#christfigure

[roughentumble]

i really love the timeline we are setting up btw. mos -> bvs -> jl -> mos.... 2!!! *jumps* thats just fascinating. like what arc are we putting in there what are we doing with it. i want the timeline to split i want there ro be the mos -> bvs -> jl timeline, and then the mos -> mos 2 -> mos345etc timeline.

[faithfamilyfilms]

Female Christ Figures are not common in movies, but Denmark has given us three of the best:- 1. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928). Falconetti is stunning and Dreyer's Joan provides a vivid image of Christ that gives a very early film challenge to the fixation on Jesus’ maleness, and helps us to understand better what we really mean when we claim that God became human, like all of us - regardless of gender. 2. Babette's Feast (1987). Gabriel Axel uses Karen Blixen's story to give us this beautiful film in which Stéphane Audran is the eponymous suffering servant who sacrificially provides a 'last supper' so rich that it initially shocks, but eventually provides healing and forgiveness, to the 12 guests. 3. Breaking the Waves (1996). Controversial because of the sexual nature of the sacrifice Bess (Emily Watson) makes, but I still think Von Trier's powerful film raises serious issues in its clear Christ symbolism about a kind of suffering men (including me) can never understand, but God does. 4. Edwina Sandys' "Christa" is neither a movie nor Danish, but it seemed appropriate to add it, and I'll say more in the comments for those who are interested. . . . . . . #FemaleChristFigure #christfigure #Denmark #danish #danishfilm #Thepassionofjoanofarc #reneefalconetti #carltheodordreyer #joanofarc #Christ #jesus #jesuschrist #feminism #feministtheology #gender #BabettesFeast #GabrielAxel #Karenblixen #StephaneAudran #BreakingtheWaves #EmilyWatson #larsvontrier #christology #EdwinaSandys #Christa #faithandfilm #theologyandfilm #cinéaste #cineaste #cinephile https://www.instagram.com/p/B4PU-2EFOc0/?igshid=1egujhhyaewyx

[abysstiel]

i am thinking very much about mirror characters and religious themes today. i have. no experience with media analysis. or idea what i'm talking about with regards to it. i am kind of a dumb viewer—i usually have to have themes and meta explained to me by more brilliant minds. and i've convinced myself that i'm reaching with this. hardcore apophenia. but it won't get out of my brain, so.. here. sorry for this.

@strangerthings4theories has written some amazing shit about billy and el (and will) being mirrors. and also about billy's christian imagery and narrative function as a christfigure trope.

heck. i don't want to talk about the fraught, blood-filled history and current events of religions and interreligious conflict in this post. i want to talk about stranger things. i'm literally not qualified to handle the big conversation so i'm just going to hand you this disclaimer and leave it at, christianity uses our stuff, which is why i'm pulling from my personal jewish background to talk about christian themes. please understand i am not making any comments in any direction other than this word comes from us and gets used by christians.

ok.

so billy is a christ figure. and an eleven—el—mirror. the hebrew word 'el' means 'god' or 'of god.' it is often used as both a prefix and suffix to denote holiness in judaism and judeoderivarive religions like christianity, e.g. the names of many angels, holy places, holy men—yisrael, michael, uriel, samuel—and five of the seven true names for, you know, the big guy himself.

her name—Jane Ives—bestowed in love, was taken away. she never even knew it. and in its place, she was given a number, an identity of shackles. eleven, the experiment. eleven, the tool. and then, when she became a savior, it was altered by mike, the first person she helps/saves, once she leaves the facility. he called her el. she reclaimed it. shortened it. el, the girl. like elle. el, the child. el, the friend. el, the protector. her number-name meant inhuman when she was shackled with it, and now she's broken free, using the chains from the shackles to defend herself and her flock, if you will. it means holy little girl. blessed child. of god. and that's just one of her many names, which is.. kind of a big thing in theology—many names, epithets as names, etc.

i was curious so i looked it up, and the name jane is english and means..

oh. it means 'god is gracious.' wikipedia tells me its etymology is hebrew in origin. it's thought to be derived from the french 'jehanne' which is the feminine form of 'johannes' which is, in turn, suspected to be derived from the hebrew 'yochanan/yehochanan' and now we have circled. yehochanan essentially means the same as jane, except 'merciful' instead of 'gracious' and, yknow. in hebrew.

i don't have any closing statements to make this anything more than just a reach, except people much smarter than me have told me not to dismiss this kind of connection wrt stranger things, that there's a lot less coincidence on the duffers' sets than they'd lead viewers to believe. i just.. like it. even if it is apophenic, pure coincidence. i think it's neat, and i'm choosing to hold onto it as more strangerthings4theories confirmation.

[dreagonarts]

Did an art trade with a friend on discord. Her Instagram is @kenzie__crow. This is her character and full on my aesthetic. XD #arttrade #oc #fullbody #peacedove #christfigure #Joshua #clipstudiopaint #cartoon #shiny #gold #friend #fun

[theloserarmy]

Not to be a christfigure but my flesh is bread and I have scars on my hands

[amigo8494-blog]

Frodo The Christ Figure (and Fan Fiction)

While there is no one complete Christ figure in The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn, Frodo, and Gandalf all embody some aspect of Christ throughout the series. Each undergoes a kind of sacrificial “death” and rebirth, but, most importantly, each exemplify the Old Testament threefold Messianic symbolism of prophet (Gandalf), priest (Frodo), and king (Aragorn).

Like Jesus who carried the cross for all the sins of the world, Frodo bears a burden of terrible evil for all of Middle-earth. He carries the burden of the Ring as Christ carried the burden of sin. For that reason, Frodo too is a living sacrifice. Throughout the series, there are many pronounced parallels between Frodo and Christ. The wound inflicted to him on Weathertop by the Witch-king is a figurative of Christ’s spear wound on the cross. Frodo walks his “Via Dolorosa” to Mount Doom just like Jesus when he walked to Golgotha. Frodo’s Via Dolorosa is at the very heart of Tolkien’s story, just as the crucifixion is the heart of many gospel accounts. As Frodo approaches the Cracks of Doom, the Ring becomes a crushing and unbearable weight as the cross was for Jesus. By the time Frodo reaches Mount Doom, he is so weighed down by the power of the Ring that Sam has to carry him. By carrying Frodo up to Mount Doom, Samwise Gamgee, Frodo’s friend and loyal servant, parallels Simon of Cyrene, who aids Jesus by picking up his cross to Golgotha. When Frodo accomplishes his mission (by losing his finger and the Ring into the pit of Mount Doom), he, like Christ, says, “it is done”. Overall, Frodo’s entire journey into Mordor resembles Christ’s descension into the grave. At the same time, Christ’s ascension to heaven is very similar to Frodo’s departure to the Undying Lands, as he leaves Middle-earth for finishing his mission.

For the last half century, The Lord of the Rings have attracted millions and millions of fans around the world through its books and films. Naturally, fans of the series like to create their own version of the story, spin-offs, and side stories. Though because the central plot of The Lord of the Rings solely deals with the mission of destroying the One Ring, new fanfiction of the current version of the story is not as common as fanfiction of side stories. For example, one story I particularly liked, Dear Diary, focused on the relationship between Eowyn and Faramir. Because their relationship was a particularly minor plot in The Lord of Rings, I enjoyed reading their detailed diary entries of their thoughts, adventure, and developing love.

[faithfamilyfilms]

“Hallelujah! You’re my Saviour, man! My own personal Jesus Christ” says a grateful customer to Neo when we first meet him in The Matrix (1999). There is so much religious symbolism (largely but not exclusively Christian) in this film that you could write a book on it (it's been done). Morpheus as God, Trinity as the Holy Spirit, the Matrix as the power of evil (agents as Demons), Cypher as Judas - the (Biblical) references are numerous. And then of course there is Neo as Jesus - "The One". Neo is the 'son of man' (the meaning of his surname 'Anderson'), the messiah who saves humanity by dying and coming back so powerful that he can defy death and destroy evil from the inside. When film makers deliberately signify 'Christ Figures' in their films this strongly it can easily become a bit heavy handed and/or cringeworthy - fortunately The Matrix is such a great film that it works. Let's hope the recently announced Matrix 4 is better than the first two sequels and a return to form for Lana Wachowski who will be writing and directing without her sister and co-creator Lilly Wachowski. . . . . . #thematrix #neo #morpheus #trinity #keanureeves #Lanawachowski #LillyWachowski #wachowski #bible #christiansymbolism #christfigure #filmsandfaith #filmfan #cinema #thomasanderson #saviour #resurrection https://www.instagram.com/p/B1n9fxrFuMV/?igshid=qsfsy81qksm0

[faithfamilyfilms]

A 3rd type of 'Jesus Films' (see prev. posts) are where the actual Jesus is not featured but a character is a clear "Christ Figure". There will be a sacrifice for the greater good and often a symbolic or actual resurrection. Neo in the Matrix, Aslan in Narnia, Harry Potter (especially in Deathly Hallows 2) are all clear examples. Others less so (e.g. Gran Torino, Grapes of Wrath) but the links are still there. Jesus of Montreal is unusual in that he actually plays Jesus within the film and his life also starts to mirror Christ's (well worth watching). The theolology may be a little messy sometimes but any film which makes us think about the subversive power of sacrifice (and love) gives us clues to the greatest of truths. What are your favourite examples? . . . #planoly #filmsandfaith #filmlover #filmlovers #instafilm #instamovie #filmfan #moviebuff #cinema #filmstagram #moviestagram #cineaste #cinéaste #cinephile #filmsandtheology #jesusmovie #jesus #christfigure #neo #thematrix #aslan #narnia #harrypotter #deathlyhallows #grantorino #grapesofwrath #jesusofmontreal https://www.instagram.com/p/BqeB16BnfXh/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=jr6dx6j534n9

[faithfamilyfilms]

Having real donkeys on our Palm Sunday procession today made me think of Robert Bresson's 'Au Hasard Bathazar' (1966). It's not an easy watch - Bresson's minimalist, dispassionate style takes some getting used to, and the central theme, the life of a donkey and the way he is treated (and mistreated) by his various owners, can be heartbreaking. And yet the film manages such a powerful reflection of human nature and, through the humble suffering of Balthazar, such spiritual depth that watching it can become a transcendent experience. Today we reflected that Jesus' choice to enter Jerusalem on a donkey was a reflection of his own humility. Balthazar is not anthropamorphised and yet exudes such Christlike qualities that we are inevitably reminded of the power of suffering servanthood, which is a good way to enter Holy Week. . . . . #filmsandfaith #filmlover #filmlovers #instafilm #instamovie #filmfan #moviebuff #cinema #filmstagram #moviestagram #palmsunday #palmsunday🌿 #palmcross #palmcrosses #palmsundayprocession #auhasardbalthazar #robertbresson #cinephilecommunity #cinephile #cineaste #cinéaste #donkey #holyweek #jerusalem #sufferingservant #balthazar #christlike #christfigure (at Shere) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwPgon3lOq4/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ifipazt3annn

[faithfamilyfilms]

Is Superman (released 40yrs ago today) a 'Christmas Movie'? Not in the usual sense - but perhaps thematically 🤔. I would argue that Superman himself is clearly a 'Christ Figure' (at least in the films) and that therefore this opening chapter in which the Father sends the Son to live amongst us as a human is the Christmas part of the story. Of course no Christ Figure metaphor is perfect (Superman is 100% alien whereas Jesus is "fully God and fully man") but thinking about the imperfections can help us think about the perfection of the real baby in the manger. . . . . #filmsandfaith #filmlover #filmlovers #instafilm #instamovie #filmfan #moviebuff #cinema #filmstagram #moviestagram #superman #jesusfilm #supermanfilm #supermanjesus #supermanmovie #supermanthemovie #christmas #christmasfilm #christmasmovie #christmasmovies #incarnation #christfigure #manger #nativity #superman1978 #marlonbrando #JorEl https://www.instagram.com/p/BrZR6f1FrUZ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=q7qz5nxcxr8k