Grandpa God: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

[[God]], when being physically described in media and when forced onscreen simply so we can see what the heck He looks like, usually appears as this basic figure. Old, with white hair and robes, usually with facial hair. He also has an undeniable air of authority, possibly [[Power Glows|glows]] or has a [[Holy Backlight]], and has a booming, authoritarian, yet somehow understanding voice.

 

 

Of course, in order to keep from mistaking Him one of those old people we [[Acceptable Inevitable Targets|like to make fun of]], He needs all that other fantastic aura stuff, so even if He's old, He can still scare the bejeezies out of us if He feels like it.

Some believe that the Western portrayal of the Christian God is probably taken from the classic portrayal of Zeus, of the Greek Olympian religion, including his tendency of shooting lightning at people and stuff. Of course, it could also be that the portrayal of Zeus himself draws from this very human necessity of having their God look old and wise... except Zeus is more like the angry grandfather who always grounds you for not very clear reasons and sleeps with everyone except your grandma. Needless to say, this opinion is not held by the majority of those who call themselves Christians. In fact, it ''may'' be considered a '''violation''' of the Ten Commandments just attempting to portray [[God]] as a mortal creature. Oddly, the look is also comparable to [[Santa Claus]].

 

 

This character usually, but not always, lives in [[Fluffy Cloud Heaven]].

 

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)|Fullmetal Alchemist]]''.

** Subverted: There's a bearded, white-haired, white-robed figure who calls himself Father...but he's [[The Big Bad]] and the closest thing their universe has to a [[Satan]] figure. He's trying to invoke this, though; he has a [[I Am a God|god complex]]. {{spoiler|(He's also Ed and Al's ''brother,'' not their grandfather.)}}

** Notably, of the two religions we see in the setting, Ishbala apparently has an anti-idol ordinance in place, and Leto is a sun god with the robe and beard look. Both are monotheistic faiths centered around a male entity known for wisdom; the latter was at least partially hokum made up by a skillful shyster, presumably also drawing from the same tropes as the Homunculus of Xerxes for his tone. Seems to be the standard deific model of the region.

 

* In ''[[Persepolis]]'', when Marjane speaks to God, He takes on this form. The prophets, however, all take on the specific caricatures of the people who they are based on.

** In [[The Film of the Book]], she has a dream sequence after attempting suicide in which she speaks to both God and Marx. Marx's bearded appearance at least is justified since that's what he actually looked like.

** In the comics, when she learns about Marxism for the first time, she even mentions that Marx looked like God except with a curlier beard. God comments on this when he next "speaks" to her. Interestingly, her image of God came ''before'' she learned about Marx so it's not like she modeled Him after that.

* In ''[[Lucifer (comics)|Lucifer]]'', God appears in several forms, from a being of pure light to taking the forms of others. Elaine eventually asks him to take a form she doesn't know, leading him to take on the appearance of... an old, grandfather aged British gentleman.

** He traded sons with the ruler of hell world for peace. So far as I am aware, he has never since acknowledged the existence of the escape artist known as 'Scott Free.'

*** Then you should keep reading, because he ''has''.

 

* Done in ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]''. Bizarrely, the God here is also W.G. Grace, an English 19th-century cricket player. In a joke that only those on the British Isles could possibly understand, for cricket fanatics, this man pretty much ''is'' God.

* ''[[The Matrix]]'' somehow managed to pull this off while simultaneously [[Lampshade Hanging]] [[Divine Race Lift]].

* In ''[[Dogma]]'', {{spoiler|God's human form on Earth is revealed to be that of an elderly bearded man. After His mortal body is killed and He returns to heaven, He comes back to Earth in His regular form to fix things up -- as a young, pretty, rather goofy woman played by [[Alanis Morissette]].}}

* [[Morgan Freeman]]'s portrayal of God in ''[[Bruce Almighty]]'' and its sequel ''Evan Almighty'' is probably inspired by this trope... although that doesn't make it any less awesome.

 

== Literature ==

* An old, grey, one-eyed "Mr. Odwin" shows up in ''[[The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul]]''. He sleeps a lot and considers clean linen to be the best thing in the universe.

 

== Live-Action TV ==

* Averted in ''[[Joan of Arcadia]]''. God comes to Joan in many unconventional forms, including a black school lunch lady.

 

 

* In [[Norse Mythology]] Odin is always depicted as an old greybeard; how He may look in particular depends on the situation but He is always an old one-eyed man.

* Zeus is also usually shown like this, as in modern adaptations such as ''Clash of the Titans'' and ''[[God of War (series)|God of War]] II''. Even though he isn't exactly the same kind of deity, it's quite likely that his artistic portrayal ended up inspiring later images of the Judeo-Christian-Muslim God.

** Ahem. The Muslim God is never physically depicted in iconography, as the human mind can make no remotely accurate approximation of His Glory. Any attempt to do so is heresy according to any interpretation of Islam.

* [[Older Than Feudalism]] in ''[[The Bible]]''

** Flipside is that, in Genesis, God says man will be made in His image. Now we begin to discuss the belly-button issue... though most modern Christians interpret "in His image" as referring to the whole sentience/self-awareness thing.

* Chinese folk religion often depicts the Jade Emperor, the ruler of heaven, as an older, benevolent authority figure. One of his many titles is "heavenly grandfather."

 

* A famous promotional image drawn by Al Hirschfeld for the original Broadway run of ''[[My Fair Lady]]'' shows Eliza Doolittle being worked like a puppet by Henry Higgins being worked like a puppet by a Grandpa God on a cloud. God is a caricature of [[George Bernard Shaw]], who wrote the play on which the musical is based.

 

 

* ''[[The Brick Testament]]'' depicts God this way, although since the comic covers the Old Testament as well as the New, he is shown to be [[Badass Grandpa|decidedly less benevolent]].

 

== Western Animation ==

{{quote|Joan, give ME your dessert!}}

** God appears in one couch gag segment, where we get to see His face for the first time...but only for a moment before He's sucked into oblivion with the rest of the cosmos.

* ''Veggietales'' features God on several occasions. In ''Moe and the Big Exit'' he appears as a tumbleweed that burns but is not consumed. In both Snoodle poems and (allegorically) ''The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything'' he appears as a Grandpa God.

* ''[[Tripping the Rift]]'' plays this trope straight, but God occasionally shows a wicked sense of humor (appropriate for the series).