A Contest Between Fiction and Reality?
This summer the Iroquois Park Outdoor Theatre is closing its season with Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar. If you have seen it this summer or anytime during its 30+ year run, you may find a sharp contrast between it and Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.
The former depicts Jesus of Nazareth as a suave, trench-coat-wearing hippy. The personality we see in this Messiah is definitely extraordinary, but not because it exhibits strength, authority, or determination. Rather, this Jesus is extremely nice, docile, strangely temperamental, and above all, misunderstood. On stage he is either smiling and signing autographs for admiring fans, or running away from his confused followers with a pouty lip.
His disciples (dressed as bikers and street people) are definitely confused, but moreso than the gospels would tell us. The play shows the twelve tagging along with Christ like a misfit gang of hippies following their ringleader. They aren't just ignorant--they are mindless, hopelessly trivial saps with nothing better to do than get caught up in the "buzz" surrounding their famous pal, Jesus. Back to him...
When these fun-loving friends try to make Jesus their earthly king, he stops them from fulfilling their worldly motivation. But instead of teaching them about his heavenly kingdom, he makes them and the audience think that kingship is the last thing on his mind. No, this Jesus isn't asking us to exalt him above ourselves as if he were God, he just wants us to get along and have fun.
The Pharisees won't let this happen, of course. They represent the killjoy side of humanity. Ironically, their reasons for crucifying Jesus stem from the same misunderstanding that the disciples had: they think he's claiming to be God. On the one hand, the disciples are trying to set him up as a king, and on the other hand the Pharisees are trying to kill him because they think he's claiming to be that king. Jesus must be thinking, "Oh, if they would only see that all I want is for us to love each other." He is a poor, misunderstood lover of peace. In order to get the message across, Jesus decides to go along with death so that he might demonstrate the power of love over hate. In the end, though the cross was the result of a terrible misunderstanding, good came from it. The resurrection finale closes the show as the disciples
finally understand Jesus' message. Fortunately, as the song goes, they can start over and start Jesus' movement again.
Now, shift gears with me to another portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth. It's a much more recent version of the events surrounding Jesus, and yet far more removed from our time in its depiction than Jesus Christ Superstar. What I mean is that whereas the former portrayal was construed to fit the times and mileau of its playwright, Andrew Lloyd Webber, the latter portrayal of which I'm speaking--The Passion of the Christ--was produced to fit the story's origin context and purpose. I'm trying to say simpy this: when you watch Jesus Christ Superstar, you're going to get a modernized, false view of Jesus, and when you watch The Passion of the Christ, you're goint to get a historical, true view of Jesus.
Though I've just spoiled my point, I want to communicate this right off the bat because it is essential to see the difference between these two portrayals. It is essential because believing one story may send us to hell, while the other may offer eternal life. The contrast between them is more than the difference between one person's view and another, it is the difference between truth and lie.
I want to talk more about why I think Gibson's movie is so much better and worthy of our audience than Webber's. But I have to leave that till later. For now, let me just say that I think it behooves us all to ask of these two depictions and of any perspective on Jesus Christ, "What is true and what is false." We cannot be content to merely pick out what we like and what we don't. A story worth believing must be real in all its parts, or it doesn't bear any significance for reality. How can I live in the real world when I believe in something unreal? If you believe anything about Jesus (i.e. whether he is God, a good person, not a historical figure, etc.), ask yourself this question, "Is what I believe real?" "Is my belief based on reality, or someone else's opinion?" If you can't answer this question about Jesus, what makes you think you can answer it about anything? How do you know what you think you know? What is your knowledge based on? Are you standing on no foundation? Or do you have one that is firm and sure? We'll talk more about that next time.
Brett, As you point out, Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar is a 30-year-old play. From your discription, the Louisville theatre has taken significant artistic license with the script. To get an accurate understanding of Webber's production, you would need to see an original Broadway production. The production toured the country extensively in 1969-71 timeframe. It may still be possible to find it in New York. Your comparison between the two works is partially skewed by the production.
ReplyDeleteWebber's production was a significant stir for the time and created much discussion about Jesus, his disciples and his followers.
You are right in that Gibson's is a more accurate portrayal. But, the original production did not portray Jesus as off balanced as you would indicate from the Louisville production.
Good observations. Whether from Webber or from Gibson or anyone else, don't take anything at face value without making your own determination based on Scripture for what you know to be truth.
Thanks,
Wm.