Imagine if Jesus walked among us today, in 2019, with all his wisdom that he imparts to the masses and the miracles he performs, what do you think will happen? If you ask me, there will probably no middle ground. Its either Heaven’s Gate all over again or the other existing cults we have spread across the world with different beliefs or it will just fall in deaf ears.
Well, it’s the premise of Netflix’s upcoming series that has people already reeling just from the trailer alone. A ‘prophet’ who claims that he is the modern-day coming of the Messiah appears out of nowhere, having the somewhat mystical ability to go around the world from Syria, to Israel, and to Texas. This prophet manages to collect a massive horde of people following him as he preaches his ‘father’s message’ while the CIA chases after him while attempting to unravel his mystery.
Most people know that we are in the midst of the streaming war between Netflix, Disney+, and the other streaming providers and Netflix couldn’t have picked a unique weapon to possibly help them in this situation. The thriller is nothing short of controversial given the religious, cultural, and political undertones that the trailer decided to show.
Michael Petroni said in an interview that he knows that it’s provocative and made it clear that provocative does not necessarily mean offensive. Petroni also shared that Netflix became antsy but intrigued when he pitched them his idea. The director also added that it was a very bold concept, especially the continuous tensions in the middle east and the west.
Outside the plot, Messiah tackles a very unique and intriguing concept that most people wouldn’t even dare touch. How would society today react if someone came out of the blue claiming or is seemingly the second coming of Christ, but unlike a couple thousand years ago, his message can be spread more rapidly via social media where it reaches pretty much everyone. In this age of 24/7 news reporting and the age of fake news spread by political schemers, how would people process such an event?
the most glaring question of all is obviously the simplest one of all. Who is he? Is he truly the second coming of Christ just like what the bible has said? Is he a con-man with probably the largest job in history? A political agent sent on a mission to seed chaos across the globe? Or just maybe he’s a cult leader who has the highest levels of the cult of personality trying to expand his following?
People have already jumped in on the bandwagon to boycott the show even before it has aired, with people creating a petition in Change.org, stating that the show is evil and promotes an anti-Islamic indoctrination of its potential viewers.
Petroni also stated that he knows that the show will make a lot of noise and a lot of conversations and even fights which he hopes for a more civil conversation among people who watch it. Whether or not the show becomes a hit or comes crashing down in bad taste, we only have to wait a couple more days for its premiere on January 1st.