Christ Figure Archetypes in Literature and Film

Christ Figure Archetype - usually a character who is in agony; self-sacrificing; good with kids; performs “miracles” in a general sense; disappears in their mid 30’s; spends time alone in a wilderness; forgiving; has followers of varying devotion; humble transportation; does not have to be male, Christian, or good. Usually a non-conformist, an unlikely hero, a transformer of lives, ultimately is martyred. Some samples from popular culture:
The Shawshank Redemption

and The Green Mile.


and the Hip Hop world:




History of Christ in film
1927 – King of Kings, Cecil B. DeMille
1931 – The Greatest Story Ever Told, George Stevens (John Wayne,Sidney Poiter, Charlton Heston)
1951 – Quo Vadis
1956 - Ten Commandments
1959 - Ben Hur
1961 – Remake of King of Kings
1977 – Jesus of Nazareth
1989 – Last Temptation of Christ, Martin Scorsese



For the most part, with the exception of the epic films of the 1950’s, these films were not financially profitable for the film studios. So, a shift to the “Messianic figure” or “Christ Figure in Film.” Fits the Archetype.

Examples of Christ figures in film
A. Shawshank Redemption


B. The Green Mile


C. Cool Hand Luke


D. Star Wars


E. Spiderman



Bibliography

Campbell, Joseph. The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1949.

- - -. The Masks of God. New York: Penguin, 1976.

Deacy, Christopher. "Screen Christologies: Evaluation of the Role of Christ-
figures in Film." Journal of Contemporary Religion. 14.3 (Oct 1999) 325-38.

Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art. Helene Roberts, Ed. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1988.

Feidelson, Charles. Symbolism in American Literature. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1953.

Guomundsdottir, Arnfriour. "Female Christ-figures in Films: A Feminist Critical
Analysis of Breaking the Waves and Dead Man Walking." Studia Theologica 56.1 (Jun 2002) 27-43.

Jung, Carl. Four Archetypes: Mother, Rebirth, Spirit, and Trickster. London: Routledge, 2003.

Kozlovic, Anton Karl. "Sacred Subtexts and Popular Film: A Brief Survey of
Four Categories of Hidden and Religious Figurations." Journal of
Contemporary Religion 18.3 (October 2003) 317- 35.

McEver, Matthew. "The Messianic Figure in Film: Christology Beyond the Biblical
Epic." Journal of Religion and Film 2.2 (October 1998) 4 April 2008
.

Ogunnaike, Lola. "Kanye West World." Rolling Stone 25 Jan 2006, 7 April 2008 .

Week Three, Middle Ages, Beowulf

As with Week One and the readings from the Old Testament, keep in mind the central question of the class: “What does it mean to be human?”

Some brief notes on the Middle Ages:The notion of medieval or dark ages is a misnomer of sorts.The period was not “dark” in the sense that there was no cultural, artistic, or historical production. Rather, most of the production is lost to us.

Roughly three periods:
Early or “dark” (@300-1000) Early period: Most of the literature, culture, art of this period is missing. We dohave remnants which point to a vital period of thought (think Augustine, Beowulf, Song of Roland). The literature is mostly from an oral tradition and works of this period that were written down have been, by and large, lost or destroyed.

High (@1000-1200)

During this period, oral stories begin to be recorded quite often. There is a shift to the vernacular (standard native language of a country or locality). Think in terms of the shift from Latin to the vernacular in texts both sacred and secular. Also, this period is when French incorporate the Arthurian and Celtic legends into the Arthurian cycles(Chretien de Troyes).

Late (@1200-1500)

Voluminous production of texts; think Chaucer, Boccaccio, and Dante.



Beowulf:
@10th Century Anglo Saxon (Old English)
The story probably was not popular during its own time and was not influential in subsequent literature (in fact, it was probably influenced by Homer’s work). Only one manuscript survives in the British Library.
The stories are probably from oral English or Scandinavian origins.
Things to note:
Tension between Christian and pagan beliefs/sensibilities
Two halves (young traveling Beowulf, and older King Beowulf)
Three main battles (two in first half, one in second half)
Links to Old Testament stories
Notion of Fate
Unknown author, probably a priest or monk

Themes:
Pride
The temporal vs the eternal
Youth and inexperience vs age and wisdom;
Cycles

Terms to Know:
Heroic Code
Comitatus
Thane
Ring-giver

Week One, Ancient World, Old Testament

For week one, keep in mind the central question of the class(“What does it mean to be human?”) as you contemplate the following ideas via class discussion, lecture, and video clips.

Themes to think about:
Chaos vs order
Good vs evil
Justice and mercy
Parents and children
Sibling Rivalry
Pride
Actions and consequences
Knowledge and power
Potential: what happens when humans underachieve or overreach their potential?

Symbols to think about:
The Garden and/or nature
Water images
Destruction
Creation, building, making

Also consider:
the shift from oral to written traditions;
the shift from a polytheistic view to a monotheistic view of god;
why faith (whether Christian or otherwise) seems be a vital part of our humanity.


Example of a pictograph



Example of hieroglyphics @ 3300-2990 b.c.



Example of cuneiform @ 3300-2990 B. C.



Example of Hebrew @ 8th - 7th Century, B. C.


adam and eve




Cain and Abel


Noah's Ark


Abraham and Isaac