Day 13: Wrap up, Part 2

Jewish people only take about 2-3% of the American population, while Catholics take up about ¼ of the population. This discrepancy could be the source of the Christian ideas being heavily favored.

There are other faith traditions present- pagan gods are mentioned, and there are Islamic ideas present as well. But the show is very focused on the Judeo-Christian, specifically Judeo-Catholic ideas.

Although some people may be insulted by how Supernatural secularizes many aspects of the different traditions, it is not a new idea. There are many people who identify as “Secular Jews,” they are Jewish by culture but not by faith. Although this idea is practically nonexistent in Catholicism, this show is an example of applying the Catholic tradition in a way that is not strictly faith based.

Supernatural is well loved by its fans, and it educates the viewers about various aspects of the two faiths whether they realize it or not. The different interpretations of Catholicism and Judaism are interesting to watch and to see develop throughout the show. 

Day 12: Wrap Up, Part 1

Supernatural is about exactly what it sounds like, the supernatural. Since supernatural ideas and theories come from religious roots, it is not surprising that the creators of the show borrowed ideas from Judaism and Catholicism.

 The Catholic themes are more prominent and there are more of them present in the show. Since Supernatural was created and is written by Americans, and the primary audience is American, there are more explicitly Christian ideas throughout the show. Since a much larger portion of Americans are Christian than Jewish, it is not surprising that the show focuses more on Christian ideas, characters, or themes since they are generally well-known.

There is an obvious missing piece to Supernatural that is central to the Catholicism or any Christian faith- Jesus Christ. Jesus is only mentioned when the characters are swearing. Any Catholic themes that are based on Jesus are altered so that they no longer need to mention the existence. Even in season five when an anti-Christ is discovered, the existence of a true Christ is not mentioned. When Gabriel’s identity is revealed there is no mention of the Annunciation.

The source of the apocalypse, Christ’s second coming, is changed drastically to a battle between the angels. God coming down and becoming Man is central to any Christian faith, and is left completely out of the show.

This is not a coincidence. Supernatural incorporates many faith traditions, Catholicism and Judaism especially. The audience of the show is not simply Catholics; therefore the writers did not want to make the Christian themes the central part of the show. They show is meant to be universal and in some ways a secularized version of these theological concepts. 

Day 11: Jewish and Catholic characters

Although the Winchester brothers are not part of any religion, there are other characters they encounter along the way who are Jewish and Catholic. It is never a main plot point in the show, but the faith of the characters influences their actions and the show

Rufus Turner

Rufus is a retired hunter that helped Bobby Singer, a close friend of the Winchesters, many years ago.  He come out of retirement to help the boys multiple times, and is killed by a demon in season six. He never specifically mentions being Jewish, but Bobby mentions the fact to the boys.

When Rufus is killed the Winchesters and Bobby bury him in a Jewish ceremony. They do not burn his body, as is custom with hunters, because it is against Jewish tradition. Rufus does not keep kosher or follow other typical Jewish customs. Although we do not get a glimpse into his faith life it is implied that he is Jewish by custom rather than Jewish by faith. Although he believes in God, that is not surprising since the existence of God is a known fact among the Winchester’s friends in Supernatural and this belief does not appear to affect his actions.

Kubrick

Kubrick's RV, note the two Jesus portraits

Kubrick is a slightly insane, dimwitted Catholic man. He serves as an antagonist in the show in season three when he is convicned that Sam Winchester is the anti-Christ. He tries to hunt Sam and kill him because he believes it is God’s will.

At one point Sam is cursed and Kubrick finds a picture of him randomly while hunting him. His extreme luck convinces him that killing Sam is God’s will, so he hunts Sam down and tries to kill him. His faith affects his actions and clouds his judgment.

Although faith is not something that usually affects characters in the show, these two characters are affected by their faith lives.

Day 10: Exorcisms

As mentioned earlier in this blog, demons are a common enemy for the Winchester brothers. In the first two seasons the brothers would fight but rarely exorcised demons. The only time they could kill a demon was with the Colt, a gun that has the power to kill any creature. In season three, the character Ruby (a “good” demon) has a knife that kills demons as well.

Since demons possess human bodies, any damage done to that body injures or kills the human host. The brothers learn how to perform exorcisms which can get rid of the demons without injuring the human bodies. The clip above shows the brothers exorcising an entire building filled with demons by using a speaker system.

Exorcisms, though not common, still take place in the Catholic Church. Since demons are believed to be real, so is demonic possession. Only priests can perform exorcisms, and then only with permission from their bishop. Exorcisms are performed through prayers and are viewed as confrontations between priests and demons. Exorcisms used to be performed exclusively in Latin, as is done in Supernatural.

Although the characters never directly reference Catholicism in terms of exorcisms, the idea and practice comes directly from the Catholic Church. The brothers recite Latin words that translate roughly to “We exorcise you, every impure spirit, every satanic power, every incursion of the infernal adversary, every legion, every congregation and diabolical sect.” Sometimes Psalms are included, giving the exorcisms a Biblical foundation.

In the New Testament, Jesus drives out spirits with prayer. Priests of the Catholic Church do so as well, asking for the help of God and of Jesus Christ. In Supernatural exorcisms are not prayers, they are just a magical weapon to get rid of demons. The first time the brothers exorcise a demon they are not even convinced of God’s existence, they are certainly not praying to Him to help exorcise these demons. In Catholicism and exorcism is usually a long, hard process, but in Supernatural the process is simplified to an incantation. The exorcisms seen on the show are based on the Catholic practice, but simplified to keep the show exciting and easy to understand.

Day 9: Eve and Lilith

In Supernatural there are two characters taken from the creation story- Eve and Lilith. Eve, in name at least, comes from the story of Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis.

Eve

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISSu4i1JgCQ

The Biblical character of Eve is tempted by Lucifer into disobeying God, and condemns humanity in the process. The character Eve is the mother of all demons. Eve was trapped in purgatory before she is released by two Dragons, other supernatural creatures with no Biblical basis. She created the first of all the monsters that the Winchesters fight, such as vampires. When Eve is released from purgatory in season six (after the apocalypse has ended), she decides to create a new hybrid monster and plans to convert all humans into this new type of monster.

Eve has very little in common with the Biblical character in the literal sense. There is no mention of Eve being human, and she claims to be older than Castiel, which does not fit with the Biblical account of creation. But in the Book of Genesis, Eve damns humanity by biting the apple, losing the perfection of the Garden and the perfection of human beings. In the same way that Eve created monsters of perfectly good men, the character of Eve is attempting to corrupt every human on the earth by making them literal monsters.

Lilith

In Jewish mythology, Lilith was the first woman created by God, not Eve. She was created the same way that Adam was, from dust, but was disobedient to Adam. She wanted to be treated as an equal and ran when that did not happen. She swore vengeance on the sons of Adam, or all of humanity.

The character of Lilith is the first demon, it is implied that Lucifer created her. She is immensely powerful, and contains the last seal to Lucifer’s cage. She is the demon that sends Dean’s soul to hell, and when she is finally defeated at the end of season four her death opens Lucifer’s cage.

Lilith is considered extremely evil. She likes to possess the bodies of little girls and torture and kill members of the possessed girl’s families. Although her only stated motivation for killing is that she is a demon, she clearly hates human beings. Her name is not a coincidence.

 A main difference n the Supernatural universe is that Eve is the mother of all demons, not Lilith. Lilith is the mother of all demons in Judaism, and in Judaism and Catholicism Eve is human and the mother of all humans. Lilith hates humans and wants to kill them, but Eve is the one who wants to turn all humans into monsters.