The Bible and Music

Class got cancelled today and let me tell you, my tired self almost yelled out with happiness when reading the e-mail declaring it. I enjoy the material of this class, however, at that moment, I was on track to get 4 hours of sleep. I ended up going home on Sunday to spend the day with my mom and have dinner with her. This being said, I stayed a little later than I thought I would and had to stay up late to complete all of my homework.

While I was home, my mom and I decided to watch bits and pieces of Jesus Christ Superstar. After discussing the original version in class, I was eager to see how this newer version would play out. In my opinion, which doesn’t mean much considering I have no affiliation with Christianity, they did a good job framing the stories of the Bible. I read up on other people’s reviews and many claimed they thought the casting of John Legend was a mistake. However, I enjoyed that they provided the audience with a take on Jesus that we haven’t seen before. I personally do not think Jesus looked the way he is often times depicted, with long hair, olive skin, and abs. If you think about the fact that the jews had to flea Egypt to get salvation from slavery, it only makes sense that Jesus, as a jew, would have more of an African ethnicity, not white. The evidence is there as to how Jesus could be black, but it makes people uncomfortable, as it contradicts the traditional ideas of Jesus.

Overall, I feel the director did a good job of making Biblical stories more interesting, even to people who do not follow the religion. Their choice to use John Legend was bold, but paid off in the end.