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Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons™
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Articles 31 - 60 of 67
Full-Text Articles in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Divine Love, John C. Lyden
Divine Love, John C. Lyden
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a film review of Divine Love (2019) directed by Gabriel Mascaro.
Sister Aimee, John C. Lyden
Sister Aimee, John C. Lyden
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a film review of Sister Aimee (2019), directed by Samantha Buck and Marie Schlingmann.
Hala, John C. Lyden
Hala, John C. Lyden
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a film review of Hala (2019), directed by Minhal Baig.
Markie In Milwaukee, William L. Blizek
Markie In Milwaukee, William L. Blizek
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a film review of Markie in Milwaukee (2019) directed by Matt Kliegman.
‘Love-Jihad’ And Bollywood: Constructing Muslims As ‘Other’, Nadira Khatun
‘Love-Jihad’ And Bollywood: Constructing Muslims As ‘Other’, Nadira Khatun
Journal of Religion & Film
In the postcolonial nation state that is India, cinema has become an important tool for propagating the idea of nationalism. In recent times, one of the most controversial components of Hindu nationalism has been the hate campaign against what is termed as ‘love-jihad’, which is deployed as a weapon to mobilize, polarize, and communalize citizens. The Indian Hindi-language film industry, popularly known as Bollywood, has also become a controversial site. In this paper, I argue that if ‘Indian nationalism’ is to be represented as ‘Hindu nationalism’ and ‘Indian culture’ as ‘Hindu culture,’ it logically follows that this majoritarian construction needs …
Representations Of Nineteenth Century Mormonism In A Mormon Maid: A Cinematic Analysis, Elisabeth Weagel
Representations Of Nineteenth Century Mormonism In A Mormon Maid: A Cinematic Analysis, Elisabeth Weagel
Journal of Religion & Film
During the first quarter of the 20th century there was a trend in Hollywood to make films about Mormons. Practices such as polygamy created just the kind of sensationalism that attracted filmmakers (even Thomas Edison contributed with his 1902 film A Trip to Salt Lake). Many of these were B-pictures, but the 1917 film A Mormon Maid stands out because it was produced by a major production company (Paramount) and was backed by top director Cecil B. DeMille. It is often given passing reference, but very little genuine scholarship has been done on the film. A hundred years …
Ask The Beasts Of The Southern Wild: Exploring Human Identity As Beast, Being And Beholder In Ask The Beasts: Darwin And The God Of Love And Beasts Of The Southern Wild, Stephanie Cherpak Clary
Ask The Beasts Of The Southern Wild: Exploring Human Identity As Beast, Being And Beholder In Ask The Beasts: Darwin And The God Of Love And Beasts Of The Southern Wild, Stephanie Cherpak Clary
Journal of Religion & Film
Anthropocentrism and hierarchical dualism together encourage a dangerous anthropology where human primacy among creation and the prioritization of certain humans leads to destruction for all. During a time when suffering caused by climate change continues to intensify, it is increasingly important to find compelling ways to share the stories of those who suffer most. I will explore how Beasts of the Southern Wild (Zeitlin, 2012) contextualizes the ecofeminist theology found in Johnson’s Ask the Beasts: Darwin and the God of Love (2014), specifically the idea of humans identifying as beasts, beings and beholders. Furthermore, I will discuss how the representation …
Novitiate, Joshua Canzona
Novitiate, Joshua Canzona
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a film review of Novitiate (2017) directed by Maggie Betts.
Thelma, Kevin V. Dodd
Thelma, Kevin V. Dodd
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a film review of Thelma (2017) directed by Joachim Trier.
Believer, John C. Lyden
Believer, John C. Lyden
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a film review of Believer (2018), directed by Don Argott.
The Shape Of Water, Ken Derry
The Shape Of Water, Ken Derry
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a film review of The Shape of Water (2017), directed by Guillermo del Toro.
Revenge, Tony Michael
Revenge, Tony Michael
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a film review of Revenge (2017), directed by Coralie Fargeat.
Two-Spirit Mexica Youth And Transgender Mixtec/Muxe Media: La Mission (2009), Two Spirit: Injunuity (2013), And Libertad (2015), Gabriel S. Estrada
Two-Spirit Mexica Youth And Transgender Mixtec/Muxe Media: La Mission (2009), Two Spirit: Injunuity (2013), And Libertad (2015), Gabriel S. Estrada
Journal of Religion & Film
Independent directors Peter Bratt, Adrian Baker, and Avila-Hanna create differing trans-border queer Indigenous media that resist Eurocentric cic-heteropatriarchy. While Bratt’s feature-length narrative film La Mission (2009) features a masculine Mexica gay teenager who survives fused homophobic and trans*-phobic violence, Baker’s short animation Two Spirit: Injunuity (2013) makes stronger trans* and two-spirit Mexica youth identity affirmations. Avila-Hanna’s short documentary Libertad (2015) offers the clearest transgender narrative of the three films as it focuses on a California transgender Mixtec immigrant activist who is coming of age as a woman with the aid of hormones and gender affirming surgery. This article’s trans*- and …
Hidden Figures, Carol Miles
Hidden Figures, Carol Miles
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a film review of Hidden Figures (2016), directed by Theodore Melfi.
I Love Dick, William L. Blizek
I Love Dick, William L. Blizek
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a film review of I Love Dick (2017), directed by Jill Soloway.
I Dream In Another Language, John C. Lyden
I Dream In Another Language, John C. Lyden
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a film review of I Dream in Another Language (2017), directed by Ernesto Contreras.
The Wound, John C. Lyden
The Wound, John C. Lyden
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a film review of The Wound (2016), directed by John Trengove.
“He Who Kills The Body, Kills The Soul That Inhabits It”: Feminist Filmmaking, Religion, And Spiritual Identification In Vision, Carl Laamanen
“He Who Kills The Body, Kills The Soul That Inhabits It”: Feminist Filmmaking, Religion, And Spiritual Identification In Vision, Carl Laamanen
Journal of Religion & Film
In this article, I argue that the 2009 film, Vision: From the Life of Hildegard of Bingen, presents an example of feminist filmmaking that seeks to draw viewers into spiritual identification with the protagonist, 12th-century mystic Hildegard, through its narrative and formal techniques, encouraging the audience to share in Hildegard’s visionary experiences. The film does so in an explicitly feminist way, drawing upon unconventional visual and sonic aesthetics to highlight the power and authority of Hildegard’s spiritual experiences. In particular, Vision’s use of music and sound points toward a conception of feminine spirituality that values the …
Seeing The Light, Hearing The Call: Women Religious As Spectators And Subjects Of Popular Nun Films, Maureen A. Sabine Professor
Seeing The Light, Hearing The Call: Women Religious As Spectators And Subjects Of Popular Nun Films, Maureen A. Sabine Professor
Journal of Religion & Film
Though popular films like The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945), Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957), The Nun’s Story (1959), and The Sound of Music (1965) have routinely been criticized for circulating polarized stereotypes about nuns, convent memoirs indicate that some women felt the stirrings of a religious vocation from watching these movies. This article arose out of interest in whether other women heard God’s call through nun films, and is based on a survey of 86 sisters from 28 different communities who had entered the convent between 1947 and 2007, and were prepared to discuss what they saw in these …
An Evil Threat To Marriage, Children And The Future: Queer Theory, "The Passion Of The Christ," And Evangelical Political Rhetoric, Richard Wolff
An Evil Threat To Marriage, Children And The Future: Queer Theory, "The Passion Of The Christ," And Evangelical Political Rhetoric, Richard Wolff
Journal of Religion & Film
This article employs queer theory to analyze Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ (2004) for its portrayal of queer characters (Satan and Herod) in contrast with non-queer (Pilate and Claudia, Seraphia, Simon the Cyrene, and Mary, Christ’s mother), and how it depicts the former as evil and the latter as good. In particular, these contrasts involve self-indulgent or predatory sexual expression versus a healthy marital relationship, and evil versus loving influences over children, who represent hope for the future. Finally, the article looks at the film’s heavy marketing to American evangelicals and how the symbolic representations in the …
Undoing The Claim Of Objectivity: Contradictions At The Heart Of Bergtji Van Der Haak, Saudi Solutions (2005), Anisa Saeed Mohammed Nasser
Undoing The Claim Of Objectivity: Contradictions At The Heart Of Bergtji Van Der Haak, Saudi Solutions (2005), Anisa Saeed Mohammed Nasser
Journal of Religion & Film
This paper is a study of Bergtji van der Haak, Saudi Solutions (2005). It attempts to question Bergtji van der Haak’s claim of “objective” depiction of Saudi women’s “reality,” as well as the claim of portraying Saudi women through their perspectives as stated in the opening scene. The premise is that the editing strives to undercut the very views of the women that the film is claiming to present, and in the process it duplicates some of the very mechanisms of oppression that the film is denouncing. The documentary’s attempt at ‘subalternizing’ and diminishing Saudi women discloses the subjectivity of …
Iranian Women, Iranian Cinema: Negotiating With Ideology And Tradition, Najmeh Moradiyan Rizi
Iranian Women, Iranian Cinema: Negotiating With Ideology And Tradition, Najmeh Moradiyan Rizi
Journal of Religion & Film
Throughout the ruptures of Iran’s history, Iranian women have been at the core of any social and political changes and challenges. In this historical context, Iranian women’s body, sexuality, and individuality have been confined within the constitution of religion and tradition. In recent years, however, the new generation of Iranian women is negotiating the notions of femininity, sexuality, and modernity in Iran’s society. Along with this negotiation, Iranian cinema, as the visual showcase of Iranian culture and society, has recently represented an unprecedented portrayal of Iranian women on the screen. This portrayal stems from the gender consciousness of Iranian women …
Cloud Atlas’ Queer Tiki Kitsch: Polynesians, Settler Colonialism, And Sci-Fi Film, Gabriel S. Estrada
Cloud Atlas’ Queer Tiki Kitsch: Polynesians, Settler Colonialism, And Sci-Fi Film, Gabriel S. Estrada
Journal of Religion & Film
Polynesian theories of film reception, visual sovereignty, feminisms, and worldview offer critical insights into The Wachowskis' and Tykwer's 2012 film Cloud Atlas. From Indigenous and Native feminist film perspectives, Cloud Atlas offers a sci-fi future deeply entrenched in the queer tiki kitsch of settler colonialism as situated within a comparative context of other queer Indigenous film. As an example of heteropatriarchal settler colonialism, the Cloud Atlas plot supports the heterosexual triumphs of cross-racial couples and sublimates the possibilities of transgender reincarnation. Although Cloud Atlas attempts to critique Christian slavery and defend a secular abolitionist stance in the 1848 South Pacific, …
The Virgin Mary On Screen: Mater Dei Or Just A Mother In Guido Chiesa’S Io Sono Con Te (I Am With You), Timothy J. Johnson, Barbara Ottaviani-Jones
The Virgin Mary On Screen: Mater Dei Or Just A Mother In Guido Chiesa’S Io Sono Con Te (I Am With You), Timothy J. Johnson, Barbara Ottaviani-Jones
Journal of Religion & Film
Guido Chiesa’s Io Sono con Te (I Am with You) offers a unique, albeit controversial take on Mary, the mother of Jesus. Filmed in Tunisia, and subject to criticism by Italian Catholic authorities and film critics alike, Io Sono con Te presents a rich anthropological-theological reflection on religion, culture, gender, and sacrifice. Not surprisingly, Chiesa draws on René Girard’s scapegoat theory throughout his film as he fashions Mary as the forceful protagonist in a familiar yet controversial story.
Of Men, Roles And Rules: Nanni Moretti’S Habemus Papam, Davide Zordan
Of Men, Roles And Rules: Nanni Moretti’S Habemus Papam, Davide Zordan
Journal of Religion & Film
This paper focuses on Nanni Moretti’s Habemus Papam and in particular on its representation of the interaction between religion and masculinity. In the light of gender studies, it asks which idea of masculinity, but also of fatherhood, Catholicism and its system of authority tend to encourage according to the film, and it assesses the opportunities for change that the film imaginatively explores. The analysis of the idea of masculinity investigates in particular the distinction between person and office, the necessity of which is dramatically illustrated in the film.
Fire, Water And The Goddess: The Films Of Deepa Mehta And Satyajit Ray As Critiques Of Hindu Patriarchy, David F. Burton
Fire, Water And The Goddess: The Films Of Deepa Mehta And Satyajit Ray As Critiques Of Hindu Patriarchy, David F. Burton
Journal of Religion & Film
This article focuses on Fire (1996) and Water (2005), two films directed by Deepa Mehta that present patriarchal Hindu attitudes to women and sexuality as in need of reform. Mehta’s films have met with hostility from Hindu conservatives and have also been accused of Orientalist misrepresentations. While these objections highlight the contested nature of “authentic” Hindu identity, Fire and Water remain powerful indictments of male hegemony in Hinduism. Mehta has cited Satyajit Ray as a major influence on her work; there are interesting parallels between Mehta’s films and Ray’s film Devi (The Goddess, 1960), which explores the plight …
Woman Becomes Goddess In Bollywood: Justice, Violence, And The Feminine In Popular Hindi Film, Kathleen M. Erndl
Woman Becomes Goddess In Bollywood: Justice, Violence, And The Feminine In Popular Hindi Film, Kathleen M. Erndl
Journal of Religion & Film
What happens “when a woman becomes Chandika?” This essay contributes to an on-going discussion of the theme of “avenging women” in popular Indian cinema, with particular focus on the transformation of a woman into a fierce Goddess who avenges oppression and re-establishes justice. Analysis of the story line and selected song sequences from the Hindi language film Anjaam (“Outcome,” 1994) in light of themes from the Hindu Sanskrit text, the Devi-Mahatmya (“Greatness of the Goddess,” 5thc. C.E.) shows how traditional religious images and values are adapted and transformed in a modern context.
Where I Am, William L. Blizek
Where I Am, William L. Blizek
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a film review of Where I Am (2013) directed by Pamela Drynan.
C.O.G., Jeanette Reedy Solano
C.O.G., Jeanette Reedy Solano
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a film review of C.O.G. (2013) directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez.
After Tiller, Dereck Daschke
After Tiller, Dereck Daschke
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a film review of After Tiller (2013) directed by Martha Shane and Lana Wilson.