The Twilight Zone
"In His Image"
The first episode of the fourth season of The Twilight Zone makes a strong allusion to Genesis. The episode’s title “In His Image” comes close to quoting Genesis 1:26 which reads: “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” The show begins by showing a man, Alan Talbot, who is attempting to bring the girl he wants to marry to his hometown to meet his aunt. When they arrive, he seems to have forgotten everything he could about where things are in the town and even finds that the house he thought he lived in is being occupied by another family. He searches everywhere but cannot find a trace of evidence that he or his aunt ever lived there. Alan goes to the home of Walter Ryder, who he thinks could have some answers as to what is going on and finds out the truth about himself. Walter explains to him that he made Alan only days before. Walter wanted to create another human being with feeling, emotion, and free will. He shows Alan his other creations as proof and tells him that there is something wrong. Alan escaped from Walter’s laboratory because he tried to kill Walter. He has already killed once in the episode and tried to kill his fiancée showing that the problem with Walter’s robots is that they often have the urge to kill. Alan suddenly has this urge again while telling Walter to marry his fiancée. This time Walter kills Alan and goes on to live Alan’s life with his new wife.
By wanting to create another human life, Walter is taking on the role of God. Just as it is said in Genesis 1:26, Walter wanted to create Alan to his likeness. Walter gave Alan his face, body structure, memories, and interests. He has built a laboratory in his basement for the purpose of living out his childhood fantasy of creating another person and playing God. Although everything inside of Walter’s new “human” is robotic and frequently has technical problems, he has come as close as he can to creating another being in the way God had done with Adam.
"In His Image"
The first episode of the fourth season of The Twilight Zone makes a strong allusion to Genesis. The episode’s title “In His Image” comes close to quoting Genesis 1:26 which reads: “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” The show begins by showing a man, Alan Talbot, who is attempting to bring the girl he wants to marry to his hometown to meet his aunt. When they arrive, he seems to have forgotten everything he could about where things are in the town and even finds that the house he thought he lived in is being occupied by another family. He searches everywhere but cannot find a trace of evidence that he or his aunt ever lived there. Alan goes to the home of Walter Ryder, who he thinks could have some answers as to what is going on and finds out the truth about himself. Walter explains to him that he made Alan only days before. Walter wanted to create another human being with feeling, emotion, and free will. He shows Alan his other creations as proof and tells him that there is something wrong. Alan escaped from Walter’s laboratory because he tried to kill Walter. He has already killed once in the episode and tried to kill his fiancée showing that the problem with Walter’s robots is that they often have the urge to kill. Alan suddenly has this urge again while telling Walter to marry his fiancée. This time Walter kills Alan and goes on to live Alan’s life with his new wife.
By wanting to create another human life, Walter is taking on the role of God. Just as it is said in Genesis 1:26, Walter wanted to create Alan to his likeness. Walter gave Alan his face, body structure, memories, and interests. He has built a laboratory in his basement for the purpose of living out his childhood fantasy of creating another person and playing God. Although everything inside of Walter’s new “human” is robotic and frequently has technical problems, he has come as close as he can to creating another being in the way God had done with Adam.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Aslan the Lion
There are so many biblical allusions in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe but one of the most apparent is the allusion of Aslan as Jesus. Aslan is the son of the Emperor over the Sea, a powerful being just as Jesus is the powerful being God. Aslan being a lion is also an allusion in itself. In Revelation 5:5 Jesus is referred to as the Lion of Judah. “And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” (Revelation 5:5)
The most obvious allusion of Aslan the Lion as a Jesus in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is in the way he died. When Edmund is captured by the White Queen, the only one who can save him is Aslan. Even though Edmund betrayed Aslan by going against what he told Edmund to do, Aslan gave himself to the White Queen so that he could have his freedom. Aslan gave himself to be killed by the servants of the White Queen for Edmund as Jesus gave himself to be killed by the Roman soldiers for the salvation of sinners. Before Aslan was killed, he was humiliated just as Jesus was before he was hung on the cross. Aslan’s mane was cut off, tied to a stone table, and muzzled before his death to cause humiliation for him just as the Romans humiliated Jesus by the crown of thorns and whipping him before hanging him on the cross. After Aslan died, his “followers” Lucy and Susan stayed behind. While they are walking away, they feel the shake from the stone tablet Aslan is on breaking and turn back to see what is going on. Lucy and Susan see that Aslan is gone from the stone and is standing behind it walking towards them as he explains how he is alive. Although Aslan did not take three days to resurrect from death as it did for Jesus, it is quite similar to Jesus’ followers finding Jesus missing from behind his stone tablet to find out that he has resurrected from death.
Aslan the Lion
There are so many biblical allusions in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe but one of the most apparent is the allusion of Aslan as Jesus. Aslan is the son of the Emperor over the Sea, a powerful being just as Jesus is the powerful being God. Aslan being a lion is also an allusion in itself. In Revelation 5:5 Jesus is referred to as the Lion of Judah. “And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” (Revelation 5:5)
The most obvious allusion of Aslan the Lion as a Jesus in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is in the way he died. When Edmund is captured by the White Queen, the only one who can save him is Aslan. Even though Edmund betrayed Aslan by going against what he told Edmund to do, Aslan gave himself to the White Queen so that he could have his freedom. Aslan gave himself to be killed by the servants of the White Queen for Edmund as Jesus gave himself to be killed by the Roman soldiers for the salvation of sinners. Before Aslan was killed, he was humiliated just as Jesus was before he was hung on the cross. Aslan’s mane was cut off, tied to a stone table, and muzzled before his death to cause humiliation for him just as the Romans humiliated Jesus by the crown of thorns and whipping him before hanging him on the cross. After Aslan died, his “followers” Lucy and Susan stayed behind. While they are walking away, they feel the shake from the stone tablet Aslan is on breaking and turn back to see what is going on. Lucy and Susan see that Aslan is gone from the stone and is standing behind it walking towards them as he explains how he is alive. Although Aslan did not take three days to resurrect from death as it did for Jesus, it is quite similar to Jesus’ followers finding Jesus missing from behind his stone tablet to find out that he has resurrected from death.
Lady Gaga
"Judas"
Lady Gaga’s song “Judas” is full of many biblical allusions but there are a couple instances where she puts herself in the role of Mary Magdalene. The first comes when Lady Gaga is seen washing the man’s feet who is portraying Jesus. Near the end of the video, she is in a tub of water with both Jesus and Judas while she rinses Jesus’ feet and uses her hair to wash them. This is a reference to Luke where Mary Magdalene is believed to be the woman in the story who is believed to perform the action that Lady Gaga is demonstrating. “And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.” (Luke 7:37-38) Although Lady Gaga is not washing her Jesus’ feet in the exact way that Mary had done in the Bible, her point is clear that she wants to be seen in that moment as Mary Magdalene.
Lady Gaga puts herself in the role of Mary Magdalene once more at the very end of the video. She appears in a white gown and falls over from being stoned. Lady Gaga is making a reference to the woman in John 8 who is saved by Jesus while she is being stoned. “Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:5-11) Although it is not certain who this woman was who had been saved from stoning by Jesus, but it is speculated that this woman was Mary Magdalene. Because of the reference Lady Gaga has already made to Mary, I believe she intended for this to be another. The song is about a woman sinning by choosing Judas above Jesus so it only makes sense that she would take on a role of another sinner in the Bible who was very close to Jesus.
"Judas"
Lady Gaga’s song “Judas” is full of many biblical allusions but there are a couple instances where she puts herself in the role of Mary Magdalene. The first comes when Lady Gaga is seen washing the man’s feet who is portraying Jesus. Near the end of the video, she is in a tub of water with both Jesus and Judas while she rinses Jesus’ feet and uses her hair to wash them. This is a reference to Luke where Mary Magdalene is believed to be the woman in the story who is believed to perform the action that Lady Gaga is demonstrating. “And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.” (Luke 7:37-38) Although Lady Gaga is not washing her Jesus’ feet in the exact way that Mary had done in the Bible, her point is clear that she wants to be seen in that moment as Mary Magdalene.
Lady Gaga puts herself in the role of Mary Magdalene once more at the very end of the video. She appears in a white gown and falls over from being stoned. Lady Gaga is making a reference to the woman in John 8 who is saved by Jesus while she is being stoned. “Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:5-11) Although it is not certain who this woman was who had been saved from stoning by Jesus, but it is speculated that this woman was Mary Magdalene. Because of the reference Lady Gaga has already made to Mary, I believe she intended for this to be another. The song is about a woman sinning by choosing Judas above Jesus so it only makes sense that she would take on a role of another sinner in the Bible who was very close to Jesus.
What I found in common with these three biblical allusions is the attempt to imitate the role of a person in the Bible. The Twilight Zone’s “In His Image” is just one of the many examples of a person trying to take on the role of God in creating another living thing. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is probably the best example of a representation of Jesus, along with having so many other popular allusions to the Bible. Although Lady Gaga’s Mary Magdalene reference is not as obvious as the others, making you look harder to find it unlike the others in the video, it is still one of the better ones that I have seen. Trying to play the role of God, Jesus, or anyone in the Bible seems to be popular throughout modern culture.
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