him, thus if
he appeared as per historical perceptions as a middle eastern man with strong
features, olive skin and dark hair, he would appear less approachable and
relatable to the prime followers on Europe and the rest of the western world.
Early famous art depictions of Christ and God have come from
Europeans and in particular Italian artists such as Michelangelo with his
portrayal of the two Christian figures clearly evident in the Sistine Chapel in
the Vatican. Given that the birthplace of Jesus is in the Middle East, and
furthermore that the dominant religion is Islam there was never a great push to
have Jesus portrayed in a particular fashion similar to that of what is
probably true to history. When people follow a religion they want to feel like
they belong and that they are in the right place, and by having a
representation of Jesus that looks just like them, the majority of Christians
are able to feel comfortable knowing in their minds and perceptions at least
that Jesus was like them.
Interpretations of the Bible have always occurred but this
very year a miniseries called the Bible allows audiences to engage with the
stories like they have never had the opportunity to before. The producers have
chosen to take a very literal interpretation of the Bible and attempt to convey
the stories of the Bible in a humanised way that tries to allow for
interpretation that illustrates how gritty and raw the events would have been.
It is one thing to read that there were many battles over land in the Bible or
any sacrifices made, but until it is visually represented on a screen some
people don’t understand the great scale of what Jesus and his followers were up
against.
Deacy stated that the “person of Christ is believed to
transcend the pages of the New Testament, in the respect that, for the believer
at any rate, Jesus of Nazareth possesses more than mere historical interest but
continues to inspire, create and affirm belief and worship in the present day,
so film characters–including so-called Christ-figures–must transcend the
cinematic text if they are to carry and contain any significance for a film
audience” (Deacy, 2006). Evidently throughout the years many interprettaions of
the story and life of Jesus have been created and still the messages are
relevant and appreciated. Despite claims that Christianity is becoming less
popular, it remains a fact that with the “epic miniseries having been seen by
more than 68 million people in just 15 days” (Lightworkers Media, 2013) that The Bible
miniseries illustrates that great interest remains in the study and belief of
Christianity and the ideologies that it represents.
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(1).
Lightworkers Media. (2013). Pressroom.
Retrieved March 20, 2013, from The Bible:
http://bibleseriesresources.com/pressroom-movie-clips
Video clip courtesy of youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wir4fH6hUxw
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