The Bible Part II

NBC has announced that it will be picking up where the History Channel left off by airing a second miniseries based on the Bible.

The original five-part production presented highly condensed dramatizations of well-known biblical events: sort of a salvation history highlight reel. I only caught parts of a few episodes but liked what I saw for the most part.

The fact that the first run netted nearly twelve million viewers and is flying off the shelves on DVD probably affected NBC's decision.

If you're wondering what direction the sequel's going to take, it looks to be following the sociopolitical tumult that came to a boil 37 years after the crucifixion, resulting in the fall of Jerusalem. All the while, the infant Church struggles to survive.

It sounds like they're salting the Acts of the Apostles with military/political information from Flavius Josephus' The Jewish War. On the one hand, there are signs of superfluous violence and political intrigue being shoehorned in. On the other, drawing from a smaller body of source material should allow the miniseries to treat the subject matter with greater depth.

Is anyone out there excited for/wary about this?

The Hagiology of Superman

Zack Snyder's Man of Steel is the second attempt at a new direction for the Superman franchise in less than a decade. For many superhero properties, a reboot means a darker, grittier take on the character. Snyder (and producer Christopher Nolan) indulge a bit of that angst-driven sentiment here, but to me the most intriguing change in direction for this iteration of Superman isn't really a change, but an expansion within the continuity of his main source tradition.

Soon after the character's debut, commentators (including Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels) noted Superman's resemblance to Moses. Both Israel's founding father and the Last Son of Krypton escaped genocidal calamities as infants, were raised in secret by foster parents, altered the natural courses of major bodies of water, and served as the exemplars and protectors of specific nations' creeds. Both characters also have Hebrew names (Kal-El: "Swift God", and Mosheh, derived from the Egyptian: "Son").

Several items in the movie's subtext hint that Snyder and Nolan have graduated their Superman from prophetic to messianic status. Without spoiling any major plot points or characterizations, here are some of the Christological elements I noticed on my first viewing:

• Jonathan Kent has a deep sense of Clark's special role and strives to foster his potential. He also expresses awareness that his son has another father who sent him to earth for a reason. (One could build an entire post on the Pa Kent/St. Joseph parallels alone).
• As seen in the trailers, Clark travels with a group of fishermen at one point.
• Clark is prominently framed against a stained glass window depicting the Agony in the Garden at a dramatically resonant moment.
• Superman gives his age as 33 (in the original Superman: The Man of Steel graphic novel, he is 29. This can only be a deliberate parallel).
• At least one scene with an implied crucifixion motif.
• Kal-El is referred to as a god and the savior of humanity.
• A woman is the sole witness to the revelation of Clark's superhuman nature, and none of her associates believe her until they see for themselves.

I could go on, but I think the observations above make a strong case that the filmmakers intended to portray Superman as a Christ character. From a theological standpoint, the character's expansion from prophet to messiah is an internally consistent and frankly ingenious reboot approach. It raises the story's stakes and magnifies the character's significance by way of the natural progression of his underlying mythos. Far from spurning Superman's Mosaic roots, Snyder and Nolan have followed that theme to its logical conclusion.