THE LEGO MOVIE
Gnostic Propaganda or a better Jesus flick than Son of God?
A Critique by A Dude Named Sean.
(THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS! IF YOU DO NOT WANT THE MOVIE
SPOILED THEN LEAVE, GO SEE THE MOVIE, AND AFTER THAT COME BACK HERE)
I saw the Lego Movie recently. Short review: I LOVED IT! GO
SEE THIS MOVIE! EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!
The movie chronicles the battle between Lord Business, who
wants to use the Kragle against all of the citizens of the Lego Worlds, and the
Master Builders, who are trying to keep the Lego Worlds free for independent
building. The movie has an excellent story. However, while reflecting on this
movie, I realized that part of the plot reflected the ideas of Valentinian
Gnosticism. For those who are unaware, here is a brief synopsis of Valentinian
Gnosticism. (Trust me, it IS brief)
A BRIEF EXPLANATION
Valentinus, a Roman theologian who lived in the second
century AD, taught one of the major heresies of early Christianity. The major
premise of Gnostic is that the material world and the spiritual world are
incompatible. In the beginning, there was only the spiritual Pleroma, a
fullness made up of the Aeons. Aeons are spiritual beings meant to coexist with
each other and exist in spiritual perfection. One of the Aeons, Sophia, leaves
and gives birth to the Demiurge. The Demiurge is a corrupted godling being that
creates the material universe.
For those who are wondering how this is a Christian heresy,
Valentinus expanded the ideas of Marcion and said that the God of the Old
Testament was the Demiurge of Gnosticism. As the Demiurge created all of
humanity, Sophia followed and made each human part of one of three groups. The
three groups are the Sarkikoi, the Psychikoi, and the Pneumatikoi. The Sarkikoi
are simple humans who are wholly flesh. The Psychikoi are mental and physical
beings who know that there is something wrong with creation, but they are not
privy to the full gnosis. The Pneumatikoi are the humans who have part of the
spirit of wisdom within themselves who are capable of learning the gnosis.
Christ is tied to this story because he is an Aeon,
originally known as Logos, sent by the Pleroma to the material world in order
to bring Sophia back to the Pleroma. The Gnostics believed that Christ was
never a human being (Jesus was either a separate being from the Christ or a
myth tied to the Christ by Psychikoi who did not realize the full truth about
Christ). Christ’s time in the material world is spent bringing all of the
Pneumatikoi together. In the end, the Pneumatikoi, as part of Sophia, will join
Christ in the Pleroma as his consort. The Psychikoi will become servents for
the Aeons in the Pleroma. The Sarkikoi and the Demiurge will simply be
destroyed.
HOW DOES THIS TIE INTO THE MOVIE?
(Prepare for SPOILERS)
The Master Builders are the Pneumatikoi and the rest of the
population are Sarkikoi or Psychikoi. Now, be careful, here is the film’s big,
but not unexpected twist. There is a real world where a Dad has built
everything and the Son is playing with Legos. The Son is the force behind the
film’s plot, controlling the Master Builders and the Hero Emmet.
The world is made by a Demiurge who is unconcerned with the
welfare of his creation. His avatar in the Lego world is the film’s main
antagonist Lord Business. Lord Business acts as a Satan figure, obsessed with
keeping the world exactly as his Demiurge creator made it. Lord Business is the
exemplar of the sarkikoi, focused on the material world. Lord Business’s whole
story arch revolves around using the Kragle (Kra---Gl-e or Krazy Glue) to
freeze the entire world into a static creation.
The Master Builders, on the other hand, are obsessed with
innovation. Led by the need to maintain the fluidity of their Lego world, the
Master Builders are constantly at war with Lord Business (and by extension, the
Dad who created their world). The Master Builders may not use the language of
spirituality, but they believe that the Master Builders are a special class of
humanity who are able to see the ways to create new things out of the world
around them. One of the neat effects in the movie is the POV of the Master
Builders where they see the individual Lego pieces around them and how they can
fit together in new ways. The Master Builders then build those things. This
ability of the Master Builders to see the world in new ways is similar to the
new worldview that drew people into the Gnostic belief system. Another tie to
the Gnostic system is the connection of the Master Builders to the Son who is
playing with the Legos. The Son is the Aeon sent to free Sophia and the
Pneumatikoi from the material world of the Demiurge.
The climax of the movie is a simultaneous battle between the
Dad and the Son and their avatars in the Lego world. The Son is able to
convince his Dad that the world is better off when the Legos are played with
and creativity can rule. Emmet, the hero, and Lord Business have a similar
discussion. The Dad and Lord Business relent and the world continues on as a
free state where creativity is allowed.
IS THE MOVIE REALLY GNOSTIC?
The short answer is “Not really”.
I have not spent this time recounting these things in order
to give an about face and show that the movie is not Gnostic. I don’t know the
writer, director, or producers personally. They may be part of the Neo-Gnostic
movement that is gaining popularity in today’s USA.
However, the movie does not fully equate to the Gnostic
ideals.
The movie’s ultimate message comes not from the battle of
the Master Builders against Lord Business nor does it come from the debate
between the Dad and the Son. The ultimate message comes from the Hero: Emmet.
Emmet is a simple construction worker who stumbles upon the
prophesied Piece of Resistance. The Piece attaches itself to Emmet and he is
labeled the Special by Master Builder Vitruvius.
Unfortunately, Emmet is not a Master Builder. He is extremely mundane. There is
even a scene where his “friends” admit that he is boring and vanilla. Emmet
spends the movie trying to prove that he is capable of being the hero.
That’s the message of the movie.
Emmet wants to be the hero, and he undergoes the Hero’s
Journey through the movie. (For more information on the Hero’s Journey aka the
Monomyth, see Wikipedia, Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, or
Star Wars A New Hope). The idea is that an ordinary individual is taken from
their mundane existence and thrust into adventure in a world that is new and
fantastic to them. This kind of hero is best seen in Luke Skywalker, Will
Turner, or either Baggins. They become the hero as the story progresses because
they grow out of their mundane life and become part of the fantastic world.
In addition, Emmet fulfills the Chosen One role that
Hollywood has fallen in love with in recent years. The Chosen One story makes
the hero more than the ordinary person who is plucked from their surroundings
and flung into adventure in a new and bigger world. For the Chosen One, the
Hero fulfills a prophesy or some messianic hope. Recent examples of Chosen Ones
are Neo or Harry Potter. They are the hero because fate has chosen them specifically
to achieve the task.
Does this make Emmet a Christ figure for the movie?
Yes and No.
Christ is one of the archetypes that inspired the Chosen
One. Also, when Campbell wrote The Hero with a Thousand Faces, he looked to
Christ, Moses, Buddha, and Muhammed as exemplars of the Hero’s Journey. So, any
character who undertakes the Hero’s Journey or is identified as The Chosen One
is standing in for Christ in the narrative.
However, if every hero on the Hero’s Journey was actually
Christ, then Christians would never have a problem with Hollywood because of
all the Christ movies that are in theatres at any given time.
FINAL VERDICT
This movie is very good. I enjoy it a lot, and I highly
recommend watching it. While I was able to find a possible sub-theme tied to a
second- and third-century heresy that is resurgent in modern day, that does not
take away from the incredible journey the movie delivers. While it can be
predictable at times (it is the Hero’s Journey with the Chosen One in the
driver’s seat) that does not detract as the writer delivers a well-crafted plot
and the cast is unforgettable. Plus, the movie has one of the best Batmans to
grace the Silver Screen and a cameo by Billy Dee Williams.
Why are you not already watching this movie?
10 out of 10.
Sean P. Ireland, BS, MDiv Student
