Christ-figures are the topic of choice on this week’s episode of the Reel Spiritualty podcast.
It seems hardly a week goes by without a pastor invoking William Wallace, the brave heart at the center of Mel Gibson’s Braveheart, from the pulpit. Much less attention is paid to the mysterious metal man from outer space in Brad Bird’s Cold War era animated epic, The Iron Giant. Why is this? What makes the Scottish freedom fighter seemingly so pertinent to our worship services and other self-sacrificial heroes less so?
Mel Gibson is known for many things, but his insistence on using explicit crucifixion imagry in his films is certainly one of the big ones. Brad Bird’s cinematic canon isn’t similarly herelded, but ought it to be? Some accuse Christians of seeing Jesus everywhere, though a list of accepted Christ-figures in film would lean heavily toward the characters who give their lives for others. Jesus did more than that, right?
Next week on the podcast, we’ll either be featuring an inteview with one of our alums or comparing Sansho the Baliff and Slumdog Millionaire. Time will tell. As always, we invite you to watch ahead and let us know your thoughts in whatever way you think best (though we appreciate comments, of course).
The theme music for our podcast is provided by Matt Lumpkin, aka Bendblock, whose music can be found here. If you are interested in subscribing to the Reel Spirituality podcast, follow this link.
