The Man Of Steel marketing campaign, notable for its astonishing highs (all the theatrical trailers and TV spots) and cringeworthy lows (all the product placement), has hit its nadir, as details of a campaign targeted at churchgoers have been revealed.
The blockbuster already has at least 94 merchandising and product placement deals in place (a new record, and reportedly enough to claw back most of its budget before its release), but that's not enough for the film's promoters, who are now trying to sell it from the pulpit.
CNN reports that Warner Bros. paid a thelogian, Pepperdine University's Craig Detwiler, to prepare a nine-page set of "sermon notes", titled Jesus: The Original Superhero, to help ministers preach about Man Of Steel. The sermon notes ask: "How might the story of Superman awaken our passion for the greatest hero who ever lived and died and rose again?"
The sermon notes actually encourage the pastor to say the words, "Let's take a look at the trailer for Man Of Steel."
(In case you're wondering: No, I'm not making any of this up. I only wish I could lodge my tongue this deep in my cheek.)
Detwiler (who wrote similar notes for The Blind Side and The Book Of Eli, films that were at least nominally faith-based) justified his assignment by saying the Superman film gives churches a chance to engage with pop culture, instead of condemning it: "All too often, religious communities have been defined by what they're against. With a movie like Man Of Steel, this is a chance to celebrate a movie that affirms faith, sacrifice and service."
Baltimore pastor Quentin Scott was sent the sermon notes and an invite to an early screening of the film, and told CNN that when he "sat and listened to the movie I actually saw it was the story of Christ".
Ohio Sunday school teacher and deacon PJ Wenzel was less impressed with the campaign: "As they entertain their congregants with material pumped out from Hollywood's sewers, lives are kept in bondage, and people's souls are neglected."
The distasteful sermon notes steal the dubious honour of the most questionable Man Of Steel tie-in away from the Soldier Of Steel campaign, which saw everybody's favourite illegal immigrant stumping for the National Guard.
Like most cinematic takes on Superman, Man Of Steel is not short on Christian parallels. Screenwriter David S Goyer's version of the character makes his greatest sacrifice at age 33; is seen plunging towards Earth with his arms outstretched, crucifixion-style (after being told by a holographic apparition of his father that he can "save all of them"); and is briefly seen framed in front of a stained-glass panel of Jesus.
Personally, my issue with equating a pop culture commodity to Jesus isn't that it's offensive (as far as I'm concerned, Jesus and Superman are both fictional characters), although I would certainly find it so if I was a churchgoer. (Since the target market for this campaign is churchgoers, that's a problem.)
My problem is that these allusions, which also plagued Superman: The Movie and (especially) Superman Returns, are so, so cheap and so, so lazy; an obvious attempt to invest popcorn entertainment with a superficial layer of meaning that doesn't hold up to any sort of scrutiny and still wouldn't add anything to the story if it did.
It's not that Superman isn't an aspirational figure, or that he doesn't continue a tradition of mythological heroes (he obviously is, and he obviously does). It's just that the Jesus comparison is so trite, and isn't particularly accurate anyway — Moses and/or Samson are better fits, if you absolutely must go Biblical. When you make Superman reenact the Stations of the Cross, it just looks like you're trying to fool the rubes.
Sure, it might help sell a few tickets in the Bible belt. But Daft Punk put even more effort into marketing their last album than the Man Of Steel team, and they didn't feel the need to throw a few gospel numbers onto Random Access Memories.
Jesus was a pacifist, and except for that one movie where he didn't punch anybody, Superman is no pacifist. He doesn't lead with his fists, but he doesn't back down from a fight, either — certainly not in Man Of Steel, where massive property damage is the order of the day.
There was, of course, one occasion when Jesus did resort to violence — when moneychangers corrupted the Temple with their commercial activities. Sound familiar, Warner Bros?
Sadly, in this analogy, Superman is not the messiah.
He's just a very naughty boy.
