Religion and Film 2019

The film Wings of Desire gives an interesting outlook on religion, especially when analyzing the characters that portray angels.  The film follows the main character, Damiel throughout his experience as an angel then transfers to his human experience. As he begins to experience feelings of emotion, he craves a more unpredictable life.  Damiel expresses this by simply wanting to drink a cup of coffee or be able to say hello to a bypasser.   As Damiel begins to follow one woman, he wishes to interact with her, eventually fulfilling his wish to become human.  One scene that is very interesting is when Damiel becomes human and he is spotting Marion as she performs a tight rope dance.  As she is dangling from the rope about ten feet from the ground, Damiel stands on the ground preparing to catch her.  When looking further into the symbolism, we can infer that the rope signifies as a connection between heaven and hell.  When Damiel was an angel, he was ...

Throughout the Jacket there are multiple themes that reoccur throughout the semester. Two of these themes include redemption and rebirth.  The main character, Starks, uses time travel as a means for personal redemption.  Starks is labeled insane due to his experience with war and his battle with PTSD.  Once Starks is in the mental asylum, he is labeled as crazy and Dr. Becker performs immoral tactics, attempting to heal his "insanity". By putting Starks into a morgue drawer, Becker is attempting to restart Stak's mind, giving him a clean slate to work with. When in reality, Becker sends Starks into the future.  During his time travels, Starks manages to help multiple people, giving the situations a positive outlook.  Starks uses the opportunity to focus on new relationships and unanswered questions. Although he is not able to answer the question he focuses on for the majority of the movie, this question being how he dies, he is able to help Jackie and gain knowl...

Much like the majority of films we watched this semester, war was a prominent theme in the movie Captain Marvel.  Although the circumstances were very different considering that it was an international war, versus two countries battling, the overall basis was very similar.  The need for power was at a larger scale but can be directly correlated with war on Earth. The basis of the storyline stems from Captain Marvel being brainwashed by a team of extraterrestrial "super heroes" that claim their purpose is to protect the universe from terror.  When Captain Marvel finds herself on earth she realizes that she had been lied to and taken advantage of.  As she continues to find out more from her past, she realizes the team she joined is actually causing the terror.   This is very similar to human warfare.  Both sides have the "good" intentions and people are often times sheltered from the actual purposes of leaders.  Especially in cases of dictatorships,...

Within the film Thin Red Line there is a constant balance of nature and war.  Throughout the film, we see scenes of battle complemented by scenes of wildlife.  During one of the main combat scenes we see men being killed, then the camera flashes to a bird carrying on with normal life.  The difference between American war tactics and Vietnamese are shown throughout the film as well.  The Americans often find themselves in the open because they do not know the landscape. The Vietnamese, on the other hand, use the land to their advantage, often time camouflaging themselves and using the landscape to mask themselves.  This is shown by the bunkers they chose to build on high grounds and their constant focus on being hidden.  Although they do not have the same technological advantages of the Americans, they use the landscape to even the playing fields.   Although the captain sent his men into a death trap, he felt it was necessary to win the battle....

During the film Apocalypse Now, the Cambodian people view Captain Kurtz as a godly figure.  This can be related to modern-day dictatorships.  During the film, The Interview, the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Un, is portrayed as a god to the people.  The two main characters, played by James Franco and Seth Rogen, are attempting to prove that the rumors Un has started are not true.  The CIA seeks the two out to kill the dictator, sending them on a mission much like Captain Willard's journey to kill Kurtz.  Both films end with the men dying, leaving their people with nobody to look up to.  Throughout both films, the leaders use excessive force to gain the respect of the people.  Kurtz uses the ruthlessness he learned during the war as a means to rule.  This is shown when Willard arrives, and past intruders heads are on the ground.  Kurtz used his experiences to make the Cambodian people feel protected, much like how Kim Jung Un shelters his pe...

In the journal Enacting Rituals to improve Self-Control, A.D Tian talks about the repetition aspect and rigidity of ritual conduction. He believes that their actions can induce a discipline approach that is necessary to keep order in communities. He tests this through various experiments and concludes that his theory is accurate. After reading through his ideas, I agree with his journal and can see this be applied to Catholicism. The rituals of Communion and Baptism are examples of this and keep proper order of the church and mass sessions. After completing these rituals, you also feel a great sense of honor and deepened faith which controls your behaviors thereafter. This is where I find Tian's theory shown of improving self-control and their behaviors in the future.

The Psychology of Rituals journal by Nicholas Hobson goes into depth on the study of rituals and their causal mechanisms that driving their certain behaviors. He talks about the mix of framework involved from different fields to understand these phenomenons and why humans create and conduct this practices. He talks specifically about three theories that cause the behavior: emotions, performance goal states, and social connections. After reflecting on this, I agree that there has been little thought including by myself, put into this psychology. I have been very interested in the Vikings and their Pagan religious rituals and putting Hobson's framework and "stepping into their shoes" I can start to understand a little why they were so determined by them. For the Vikings, their rituals caused many emotions throughout the tribe and many times motivated them before battle or brought happiness after a newborn child. This ties to their performance goals of defeating their enemi...

In the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Jonathan Z. Smith discusses his view on the absolute wonder of imagination. I relate this to the movie Big Fish as Edward Bloom stretches the wonder of imagination through fantastical creatures in his storytelling to his son William. The idea of the wonder of imagination I think expands our understanding on events and actions that we normally don't think go deeper. Similarly, we use this technique of expanding our imagination through this class by discussing the movies in depth before and after. We are then opened up to new ideas as a group that we didn't previously think about as if we were watching the movie by ourselves. This groupthink has enhanced my think and my wonder of imagination as Smith describes. 

In the Idea of the Holy, Otto can be quoted saying this "  The analogy is with the feeling arising from moral transgression. They are too we practiced a kind of self deprecation which is clear and familiar and perfectly intelligible to us when we esteem ourselves guilty of a bad action and action itself is morally evil. Evil of the action ways upon us and deprives of our self respect. We accuse ourselves and remorse sets in." In this, we can see the seperation between us and the divine. For God, he does not make mistakes as a human might do.  Humans, when they see themselves make a mistake that they would see as morally wrong, or as even morally evil, we feel down on ourselves, because we know that we can do and be better. These mistakes can be anything from committing a crime, to yelling at a friend. However, they are important to see because they put it in perspective that we are not God. While God is omnipotent and omniscient, we are not. Meaning, that he knows all and w...

In the Idea of the Holy, towards the end of the book, it talks about Jesus and his miracles, specifically the ones where he brings someone back to life. During this, Otto talks about Jesus's power coming from his commitment to the people that he was with and his mission from God. However, it does not speak specifically as to what the mission from God is. For most, this mission can be one of two things, either the spreading of the Gospel's good news, or to die on the cross for the payment of sins of the world. If one is to look at Jesus's mission as simply the spreading of the Gospel and the good news of God, then we put up a lot of Christian views to question. This however is the view of Muslims and many other people that do not identify as Christian. They see Jesus as simply a great profit, teacher, and deliverer of a message from God that emphasizes the love of God instead of legality. His teachings also show that connection with other humans and showing the same love t...

How does someone reconcile their pacifist beliefs with a desire to aid their fellow man in the bloodiest war of all time? The dynamic between a distaste for killing and a global warzone is placed at the forefront of Mel Gibson’s film Hacksaw Ridge (2016) . This film focuses on the true story of a young Desmond Doss, a staunch pacifist and conscientious objector in World War II. He does not use his pacifist beliefs, based in Desmond’s adherence to the Biblical commandment “Thou shalt not kill,” to try and get out of serving in the war, but instead he wants to serve as combat medic. His religious beliefs are put to the test as soon as he begins his journey, as he is ostracized by his fellow soldiers and commanders for refusing to even handle a rifle. After an attempt to have him discharged based on psychiatric reasons fails, his commanders put him through grueling, menial labor to convince Desmond to leave on his own accord. But he powers through, refusing to compromise his beliefs no ma...

While some films hope to add to the religious narrative of sacred text in a meaningful, impactful way, as was the case in Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) , others simply want to subvert it for the flippant humor it creates. This is the case with many works by British comedy troupe Monty Python, whose films like Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) and Life of Brian (1979) take Christian tradition and sacred text and turn it into farce and satire, utilizing it for laughs. These films became notorious for their seemingly anti-religious rhetoric and their irreverent view of Christian narratives, especially Life of Brian , which focused on a Jewish man by the name Brian Cohen who is born in the manger next door to Jesus, leading to many mistaking him as the messiah. This film was banned entirely in Norway and Ireland and was protested by many religious groups. It was a critical and commercial hit in the United States though, the film in highly regarded as one of the bes...

Lyden, John C. “Whose Film Is It, Anyway? Canonicity and Authority in ‘Star Wars’ Fandom.”  Journal of the American Academy of Religion , vol. 80, no. 3, 2012, pp. 775–786. In a 2001 census, 70,000 people in Australia identified their religion as Jediism. This was not a phenomenon singular to Australia, but one that has swept the world as the Star Wars films have firmly entrenched themselves within pop culture and become a global phenomenon. Description of yourself as a Jedi may sound like a joke that some fans of the films said in place of saying they were not religious, but as John C. Lyden details in this work, the fan culture surrounding these films often reflects that of religious followers. Lyden looks to ideas like communal identity, a system of belief and values, myths and rituals as hallmarks of religious practice, and Star Wars fan culture as well. (775) The moral themes in Star Wars films, based in eastern religious practices, have them been lifted by many in the w...

In 1945, Italy really wanted the world to forget they were ever a fascist country. Though Mussolini had ruled for 21 years up until 1943, Italians took the opportunity to focus on the years of 1943 to 1945, when Nazi occupied Italy due to Italy’s attempt to leave the Axis powers. Though Italy had been fascist for over two decades, they utilized these two years of fascist oppression to crate a narrative of themselves as victims. The very first film released in post-war Italy did exactly this. Rome: Open City, directed by Roberto Rossellini, was a fresh look at the destruction of World War II, filmed in the real rubble of the destroyed city. This film shows the entire city of Rome banding together to fight the Nazis, but puts a special focus on the role of the Catholic church in this fight. Rome: Open City focuses on Don Pietro, a pious catholic priest, who by the end of the film has died for this cause. This story was an important one for Italians to construct and ties catholic marty...

Erb, Cynthia. “A Spiritual Blockbuster:  Avatar , Environmentalism, and the New Religions.”  Journal of Film and Video , vol. 66, no. 3, 2014, pp. 3–17.  It is exceptionally rare to find a blockbuster film that displays the relationship between humans, the environment, and the spiritual world at its forefront. Yet, Avatar (2009) did just that, and went on to become the highest grossing film of all time. Erb in this work dissects Avatar in relation to ecology, environmentalism, and ecofeminism, among other ideas she bundles together under the umbrella of “dark green religion.” Erb goes on to suggest that the film represents an environmentalist culture that pushes commitment to nature as sacred. The DVD release of Avatar actually coincided with the 40 th anniversary of Earth Day, and the home video release coincided with a reforestation initiative to plant on million trees, a goal that was exceeded over the course of the next year. (7) The film itself is one that foc...

Hamner, M. Gail. “Religion and Film: A Pedagogical Rubric.”  Journal of the American Academy of Religion , vol. 81, no. 4, 2013, pp. 1139–1150.  JSTOR , www.jstor.org/stable/24488118. This is one of the most interesting readings I’ve found on the field of religion and film, as Hamner focuses on the teaching or religion and film and ensuring their relation is expressed properly to their students. When teaching to students, Hamner takes a multifaceted approach on the subject. First, they approach the evental character of religion, summed up succinctly by a quote from Jonathan Z. Smith, “Religion is not an object of analysis but an occasion for analysis.” No single object, person, or text can represent religion in any essential manner. Instead, religion is a series of specific events and happenings that present a narrative of the spiritual. Once the understanding of religion as a narrative is set in place, analysis of film as a visual and auditory narrative coincides nicely wit...

Siegler, Elijah. “David Cronenberg: The Secular Auteur as Critic of Religion.”  Journal of the American Academy of Religion , vol. 80, no. 4, 2012, pp. 1098–1112., www.jstor.org/stable/23358001 . Secularism is by definition, the antithesis of religion, calling for the separation of religion from other institutions, mainly the state. As a philosophy that is diametrically opposite religion, it has a unique ability to provide critique of the religion it is separate from. This idea presents itself within the cinematic works of David Cronenberg, director of films like Videodrome (1983) and The Fly (1986) that put him on the map as a pioneer of body horror films. A staunch atheist, Cronenberg has said in multiple interviews he wants no theological reading of his films. In fact, he went so far to say, “I’m not just a nonbeliever, I’m an antibeliever – I think it’s a destructive philosophy.” (1102) With a distaste for films focused on religion or the supernatural, Cronenberg instead loo...

This blog will be on the idea and article The Significance of Communal Religious Freedom for Liberal Democracy . Michael Paulsen discusses his theory of "The Priority of God" and religious freedom in the International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society. He makes comparisons between US and European societies and how they perceive religious truths. In America, he talks about how we have a "modern conception of religious freedom, which no longer recognizes religious truths although the state remains tolerant". This implies that as Americans it is tough for us to see the meaning behind actions and the religious implications behind events that occur, but at the same time religion is still relevant in our society although it has diminished. When he discusses Europe, he says this problem has gotten much worse. He states "This conception does not only no longer recognize religious truth, but also implies a considerably less tolerant state, as secularism be...

After reading the article Religion in Popular Music or Popular Music as Religion? published on the popular Music and Society Journal, I was able to gage a deeper understanding and reflection on music and its purpose on religion. Marcus Moberg discusses his interests in metallic music and how the "dark" religious themes he finds portrays a spiritual culture. The interpretations can be made through many lenses, but he talks about how music in general can provide its audience or followers with religious inspirations. I found that Moberg is right about his theory in both metal music and many other varieties of music in different cultures. For example, we can see that African tribal music illustrates not only a phileo type of love in the community, but also as religious influences to their Gods. We can see this go far back into the days of the Aztecs and Mayans as well where they would play songs before making sacrifices to their Gods. Finally, we can see this modern day Cathol...

Though he only appears in a few early scenes in the film, Achille Papin, the famous Parisian opera singer, stuck out in my mind. His attempts to woo Phillipa were awkward and unwarranted, yet he shows to have a caring heart when he leaves the small Danish village after she shows her disinterest. Many years later, Achille still remembers Phillipa’s kind soul and sends Babette to them since he knows they will care for her with their generosity. Achille shows love through philia, or platonic love in friendship. He accepts that Phillipa will never care for him romantically, and though it pains him, he sets aside his hurt feelings in order to help Babette flee from a revolutionizing Paris. Achille knows he cannot do much to help Babette so he passes along this small act of self-sacrifice onto the two sisters.

I read once about how the original script for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind had end scenes where Clementine was shown to go back to the Lacuna firm to erase her memories of Joel countless times. I think that adds a whole new dimension to the film since it shows how self-destructive human behavior can be when faced with a loving albeit toxic romantic relationship. As a viewer, you want Joel and Clementine to find fulfillment with each other, but unexplainable chemistry does not constitute a healthy relationship. The well-known quote, “ insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result” applies to this situation. The chances of Joel and Clementine finding each other over and over again seems like predestined fate, yet they never work out. The universe or a higher power seem to be playing with them, but since their memories are wiped, they can never learn from their mistakes. They are destined to drive each other crazy on an endless cycle.

Carol Danvers seems to be Earth’s only hope, yet people do not believe she can succeed. She’s too emotional, she doesn’t know how to control herself, etc. Carol showcases many admirable qualities such as selflessness, compassion, and empathy which allow her to believe in herself despite the naysayers. A Bible quote from Romans says, “we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” Though it may be a stretch, I thought there were points throughout Captain Marvel where Carol could be viewed as a messiah figure. She comes through in times of strife and conflict, delivering messages of hope for the population of Earth. Nobody really listens to her messages at first, or in this case the messages are her repeated statements that she can do it and get back up no matter what puts her down. Carol suffers for the good of many, most notably when it is revealed she lost her memory from absorbing the force of...

One of the sources I used for my research paper is Stephen Greenblatt’s “Resonance and Wonder”. It is an artistic interpretation of how people feel this “exalted attention” when viewing a wonderful work of art. Placed in a historical context, wonder means, “The idea is not to find outside the work of art some rock onto which interpretation can be securely chained but rather to situate the work in relation to other representational practices operative in the culture at a given moment in both its history and our own ” (Greenblatt 42). Culture creates an environment for wonder to flourish in, as it surrounds certain items with a narrative. For example, a damaged, antique vase shows increased wonder and resonance because it tells a story of people who once lived. It can display the violence of history and the impact humans have on each other, furthering this idea of an “exalted attention” above us.

I cannot think of the last time I saw a film that horrified me as much as Hereditary (2018). As a huge horror film fan, I heard all the positive buzz around this film and knew I needed to see it. I thought I had been desensitized to horror films at this point, but nothing could prepare me for this film. Hereditary is the story of Annie Graham, her husband Steve, her moody, teenage son Peter, and her uncomfortably weird daughter Charlie. The film opens with the family grieving the loss of Annie’s mother, Ellen. Annie notes that her mother was very private and due to that she never had the full opportunity to know her mother, leaving her without closure in her death. As the film progresses more and more is discovered about Ellen’s life, and its connection to a dark world. Without spoiling the strange, frantic path of terror this film takes the viewer down, I will describe the deterministic philosophy that drives the narrative. Determinism is the philosophy that all events and human acti...

Melanie J. Wright Religion and Film: An Introduction This work is a fascinating overview of the entire field of study we have focused on this semester. One thing Wright argued that jumped out at me was her overall issue with the field of religion and film. Too often, she claimed, we see the study of religion and film as connecting specific films to specific religious traditions or practices. Instead, we should acknowledge that films are about life and its meaning, and likewise religion is about life and its meaning. Thus, all films are religious. Even if we do not see a direct parallel to a religious text or a faith practice, the film is still the work of artist creating or searching for meaning in their life and the world around them. While this is an interesting view, her choice of movies to analyze were underwhelming, as she picked films that were directly connected to religious ideologies in very clear manors, such as The Passion of the Christ. The choice to analyze films that we...

It should come to no surprise that any devoutly religious person will defend their holy scriptures and religious texts with fervor, defending them against naysayers and critics. Christians uphold the Bible as not only a moral code or book of ethical teachings, but a historical timeline as well. Catholicism and fundamentalist views of a complete, literal interpretation of the Bible leads to very little room for creative interpretation of the stories held within. This can often clash with Hollywood, who looks to the Bible for epic narratives with deep themes and moral teachings yet enjoys taking a certain level of creative liberty with their source materials. This often leads to controversy, as was the case with Martin Scorsese’s film The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). This epic drama follows the life of Jesus as he carried out his ministry on earth. This film sought to present a human, relatable look at Jesus, and portrayed him struggling in many human temptations such as lust, d...

War has many casualties. These casualties reach further than just the loss of human life. One thing that is seldom considered is the impact of on landscape of the battlefield. In Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line (1998), the physical impacts on both soldier and environment are shown but taken even further to see the mental and spiritual impacts that war has its actors and nature. This sprawling war film is both epic in scope and in technical prowess. This film was the ending of twenty years of silence from Malick, who poured everything he had into this film, from writing the script (A first draft had over 300 pages) to spending over a year in post-production editing down the footage, removing entire main actors, plotlines, and countless scenes to whittle it down from the first cuts five hour runtime. The Thin Red Line takes place on the island of Guadalcanal, a Pacific island controlled by the Japanese that the Allies ran a months long campaign to take over due to its pivotal ...

A movie can have some of the most fascinating themes, great acting, wonderful dialogue, or a plethora of other great attributes, and still fall short of truly being cinema. Film, at its core, is a visual artform, with the framing and placement of every shot being a crucial piece of filmmaking. This year, after the Oscars announced the awards for editing and cinematography would be given during commercial breaks, many filmmakers were offended by what they saw as pushing aside the very heart of cinema. Academy Award winning director Alfonso Cuaron tweeted that, “In the history of CINEMA, masterpieces have existed without sound, without color, without a story, without actors and without music. No one single film has ever existed without CINEMAtography and without editing.” Many other auteurs agreed with Cuaron, including his good friend and fellow academy award winner Guillermo del Toro, who wrote, “Cinematography and Editing are at the very heart of our craft.” You can make a good movie ...

William Blake was a walking dead man, just like everyone else. Unlike most others, our protagonist in Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man (1995) has Nobody with him as he takes on this journey through the end of his life and into the spiritual realm. Nobody, a Native American, helps a dying William Blake make his way to the Pacific Ocean so he can have a proper send-off into the spiritual realm. This journey is a perilous one, with bounty hunters on the prowl hoping to bring Blake’s journey to a premature end. As Blake progresses, he sheds his meek, sheltered city sensibilities and begins to revert to the spiritual connection to the land of the natives before the profane machinery of western civilization took hold. Often referred to as a postmodern western and occasionally a psychedelic western, Blake sheds his civilized manors, but does not conform to the western cowboy trope. He is not some cowboy sheriff too big to fail, he’s already bleeding to death, his failure emerges in the first scene. In...

As soon as I watched Captain Marvel, I was struck by its social commentary it wore on its sleeve. Issues of immigration, sexism, and individualism are all on the forefront of the film. While the film toys with interesting topics, it falls short of its themes and of its main character in its ability to use them to create a truly meaningful film. A female-led Marvel film should never have taken ten years to create, and its great that they have finally made one, but this film just seems like an excuse to flex Captain Marvel’s guns before she faces real threats with her role in Avengers: Endgame. Carol Danvers, is cool, collected and morally straight. Lucky for us that we have a character with seemingly no flaws that also has seemingly unlimited power. Her only true personal battle is one of her lost memory. Once she regains her memory, Captain Marvel is complete. Without the amnesia that held her back from knowing who the true enemies were, she makes quick work of all the antagonists ...

I think the element of music in movies is essential in creating the necessary environment for the audience to engage with the characters. We see this all the time in films to display emotions such as love, anger, suspense, and horror. The music creates this environment and also helps enhance the storytelling of the director. We have seen this in the many films we have watched this semester including Apocalypse Now, Thin Red Line, Cold Fever and Blade Runner. In Apocalypse Now, there was many suspenseful scenes with the relevant music attributed to it. In Blade Runner, the music was catered towards sci-fi and futuristic, electronic sounds. In Cold Fever, the music gave us a mellow tone that represented the stillness of winter. In the Thin Red Line, we see the elements of battle through the sounds of the movie and the screams of men in pain and horror.

Narcos is a series that depicts Pablo Escobar and his involvement in the creation of the drug trafficking circle in Columbia. In doing this, Pablo is able to help a struggling Colombian economy where most have become impoverished. As the cocaine trade gains traction and the US becomes a prime customer, money flows in like waterfalls into Columbia. Although, this new found wealth is through an illegal/unethical trade, many of the citizens are appreciative of how it is changing Columbia for the better. Therefore, the show portrays Pablo as a God in the country and he gains political ground from his connections as well. This relates to the movie Apocalypse Now and the character Captain Kurtz. His indigenous subjects all believed he was a leader in their community and treated him as he was Godly. 

This semester, I have been taking a Postmodern Dance class. I took this class for an easy credit and with the belief that I would leave the class with at least a basic understanding of dance. I was very wrong. This class, in keeping with postmodern thought, was a reexamination of dance, and essentially a deconstruction of dance. One primary aspect of the class that was in constant conflict with our religion in the movies class was its complete rejection of narrative. We sought to create movement purely for movement's sake, to view eachother purely in a physical, impersonal manner, and to reject emotion completely. Additionally the majority of our movements were not performed to music, as we did not want the movements or music to influence eachother or provide some sort of narrative, quite contrary to the technique of filmmakers. Postmodern dance rejects so many of these things that are utilized so heavily in film.

In some cases, an axis mundi is an unwelcome presence. Stranger Things depicts such an axis. A science lab, represtenting the profane order begins to interfere with unknown power in an attempt to control it and use it for the dominance of one profane order (the US) over another. In their aims, they disturb this extra-human power and cause a rift which opens a type of portal to another realm. From this axis emanates a source of mysterium tremendum which provokes fear in the human realm. The source of this terror are dark beings which resemble demons in their physical, mental, and emotional horror. Through this series, the protagonists seek to close this uncontrollable axis, seeing that it is a source of death and darkness rather than transformation and rebirth and it will not be satisfied until it has consumed their realm.

Reflecting on the past few years of my life, I've realized the majority of my experiences have been unfulfilled attempts at achieving a sense of perfect community. I believe this is a common goal among humanity, and a strong dream shared by those attending college. We view this place of people of a similar age with similar goals and interests as the perfect place to find this community. While college does offer this to an extent, it did not compare to what I had hoped for. Stress and schoolwork get in the way. I then realized perhaps the closest I've ever seen to this community is at music festivals. Raised in bluegrass and folk festivals, I learned early on the importance and joy of unity, sharing, freedom, and openness. At these festivals, the primary factor lending to the sense of community was the absence of false presentation; there is an emphasis on presenting oneself exactly as is in order to create genuine connections. I then saw that this was not unique to music festiv...

Through the semester we viewed many films that contained symbols of axes mundi , points of connection and communication between realms. In Wings of Desire , this axis was a rope from the ceiling. In Dead Man , it was the ocean which transported William Blake beyond death. These axes are most often shown in movies between the earthly and heavenly realms, but in traditional diagrams connect all planes of existence, both horizontal earthly directions and the vertical planes above and below earth. Pre Colombian cultures were among many to have an idea of a “world tree” that connected the heavenly, earthly, and subterranean planes. Their mythical tree was just a symbol for an axis they believed manifested itself on earth in several types of locations, most strongly in water and caves. Both of these were viewed as sources from which life emerged and connecting points to access the other realms. Caves and water thus held great importance to Aztec, Inca, Maya and other cultures in this area. T...

The increasing degree with which social media is consuming our culture is rapidly threatening the intersectional aspect of community. Those we once esteemed on a personal level we now dismiss in exchange for strangers who possess the lifestyles, possessions, or qualities we envy. We use social media not only to idolize these strangers, however, but to in turn elevate ourselves to the position of idols. We post photos seeking "likes" and glorifying comments as affirmation; we put our lives up for public display, but through a screen where we can determine what is omitted from this representation. We claim to have these forms of social media to keep in contact, but for many of us, they simply excuse us from having to return the attention of others and simply feed off of receiving it. We no longer selflessly approach others to uplift and fully see and understand them, but act out of a continuous need for praise. This growing problem increasingly strips humanity of the true exper...

In the film Garden State , we follow a man trapped by the perceived limitations of his own mind. Andrew Largeman represents humans with the potential to experience intensely who, being feared by the profane order, are suppressed. Andrew's father, the psychologist, represents this profane order. He sees his son's depression as something that needs to be hidden and controlled rather than guided and healed. In a way, Andrew's struggle is like that of Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel.  Both protagonists experienced intense emotions and were controlled by the cold profane order. With Andrew, this control came from psychological restraint and medication while for Carol this control came from lies and a physical suppressor to keep her powers at bay. The two felt torment at the hands of the captors for as long as they submitted control to them, but within both films, the characters gained power and identity when they broke from their captivity. With this freedom, Andrew sought to ex...

"Invictus" by William Ernest Henley  Out of the night that covers me,        Black as the pit from pole to pole,  I thank whatever gods may be        For my unconquerable soul.  In the fell clutch of circumstance        I have not winced nor cried aloud.  Under the bludgeonings of chance        My head is bloody, but unbowed.  Beyond this place of wrath and tears        Looms but the Horror of the shade,  And yet the menace of the years   Finds and shall find me unafraid.  It matters not how strait the gate,        How charged with punishments the scroll,  I am the master of my fate,   I am the captain of my soul.  William Ernest Henley's poem, "Invictus," has long been an inspiration to humans seeking to overcome circumstance and rise above defeat. In this poem,...

Perhaps the most powerful message in Captain Marvel is the ability of evil to present itself as goodness. Carol Danvers is lost in darkness but believing she has been saved; under the Kree she seeks to find her identity and strength, however does not recognize the Kree's role in destroying both of these things. Carol is fed lies that are presented as truth and as she follows the way of this darkness, she is unable to see truth. The film displays the power of light to reveal and overcome darkness and how, only with this light, one can recognize the state in which they have been living. When Carol is finally exposed to truth, she recognizes her need to flee the darkness and is then finally able to discover her purpose. With this new purpose, Carol seeks to destroy the darkness that threatens to overcome the universe.

The Hundred-Foot Journey describes an Indian family who owns a restaurant in India until it gets burned down. The family then travels to Europe to find a new location for the family restaurant. They end up in the heart of small peaceful town in France. However, they settle directly across from a 2 star Michelin restaurant. This incites competition with the owner of the French restaurant. The Indian family and its star chef, Hassan displays their love for their culture through their food on very stubborn French citizens when it comes to other ethnic food. French tend to find it hard to appreciate other cultural foods. However, Hassan has a gift in the movie and shows his love of food through his hard work and experimentation during the film. In the end, Hassan is able to make an omelette for the chef of the Michelin star restaurant and is able to be hired by them and eventually becomes their head chef on their way to a third Michelin star. The film is fantastic in showing romance throu...

This is blog is meant to compare and contrast the pagan early Viking religion and rituals to Christianity. I was able to see examples of this throughout the series "Vikings" on the History Channel which illustrates the story of Ragnar and his sons in expanding the Viking empire. First, everyone in the show is religious in some way, shape or form. Between the Christians in present-day England to the French in Paris to the Vikings in Scandinavia. They all believe in higher, spiritual being that created them and that they will rise to a great heaven upon death if their life was meaningful and did not commit treachery. For the Vikings, this represents Valhalla and their multitude of Gods. The way their religion is spread is through stories to the children while they grow up. Their rituals are different as they make both human and animal sacrifices throughout the show to please their Gods of Thor and others. The Christians on the other hand believe in a heaven and hell and the ...

My blog will be focused on the imagery and effects that has captured the millions of viewers around the world that watch the famous Game of Thrones. I have been a fan of this series since the end of high school and have been addicted ever since. The directors have put a lot of money and time into developing this series and have filmed all across the entire world. They have also done a great job of illustrating creative meanings and purpose of characters through symbolism. From Season 1 to now the Final Season 8 there has been connections that are sometimes very tough to pick up on. Only re-watching it or hearing about it in a analysis will allow you to capture everything from one episode.  I would say some of the main reoccurring symbols that have been repeatedly been brought up include: the season of winter and snow, the White Walker ring symbol, a three-eyed raven, and wolves. The season of winter including snow and ice represents a rigidness and death. This is seen as the...

In the film, Wings of Desire, the viewpoint and thought process of an angel is the focus of the movie.   Two angels watch over East and West Berlin.   One of the angels wishes he could feel the same feelings that humans encounter.   He wants to sense the highs and lows of humanity.   He also longs to experience love with a human woman that he watches over.   He later becomes human and realizes that previous angels know that he was once an angel himself.   This previous angel tells him that he can’t give too much tips on how to be human and that he needs to figure out mortal life himself.               So, he goes about this by searching for his the woman he fell in love with.   On his journey he experiences physical pain, drinking coffee, small talk with strangers, eating food, and smoking a cigarette.   He finally feel sadness when he cannot find this woman.   ...