Jesus Christ Superstar

Jesus Christ Superstar Summary | Act 1, Scene 1 Summary

The movie version of this rock opera opens at night with the camera panning a tall concrete wall covered with spattered blood and graffiti signs and words including "hate," "love," "peace," a peace sign, a cross with the word "revolution" across it in large capital letters, "Jesus loves us," and a cross with "Jesus" inscribed across it. An African American male is leaning on the wall as a Caucasian male writes on it. As the camera pans, we see more symbols and graffiti in different languages. A dancer runs and warriors, clad head to toe in black armor, enter and arrest the African American male. More dancers and Jesus' disciples enter, then walk along the wall, climb down hand-holds on the pillars to the stage below and begin to pass out guns. Graffiti can be seen adorning the pillars as well as many guns, including machine guns, being passed from person to person. A cross design made up of three lines of light bulbs horizontally and vertically to illustrate the cross lights up on the back wall. The title of the opera, Jesus Christ Superstar, then illuminates the space.