Space Jesus? Yeah, right....

    When I was a kid, E.T. creeped me out. Something about that little, weird looking alien was just creepy to me. And I remember that the part with the government officials taking over the house, and E.T. and Elliot getting sick was really scary. Now, I honestly can’t remember the last time I had seen E.T., but it has been quite a few years. I figured that by now I’d be over the creepy aspect and would just see it as a cute, funny movie about a friendly little alien. Nope. It was still creepy. Cute and funny, but still creepy. Then I read Frank P. Tomasulo’s article “The Gospel According to Spielberg in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial” and the entire concept of the movie just creeped me out even more. 

    I grew up in a somewhat religious household. While I am not a bible thumping Christian who feels the need to preach from the street corner, I do have my beliefs and they have been a large part of my life ever since I was born. So while I was reading Tomasulo’s article, I really began to feel uncomfortable as he started pointing out the religious symbols and

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similarities that had escaped me. The scene with E.T. in the back of the van looking like “space Jesus” was an obvious similarity, but I had just found it humorous and didn’t take it seriously. The association of both E.T. and Jesus having resurrected from the dead, the manger and tool shed similarities, the final words that both characters left to their “followers,” and having miraculous powers are all astonishingly accurate. And, at least to me, rather unnerving. I also found it somewhat rude and insulting that Tomasulo basically says that Jesus Christ is an alien. He may have been a supernatural being and had abilities that are difficult understand, but he was by no means an alien. I want to believe that a lot of these similarities are far-fetched and really not the intention of Spielberg, but Tomasulo points out too many themes and scenes for it all to be merely coincidence. 

    On an unrelated note, a lot of film analysts want to label the man with the keys as a father figure. I disagree. To me, that man is just another character who’s purpose is to provide suspense in the scenes before he reveals is face, and to act as an understanding friend towards Elliott when he finally does reveal himself. The man provides suspense because we never see his face and his keys prove him to be a man of authority. He is obviously looking for E.T. throughout the film, but the ominous music makes it seem like he could want to hurt him. When we finally see his face, the man is basically just excited that aliens exist. He wants to help E.T. and understands how much he means to Elliott. While the other adults may not listen to Elliott because he is “just a kid,” the could listen to this man because he is an adult. The idea that he is a father figure seems pointless to me. 

    Overall, E.T. really is a great film and is enjoyable to watch. Especially when you watch it as a work of fiction, instead of over analyzing it and comparing E.T. to Jesus...