At Xavier Catholic College in Hervey Bay this is the school motto: finding Jesus in all things. Students are encouraged to look for the good, the decent and the Christian in all people, places and situations. It is interesting, then, to find that some people are doing exactly that with cinema: finding the Christian aspects and the Christ-figures in films (Pepple 2009). On the other hand there are academics like Dr. Christopher Deacy discussing how trying to find Jesus or Christ-like figures in films can detract from the film’s original message and theme (2006). It can also detract from the messages within Christian scripture if they are trivialised in order to find a comparison within a film, so it is interesting some Christian film critics find this helpful, rather than a hindrance (Deacy 2006).
Works Cited:
Deacy, C. “Reflections on the Uncritical Appropriation of Cinematic Christ-Figures: Holy Other or Wholly Inadequate?” Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, 13, Summer, 2006: http://www.usask.ca/relst/jrpc/art13-reflectcinematicchrist.html.
Pepple, S. “Sacred and Profane: A Survey of Christian Film Criticism.” 15 October 2009. http://www.gettherefromhere.org/2009/10/15/sacred-and-profane-a-survey-of-christian-film-criticism/ (accessed March 20, 2012).
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In the context of the lecture I think people could be looking for a hero figure in films and Jesus is a widely accesible, readily available hero who promotes selflessness, charity, and courage in the face of adversity which is a common theme in many heroic plots. I don't think it's a negative thing that people find Jesus within film characters, everything we watch and know is a reflection of our experiences and knowledge and so if Jesus is an important figure in somebody's life they are naturally going to find parallels within film characters.
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