E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

Connecting the Dots Between E.T. and J.C. (Jesus Christ)

(warning: spoiler alert)

The year is 1982 and Steven Spielberg’s hit film, E.T., is being shown in the local movie theatres across the United States.

The space creature is magical-looking with his long, skinny neck and big blue eyes. His friendship with Elliott is charming. A young Drew Barrymore steals scenes as Elliott’s kid sister, Gertie. There are so many classic moments — communicating with E.T. using the Speak & Spell; dressing up for Halloween and going trick or treating; eating the Reese’s pieces, Elliott and E.T. getting tipsy on beer…. It’s great, wholesome entertainment for children and adults, and this six year-old was loving it….

But then this film takes a dark turn.

E.T. is captured by the government and is being held in some sort of a sterile plastic tent, hooked up to a bunch of machines and teetering on the verge of death. His skin is pale and almost frozen-looking. The light of his heart is growing dim. This turn of events is completely traumatizing and The House is now sobbing and pleading: “Mom please… please can we leave???? I don’t want him to die!! Please!!”

But The House’s Mom was not one to give in to a child’s demands. Or maybe she simply knew that there would be a happy ending.

Or perhaps she was trying to teach her child an important lesson that was central to their Roman Catholic faith?

Because not long after the film debuted, the story of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial became syncretized with the story of Jesus Christ.

The similarities between E.T. and J.C. are fairly obvious and hard to ignore. William Deerfield of West Orange, New Jersey was perhaps the first to cast the story of E.T. as a religious parable in a letter to the New York Times on August 15, 1982.

Let’s briefly summarize the similarities:

He is sent from "above" and makes his first home in a shed.
He can heal people with his touch.
He has a heart that radiates light (like the Sacred Heart, a symbol of Christ's love and mercy).
He is persecuted and misunderstood.
He is resurrected from death and ascends into the heavens (i.e. back to his home).
Before he departs, his lesson for humankind is literally "Be Good."
He tells Elliott that he will always be with him (i.e. in his heart).

Deerfield also points out the connections between Jesus’ resurrection and the tale of the phoenix, the mythical bird that lives for several hundred years before it builds an aromatic nest and sets itself on fire. Both the bird and the nest are consumed by the flames, but a new phoenix rises from the ashes, reborn and renewed.

This cycle of death and rebirth makes the phoenix a powerful symbol of resurrection, transformation, and immortality that has inspired countless works of art, literature, and folklore.

Throughout history, humanity has turned to powerful symbols to convey themes of sacrifice, resurrection, and transformation.

Whether the messenger is an alien, a man or a bird, the message about the nature of life is the same. The soul is eternal and transcends physical existence, continuing its journey through various lifetimes or realms. Jesus Christ, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and the mythical phoenix each represent different facets of this universal story.

Connecting the Dots Between E.T. and J.C. (Jesus Christ)

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