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.