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Jennifer Koosed and Darla Schumm in their article “From Superman to Super Jesus” speak about the contemporary representation of the image of Jesus Christ in the contemporary popular culture. They state that the type of representation which exists in the present moment may hurt people with disabilities. The authors of the article prove that in the contemporary pop culture Jesus is described like a superman. In latest movies about Christ, Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ and Philip Saville’s The Gospel of John, he is described like a very strong man. He is strong both, physically and emotionally. In these movies Jesus stands terrible pain and tortures and stays impartial to pain and suffering.
The article investigates certain similarities between the image of Superman and Jesus in the contemporary culture. Supernatural abilities are regarded as one of the hallmarks of divinity in the contemporary culture. Gradually the image of Jesus gets the sings of supernatural powers. For example, in the cinematic production of Godspell shot in 1973 Jesus wears T-short of Superman. Moreover, the image of Superman possesses characteristics of Jesus: “The superhero story itself has a Christic subtext, so much so that Superman has been called the American pop culture movie Messiah” (Kozlovic, 2002, p. 1). The personal story of Superman, as it is presented in the movie, has a lot of parallels with the story of Jesus. The directors of the movie and author of the scenario instantaneously included facts which made the story of Superman resonant wit the Gospel. The author of the article state that such parallels created certain connections in the mind of the people who watched the film. Superman became the incarnation of American ideal of masculinity. Through the human history the figure of Jesus also became the symbol of masculinity. “From the gospels to the silver screen, Jesus is not just God made flesh but God made man and ideals of masculinity shape understandings of the Christ” (Koosed, Schumm). This ideal of masculinity presented in Jesus is widely used in the contemporary popular culture. The author of the article argue that the image of Jesus as Superman is harmful because it hurts the feelings of people with disability. Such a representation of Jesus changes the concepts of Incarnation, resurrection and heaven. The image of Jesus presented in the movies describes a person who easily transcendent sufferings and physical limitations. The image of Jesus in the contemporary culture is mainly based on the Gospel of John. This Gospel has peculiarities presenting Jesus.

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This Gospel became the most popular one among other Gospels because it presented the depiction of Christ which was the most convenient and profitable for the Christian Church. This Gospel depicted Jesus as divine persona and Son of God. This depiction assumed not only divine qualities, but also masculine qualities as well. As states Kelly, one of the researches of the Bible, such a depiction showed Jesus as “perfect in Godhead and …perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man” (Conway, 2003, p. 339). Contemporary culture also uses this image of Jesus created by the Gospel of John. Jesus is again depicted as masculine ideal who knows no fear and pain. Masculine ideals from the Gospel are now reproduced by the mass media.

References
Koosed, L. Jennifer, Schumm, Darla. (2009), From Superman to Super Jesus: Constructions of Masculinity and Disability on the Silver Screen, Disability Studies Quarterly Spring Volume 29, No.2 <www.dsq-sds.org>

Kozlovic, A. K. (2002). “Superman as Christ-Figure: The American Pop Culture Movie Messiah.” Journal of Religion and Film 6(1). 1-19.

Conway, C.M. (2003). “Behold the Man! Masculine Christology and the Fourth Gospel,” In Moore, S. & Anderson, J.C. (Ed.) New Testament Masculinities, Semeia 45. 163-80.