this is stuff you like and you voted for it and you asked for it and here it is
Jesus Christ Superstar. okay we're going to start with the two things I do like
about it 1. the title song is very catchy and kind of kick-ass and I like
it a lot 2. I don't like some of the words terribly
much but I don't know how to love him has a very pretty tune. I wanted to
provide some coherent insight as to why I don't really like Jesus Christ
Superstar and there are three things going on 1. I'm not actually a fan of
Andrew Lloyd Webber. Phantom of the Opera is the exception I don't like Cats
Joseph is okay I really don't like love never dies
Evitas okay I guess I don't exactly stan for Lord Webber is what I'm saying here
but I don't hate him at everything he does so it's not that. Second problem is
I don't like the music at all and I can't even explain why as my colleagues
will happily tell you I have absolutely no taste in pop music but this? No. the
distaste I have for the music of most of Jesus Christ Superstar is visceral it's
primal every time I hear it I want to punch a hippy. This is not a usual impulse
for me nor is it one that I think is particularly productive but I can't
articulate why I don't like the music just that I really really don't so
that's not much help. third point though I don't like the content and I think
that's a much more fruitful line of inquiry. I don't mean that I don't like
the content in a 'I think this should be banned!' kind of way because no, but I
dislike it in a 'really? Ugh.' kind of way. To be honest watching Jesus Christ
Superstar makes me yearn for Monty Python's Life of Brian because Life of
Brian is actually witty clever funny and though this may sound a little bit
bizarre I feel like life of Brian is much more respectful of Jesus and
Christianity than Jesus Christ Superstar is. And now you're thinking really? but
yes okay so the plot of Jesus Christ Superstar goeth thusly: Judas is a
disciple of Jesus but really unimpressed by the direction things
are going we didn't say you were a God before he says and the Romans are going
to come down on us like a ton of bricks if we keep going the way we're going.
Also you hang around with that prostitute and it doesn't look good from a PR
standpoint (I am NOT even going there) moving on. Jesus followers are all hyped
up for going into Jerusalem and the high priest figures that killing Jesus is the
only way to stop them all from being wiped out by the Romans because Jesus
half witted fans are going to get out of control and then what. Judas
decides that he has to turn Jesus into Caiphas to save them but then when that
happens Jesus is banded back and forth between Pilate and Herod and then
sentenced to death Judas is overcome by guilt and kills himself and then
there's a musical number while Jesus dies where Judas wants to know what the
heck that was all about. Jesus dies officially the end staged versions may
differ as to what happens next. so about Judas I feel like Judas
betrayal is really badly explained and poorly motivated what exactly is he
hoping to accomplish by handling Jesus over to the high priest? like is he
hoping to save people's lives and if so how will handing Jesus over to the high
priest save people's lives? is it not possible that having Jesus arrested
would just cause a worse riot? are you really thinking this through Judas? and
given that this musical focuses on Judas who by the way is not embezzling money
in this version unlike in the Gospels that's a bit of an issue for me I just
don't feel his overwhelming fear of the Romans I mean he tries but there is no
lyrical clarity on what having Jesus arrested by the high priest would
actually accomplish the musical just seems to assume that you know what's
going on and I don't because Jesus Christ Superstar doesn't really seem to
be able to make up its mind about Jesus. Jesus Christ Superstar do you think
you're what they say you are? well? do you? it's all very well playing fast and
loose with the source material but Jesus Christ Superstar simultaneously acts like
you should know the source material and also does not explain why things differ
from it. like why is Judas no longer embezzling money?
what is Judas plan to save Jesus by having him arrested?
How does that work? And as for Jesus I mean what's going on with him? He seems
kind of stressed but that's possibly understandable given the whole imminent
death thing but while I get that they left out the resurrection there's a
whole lot of stuff in there that's just up for grabs and kind of ambiguous can
Jesus walk on water for example the song where he can't heal the sick because
there are hundreds of the manages to imply that if there were fewer of them
he could do it. the high priests reference is a trick with the lepers
which implies that Jesus can heal people and Herod says that he's heard about
Jesus raising the dead (they call him a miracle man) so is he the Son of God? can
he heal people? is he a charlatan? there's no textual evidence in Jesus Christ
Superstar for the latter but the musical starts with the idea that we're going to
strip away the myth from the man which kind of implies that the whole Son of
God thing isn't right either. Incidentally: separating the myth from
the man how very exciting no one's tried that before. but then - but then! It just
spectacularly fails at doing that thing! I mean if by stripping away the myth you
mean stripping away the miracles and the Son of God thing and the resurrection
then gotta say you've not exactly done a brilliant job of it
you could have implied more strongly that it was all trickery for example but
instead you imply that he's capable of healing the sick and you also imply that
he's capable of raising the dead and you outright STATE that he's putting that
he's the son of God on his handouts. is the idea that Jesus is a miraculous
healer but now believes his own press about being a deity? and if so where has
that press come from? because they're his handouts surely he would know what they
said. and if he is in fact deluded then why in the movie is he having accurate
visions of the future? if he's become a lunatic who thinks he's God then how is
he still able to do that stuff? and also if you're going to go the whole dying
will ensure that you are remembered forever route then it's kind of weird
that you left out why Jesus isn't remembered because he died, everyone dies.
Jesus is remembered because he died but then his followers claimed that he came
back to life if it weren't that belief that they had: that he had
come back to life and they had seen him and that they had a job to do now his
dying would have accomplished nothing so it's weird to me that the musical puts
so much emphasis on the dying without pointing out that dying by itself
doesn't really do anything. Jesus' followers burst onto the scene as this
weird sect claiming HE IS RISEN! He is risen he died but then he came back and
he is Lord and not Caesar, Caesar's not Lord Jesus is
Lord! They don't go out into the world all 'Jesus taught us to do good so we
should go out into the world and do good' instead they go out into the world like
'DEATH IS BEATEN BIATCHES let's go save people and tell about the resurrection
and also heal their afflictions with the miraculous power we've been given by the
Holy Spirit WOO!' What I'm going for here is if you're going to present an alternate
take on the birth of Christianity this is a pretty rubbish one. And if you're
going to try and present an alternate take on Jesus then this is a theologically
and frankly just logically incoherent one. And if you're going to set Judas up
as the tragic hero you're just going to have to work a bit harder than that. And
the music still makes me want to punch a hippy seriously what's up with that?
anyway thank you to my patrons even if you voted for this episode I don't hate
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see you next time probably for something I like a bit better.