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 .