Religion and Film: Two Sides of the Same Coin

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 were adaptation of classical religious narratives undercut her argument that any film is a religious work. I do appreciate the idea of film as religious works, and I think this same could argument could be made for many artworks that artists use to bring meaning to life, much like religion.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Film Techniques

The short film Bunny used many high angle overhead shots to depict the point of view of the moth. This perspective puts the audience in the position of the moth so we feel more sympathy when the bunny starts trying to kill it. Dutch angles, or canted angles were used primarily during the oven sequence to promote confusion and uncertainty since this is uncharted territory for the bunny and the audience. I thought that maybe the moth was the spirit of the bunny's husband because of the close-up of the moth on their wedding photo and the fact that the moth is so persistent in trying to get the bunny's attention.  In Harold and Maude, the first scene we viewed starts off in deep focus since we can see both the mother and young women talking in the foreground as well as Harold's "suicide" in the outside garden. The camera interacts mainly with Harold during this scene especially when he breaks the fourth wall by looking at it directly. This act acknowledges the pr...
Read more

Exploring Film Techniques

“Bunny” is a short animation that depicts the transformation of the earthly body to the celestial form as the protagonist transitions into the afterlife. The moth symbolizes the guide, and we get this perception because of the different techniques used to portray the moth. The moth has a musical theme that has a driving and whimsical rhythm, giving the viewer an association of mischief with the insect. The shots portray the moth interfering with the bunny who is hard at work. The viewer resonates with the bunny’s reaction that the moth is an annoyance because the bunny is often in the side of the frame, with an open space for the moth to appear. The viewer expects that the moth will enter the frame to fill that space, yet when it does, the viewer still gets the sense that the moth is an unwelcome presence because of the bunny’s reaction as well as the presumed stupidity of the moth. The moment of truth happens when the bunny enters the oven and the moth’s spiritual significance is rev...
Read more

Dead Man

Cold Fever and Dead Man both heavily rely on funeral rituals. Both main characters are slowly headed towards performing one, whether they know it or not. What struck me about William's Blake character is that he never seems to be aware of his slow approach towards death. He does not seem to realize he is mortally wounded, and perhaps if he could get back to civilization, he could survive. At the end of the film, William is still alive during his own funeral, making him an active participate in the ritual similar to Hirata's participation in his parents' burial rites. Both protagonists are in denial about something. For William, he is denial about his mortality, whereas Hirata is in denial about the importance and sacredness of a funeral ritual. Their journeys parallel each other in that regard, as they come closer to realizing what is truly important in their respective lives. By having Johnny Depp's character named after a famous English poet, it lets the character b...
Read more