Often I can write all my sentiments about a film in one post. However, Man of Steel is an exception. I recently went and saw it a second time. This time I paid more attention to Kal-El/Clark Kent/ Superman's relationship with his fathers Jor-El and Jonathan Kent. Kevin Costner plays Jonathan, who in the flashbacks lectures Clark on how he is different and must keep his true identity and abilities a secret. Jonathan reminds me of Joseph and how he must have spoken to Jesus Christ growing up. I can only imagine how difficult it would have been to try and raise God. Jonathan tells Clark in one scene, "You are my son, but you have another father and he sent you here for a reason." This is exactly what I think Joseph might have said to Jesus in vulnerable moment. We have to remember that our Lord and Savior had to adapt to our world in his flesh vessel. He was use to being omnipotent and omnipresent. He had operated outside of time and was not bound by a body with limits. Granted Clark represents more of the Glorified state of Christ, when he could ascend, go through walls and etc. But the point is still valid, that Clark like Christ had to adapt to our planet.
Then there is when Kal-El meets his true father on board the ship hidden in ice. Jor-El tells his son that he transferred his consciousness to the ship. That he lives on despite having died at the hands of General Zod. Jor-El being a consciousness and yet in the image of a man is exactly how The Father is described in the Bible. It says, "He looked like man," and Charlton Heston portraying Moses in The Ten Commandments articulated that he is "Eternal mind." Jor-El tells his son the entire history of Krypton and says a statement that resonates deeply, "what if a child was more than what society dictated? What if child aspired to something greater?" This the exact call of every Christian. We are to break free of the chains of our society and be not of this world, but in it." (John 17:16).
Jor-El then tells Clark his name and that he comes from the House of El. I have already articulated that El in Hebrew means God. It is incorporated in the name of God like El-ohim or it can mean from God like Micha-El or Gaberi-El. Jor-El then tells Kal that he is "the embodiment of all his (Jor-El and Lara's) hopes and dreams." Jor-El tells Clark that the human race will learn from him, that he can teach them to be better. Jor-El then says, "they will stumble, they will fall, but in time they will race behind you." This reminds me yet again of what The Father would say to Jesus about his fate with the human race. We as God's children do stumble and fall, but we race and follow Christ, looking to him for guidance and the path to an abundant life.
Another striking scene is when Kal-El has seen the transmission of Zod's threat. He visits a chapel with beautiful stain glass and talks to a priest about what he should do. As Kal-El speaks to the priest, you can see behind Kal a image of Christ in the stain glass. This is an obvious foreshadowing, trying to make the audience understand that Kal-El is an allegorical Jesus and messianic figure. The Priest after hearing Clark's concerns tells him a bit of advice that also resonates, "Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith first, then the trust comes later."
Going back to Clark's relationship with Jonathan, I was deeply moved by the scene where Clark is a boy warring a red towel as cape. Kent looks at him and seems to be aware of something, a hint of Clark's destiny. It makes me think of Joseph and how he might have experienced the same with Jesus. Maybe one day when little Jesus was helping Joseph work in Jerusalem on a door, he saw boy Jesus carry a two-by-four and in that moment a feeling may have fallen on Joseph that he was seeing what one day this child would do for the whole world.
Finally, a moment that moved me in second viewing was when Jor-El was fighting Zod on Krypton. Kal-El was in pod which was prepping to launch and Jor-El knew he had to hold back Zod and his retinue lest his son never make it to Earth. The image of a father fighting to protect his innocent son just moved me. I think all sons want to see their fathers stand up for them and protect them from harm. I felt deepy envious of Kal-El, wishing that I could have had father who did the same for me. Then I remember, my Heavenly Father and how he has protected me from great harm and kept the evil horde at bay.
These are but a few moments in Man of Steel that spoke to me and that clearly indicate a Christian symbolism and influence on the film. I understand that you could interpret the story differently, that It's really the Olympians, that Kal-El is Hercules and Jor-El is Zeus. The only problem with that interpretation is the use of El in the name, a clear link to the Hebrew name for God and the scene where Kal-El stretches his hands out in the shape of cross in front of his Father and over the Earth. There happens to be choir playing when Kal-El makes the crucifix and I don't think that was by chance. *wink*
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