A Course Blog for Elon's REL 204: Christian Traditions.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Morgan Freeman
Did anyone ever see the movie Bruce Almighty? Morgan Freeman, a black man, plays god in this film. Why do you think he was cast to play the part? Why would the film stray from casting an actor who looks like the stereotypical Jesus? Did this hurt, enhance, or have no affect on the film's publicity? Did this surprise you? What was your response?
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I love that movie! I also like Evan Almighty....its similar to Bruce Almighty, it even has Morgan Freeman playing God (the difference is that Evan Almighty is played by Steve Carell). I think that perhaps the film would have a Morgan Freeman play God (even though it is not what many people would picture Jesus or God to look like) because Morgan's voice is so powerful, yet so calm, peaceful, and soothing. From my understanding, God (Morgan Freeman) was never called Jesus...which makes me think that the film viewed God and Jesus as two separate beings. I think many people loved the fact that Morgan Freeman played God (I know I did). To me, it doesn't matter what race God is (if He even has one). I think Morgan Freeman did a great job at portraying Gods loving personality, which is what really matters to me.
ReplyDeleteThis movie is such a great example of an atypical example of how God is usually depicted! I think that aside from maybe skin color, however, Morgan Freeman does in fact have some characteristics that are usually associated with God - like a beard to show his age, the fact that he is rather old (he's 78, I looked it up) which makes us think that he is wise, and his deep and booming voice! He wore all white in both movies as Jesus and God are often depicted as being clothed in white.
ReplyDeleteI think that because he is such a popular actor, his role in this movie only helped the film's publicity. What I think is even more interesting than just Morgan Freeman's appearance is how he portrays God in his acting. Freeman plays sort of a sassy God in both Bruce Almighty and Evan Almighty, which made these films funnier for sure because I don't think it is typical to often imagine God as sassy and sarcastic. Overall, Freeman's role as God interesting and I think he did a great job!
That is such a great movie. In Evan Almighty, Morgan Freeman takes on the role of God, which I think is an interesting concept since we do not typically think of God as a human figure. Instead, since Jesus is the incarnation of God and therefore was an actual living person, other humans typically assign a certain race to Christ. As curious individuals, humans are fascinated with appearances and are eager to know what Jesus looked like so that they can relate to him and better understand his motivations. Since we are only familiar with humans and are unsure of the divine, it makes sense for Christians to create an image of Christ so that he appears to be more human and so that others can identify with him. This movie, however, does not dwell on the debate over Jesus' race but instead focuses on the appearance of God. Do you think it makes sense to have God seen as a humanly figure? Does this detract from or enhance the film? On another note, I think that the directors are trying to emphasize that race has no importance for any of the three members of the Trinity. Race is a biological concept that reveals nothing about an individual other than that person's appearance. Humans assign importance to race, which only has cultural and societal implications, because individuals seem to associate certain races with certain qualities, which is based on erroneous stereotypes and personal/communal biases. The directors are trying to defy any prejudices toward African Americans by demonstrating that they are just as capable as any other race. Race and character are two distinct categories that should not be mixed. Morgan Freeman excels at his character since he is wise, calm, funny, compassionate, forgiving, patient, and caring, which are all qualities we associate with God. The point is that race should not matter, so when Christians obsess about the exterior they miss the importance of the interior.
ReplyDeleteHave you all noticed that Freeman is now narrating/ being featured in a Nat Geo program called "The Story of God"? He travels around the world exploring different conceptions of the divine over time. I think that Rayven's point, that Freeman has characteristics we often associate with God, is probably the reason they asked him. He appears fair-minded, he speaks with gravitas, etc.
ReplyDeleteI think Morgan Freeman is probably THE actor we associate with playing God. I never really thought about the fact that he's black and that's abnormal for a God figure; Morgan Freeman just fit the part so well! I have seen Evan Almighty at least 5 times (it was my fave movie once upon a time) and every time I always think "wow that was a good casting call to make Morgan Freeman God." Like Professor Huber said, Freeman speaks with gravitas; he seems so wise and all knowing. I would probably believe anything that came out of that man's mouth. And his voice is so soothing. All that to say, I think we associated VOICES with God more than faces. Jesus has a face, a social norm of white guy with long brown hair and a beard. God doesn't have a face that we think of; He is immaterial. Even in the Bible, we only ever get the Voice of God, not the face. And since God is supposed to be caring but commanding, loving and wise, it makes sense that we would associate a soothing but firm voice like Morgan Freeman's with God. In this, I think that a lot of society leaves behind racial norms, which is cool.
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