The Jacket - Catelyn Mascia

I found it really interesting that after we watched The Jacket, the class discussion focused a lot on Jack's self sacrifice and his similarity to Jesus Christ. After reflecting on the movie outside of class, I have to disagree with this comparison. In Christianity, Jesus is believed to sacrifice his life for the sins of his people. When Jesus gave up his life to help everyone else, the only thing he had was basically his faith in God and a life after death in heaven. Jack on the other, was living a horrible life in an insane asylum. He was unhappy there and couldn’t remember anything from his past. It was only after Jack knew that going into the drawer was the only way he could find out how he ended up where he was, that he met Jackie. After going back a couple of times, and realizing he could help her, it’s not obvious that he would have done everything he did if all he had was faith in God and a life after death in heaven. Jack was basically given a second chance to live a better life the future, not necessarily actual death depending on an individual’s interpretation of the film. I mean, if I knew I could live a better life AND help someone else at the same time, then sure, why not? If Jack didn’t have the option of living in the future, and the crack to the head was truly his last action on earth, he may still have given his life for Jackie, but only because he knew he was trapped living this horrible life and by ending it he could help her to live a better one. I do not think that if Jack was living a good life to begin with, and had the same opportunity to change the future, but no promise of continuing his life on earth, that he would still have sacrificed his life for hers. So in my opinion, maybe they might be similar in a big picture, but examined closer, Jack might have actually been acting in his best interest more so than the people around him. He did help the little boy and the doctors also, but the fact that by changing the future he could live a better life in the future and change Jackie’s life enough to make her live a happy life and not be so dreadful like she was in the beginning, just seems like two better things for him in the end after all.

-C. Mascia