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Rick Moore, professor in the Department of Media, recently published a journal article titled “Deconstructing the Icon: Popular and Academic (Mis)Conceptions of the Cinematic Jesus.”
Moore developed interest in the topic upon seeing a number of journalists express concern for the prevalence of particular depictions of Jesus in popular culture. More specifically, a number of culture writers bemoan the persistence of “blonde-haired blue-eyed” images of Christ in film and television. In the study published in the journal Religions, Moore reviewed academic writings on this subject to determine what scholars have learned about the way Jesus is portrayed in contemporary cinema. This review of the literature revealed that academics express some of the same views as journalists. That is, they too are concerned that images of the Messiah are not accurate, especially in regard to physiological characteristics such as the color of his skin, hair and eyes. Even so, Moore’s review showed that research in this area often lacked clarity and was sometimes contradictory.
Based on this, Moore gathered and examined all mainstream movies from 1984 to 2024 that included characters who represented Jesus. Upon examining those, it was determined that the blonde-haired blue-eyed version of Christ is a rarity. Put simply, the most recent images of Christ on screen are racially quite diverse. The study raises interesting questions about the tendency of academics and journalists to fail to recognize changes in popular culture, especially if those changes might represent what many in the audience think of as changes for the better.