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Buddy Christ is a parody religious icon created by filmmaker Kevin Smith, which first appeared in Smith's 1999 film Dogma.

In the film, Buddy is part of a campaign ("Catholicism Wow!") to renew the image of (and interest in) the Catholic Church. Viewing the crucifix image as "wholly depressing", the Church, led by Cardinal Glick (George Carlin), decides to retire it, and creates Buddy Christ as a more uplifting image of Jesus Christ. The icon consists of a statue of Jesus, smiling and winking while pointing at onlookers with one hand and giving the thumbs-up sign with the other hand. Buddy Christ was later produced as an action figure and a bobblehead. The image has since been turned into a popular Internet meme.

Real-life appearances

Buddy Christ was featured in a Phones4U advert, where a cartoon graphic depicting him was featured alongside a range of Android phones with the message "Miraculous deals on Samsung Galaxy Android phones". The United Kingdom Advertising Standards Authority later issued a rebuke regarding the advert, saying "We considered that, although the ads were intended to be light-hearted and humorous, their depiction of Jesus winking and holding a thumbs-up sign, with the text 'miraculous' deals during Easter, the Christian Holy Week which celebrated Christ's resurrection, gave the impression that they were mocking and belittling core Christian beliefs."

The prop was used as a decoration in Smith's Red Bank, New Jersey, comics shop, Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash.

See also

• Cultural depictions of Jesus
• List of statues of Jesus
• Luce (mascot), a real-world youth-oriented mascot commissioned by the Vatican that has been compared to Buddy Christ

References

1. McDannell, Colleen (2008). Catholics in the Movies. Oxford University Press. pp. 301–302. ISBN 978-0-19-530656-9.
2. Nichols, Stephen J. (2008). Jesus Made in America: A Cultural History from the Puritans to the Passion of the Christ. InterVarsity Press. pp. 180–181. ISBN 978-0-8308-2849-4.
3. "Phones4U Jesus advert banned for 'mocking Christianity'". Metro. UK. Archived from the original on 2012-09-30. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
4. "'Jesus' mobile phone ad banned". The Guardian. 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
5. Giles, Keith (May 1, 2001). "Kevin Smith Interview" Archived 2014-07-01 at the Wayback Machine. Comic Book Resources.

• Portrayals of Jesus in film
• View Askewniverse
• Religious parodies and satire
• Catholic Church in popular culture
• Internet memes introduced in the 2000s