When there is something that is popular, others often attempt to hook into it and surf the crest of that so that some other agenda many then be promoted.
Well … guess what, with the new Superman movie coming out the Guardian reports …
Hollywood studio Warner Bros is targeting Christian audiences in the US with a campaign for its superhero blockbuster Man of Steel that explicitly compares Superman to Jesus.
The studio has teamed up with a specialist marketing firm with the aim of encouraging pastors to utilise Zack Snyder’s comic book reboot in sermons. It has set up a special website touting a nine-page pamphlet entitled Jesus – the Original Superhero. Clergymen are encouraged to “educate and uplift your congregation” using the resource, which also highlights a useful clip from the movie.
Picture in your mind a couple of marketing guys sitting around some conference room table … suddenly one has a light bulb moment, “Hey, Jesus is really popular, I have a great idea, lets leverage that and use it to promote the movie, and so all we do is …. “.
Picture in your mind some Christian guys sitting around a table suddenly one has a light bulb moment, “Hey, Superman is really popular, I have a great idea, lets leverage that and use it to promote Jesus, and so all we do is …. “.
Yes indeed, it’s a truly symbiotic relationship.
So what do I think of it? Well, the studios I understand, the box office clout held by Christian audiences is vast, as pointed out in the Guardian article, Mel Gibson‘s The Passion of the Christ, pulled in $611m, so a desire to leverage belief can indeed be understood, it is very profitable.
The Christians I also understand, anything that can be utilized to promote and propagate the belief will be eagerly grasped by many. This is due to the inbuilt imperative within the belief that drives believers to contaminate as many as possible, and so if Superman is a doorway in other minds, then knock knock.
As for the actual idea itself, hey yes, I support it wholeheartedly and fully agree with the comparison of Jesus and Superman, it is a really good one
- Both are not of this world
- Both were sent by their father to this world
- Both kept their true nature a secret while growing up
- Both were raised in secret and then upon reaching manhood emerged as superheroes
- Both devoted their lives for the benefit of all humans
.. and most importantly, the key point …
- Both are completely fictitious characters
Some might quibble that here was once a human from Galilee who wandered about claiming to be the son of God and was killed by the Romans. That is probably true, I can think of several such as Judas of Galilee (the name gives you a clue), or Menahem ben Judah (yes yet another guy from Galilee about 2000 years ago claiming to be the son of God). However, Christianity today has a completely mythological version of Jesus that in no way relates to the actual origins of the cult, because you can clearly see how the belief evolved.
So yes, I like the comparison, it’s a good one, and wholly appropriate, a great way to communicate the point that it is all indeed just a myth.
Ah but you still want to see the movie of course, and why not, after all it is just a story and is not real.