Brian is compared to Jesus by having wise men come to visit him as a baby. They bring gifts and claim they were led to Brian by a star. Brian is persecuted by the Romans like Jesus was. Brian said do not pass judgment on others or you will be judged yourself. However this preaching is done by accident. It is something Brian simply made up off the top of his head. After this, he begins to have a group of followers who are obsessed with him being the Messiah. They interpret everything Brian does to be messianic and holy. They even went as far as making up miracles Brain performed.

The movie portrayed the idea of Jewish people not being allowed to say Jehovah or God. The man who was accused of it, was to be stoned to death. During the stoning, other people accidentally slipped up by saying Jehovah and had stones throw at them. During the stoning, women had to dress up like men to attend. There was a law that did not allow women to attend stonings.

The tension of Jewish-Roman relations was also portrayed in the film. The Jewish people were heavily oppressed in the film much like they were during Jesus’ time. The film also shows how much Romans improved life in Jerusalem. During one of the meetings they bring up the “what have the Romans done for us?” To their surprise they come up with a list of things including wine, sanitation, education, and clean water.  

The film in a way tries to down play or make fun of Jesus in my opinion. There were so many satirical elements that in a way would challenge many Christian’s faith. I feel like a lot of Christians may dislike this movie if they watched it. I feel like when you watch a movie like this, you cannot take it too serious because it is not meant to be taken seriously. Brian is not a divine figure in the movie, but Brian is also not Jesus in the movie.

Through the story of Brian, it is shown how the people of first century Palestine were so desperate for another leader.  Brian from the day of birth was mistaken for the Messiah. He was born next door to where the Messiah was and even mistaken for Jesus by the three wise men.  To escape guards at one point in time he pretends to be preaching so people will gather around him to hide.  When he doesn’t finish his sentence because the guards are gone, the people become infatuated with him like the people were with Jesus. They look to Brian for guidance like many people did to Jesus asking for cures and advice.  All the miracles he performs are all by accident and the people are so obsessed with this Messiah idea they believe.    

This film depicts the issues of the people in first century Palestine.  It shows how desperate people were for a savior and how much they disliked Roman rule. All these independent parties like the PFJ are all working to over-throw the Roman government but they refuse to work together.  When the two independent groups are trying to capture the queen they have the same plan but end up fighting each other instead.  The people just assume Bryan is the Messiah because they have heard of Jesus coming from Virgin Mary and preaching a rhetorical message.  He preaches these ideas of independence and individuality that nobody has preached before so Palestine people love this new idea. There is a scene where the people are going through all being crucified it is implying that everyone gets crucified no matter what. They send through approximately 140 people and it is like a parade.  Martyrdom is used as propaganda for the Independent parties so Brian is the PFJ’s martyr spokes person.  The people that could be compared to disciples in the Life of Brian are too busy talking things over and making plans to actually help Brian when we he is trouble with the government.  
 
Staley and Walsh say it perfectly when they say, “…mocks more than just the Jesus of epic films.  It also disenfranchises the canonical Jesus Christ (Messiah)” (105). This movie has completely ridiculed the story of Jesus and made the term“Messiah” the leader of “loony groupies who need a leader because they cannot think for themselves”.  This also makes me think that during first century Palestine, people were so controlled by Romans that they had no individual direction. So when Jesus came along with this idea of believing in your own faith, people loved it because he was preaching independence.

The first scene in Son of Man between Jesus and Satan consists of some conflict.  This conflict is between good and evil and which is stronger or stands taller.  Jesus overthrows Satan in this scene, tossing him down the sand dune and declaring, “this is my world!” showing Satan that he was the light, the one in charge.   Throughout the movie it is reiterated that Jesus is all-powerful and that this is in fact His world.  Satan also appears in all the scenes involving turmoil or evil during the movie showing that he is the cause of the negativity. 

            The crucifixion in the film was much different from the biblical version.  Jesus is beaten and then taken to an open grave where he is shot and buried.  The crucifixion is almost in secret and few people witnessed it.  The biblical version is the polar opposite whereas Jesus is hung up on a cross to be shown to all and to have his death be very public.  The film version might have been used to show some of the secretive and unknown things going on with the African government, which is shown some in the film. 

            Similarities could definitely be seen between the film and the gospels.  There were differences due to the South African culture.  One of the scenes that portrayed the culture was the “becoming a man” ritual where the boys were painted in white and when they returned to the village they were considered men.  There is intertextuality between the film and the gospels, as we talked about in class we could consider the gospels source A, and the film source B.  The film took some from the gospels and some from the culture of the area in which it was set. 

            I had never looked at or thought about Jesus as not only a South African man but as a man with a totally different culture than myself.  Him being from that area sees the world a whole different way, meaning his point of view is drastically different than mine.  I liked how it challenged my thoughts on Jesus though and pushed me to see him in another light and accept it without judgment.  

The opening scene of Son of Man depicts Jesus and Satan together.  In it, Jesus throws Satan down a sand dune and states “This is my world!”  Throughout the movie, after an evil act is performed the face of the Satan character is shown.  It certainly sets the tone for a good vs. evil portrayals.  Jesus keeps repeating the phrase “This is my world” to show that he will ultimately triumph over Satan.

Unlike the rest of the movie, the crucifixion scene was strikingly different than the story in the Gospels.  In it, Jesus was not executed on the cross, but beaten to death in private by a group of government militia.  It was interesting to see how Jesus’ captors gave him the option to join them and escape his fate, but instead he chose to die rather than give in.  Also, instead of the women finding the “tomb” empty, they remove his body and bring it back.  They then put his body on a cross that overlooks the village to spread the word of what the corrupt government is doing.  Jesus’ body being placed on the cross symbolized his resurrection in that his followers gained a new sense of power in exposing the government corruption that was prevalent.

There is obvious intertextuality between the Gospels (mostly Matthew, Mark, and Luke) and the film.  The film (text B) took the stories of the Gospels (text A) and just retold them in a different setting.  Even though I admittedly do not know the stories of the Gospels well, it was easy to see the parallels between the two and even easier to follow the stories of the Gospels as the movie progressed.  This observation raised a new question in my mind about the timelessness of the story of Jesus.  Perhaps the Gospel stories were written in a way that the writers knew could stand the test of time.  Since it was so easy to make the connection between the biblical time stories and those of modern-day Africa, it must be easy for followers to relate the Gospel stories to their own interpretations.  From the standpoint of an early Christian trying to gain followers, I can see this being greatly beneficial for my cause.

In the opening scene of Son of Man, Satan and Jesus are together.  The two being together in the beginning is used to depict the relationship between good (Jesus) and evil (Satan) in the world.  Satan is constantly tempting Jesus, but Jesus responds with “get behind me Satan” showing his power over Satan.  This battle between good and evil can be seen throughout the film.  Whenever there is a scene where the African rebels are killing innocent civilians, you can see the Satan character and the use of an impala’s foot as symbolism.
            Unlike the more traditional views of Jesus’ death and resurrection, in Son of Man, Jesus does not die on the cross.  Where being crucified on a cross is typically thought to show insult to a criminal, in Son of Man, Jesus is beaten savagely until then being shot in a hole where they then burry him.  Jesus’ mother Mary digs him up and ties him to the cross to be shown to everyone.  This switches the tone of Jesus’ death.  Some view the crucifixion as an insult but in Son of Man Jesus on the cross is more of a power scene against the evil in the world.  It is more “look what they did to him” rather than insulting his body.
            Son of Man has very distinct parallels to the gospels.  You can see in some scenes which text(s) the filmmaker pulls information from.  All of these scenes collude to create the image of Jesus the filmmaker was looking to achieve.  For instance, in a scene between Satan and Jesus, Jesus responds with “this is my world” which I believe comes from John.  The film seems to push non-violence and loving one another stronger than any other theme.
            One of the beneficial aspects to watching Son of Man is the ability to better understand and connect with the passion story.  Being filmed in a modern era with modern issues and concerns allows us to better relate what happened in the gospel stories to things that are currently happening today.  Jesus preached living “in the world but not of the world,” and you can easily see this theme portrayed throughout the movie.

            The opening scene of the Jesus character fighting with Satan on the sand dune sets up the major conflict throughout the rest of the entire movie.  This theme is very straightforward: good versus evil.  Whenever something evil happens, the Satan character is present usually right in the forefront of the scene.  There are many parallels between the movie and the Gospels as far as this theme goes: political inequality, social unrest, economic differences.  These are more pronounced in the movie because as it is set in a more modern third-world situation, these are the problems they would be most likely to deal with on a daily basis.
            The crucifixion and resurrection scene are very interesting. In the movie, Jesus is executed in private and in a very precise way.  He is beaten to begin with, yes, but then he is shot.  This is a ‘sure way’of being certain he is dead, and it fits the time period much like crucifixion fit the Roman Empire.  The tying of Jesus to the cross after his death, as we talked about in class, takes a moment of humility and criminalization and turns it into something glorious.  In the movie, the dead body of Jesus is used as an obvious symbol of martydom and something to expose the corruption surrounding the people.
            Honestly, the film has not really changed my notions of Jesus.  As I am not religious, I have passing ideas of him instead of one concrete character. Lauren made a good point in her blog entry – this Jesus stands to remind us that Jesus is a universal figure.  I also think it emphasizes a point that I think many people forget or look over.  This point is that what is important, or rather what should be important, is not who Jesus was or what he looked like but the message that he spread and the goodness he divulged to humanity.

In Son of Man a power struggle becomes evident in the opening sequence as it depicts The Temptations (Matt and Luke 4).  In the movie though the Jesus figure does not speak to Satan until he physically cast Satan behind him, saying “Get behind me Satan” (using the ending of Luke’s Temptations).  In fact Luke is used throughout the movie as one of Jesus’ main teachings is that of the worldly government as opposed to a divinely instituted government, created by the united of the people.  Another interesting thing of the film was the interaction of Satan and the Angels.  Whenever an “evil” deed was being committed, by Satan or the Elders, a Gazelle hoof cane was present with the person committing the deed.  The angels on the other hand appeared only when Jesus himself was in danger.  Interesting enough when Jesus and his family where escaping persecution (mirroring Matt 2) Jesus actually refuses to go with an angel, staying in the world.  This may show that this Jesus knows he is destined for a greater good, as seen with the crucifix that appears when he prays.  In this film the crucifix is also changed from an object of despair to one of unification.  The disciples find the murdered Jesus and hang him as they dance around the body, showing their unification in his teachings but also to expose the government that wanted to cover the murder.  One particular point of interest in this movie to me was the depiction of Judas Iscariot.  In the Gospels, Judas is not given much cause for his betrayal, but in the film Judas is actively seeking a way to condemn Jesus.  Judas seems upset that they, the disciples are not doing anything to topple to government.  To this end he films Jesus’ messages looking for some proof of political want.  This way to interpret Judas as a disgruntled is foreign to me and a new way to look for the possible inactivity of Jesus in relation to his teachings.

The power struggle between Jesus and Satan, at the beginning of “Son of Man”, set the theme for the entire movie. The struggle, while seemingly a struggle between two people, was a struggle between two forces, good and evil. Throughout the film, as bad things are going on, Satan always appears with the evil doers, or right before them. This is the director’s way of showing that there are forces, that are not of this world but who control (or have influence over) the goings on in this world. The character of Jesus, in this film (and in general really), is the embodiment of good. Throughout the movie he is going around and healing helpless people (such as young children), forgiving sinners (the adulteress), and comforting the weak and broken hearted. The last comforting the weak and broken hearted comes in when he lifts the woman, who had come to pour oil on his feet, to her feet, and when he and the disciples comfort the children whose parents and left them in the road as a sign of protest.

                The struggle for good went beyond just helping people, to fighting a corrupt government. Before I started taking Jesus in history and culture, I never saw Jesus as a political figure in the first century. I knew that people would vote based on whether or not a candidate was “Christian”, but I never thought of Jesus being involved in the politics of his own time. “Son of Man” showed how Jesus could go from being kind and loving towards the unfortunate people around him and then turn and be very upset with the government officials. The story also placed Jesus in Africa, in a very difficult circumstance, not unlike the one that was going on in ancient Roman times. Christians today often look at the story of Jesus as a nice story. They see an Arian man who healed people and said a few nice things about Heaven and how to live well. “Son of Man”, as well as this class, helped to change that view for me.

    The film starts out with a man in a white robe who represents Jesus who stands for “good” and a guy that is representing Satan who is wearing a red and black robe who stands for “evil”. It shows Satan tempting Jesus and how Jesus wants nothing to do with him. Satan tries to get Jesus to jump off the cliff and he says “your God will save you” and Jesus won’t do it. He tells Satan to get behind him and pushes him down. Throughout the entire film Satan always appears when there is something bad that is about to happen or has already happened. For example, he appears after the little boys were beaten and killed, he appears at the tent the night Judas leaves to go and betray Jesus, and He also shows up after they beat Jesus.

    There isn’t really a crucifixion scene like we are used to seeing. They come to the garden and take Jesus after Judas betrays him with a kiss. After they have him they take him somewhere where they then almost beat him to death. After they beat him they ask him to join power with them and if he won’t they will kill him. So Jesus then asks how long it will take to kill him because he is not going to join power with them. They take Jesus’ beaten body to an unmarked grave where they then remove his boots because they are something of value and then shoot him. His mother and other women of the Hundred go to remove his body and return back to the city with it where they put it on a cross. They then begin singing and dancing in front of his body. At the end of the film doesn’t really show Jesus resurrecting it just shows his shadow appearing over the empty grave and he is surrounded by little angels. The film ends with Jesus walking up the hill with all of the little angels following him.

    Placing the gospel story alongside a contemporary South African context creates a “new” Jesus figure because it gives us a new way to look at things by being able to compare new ideas with the old ideas we are so used to seeing in the Bible. Being able to look at what the Jesus of contemporary South Africa had to go through makes things so much more real and gives me a better understanding just how Jesus’ life may have been like. Creating the film in this way gives the audience something they can better relate to and may know more about.

   The film’s depiction of Jesus has challenged the preconception or altered the view I had before taking this class because it gives me a better sense of how people around really reacted to his miracles and teachings. At the beginning of the film I didn’t really know what to expect but after watching the entire thing I really enjoyed this film. I enjoyed how this film had you look at the “new” Jesus.

    The introductory scene of Son of Man represents the conflict between the power of good and evil that is present in the world, especially during the time of Jesus. This idea of a cosmic war has been lost in the development of our “Americanized”Christianity. It also reminds us about the context in which Jesus lived and the political power struggle that was apparent. The phrase that is repeated throughout the movie, “This is my world,” tells us that Jesus knows what is going to happen and that it will be messy, but he is willing to do it anyway. The Jesus character preludes to this political battle by preaching that “all authorities are not divinely instituted and those who follow me will have peace.”

     The crucifixion and resurrection scenes function as an expression and uncovering of corruption and violence. There are examples of quotations and paraphrases from the New Testament texts, but these scenes stand to represent a cross-cultural translation instead. This translation is central to the interpretation of the film because the death of Jesus is caused by a culturally specific weapon during a major theme in Africa. The scene of him walking with the angel children represents that in order to be righteous we need to be like children, innocent and authentic.

     This film pulls from Mathew, Mark and Luke mostly, but I gathered that Luke’s Jesus was represented more. Luke emphasizes the role of women as followers of Jesus and in this film there are five females disciples of Jesus. Also, Luke’s Jesus draws on the concept of equality, “blessed are the poor.” One of the goals of the film seems to be to reawaken the idea that the poor/humble will be raised and that the rich will be lowered. This is a tough concept for this century because the majority of the population is living comfortably. The poor people today are not the same as during Jesus’ time and by using Africa as the culture in this film it opens our eyes to a lower standard of living. This film is meant to jostle our “Americanized” view of Jesus and Christianity. It creates a reality that is different from our white, Western image of Jesus and makes us open our eyes to a new way of thinking about Jesus and the gospels.