Habitus Movie Blog

The new Superman movie has caused a tense debate about its Christian content. Here is a few relevant stories for you to explore.

Is the new Superman meant to be Jesus?
Is the Superman Returns movie meant to remind us of the Bible? And if so, is it blasphemy?

This question is asked by BBC News

The Kryptonian Gospel
'Superman Returns' presents a gospel story as moving as 'The Passion of the Christ'--and possibly more affecting.

Read the movie review on Beliefnet

The passion of Superman
"Superman Returns," opening today, is one of the most clearly Christological allegorical movies ever made. It is so clear that it even has a discussion about the world's need for a savior.

Dr. Ted Baehr writes at World Net Daily

The Second Coming of Superman
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, wait ... it’s Jesus! At least that’s what some Christians are seeing in the long-anticipated “Superman Returns,” which flies into theaters this week, after decades of failed attempts at sequels.

Annabelle Robertson gives you more at Crosswalk

As it turns out it is an old discussion. Journal of Religion and Film had an article about Superman and Jesus in 2002:

Holy subtexts abound within the popular cinema. Superman: The Movie (1978) and Superman II (1981) were examined as a protracted secular analogue of the Jesus story. The literature was reviewed and twenty Superman-Jesus parallels plus eight Christic personalistic traits were explicated. It was concluded that Superman is not only a legitimate Christ-figure, but the American pop culture movie Messiah.

To my knowledge the Superman caracter was invented by two Jewish boys in 1938. Can anyone confirm this?