South Park surprises
Comics can’t leave God alone
By Gerry Bowler • Special to ChristianWeek
You meet God in the strangest places these days. Take the comics page, for instance, where devoted followers of Gary Trudeau’s Doonesbury were treated recently to a week of discussion about the nature of death, eternal life and the necessity of faith in the Supreme Being. This unlikely excursion into theology was occasioned by the death of the character Lacey Davenport, a liberal Congresswoman who has long been a feature of Doonesbury’s treatment of life in Washington’s halls of power. As she lies dying, Lacey’s long-dead husband appears to guide her into heaven and tell her about the after-life where, he says, it is still necessary to believe in God.
Today’s movies, as regular readers of this newspaper’s CultureWatch can attest, are also likely places to encounter images of the divine or religious situations. The millions who flocked to see the cinematic blockbuster Titanic heard a lengthy and majestic passage from the Book of Revelation and saw a crowd of desperate passengers being comforted by a clergyman and his recitation of Scripture. They also saw a faithful group of musicians playing hymns to calm the panicking as the ship settled beneath the waves.
In Brad Silberling’s film City of Angels, starring Meg Ryan and Nicholas Cage, audiences were given an extended meditation on the nature of angels and the attractions of a temporal human life, rich in sensual pleasure, versus a life of disembodied service. We see Seth, one of a multitude of angels who watch unseen over humans, choose to abandon immortality for the love of a woman and struggle with the disadvantages and delights of a physical existence.
Most striking
But what is perhaps the most striking example of the peculiar places in which the media-consuming public is offered a chance to meet God is television’s controversial animated comedy South Park.
Known for the its raunchy humor, South Park features as Jesus one of its regular characters–he is the amiable and gentle host of a cable-TV talk show. In one episode the devil challenges him to a boxing match on pay-per-view. Wagering is heavily in favor of the Evil One, who appears to be in magnificent shape and who, early in the fight, easily thrashes an unresisting Christ. However, the tiniest of blows from Jesus eventually knocks Lucifer down and he returns to the infernal regions a richer demon for the experience. The kicker is that he was the only one smart enough to bet on the Savior.
In most of these examples, the theology is doubtful at best and wildly incorrect in other instances. In Doonesbury, for example, Lacey Davenport’s enjoyment of her entrance to heaven is marred by her revulsion at the decorating style employed in the after-life. Hush, she is told, Mrs. God was responsible for the bad taste in decor.
In Titanic we hear the assertion that the hero saved the heroine in every way it was possible for a human to be saved. And in City of Angels God’s messengers are seen to be a black-clad cheerless lot operating out of some vague sense of duty and devoid of the joy and love that earlier Christianity knew angels to be full of. (Readers who want a deeper insight in the psychology and beauty of angels may wish to consult the poetry of John Milton and Edmund Spenser.)
Surprising accuracy
Surprisingly it is the foul-mouthed South Park where the theology is impeccable–a treacherous devil, an unconquerable Jesus, a fickle and greedy public, quick to desert God.
What then is the late-twentieth century Christian to do when confronted by inaccurate or offensive presentations of divine truth?
Unless we withdraw into Fortress Evangelical we are going to encounter such images regularly. We must accept the fact that the electronic media is where the theological action is, where ideas and dilemmas about God and humanity are being thrashed out daily. If we want our truths to triumph we can’t turn our backs or spend much time complaining–we have to be in the marketplace with our own stories and pictures.
We must produce a new generation of Christian communicators who will go beyond the pulpit or the writing of choruses or tracts to take our message into cartoons, movies, advertisements and popular song. The new mission field is right in front of us and its name is MEDIA.
Gerry Bowler is a Winnipeg writer and historian. He can be reached at kjensen@cc.umanitoba.ca.
