Disciplines
• Film Studies
• Theater
Film
Religion and film:
Since movies' earliest days, films have
reflected how society grapples with questions
about the existence of God and the meaning
of life. Faith's trials and triumphs make
good stories, and Hollywood has long recognized
a good story and told it creatively, from
"The Ten Commandments" to "The
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch
and the Wardrobe." Film is now an essential
arena for theological discussion in today's
culture. Economics also contribute to the
appearance of religious subjects in movies.
The success of "The Passion of the
Christ" showed the spending power of
the evangelical Christian market and its
impact at the box office. Hollywood companies
now are raising the stakes and multiplying
the titles with movies such as "The
Nativity Story," a mainstream film
about the birth of Jesus produced by a secular
studio.
Rewarding market:
Economic rewards, cultural interest in faith
issues, and creative challenges have combined
to make a great market for making films
about spiritual subjects. Those who consume
religious themes usually have passionate
feelings about the subject, which means
a filmmaker presenting these themes should
be prepared for adulation from some fronts
and condemnation on others. From a creative
standpoint, films about religion allow artists
to express religious devotion, explore conflicted
feelings or examine issues from a new angle,
creating contemporary film that can be critical,
thought-provoking, surprising, disturbing,
paradoxical, comforting and inspiring. A
new trend in marketing of religious-themed
films is "cross-marketing" to
secular and religious audiences. This may
mean promotions within congregations, offering
advance screenings, and building interest
among targeted faith communities before
a movie comes out; while also doing traditional
media promotion. Some conservative Christians
have historically been reluctant to engage
in popular culture and have been suspicious
of entertainment, but that stance is changing
for many
Issues today: Knowledge
of the narratives and symbolism of various
faith traditions lends insight to understanding
the deeper meanings of films that contain
references to them or resemble their thematic
structures. As the film-going world goes
international, filmmakers can be aware that
their films are seen in countries around
the world, and they are in turn exposed
to international films that contain various
languages, terminology, symbolism and religious
references. Having a religious literacy
broadens literacy in film and other disciplines.
Those interested in film will find the markets
for religious and secular content have grown
closer together. There are opportunities
in religious-themed films for secular companies,
as well as in the religious market. The
expectations of religious groups - many
raised on low-budget "church basement"
films, are changing to expect higher-production
quality products that communicate religious
messages but are produced and acted more
like mainstream cinema. Opportunities exist
in both the making and marketing of both
categories of films.
Theater
Religion and theater:
Asian theater blossomed between 350 and
1330 A.D. at a time when the cultures of
Asia also reached a high point in philosophy
and religion, which left a permanent impression
on Asian theater. Folk theater and dramatics
in ancient India can be traced to the religious
ritualism of the early Vedic civilization,
believed to have composed the four Vedas,
the foundation of Hinduism and oldest surviving
scriptures in the world. The oldest surviving
plays from western theater come from ancient
Greece, where theater likely evolved from
staged religious choral performances. Performed
at religious festivals, Greek theater was
often concerned with questions about morality
and the relationship between mortals, the
gods and fate. In the Middle Ages, secular
forms of theater existed, but most remembered
are liturgical dramas written in Latin and
dealing with Bible stories; or vernacular
dramas based on the Bible, about the lives
of the saints, or that taught moral lessons
through allegorical characters representing
virtues or faults. Because these plays were
designed to teach Catholic doctrine, the
Protestant Reformation targeted theater
in an effort to stamp out allegiance to
Rome. Other critics of theater included
the Puritans, who argued that the stage
was pagan and representing a religious figure
was idolatrous. Theater revolved less around
religion in the Renaissance and neoclassical
era, but it remained a common thread as
it does today.
Religion and story:
Some could argue that the power of drama
is similar to that of a religious experience.
Good drama transfixes, transports and indelibly
changes the individual. Certainly, religious
experience itself is rich in drama. Modern
theater often produces contemporary interpretations
of earlier religious texts in order to "speak
to our era" the truths and observations
of an earlier time. These re-interpretations
bring fresh vision and understanding to
modern audiences. Examples include Tim Rice
and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals "Jesus
Christ Superstar" and "Joseph
and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,"
which re-envision biblical stories; Stephen
Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak's "Godspell,"
a musical based on the Gospel of Matthew
in a contemporary urban setting; and Arthur
Miller's play, "The Creation of the
World and Other Business," a dramatic
comedy based on a nontraditional interpretation
of the Book of Genesis.
Artists seek to illuminate
that which lies within, shapes and drives
human action, and often seek a place where
humanity and transcendence come together.
They may struggle with their beliefs and
explore their fears, the dogma or perceived
contradictions through theater. They ask
questions and provoke thought. They may
incite more conservative representatives
of a religious tradition to protest, particularly
when traditional religious values are challenged
or confronted in an unorthodox way. Examples
include: Terrence McNally's "Corpus
Christi," which contains a gay, Christ-like
character and came under critical protest
by Christian groups; Gurpreet Kaur Bhatt's
"Behtzi" (Dishonor), a play involving
sex and murder in a Sikh temple, which incited
vandalism and protest from Sikhs where it
was produced; and an interpretation of the
Mozart opera, "Idomeneo," which
contained beheading of Poseidon, Buddha,
Jesus and Mohammed and was closed after
the Berlin criminal agency warned that the
production could create "a dangerous
scenario with major potential consequences
for public security and order."
Issues today: Those
interested in theater could study the role
of religion in development of the dramatic
arts; the philosophical and aesthetic characteristics
of religious plays; the social, cultural
and political role of religious plays; and
the relationship between these "passion
plays" and contemporary theater. Funding
for productions can be both supported or
withdrawn based on response from religious
communities to creative content. The artistic
community also faces questions of where
to stand on freedom of speech issues, what
constitutes freedom of speech, when it is
worth defending and at what cost. Artists
are constantly striving to find new ways
to express the human experience, which has
been directly and indirectly influenced
by religion. Today's audience has an appetite
for religious themes, both ones that reinforce
spiritual commitment and ones that provoke
thought.
Biblical
Interpretation
Journal
of Religion & Film
Religion
& the Arts
American
Academy of Religion Syllabi Search
The
Bible at the Movies
David Gunn
Texas Christian University
Christianity in Film
Raymond A. Patterson
St. Michael's College
Religion
and Film
Dr. Adam L. Porter
Illinois College
Religion
in Film: Mysticism and Apocalyptic
Dr. Jed Wyrick
California State University Chico
Faith,
Film and Culture
Christopher Elwood
Louisville Seminary
Jesus
in Fiction and Film
Darren Middleton
Texas Christian University
Catholic Writers Online
Christian Academics
Christian Writers’ Group
Christian Performing Artists’ Fellowship
Christians in the Arts Network
Christians in the Visual Arts
Christians in Theatre Arts
Faith & Values Media
Islamic Media Foundation
Religious Communication Association
Religion Communicators Council
Women in Christian Media
World Association for Christian Communication
• See a full list of professional associations and resources here.
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