For much of my life the musical theatre genre had been one I avoided. The campiness that runs rampant through the writing and art design all seemed far too much. Possibly adding to this fear of camp was a Catholic upbringing, both in school and at home. The Catholics favoured the modest, and so did the aesthetics of my life at that point.
There were lines you could not cross in Catholic settings, things that could not be joked about. The Bible was one of these things. Later, I realized our school also thought being queer was one of those things. Our Religion classes talked about classic Bible stories like the prodigal son, the mustard seed, the good Samaritan, and others while simultaneously dissing abortion and marriage equality. While we read these stories and I pondered my own identity, I had an epiphany: Jesus is camp.
Far be it from me to sound like a Bible camp counselor, but I had found something very deep-rooted in the Bible that was theatrical, especially when juxtaposed with the demure masses I attended each Sunday. The stories were so dramatic, with every action taken by Jesus being ripe with symbolism and often bizarre. Beyond the Bible itself, the pageantry of the papacy with its opulent architecture and clothing flying in the face of the Franciscan brought even more substance to this lingering feeling. This feeling about Catholicism lay under the surface until I watched Jesus Christ Superstar.
Jesus Christ Superstar is a musical written by Tim Rice and composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The film adaptation directed by Norman Jewison is the version of the story I watched, which came out in 1973. Due to the decade, much of the costuming is very over-the-top, with colours, patterns, and bell bottoms everywhere. The music itself is reminiscent of rock, and draws on the rock opera genre that was popular at the time. All the colour and flash of the musical was on full display. It was entirely different from anything I had previously associated with Christianity.
The ancient sacred text of the Bible is one many believe should be altered drastically, that those words are meant to be followed exactly. In Christian minds, this absolute text contains all there is to be known about morals and guidance. Jesus Christ Superstar makes the bold decision to change a lot of what is directly said about the story of the crucifixion. Judas is still the backstabber and skeptic who ultimately causes Jesus to be arrested before the crucifixion, but the musical takes special care to look at Judas and form a more understandable reason for his betrayal.
The song “Heaven On Their Minds”, which Carl Anderson belts beautifully in the film, is a song criticizing Jesus for losing sight of his original messages and instead putting the focus of his teachings on the afterlife. The song was so poignant to modern day discourse about Christianity and the people who follow it. The messages of the Bible are lost on those who only wish for salvation. I quickly found that upon the release of the original musical it had fallen under scrutiny from Christians for straying from the original story.
The sacredness of the Bible prevented them, at the time, from seeing the modern day importance of the portrayal of the story. The film is now considered a ‘cult’ classic, and the message rings true for many Christians. However, it was only after a long time that they arrived here. Jesus Christ Superstar is a film that rocked people's perceptions of the crucifixion story because it reframes the historical context of the Bible to fit with modern discussions — discussions about how people see Christianity and the issues that can come with an improper understanding of the messages it tries to teach.
The truth is, the Bible as a text is difficult to directly apply to modern scenarios. It promotes slavery and extreme sexism in a time nobody on earth was alive to be in. As Western society progresses forward, one would expect that the religion that was used to justify its inception would progress alongside it to guide people’s morals. It is difficult to move on from the past when modern Christians often refuse to examine the death and destruction their religion caused during colonization across the world.
I wish there would be more creative interpretations, recreations of the stories in the Bible like in Superstar. But in order for those to exist, the fundamental structure of the Church must be uprooted and material reconciliation to the countries and societies harmed is achieved.
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