James Papandrea - From Star Wars to Superman: Christ Figures in Science Fiction and Superhero Films

FROM

STAR WARS

TO

SUPERMAN

Christ Figures in Science Fiction
and Superhero Films

JAMES L. PAPANDREA

SOPHIA INSTITUTE PRESS
Manchester, New Hampshire

Copyright 2017 by James L. Papandrea

Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

Cover design by Coronation Media.

Interior design by Perceptions Design Studio.

On the cover: Matrix-style background (161746904) Family Business / Shutterstock.com; clapper boards (257871317) Dmitry Zimin / Shutterstock.com; star shield (316125974) Michael Rayback / Shutterstock.com; mechanical arm (335493701) Willyam Bradberry / Shutterstock.com; Apocalypse in New York (363690710) oneinchpunch / Shutterstock.com; flying police box (363816680) Artur Balytskyi / Shutterstock.com; Koolau Mountains (396504934) Evan Austen / Shutterstock.com; glowing wireframe landscape background (400501615) Kolonko; red lights flying past (473192005) ColinCramm / Shutterstock.com.Except where otherwise noted, Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Papandrea, James L., 1963- author.

Title: From Star Wars to Superman : Christ figures in science fiction and

superhero films / James L. Papandrea.

Description: Manchester, New Hampshire : Sophia Institute Press, 2017. |

Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017038652 | ISBN 9781622823888 (pbk. : alk. paper) ePub ISBN 9781622823895

Subjects: LCSH: Jesus Christ In motion pictures. | Science fiction

films History and criticism. | Superhero films History and criticism.

Classification: LCC PN1995.9.J4 P37 2017 | DDC 791.43/651 dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017038652

To all Christian sci-fi fans, who understand that faith and science are not incompatible, that the ability to be rational and creative is a gift from God, and that a balanced and truthful anthropology is one that affirms the great potential of humanity while still admitting that we need a Savior

CONTENTS

Introduction:

Acknowledgments

Any fan of science fiction knows that you dont love sci-fi all by yourself. As a sci-fi fan, you are part of a community of people who love science fiction and who love to talk about it. Its a little like the Church, which is why it can be so tempting for non-Christians (or nonpracticing Christians) to make the science-fiction community a substitute for Church, and science fiction itself a substitute for religion. But even Christian sci-fi fans all know what its like to love the conversation, and the speculation, and the debates. So I have to thank those in my own sci-fi circle starting with my sons, Rick and John Papandrea. Then there are my Doctor Who companions: Paul Jarzembowski, Ron Lovatt, and Stephanie Bliese; and my superhero league: Matt Forbeck, Mark Teasdale, and Brooke Lester. I also want to thank my research assistants, Jordan Sprunger and Larry Green. And I especially want to thank Ronald D. Moore for being such a good sport and granting me the interview, and his assistant Nick Hornung for facilitating it. Special thanks to my daughter-in-law, Shiann Papandrea, for transcribing the interview.

INTRODUCTION

Script and Scripture

This is not another Gospel according to [fill in the blank] book. If were honest with ourselves, we should be able to fill in the blank with anything, because a believer should be able to find evidence of God and divine activity just about anywhere especially in stories. This book is more specific than that. Its about Jesus Christ (the subject of the greatest story) and how He keeps popping up in one particular kind of story: science fiction.

So this is a book specifically about Christology that is, what we believe about Jesus Christ, who we think He is, what kind of a Savior He is, and how that salvation works. In this book, you will find all the Christology a Trekkie, Whovian, or Matrix Dweller needs to know.

But this is not a book for theologians; its a book for insightful, imaginative people who love stories about heroes having adventures that take them out of the ordinary world into alternative worlds. The interesting thing is that these alternative worlds have at least one thing in common with the real world. People need to be rescued. Somebody needs to save the day, or even the world. In other words, people need a savior. And thats what a hero is.

Christology is taught in the Bible, and in the Church Fathers, and in the Catechism but not only there. Christology is also taught in popular fiction in books, on television, and on the big screen. And that especially includes the genre of science fiction. The question is not whether these media teach Christology; the question is whether they teach good Christology. Another way of saying that is with a question: How well does the hero, or Christ figure, of any given story represent the real Christ? Is this character a faithful analogy of who Christ really is and how salvation really works or is it some kind of alternative version that pales in comparison with the Jesus Christ who is God made flesh?

These questions, and, in fact, the seeds for this book, were planted in my mind back in my days as an adjunct professor at Elmhurst College. There I designed a Religion in Film class at a time when the idea of a class on religion and film was relatively new. I was excited to discover the ways in which films in general, and science fiction in particular, led to great discussions about the important things in life: philosophy, religion, ethics, life, and death, and what it means to be human.

Some might argue that science fiction, by definition, cannot deal with the metaphysical because it seeks to explain the imaginations of its extraordinary worlds. Thats what makes it science fiction. And metaphysics, or theology in its broader sense, asks us to embrace mystery. But in spite of protestations to the contrary, sci-fi does trade in mythology, and it does capitalize on the mystery inherent in ancient and esoteric religious symbols. To be sure, much sci-fi, when it does depict religion, often does it from the perspective of uninformed outsiders (or prodigals), critiquing a caricature of something with which it has little or no experience. But whether science fiction is written by believers or unbelievers, from a sympathetic or critical perspective, it does try to appropriate the symbols of religion as talismans to add an air of mysticism (or mystery) to the stories.

Sometimes the stories themselves are meant to convey the writers beliefs often including the belief that the only thing worthy of our faith is science and human progress. A common theme in sci-fi is religion is the opiate of the people, which is the implied moral of any sci-fi story that includes the assumption that given enough time, humanity will evolve beyond the need for religion that somehow religion is not rational, and eventually people will become so rational that they will no longer need faith. The notions that the Church is hiding something from you and that all the war and hate in the world can be blamed on religion are also common themes. But wasnt this the original sin of Adam and Eve?

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