Holy Suffering Servant, Superman: Have We Been Had?

Saw the Superman Returns trailer this weekend. One word: Wow. You can view the trailer below, but there's a bunch more at Blue Tights Network (and they're better quality, too!). I was totally psyched to see the film prior to the trailer, then after seeing it- I had a serious monkey on my back and he was wearing a cape. (BTW, I would like to publicly acknowledge the utter ridiculousness of that last line, I mean base absurdity.) However, after reading this article I'm now wondering if the clear messianic overtones of the trailer weren't just marketing by the filmmakers to court Christians, specifically evangelicals. Take this example:

The preview shows the hero with his eyes closed as the voice of his father — Marlon Brando's, courtesy of 1978's "Superman" — tells him he was sent to Earth because humans "lack the light to show the way."

For this reason," continues the voice, "I have sent them you, my only son."
Online message boards and Web logs quickly latched onto the biblical resonance of those lines.

"The allusion to Jesus Christ could hardly be accidental," wrote Christian blogger Tom Gilson.

"Is this a new Superman for the new Evangelist red state America? Superman as Jesus?" asked one contributor to the Portland-based blog site Urban Honking.

The premise of the new Superman movie alone has fueled speculation that it's wearing its biblical comparisons on its long, tight sleeve. Superman, in the film, returns to Earth after a long absence, a narrative that's been likened to Jesus' death and resurrection. Moviegoers who enter the theater looking for Christian imagery are unlikely to be disappointed. At one point, Superman sustains a stab wound reminiscent of the spear jabbed in Christ's side by a Roman soldier. In another scene, Routh poses with his arms outstretched as though crucified.

Bryan Singer, who did X-Men & X-2 (both of which were praised by Christian critics for their Christian undertones and questions of faith they raised), directed Superman Returns also. For most evangelicals unable to use Google, this guy would be a celebrity (his producer for the X Trilogy, Ralph Winter is a committed Christian), but Singer himself is a gay Jewish man. So are the themes that Christians are seeing just the archetypes that many have seen since the Man of Steel was first created in the 30s (by 2 Jewish artists)? Is this a marketing ploy designed to manipulate us similar to Gibson's tour of megachurches courting evangelicals prior to the Passion? Or is Superman just gay? Should any of these matter? Do we Christians get too jacked up about this crap? Should we let movies be movies? My brother-in-law gets so annoyed with me for always ruining a good movie with too much discussion and dialogue afterwards. maybe this is the same thing. Instead of examining the tea leaves (or kryptonite shards?) we should let the art speak for itself. If art is real, it can draw us closer to God or allow us to understand His will. Likewise, I think of the heavy-handed "Christian movies" often made that are so "unartistic" not only do I come away not feeling closer to God, I feel alienated from culture, because I cringe so much. Bottom line? Maybe we should think about something Uncle Emil used to say, "Superman? Now that was a good comic book alright. 'Course, I only read 'em to look at that Lois Lane gal." Wise ol' Uncle Emil. He was always a little dirty, too.

Jor-El's Only Begotten Son: ?

The Devil vs. Balrog

Let's consider this my shout-out to my beloved brother-in-law Jimmy "OMF" McClain. I was going to make a joke about smoking Long-Bottom Leaf with you for Father's Day, but I don't want you to get kicked out of your church.
Stay cool.
jefe

Kickin' Dubya When He's Down: A Presidential Two-fer

On a "What the hell was he thinking?" note:

Under the title: "Nice Shades, Blindy", our president has apologized for the social gaffe he made when he teased a blind reporter at a press conference today. Thanks to Wonkette.com, you can find the video here. Man, some days it just doesn't pay to come back from your secret tour of Iraq.

Unless you're an optimist...

Dubya says:"That Glass is 37% Full! (Sorry Congress, we'll see if we can that blame that 23% approval on Clinton)

Wednesday on the NBC Nightly News, Brian Wiliams & Tim Russert discussed the most recent poll out on presidential & congressional approval ratings. It gave me hope. Registered Democrats have consistently opposed the invasion of Iraq (last poll put it at something like 71%) now a majority of americans as a whole are agreeing: 53% said it was the wrong decision & even more significant: only 23% of americans approve of the current Congress. The poll went further asking who should be in charge of Congress and 49% said Dems. Obviously, this warms the cockles of my heart- not because I am a Democrat, but because I am not a conservative and see what they have done to our country since 2000. Likewise, I think the fact that ALMOST a majority of Americans our willing to have a Dem controlled Congress is a good sign for what I see as one of the fundamental ideas our Founding Fathers came up with: separation of powers. Having a Repub legislative branch, judicial, & executive branch is a recipe for disaster. FDR (a Demo) tried this in the 30s. I loved that guy, but that was a huge faux pas. anywho, bottom line: Is America wising up? I hope so. Dwayne would say I'm not supposed to be taking such an active role in politics. That the role of the Church is not to participate in this way (or would he... let's see!) I can't help it though. This guy's taken a country with a massive surplus and worldwide goodwill &turned it into a huge deficit at the expense of the working poor & middle class- killed thousands of Americans & hundreds of thousands of Iraqis (and Afghanis). It's time for a change.

PS- I watched 2 minutes of Ann Coulter on Leno and am convinced she is the voice of frigging evil. I know the Bible says we don't fight against people, but against the powers or spiritual rulers of this world- but that woman may be the exception. EVIL. As in, Fru-its of the De-veel.

Huss: A Shout-out to my Father-in-law

In composing my last post, and as Father's Day, draws closer, I found myself reminded of a really wonderful bonding experience which Gregg and I shared with my dad-in-law Huss on Sunday. I checked out the 1st 2 seasons of Northern Exposure on DVD for Huss (his former favorite show). We sat around watching this quirky show and just had a great time. It's rare that the three of us all have something that we can enjoy watching together since our tastes differ so greatly. In the 2nd episode, Maurice Minnifield, former astronaut and owner of the local radio station fires DJ Chris for discussing Walt Whitman's homosexuality. Maurice launches into a diatribe about America & how America needs heroes. Read on for Maurice's thoughts on Walt Whitman

I don't give a damn if Walt Whitman kicked with his right foot or his left foot or that J. Edgar Hoover took it better than he gave it, or that Ike was true blue to Mamie, or that god knows who had trouble with the ponies or the bottle. We need our heroes. We need men we can look up to, believe in. Men who walked tall. We cannot chop them off at the knees just to prove they're like the rest of us. Now, Walt Whitman was a pervert, but he was the best poet that America ever produced. And if he was standin' here today and somebody called him a fruit or queer behind his back or to his face or over these airways--that person would have to answer to me. Sure we're all human. But there are damn few of us that have the right stuff to be called heroes. And that closes the book on that subject." -Maurice Minnifield

Huss reminds me of Maurice in this way. He's got his heroes: Mickey Mantle, John Glenn, other great men that we don't want to see besmirched by scandal. I often disagree with him politically. He's also the most generous soul I know. Always willing to spend time with his children and grandchildren. Eager to have the family together for supper on Sunday evenings. I love him. When my pop died, I resented the fact that my children would have a maternal grandfather, now I thank God for him. He is a wonderful, Godly man who radiates love. I'll never get over the loss of my old man, but knowing Sarah, Jack, & L'il Mo have Grandpa reassures me. Maurice is right. We need our heroes. So here's to you Huss, you're one of my heroes.
[The above photo comes from our 1st family vacation & is my father-in-law's 1st ever Corona: Hope we have a bunch more together (vacations & Coronas)!]

The Resurrection of L'il Mo?

For those not in the know, when Sarah was a zygote (in Egypt-land, let my Sarah go!), we had no idea of the gender of my beloved poopa-loo. Consequently, we referred to her as Li'l Mo. This was short for (and I am not kidding) Maurice Rogelio Hieronymous Tecumseh T'ien Shih Shabazz- our multicultural baby. Well, with a new baby in the womb, I think it's time to resurrect L'il Mo. Only I have found a new name to reflect the pacifism that I (and hopefully my wife) have embraced: Maximilian. Here is his story:
The Setting: Modern day Algeria, the Year: 295 AD/CE
Brought before the proconsul Dion, Maximilian refused enlistment in the Roman army saying, "I cannot serve, I cannot do evil. I am a Christian."
Dion replied: "You must serve or die."
Maximilian: "I will never serve. You can cut off my head, but I will not be a soldier of this world, for I am a soldier of Christ. My army is the army of God, and I cannot fight for this world. I tell you I am a Christian."
Dion: "There are Christian soldiers serving our rulers Diocletian and Maximian, Constantius and Galerius."
Maximilian: "That is their business. I also am a Christian, and I cannot serve."
Dion: "But what harm do soldiers do?"
Maximilian: "You know well enough."
Dion: "If you will not do your service I shall condemn you to death for contempt of the army."
Maximilian: "I shall not die. If I go from this earth my soul will live with Christ my Lord."
Courtesy of Saint of the Day
What do you think? I thought Maximilian had a smoother ring than Telemachus Bonhoeffer

[TELEMACHUS (?--404): Christian monk and martyr. Opposed Roman gladiatorial combats. Traveled from Asia Minor to throw himself between the gladiators with a cross in his hands, calling on them in the name of Christ to stop fighting. Beaten to death by furious spectators. His death caused such a sense of revulsion that the Emperor Honorius issued a rescript forbidding all gladiatorial combats. ] But hey, I'm easy, if you think L'il Telly-Bon (as we'd call him) is less likelyto get beat up here in the ol' US of A . Let me know.
jefe