Deconstructing Religious Status Quo in Jerome Bixby's The Man from Earth

Abstract

This thesis tries to explore the religious status quo that is prevalent in Bixby'sThe Man from Earth. The portrayal of Christ in this film differs from the generally known concept of biblical Christ. The movie has emphasized on the issues related to the whole western Christian tradition and myths. By questioning the religious orthodoxy, iconoclastic views and the origin of biblical Christ, this thesis tries to put forward,Deconstructing Religious Status Quo. With the help of books, anthologies and academic works written on the very topic this thesis tries to analyze the portrayal of the figure of Jesus in the film.By portraying Jesus as a sage and healer from east who learned the practices from Tibetan Monks this thesis tries to simplify and deconstruct the religious status quo. The iconoclastic approach has helped in deconstructing the status quo and dismantling the truthfulness and historical authenticity. In contrary to what has been assumed in the movie, facts speaks that the portrayal of the character in the movie is more inclined to show that the Jesus is non other than a common man with more than average knowledge.