User:AndyJones/Depictions of God in popular culture

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This is a brief list of how the Abrahamic (i.e., Jewish, Christian, and Muslim 'God)' is depicted in popular culture. This should only include actual depictions of God, as opposed to hallucinations of Him, or other characters claiming to be God (i.e. David Lister in Red Dwarf that he is the Cats' god), or gods of pantheistic faiths whose names are occasionally depicted as 'God'.

In the Western World, God is frequently depicted as an old white man with long white hair and a white beard. God can also be shown as a booming voice from above (i.e., heaven). Lightning and thunder may accompany this, again reinforcing the heavenly source. God's voice is generally a deep masculine one, and occasionally is treated for additional effects.

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[edit] Art

Perhaps the best-known realisation of this depiction is Michelangelo's fresco The Creation of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. This carries over to comic strips and cartoons as well, including Gary Larson's The Far Side (although one purported to show 'God as a kid').

[edit] Film

[edit] Television

  • The popular American television show The Simpsons has played on this characterization, depicting God similarly, but with the show's unique yellow-caucasian skin, although he has 5 fingers, whereas all other Simpsons characters have four. The face of this God is almost never seen in early years. In one episode this God stated on separate occasions that he has three eyes and five thighs. In a "Treehouse of Horror" introduction, he is fully seen, but has neither three eyes nor five thighs. He is also not omniscient or omnipotent, as he tells Homer "My son went to Earth once. I don't know what you people did to him, but he hasn't been the same since".
  • On Family Guy, God is a white-haired and bearded old man. This God goes to mass, hates being told the story of Job, uses His powers to pick up attractive female partners (accidentally zapping one with a bolt of lightning) and was once mugged in his kitchen by Albert Einstein while making Shrinky Dinks. He also shows a sense of humor. He is portrayed as separated from the mother of his young son, who he very seldom makes time for.
Image:God (South Park).gif
God, as portrayed on South Park
  • In Comedy Central's South Park, God resembles an odd looking rodent creature, with a forked tongue with which he eats flying insects. God is portrayed as caring and sympathetic: he helps his old nemesis Satan with his relationship troubles, though by calling him a "pussy" and a "whiny bitch" in true South Park fashion. He later imprisons Satan's ex-lover Saddam Hussein in Heaven to help the devil get a fresh start. God is also naive, however, as he buys Saddam's explanation that the WMDs he's building in Heaven are really "chocolate chip factories". God also considers himself a Buddhist.
  • God, depicted through numerous human-looking avatars, was a central character in Joan of Arcadia. (2003-5)
  • In a World Wrestling Entertainment storyline, Vince McMahon booked a tag team match at the Backlash 2006 pay-per-view, pitting himself and his son Shane McMahon against born again Christian Shawn Michaels and God. At the show, God was portrayed as an invisible entity and later leaves the match, making Michaels lose.
  • On God, the Devil and Bob, God is depicted as a hippie with sun glasses.
  • On Wonder Showzen, in the episode "Space", God is not seen but, through his language, is portrayed as a racist black person. At the end of the episode God shoots himself and dies. The characters then cook him and eat him.
  • In the series Futurama, God is portrayed as a giant galaxy that can signal in binary. When Bender encounters him, he asks 'Do you speak English', to which God replies 'I do now'. The notion that this entity is in fact a satellite that collided with God, when suggested by Bender, returns the reply 'That seems probable'.

[edit] Comic books

  • God is the main villain of the comic book series Preacher. (1995-2000). He is depicted as a glowing, naked bearded man.
  • In Marvel Comics, God was portrayed in Fantastic Four #511 as closely resembling comic book legend Jack Kirby. In this instance, he received a phone call from his "Collaborator", implied to be Stan Lee.
  • In the webcomic Sinfest, only God's hands are shown, often making use of sign language or hand puppets to illustrate his points.
  • In the comic Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, God is depicted as a short, fat little person who has been asleep since the creation of the universe. Johnny meets him and asks him if he can explain why he's so messed up (being a homicidal killer). God then refuses to answer because he needs a rest after creating the universe (later Satan points out thats it's blasphemy to question God). Johnny then goes on a rant about if he paid attention to the world then it wouldn't be as bad. Johnny even says that if he truly cared, then Johnny (and people like him) would not exist. God fell asleep during Johnny's ranting.

[edit] See also