|
|
|
 |
|
MARCH 21, 2005 FAITH AND FILM The critically acclaimed Millions heads a new list of "religious" films that focus as much on values as saviors and saints. When Millions director Danny Boyle decided to make a film about an English boy and his relationship with the saints, he wanted to bring the same realism he had achieved in his earlier films about addicts and zombies. In Millions, which opened in March 2005, a young boy has a vision of a cranky St. Clare smoking a hand-rolled cigarette. But the film is ultimately about his understanding of richness beyond money and his determination to do good. Films such as Constantine, the recut The Passion of the Christ and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy present overtly religious symbols. Scholars consider Million Dollar Baby and The Sea Inside religious films in part because they grapple with the moral dilemma of assisted suicide. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' film office gave both movies an "O" rating - for morally offensive - because they offer sympathetic views of euthanasia. Recent films with implicit religious themes include: Their Eyes Were Watching God (spiritual awakening), The Motorcycle Diaries (spiritual journey), Sideways (search for identity), Shrek 2 (hero myth), Lost in Translation (rite of passage) and I Heart Huckabees (existential angst). Some scholars say filmmakers have been dealing with the same life and death themes since the dawn of movies. But Bucknell University religion professor Eric Michael Mazur sees an ongoing evolution in Jesus films; a focus on new religious "enemies," such as Muslim fundamentalists; a greater interest in the spirit world; and more willingness to accept ambiguity. Why it Matters Questions for
reporters Skip to background
• John C. Lyden, professor of religion at Dana College in Blair, Neb., is the author of Film as Religion: Myths, Morals and Rituals (New York University Press, 2003). He says that any popular film that affects people's understanding of war, life and death is arguably religious. Movies, he says, can function religiously, providing a ritualized form of "meaning-making activity" through stories that express values and beliefs about the world. Contact 402-426-7247, jlyden@acad2.dana.edu. • Eric Michael Mazur, Bucknell University religion professor, is the editor of the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Religion and Film (Greenwood, expected 2006). He says that if Americans are looking for spiritual expressions as opposed to institutional forms of religion, it's logical they will seek spiritual themes in film. Contact 570-577-3525, mazur@bucknell.edu. • S. Brent Plate, professor of religion and visual arts at Texas Christian University, has written about religion, art and visual culture. Religions, he notes, discuss the creation of the world, and films work on re-creating the world. He's interested in how film has "come down" off the screen and infiltrated rituals so people have Matrix-style weddings. Contact 817-257-6444, b.plate@tcu.edu. • George Aichele, professor of philosophy and religion at Adrian College in Adrian, Mich., has written about connections between Scripture and film, and about culture, entertainment and the Bible. He's not so much interested in "Bible movies" that focus on overtly religious or theological themes. He's interested in the points where biblical text, images, languages and themes appear in popular movies that are otherwise quite "secular," such as Pleasantville and Minority Report. Contact 517-265-3959, gaichele@adrian.edu. • Diane Apostolos-Cappadona, an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University, has written about "re-viewing" Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and images of women in contemporary religious film. Contact 202-687-0289, apostold@georgetown.edu. • The Rev. Richard A. Blake, co-director of film studies at Boston College, is a film historian and author of Afterimage: The Indelible Catholic Imagination of Six American Filmmakers (Loyola, 2000). Much of his writing has centered on religious themes and imagery in mainstream filmmaking. Contact 617-552-4295, blakeri@bc.edu. • Read
The Journal of Religion
and Film, with articles on old and new films and film reviews. See past ReligionLink
tips about films:
|
 |
 |
© 2008 Religion Newswriters Foundation | |
