¶ … Jesus presented in the 1973 movie adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar" is different from the image of Jesus presented in the New Testament Gospels in several ways. Jesus in "Jesus Christ Superstar" is presented as being a media darling. This Jesus is trapped by the way in which he has been made a celebrity, and his fame has him in a stranglehold. The Jesus in this movie is actually created by a sort of mass media hysteria that did not really exist in Biblical times. He is very much portrayed as a superstar, rather than a savior. The picture of Jesus in this movie is not really a good representation of him from the Gospels. This movie portrays him as Jesus from the common person's perspective. This is the way Jesus is taught in Hollywood Sunday schools. This movie is a commentary on the way Jesus is not really talked about. This is not really a good way to learn about Jesus, but a great way to learn about celebrities in this culture.
The Jesus in "Jesus Christ Superstar" is shown as being very lacking self-confidence, though underneath the rock star veneer. He seems unsure of what message he is on earth to give, to some degree. There is only a small moment of this doubt in the Gospels, when Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemene wishing that he did not have to die. However, in this movie it is more than that. Jesus does not really understand what message his death will send, and he is just hoping that his death will have an impact. This Jesus also feels that helping people is trapping. He is disturbed to some degree by the hoards of people wanting his help, when he is surrounded by the lepers and ill people wanting healing. However, in the Gospels Jesus said that those are exactly the kinds of people he wants to be followed by: the ill, not the healthy, and the foolish, not the wise. His feelings of being trapped in the movie are more like those experienced by a celebrity being pursued by the Paparazzi than by Jesus. The final difference is that "Jesus Christ Superstar" is told from the perspective of Judas, not from the point-of-view of someone who actually believed. There is this sentiment that Jesus is somehow wrong, that he is false.
