Film and Media Studies Commons^™

The Theology Of Battlestar Galactica: American Christianity In The 2004-2009 Television Series, Kevin J. Wetmore Jr.

Faculty Pub Night

No abstract provided.

Salvation From Illusion, Salvation By Illusion: The Gospel According To Christopher Nolan, George Faithful

Collected Faculty Scholarship

You are not really paying attention to reality. Nor should you, according to screenwriter and director Christopher Nolan. You do not need to know the truth. What you need is the perfect lie. Therein lies your hope of salvation. The perfect lie will save you from lesser lies but will also protect you from the destructive austerity of the truth. That has been a consistent theme in Nolan’s cinematic corpus.

While this article will limit itself to his science fiction works – The Prestige, Inception, and his Batman trilogy – the theme of salvation from and by illusion is significant …

Museum Hours, Daniel Ross Goodman

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Museum Hours (2013), directed by Jem Cohen.

Cloud Atlas, Ting Guo

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Cloud Atlas (2012) which aims to address what constitutes the reasons for the success of this film and the humanistic theme in which they are rooted, despite the seemingly Buddhist philosophy such as reincarnation this film embodies.

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.

With An Eye On A Set Of New Eyes: Beasts Of The Southern Wild, Kette Thomas

Journal of Religion & Film

This article focuses on how, Beasts of the Southern Wild, represents both divergence and transgression from paradigmatic structures that determine how certain visual representations are to be used. Specifically, the cinematic detours taken by the filmmakers, Lucy Alibar and Behn Zeitlin, do not lead to alien places for most viewers; on the contrary, ancient myths, legends, heroes and prehistoric references are recalled in total isolation from current social and political discourse. In this way, Beasts of the Southern Wild, effectively, highlights mythological structures operating in contemporary American society. Mircea Eliade, Roger Caillois and G.S. Kirk define mythology as a …

Love That Tames: Anti-Heroes, Power And Islamic Reform Reflected In Two Iranian Films, David Sander

Journal of Religion & Film

This paper is an exploration of two Iranian films that draw upon spiritual, artistic and literary roots in Islamic history, while at the same time engaging in critiques of knowledge and power in contemporary Muslim societies. These films offer a chance to explore ways in which culture (as distinct from theological discourse) deals with problems of reform in Muslim societies. This article juxtaposes the films with the trickster archetype in folklore, Sufi thought about leadership, and beliefs about the figure of the Mahdi (“the guided one” mentioned in Prophetic hadith as preceding the second coming of Jesus).

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 …

Christians In The Movies: A Century Of Saints And Sinners, Bryan Polk

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a book review of Peter Dans' Christians in the Movies: A Century of Saints and Sinners (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2009).

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.

Evaluation Of An Avian Radar System, Michael B. Gerringer

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem of bird strikes in aviation is becoming an increasing threat, both to aircraft and to human safety. Management efforts have reduced wildlife hazards below 500 feet and within the immediate airport environment, but traditional methods of monitoring bird activity are limited to an observer’s field of view. Avian radar systems could potentially be useful in monitoring bird activity at great distances from the airport, at higher altitudes, and at night (Dolbeer 2006), but little work has been done to validate the tracking capabilities of avian radar systems. Thus, the goal of this research is to evaluate the detection …

Jesus, I Trust In You: St. Thomas Aquinas' Jubilee, John A. Sohl

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The concept of “Life Reporting” is a completely new idea, at least in terms of how I have experienced it. In today’s world of blogs and social networking, it is essential for broadcast journalists to embrace their own lives in the same world of professional and ethical reporting. As I describe my experience of St. Thomas Aquinas’ Jubilee, I have no choice but to provide the context and build-up of this intense passion toward my overarching point. Working through all the communities of which I have been a part, from attending St. Luke Catholic Church all the way to the …

Green Sisters: Bringing Spirituality And Environmental Awareness Together At Homecoming Farm, Marisa Decandido

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

“Green Sisters: Bringing Spirituality and Environmental Awareness together at Homecoming Farm,” addresses the topic of the “green sisters” movement and its presence at Homecoming Farm, a Community-Supported Agriculture project located in Amityville, New York. The green sisters movement, started in the 1980s in Caldwell, New Jersey, entails groups of Catholic nuns who are beginning to pursue “Earth ministries,” and dedicating their lives to environmental education and practicing sustainability. One example of this is found at Homecoming Farm, where the Sisters of Saint Dominic in Amityville created an organic farm in 1992 to nurture the surrounding community in body and spirit. …

Homeric Heroes In Ethan And Joel Coen's The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), The Big Lebowski (1998) And No Country For Old Men (2007), Vaughan S. Roberts

Journal of Religion & Film

This paper explores how the Homeric trope of the ‘hero’ appears in three films by the writer/directors Ethan and Joel Coen – The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), The Big Lebowski (1998) and No Country for Old Men (2007). It will identify the classical traits of hero and anti-hero, mapping them onto characters in these movies. The paper concludes by examining how the ways in which the Coen brothers' play with the notion of the 'hero' connects with recent thinking on culture and myth in the work of Graham Ward, William A. Dyrness and Robert N. Bellah.

Shinto And Buddhist Metaphors In Departures, Yoshiko Okuyama

Journal of Religion & Film

Cinematic language is rich in examples of religious metaphors. One Japanese film that contains religious “tropes” (figurative language) is the 2008 human drama, Departures. This paper focuses on the analysis of religious metaphors encoded in select film shots, using semiotics as the theoretical framework for film analysis. The specific metaphors discussed in the paper are the Shinto view of death as defilement and Buddhist practices associated with the metaphor of the journey to the afterlife. The purpose of this paper is to augment the previous reviews of Departures by explicating these religious signs hidden in the film.

The Sins Of Leo Mccarey, Richard A. Blake S.J.

Journal of Religion & Film

Leo McCarey has received little attention from film scholars. His sentimentalizing his Catholic background and his preoccupation with anti-Communism obscured the lasting value of much of his work. His concern with sin and forgiveness form a major motif of his works, from the early comedies to his later serious dramas.

Satanic But Not Satan: Signs Of The Devilish In Contemporary Cinema, Adam L. Porter

Journal of Religion & Film

Scholars have paid much attention to identifying and analyzing Jesus and Christ-type characters in film. The parallel cases for Satan and satanic characters have been less studied. Some attention has been paid to examining Satan/Lucifer/the Devil as a character (akin to movies about Jesus), but I could find no systematic typology of satanic traits, that would parallel the well-developed Christ-typologies. This article examines six films to begin the process of describing what makes a character "satanic" without being Satan.

“O Great God!” Humility And Camera Movement In Roberto Rossellini’S The Flowers Of St. Francis, Justin Ponder

Journal of Religion & Film

Roberto Rossellini’s The Flowers of St. Francis (1950) represents the saint’s humility through the director’s humble style. Some claim this becomes most apparent in one scene where reverse-editing creates a compassionate bond between the saint and a leper. Close analysis, however, shows that cinematographic elements link Francis to God more than this counterpart. These elements pair him with a man for whom he feels compassion less than the God to whom he shows obedience. Ultimately, this scene’s humble style suggests the ways in which humility might be based less on compassion for others than obedience to God.

Jest In Time: The Problems And Promises Of The Holy Fool In Francesco, Giullare Di Dio, Ordet, And Ikiru, Peter L. Doebler

Journal of Religion & Film

This paper is a study of Roberto Rossellini’s Francesco, giullare di Dio (The Flowers of St. Francis, 1950), Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru (1952), and Carl Dreyer’s Ordet (1955) through the theoretical lens of the religious figure of the holy fool. First, I assert that each film employs a foolish character in order to critique the contemporary culture, particularly resisting modern attempts to soften or ignore extreme elements of Christian teaching, such as sacrificial self-giving for others or the hope of bodily resurrection. Second, I argue that the content of a fool character affects the film’s form, creating a subversive …

Spirit(Uality) In The Films Of Terrence Malick, Christopher B. Barnett

Journal of Religion & Film

This paper will argue that Terrence Malick is a theological filmmaker, even though scholars have preferred to emphasize his indebtedness to Martin Heidegger. It will proceed by way of Malick’s use of wind imagery. First, it will show that the wind motif recalls theological notions about God as spirit. Second, it will illustrate how Malick employs wind imagery, revealing a sensitivity to the wind’s evocation of God’s presence and absence. Third, it will argue that Malick’s cinematic restraint identifies the practice of detachment [Gelassenheit] as the link between his theological and Heideggerian interests.

Facing Forward, Looking Back: Religion And Film Studies In The Last Decade, Joseph Kickasola, John C. Lyden, S. Brent Plate, Antonio Sison, Sheila J. Nayar, Stefanie Knauss, Rachel Wagner, Jolyon Thomas

Journal of Religion & Film

On November 17, 2012, at the American Academy of Religion’s National Meeting, the Religion, Film, and Visual Culture Group sponsored a session entitled, “Facing Forward, Looking Back: Religion and Film Studies in the Last Decade.” The session focused on four recent books in the field of Religion and Film: John Lyden’s Film as Religion: Myths, Morals and Rituals (NYU, 2003); S. Brent Plate’s Religion and Film: Cinema and the Re-Creation of the World (Wallflower Press, 2009); Antonio Sison’s World Cinema, Theology, and the Human: Humanity in Deep Focus (Routledge, 2012); and Sheila Nayar’s The Sacred and the Cinema: Reconfiguring the …

Sundance And Slamdance 2013, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

Introductory remarks and photos from Sundance and Slamdance 2013

Who Is Dayani Cristal?, Jeanette Reedy Solano

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Who is Dayani Cristal? (2013) directed by Marc Silver.

Inuit Myth In The Film “Brother Bear”, Tali M. Schroeder

Oglethorpe Journal of Undergraduate Research

The objective of this paper is to examine the 2003 film Brother Bear and note any mythological aspects that are accurately represented. The film displays an Inuit village and many correct cultural features of Inuit myth and legend. The paper examines the usage of music and dance, animal spirits, revenge, and shamanism in both the film and in Inuit culture. In my research, I found that the film represented these and other facets of Inuit myth extraordinarily well. While some parts of the film were inaccurate, the mythological parts were accurately represented for the most part. The depictions of Inuit …

Il Futuro (The Future), Dereck Daschke

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Il Futuro (The Future) (2013) directed by Alicia Scherson.

Salma, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Salma (2013) directed by Kim Longinotto.

Fill The Void, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Fill the Void (2012) directed by Rama Burshtein.

The Bitter Buddha, William L. Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of The Bitter Buddha (2013) directed by Steven Feinartz.

The Va-Jay-Jay Revolution

Women’s Studies, Feminist Zine Archive

Writings and art about beauty standards, the portrayal of lesbians on television, a critique of the word bitch, organized religion as a violation of women's rights, harassment in public spaces, and the representation of women in various countries as observed by studying abroad.

Recognition For The ‘Beautiful Jewess’: Beauty Queens Crowned By Modern Jewish Print Media, Kerry Wallach

German Studies Faculty Publications

This chapter demonstrates how women’s bodies were appropriated (in times of adversity) to promote Jewishness and Jewish ethnic/racial body aesthetics in a variety of locations, including Europe (Germany, Poland, Hungary), Tel Aviv, Argentina, and the United States.