We saw Thor over the weekend. Quite entertaining.
I’ve noticed an emerging theme in movies over the last couple years, the fusion of religion, science and magic into one(ish) concept of a super-command of natural forces. I guess every superhero has some enhanced natural ability based on the random spider bite or accidental radioactive chemical spill. But there appears to be a more, faintly, theological tone in some of the variants I’ve noticed lately.
In Thor there was a line by Thor (who is sort of God-like-ish - but his exact status isn't clarified in the movie) about “where I’m from magic and science are the same.” The role played by Princess Leia's mom in Thor is some kind of astrophysicist.
I also remember Nicholas Cage saying almost the exact same line (about the fusion of magic and science) in The Sorcerer's Apprentice - and in this movie the chosen-one is also a young physicist.
In Watchmen, there’s a scene where the blue guy (also originally a physicist) says “I’m not a God” but then at the end of the movie he says he’s going to go off and "create life" somewhere – that’s pretty God-like if you ask me.
I happened to also be looking through Bertrand Russell’s book Religion and Science and the very opening page says “Between religion and science there has been a prolonged conflict…”
Maybe we’re nearing a time where the two live more harmoniously? Maybe it’s coming out through modern narratives that there's some ambient desire to find a greater degree of coexistence between theology and science.
The chosen physicist.
Come to think of it, the movie Contact really dials in these themes/questions. That's a great movie.