Iliff School of Theology Summer, 2013, BEC 218 July 8 19, 8:30AM - Noon

Instructor: Jeffrey Mahan 303/765-3192 jmahan@iliff.edu

PN 3305 - THEO 6360 Religion and Film

What, therefore, might be the religious dimensions of such a film consists not in doctrinal resonances but in how the film itself, both in its narrative and in its cinematic techniques, accommodates to the deep incomprehensibility of events and, beyond that, adumbrates the mysteriousness of the world itself. William R. LaFleur God is Box Office, C.B. DeMille Religion and art are parallel lines which intersect only at infinity, and meet in God. Gerardus van der Leeuw Pentecostal beliefs and technology act so much in support of each other that they become more or less indistinguishable. This being so, it is impossible to maintain a stable distinction between film and religion. Birgit Myer

I. LEARNING GOALS: In this course, students explore the interactions of religion and film. Learning goals include demonstrating: 1) Basic film literacy, the ability to recognize and interpret a movies visual composition, aural elements, and narrative structures. 2) Ability to theologically analyze film as a distinct form of religious art. 3) Ability to think about film as a cultural artifact through which implicitly and explicitly religious figures, institutions, themes, and concerns are expressed and ritualized. II. REQUIREMENTS: 1) Attend and participate in all sessions. 2) Read and be prepared to discuss assigned readings. 3) Complete and present assignments on due dates.

III. REQUIRED READING/VIEWING: All Students: Viewing: You will need to view the assigned films outside of class. The films will be our primary texts for discussion and analysis. They are available through Netflix which is an easy way to have reliable access. Netflix charges start at about $9.00 a month. Some of these films are available for video streaming on your computer or television. Many you will need to order for mail delivery of a DVD. Even if you have seen a film in the past, please view each film again before the class discussion so that your impressions are fresh. Reading: Jolyon Mitchell and S. Brent Plate, The Religion and Film Reader (RFR) (2007) New York: Routledge. Historical and contemporary essays on the relationship between religion and film from diverse cultures and religions. Includes writings by film critics and theorists, religious leaders and religious and theological studies scholars. The essays are short and, though there will be several for each session, it would be realistic to read them the night before class. Johnston, Robert K., Reel Spirituality: Theology and Film in Dialogue, (2000) Grand Rapids: Baker Books. Provides an introduction to film criticism, overview of the interaction of church and cinema, and lays out ways of relating film and theology. Rooted in a Christian world-view the author also suggests ways in which the divine might be present in films that are not overtly Christian or clearly religious. Please do this reading in advance of the course. Doctoral Students (In addition to the books above, choose one of the following) : Lyden, John C., Film as Religion: Myths, Morals and Rituals, (2003) NY: New York University Press. Builds a Geertzian definition of religion rooted in understandings of myth and ritual, and argues that film should be understood as a form of religion (not simply as another form of social discourse in dialogue with religion) and suggests that understandings of interreligious dialogue provide a model for the discussion of the interaction of film and more traditional forms of religion. Part Two applies the method developed to a series of popular genres. No attention is given to films overtly about religion. Martin, Joel W. and Conrad E. Ostwalt Jr. Screening the Sacred: Religion, Myth and Ideology in Popular American Film, Boulder: Westview Press, 1995. Draws distinctions between theological criticism rooted in Christian assumptions, mythic criticism rooted in cross cultural archetypal studies, and ideological criticism which explores how myths affect society with particularly attention to race, class and gender. IV. PRE-CLASS VIEWINGS: Each session you will find a film identified for Pre-class viewing. It is your responsibility to arrange to see the film before coming to class. Even if you have seen the film at some point in the past, you must re-view the film so your impressions are fresh. All of these films are available through Netflix and you will find some of them in libraries, online or from rental sources. You may want to arrange to view them with other students.

V. COURSE OUTLINE: Session One: July 8 A. Course overview and introductions B. Film viewing and analysis skills a. Visual Literacy b. Realism/Formalism C. Some relationships between film and religion D. Film discussion: The Diary of a Country Priest Reading: Reel Spirituality: The Power of Film, pgs 19-30. Religion and Film Reader (RFR), Intro Part 1, pgs 9-14. Wright, Religion and Film. pgs 438-444. Bazin, Le Journal Dun Cure de Campagne and the Stylistics of Robert Bresson (1951), pgs 57-59. Pre-class Viewing: The Diary of a Country Priest, dir. Robert Bresson, (1951) France (110 min) Session Two: July 9 A. Possibilities & concerns in the relationships between religion and film B. Bible, film and culture C. Film discussion: La Genese [Genesis], dir. Cheick Sissoko 1999, Mali (102 min) Reading: Reel Spirituality: Chap 4, Why Look at Film? pgs 63-86. RFR, Jump, Religious Possibilities of the Motion Picture (1910) pgs 14 24. Grant, If Christ Went to the Movies, (1920), pgs 27-31. Burnett, and Martell, The Devil Cinema, (1920) pgs 32- 34. Sembene, The Power of Female Solidarity, pgs 117-120. Sissoko, I Make Films about the Big Problems of our Continent, pgs 121-125. Pre-class viewing: La Genese [Genesis], dir. Cheick Sissoko 1999, Mali (102 min) Other examples:
10 Commandments, dir. C.B. DeMille, 1956, USA The Gospel According to St Matthew, dir. Pier Paulo Pasolini, 1964, Italy (137 min) The Passion of the Christ, dir Mel Gibson, 2004, USA Godspell, dir David Green, (1973) USA The Greatest Story Ever Told, dir Irving Pichel, (1942) USA Jesus Christ Superstar, dir Norman Jewison, (1973) USA Jesus of Nazareth, dir Franco Zeffirelli, (1977) USA

King of Kings, dir. C.B. DeMille, 1927, USA The Last Temptation of Christ, dir Martin Scorsese, (1988) USA Also, Ben-Hur (1925), The Last Days of Pompeii (1935), Quo Vadis? (1951), The Robe (1953), etc.

Session Three: July 10 A. Displacements of Jesus and Christ Figures B. The Church Responds to Film: Censorship, ratings, appropriation and dialogue C. Film discussion: Jesus of Montreal Reading: RFR, Pope Pius XI, Vigilanti Cura (1936) pgs 35 - 42. Bird, Religion in Film: Film as hierophany. pgs 391-397. Mahan, Jeffrey Celluloid Savior: Jesus in the Movies, Journal of Religion and Film, Vol 6, No 1, April 2002 (on Canvas) Talking about The Passion of the Christ, Lectionary Homiletics, Vol. XV, Number 4, pp. 56, June/July 2004 (on Canvas) Pre-class viewing: Jesus of Montreal, dir. Denis Arcand, Canada (118 min) Recommended viewing, On the Waterfront, dir. Eli Kazan, 1954, USA
Other Examples: Sling Blade, dir. Billy Bob Thornton, (1996) USA Cool Hand Luke, dir. Stuart Rosenberg, (1967) USA Monty Pythons Life of Brian, dir Terry Jones, (1979) GB One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, dir. Milos Forman, (1975) USA ET: The Extra-Terrestrial, dir. Steven Spielberg, (1982) USA

Session Four: July 11 Religion, Film and the Construction of Race A. Imagining Black religion B. Film discussion: Hallelujah! Reading: RFR, Weisenfeld, Projecting Blackness pg 285-293 Dash with hooks, Dialogue Between bell hooks and Julie Dash, pgs 251-256 Lee W. Breskin, Inner View: Filmmakers in Conversation, pgs 257-260 Reel Spirituality, Are Movies Art? pgs 87-99. & Becoming a Film Critic. Pgs 125-150. Pre-class viewing: Hallelujah!, dir. King Vidor, (1929) USA (90 min) Other Examples:
Black Orpheus, dir Marcel Camus, (1959) Brazil Daughters of the Dust, dir Julie Dash, (1991) USA Do the Right Thing, dir Spike Lee, (1989) USA

Session Five: July 12 A. Religion in the Art House Film B. Theological/Mythic/Ideological Approaches: Doctoral student presentation and discusssion on Martin and Ostwalt C. Film discussion: The Decalogue 8: Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness Reading: RFR, Kieslowski, Introduction to Decalogue: The Ten Commandments. pgs 219-224. Martin, Religion, Myth, and Ideology in Popular American Film. Pgs 421-427. Reel Spirituality, Theological Approaches to Film Criticism. Pgs 41-63. Doctoral Students: Martin and Ostwalt, eds, Screening the Sacred. Pre-class viewing: The Decalogue 7: Thou Shalt Not Steal: dir. Krysztof Kieslowski, 1989, Poland (55 min) Other examples:
Devi, dir Satyajit Ray (1960) India Intolerance dir. D.W. Griffith (1916) USA The Seventh Seal, dir. Ingmar Bergman, (1957) Sweden Three Colors: Blue, dir K. Kieslowski, (1993) Poland/France Andrei Rublev dir Andrei Tarkovsky (1969) Russia

Session Six: July 15 (Religion in the Art House Film, continued) A. Further Conversations about theological approaches B. Student introduction to film C. Film discussion: Babettes Feast Reading: Real Spirituality, Responding to Movies Theologically, pgs 151-172. Pre-class viewing: Babettes Feast, dir. Gabriel Axel, 1988, Denmark (102 min) Due: Close analysis paper Session Seven: July 16 Buddhist Film A. Viewing other religions and cultures B. Film form and religion C. Film discussion: Why has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East?, dir. Bae Yong-kyun, 1989, Korea. (225 min) Reading: RFR, P. Schrader, Transcendental Style, pgs 176-182 Cho, Francisca, Imagining Nothing and Imaging Otherness . pgs 398-406. Phalke, D. G., The Problem of Capital Formation in the Indian Cinema pgs 25 - 26. LaFleur, William R., Suicide Off the Edge of Explicability, pgs 153-163.

Pre-class viewing: Why has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East?, dir. Bae Yong-kyun, 1989, Korea. (225 min) Other Examples:
An Autumn Afternoon, dir. Yasujiro Ozu, (1962) Japan The Burmese Harp, dir, Kon Ichikawa, (1956) Japan Little Buddha, dir. Bernardo Bertolucci, 1994, Italy/USA Marmoulak, (The Lizard), dir. Kamal Tabrizi, 2004, Iran Princess Mononoke, dir Hayao Miyazaki, (1997) Japan

Session Eight: July 17 Muslim Art Films A. Devotional Cinema B. Iranian new wave C. Student introduction to film Film discussion: Taste of Cherry Reading: RFR, Kiarostami, In Dialogue with Kiarostami pg 88-91. Majid Majidi and the New Iranian Cinema, Journal of Religion and Film, Vol 12, No 1, April 2008 Pre-class viewing: Taste or Cherry, dir. Abbas Kiarostami, 1997, Iran Other Examples:
Children of Heave, dir. Majid Majid, 1997, Iran Persepoli, dir. Marjane Sattapi & Vincent Paronnaud, 2007, France/Iran New Muslim Cool, dir. Jennifer Maytorena Taylor, 2009, USA

Session Nine: July 18 Muslim Popular Film A. Religion in popular culture B. Film discussion: Mooz-Lum C. Popular Film and Religion in Ghana and Nigeria In class screening: Attacks from Home, dir Mike Bamiloye, Nigeria (long) Reading: RFR, Meyer, from Religious Mediations: Pentecostal Views in Ghanaian video-Movies pgs 95-102 Pre-class viewing: Mooz-Lum, dir. Qasim Basir, 2010, USA, (99 minutes) Other examples:
Tender Mercies, dir. Bruce Beresford, (1983) USA Gandhi, dir. Richard Attenborough (1982) USA Powwow Highway, dir. Jonathan Wacks, (1989) USA Malcom X, dir. Spike Lee, (1992) USA

Session Ten: July 19 A) doctoral student presentation and discussion: Lyden, Film as Religion Myths, Morals and Rituals B) Film discussion: The Big Lebowski, dir Joel and Ethan Coen, (1998) USA (118 min) C) Course Evaluation D) Wrap up Discussion Reading: RFR, Lydon Film as Religion pg 416 420. Epstein, On Certain Characteristics of Photogenie (1924), pgs 49-53. Dorsky, Devotional Cinema. pgs 407-416. Pre-class Viewing: The Big Lebowski, dir Joel and Ethan Coen, (1998) USA (118 min) VI. ASSIGNMENTS, DUE DATES and GRADES: 1. Close Analysis: Choose one of the films assigned for week two, about which you would like to think more carefully: Babettes Feast, Bodhi-Dharma, Taste of Cherry, Mooz-lum, The Big Lebowski. Write an six-to-eight page paper This paper should reflect your own careful viewing and analysis of the film, demonstrating how understanding the films form, composition and style inform your interpretation of the film. You should be engaged directly with the primary text, the film itself, applying skills developed in the early weeks of the class rather than consulting secondary sources such as film or religious scholars or reviewers. Due: Monday of the second week. Submit electronically on Canvas (25% of grade) 2. Lead Discussion: Masters Students: With a group of peers prepare to introduce and lead the discussion of: Babettes Feast (session six), or Taste of Cherry (session seven). Prepare a fifteen minute presentation on the film that introduces the class to ways the film has been analyzed and interpreted and which prepares them to engage the film. Lead a 30 minute discussion. (25% of grade) Doctoral Students: As a group, prepare to lead/teach two sessions. For Session Five, based on your reading of Martin and Ostwalt, eds, Screening the Sacred, prepare a twenty-to-thirty minute introduction to the their approach and lead discussion of the Martin essay read by all students for a further twenty-to-thirty minutes. For Session Ten, based on your reading of Lydens Film as Religion, prepare a twenty-to-thirty minute introduction to his work and lead discussion of the Lyden essay read by all students for a further twenty-to-thirty minutes. (25% of grade)

3. Research Paper: Choose a film not seen in class, in which religion is in some way a significant element, as the topic for a ten-twelve page paper (doctoral students, fifteento-eighteen page). This paper should draw on research as well as your own viewing to put the film in its historical/cultural context, and offer a theological or religious interpretation of the film rooted in visual and narrative analysis. Draw both on your own close analysis of the film and on assigned and outside critical resources. Focus your paper on research and reflection on that issue. Due: August 7. Submit electronically on Canvas. (50% of grade) 1) Attendance and Participation: Being consistently present for class is a baseline expectation. Appropriate participation demonstrates your preparation and engagement with reading, class presentations and discussion. Final grades may be adjusted in light of attendance and participation. 2) Incomplete Policy: Students who believe their situation justifies it may apply for an incomplete following the process outlined in the Masters Student Handbook. 3) Notification of Academic Integrity Standards: (from the Iliff Masters Student Handbook) Academic integrity lies at the foundation of academic progress. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, acts of fraud and deception on an examination or class assignment, acts of forgery or unauthorized alteration of any official academic record or document and attempt to gain credit for work that one has plagiarized from the work of another person. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this course or any other at Iliff School of Theology and there are serious consequences to students who engage in it. For more information on these and other rules regarding academic progress at Iliff click on the following link on the World Wide Web or internet: http://online.iliff.edu/file.php/1/Handbooks/MSH_06-07_Academic_Policies.pdf Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Iliff engages in a collaborative effort with students with disabilities to reasonably accommodate student needs. Students are encouraged to contact their assigned adviser to initiate the process of requesting accommodations. The advising center can be contacted at advising@iliff.edu or by phone at 303.765.1146. I. FURTHER READING Aichele, George and Richard Walsh, eds., Screening Scripture: Intertextual Connections Between Scripture and Film. Trinity Press, 2002. Anker, Roy M., Catching Light: Looking for God in the Movies. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. 2004

Bandy, Mary Lea and Antonio Monda, eds. The Hidden God: Film and Faith. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2003. Baugh, Lloyd, Imagining the Divine: Jesus and Christ-Figures in Film. Kansas City: Sheed and Ward, 1997. Cunneen, Joseph, Robert Bresson: A Spiritual Style in Film. London & New York: Continuum, 2003. Deacy, Christopher, Screen Christologies: Redemption and the Medium of Film. Cadifr: University of Wales Press, 2001. Deacy, Christopher, Screening the Afterlife: Theology, Eschatology, and Film, London: Routledge, 2011. Evans, Christopher Hodge and William R. Herzog, The Faith of 50 Million: Baseball, Religion and American Culture. Presbyterian Publishing Corp, 2002. Flesher, Paul V.M. and Robert Torrey, Film and Religion: An Introduction, Nashville: Abingdon, 2007. Forshey, Gerald, American Religious and Biblical Spectaculars, Westport: Praeger, 1992. Graham, Elaine L., Representations of the Post/Human: Monsters, Aliens and Others in Popular Culture. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2002. Jewett, Robert, Saint Paul at the Movies. Louisville: Westminister/John Known Press, 1993. Johnson, Robert K., Reel Spirituality: Theology and Film in Dialogue. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2000. Johnson, Robert K. Reframing Theology and Film: New Focus for an Emerging Discipline. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007. Lyden, John C. Film as Religion. New York and London: New York University Press, 2003. , ed., The Routledge Companion to Religion and Film, London, Routledge 2011.

Martin, Joel W. and Conrad El Ostwalt Jr. Screening the Sacred: Religion, Myth and Ideology in Popular American Film, Boulder: Westview Press, 1995. May, John R., Image and Likeness: Religious Visions in American Film Classics, New York: Paulist Press, 1991.

May, John R. and Michael Bird, eds., Religion in Film, Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1982. Miles, Margaret R., Seeing and Believing: Religion and Values in the Movies. Boston: Beacon Press, 1996. Mitchell, Jolyon, Media Violence and Christian Ethics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Jolyon Mitchell and S. Brent Plate, The Religion and Film Reader, London: Routledge, 2007, Morgan, David. The Lure of Images: A History of Religion and Visual Media in the United States. London: Routledge, 2007. Nayar, Sheila J., Reconfiguring the Genuinely Religious Film: The Oral Contours of the Overabundant Epic, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 78, Num. I, March 2010. Plate, S. Brent, ed., Representing Religion in World Cinema: Filmmaking, Mythmaking, Culture Making, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. Pungente, John J. and Monty Williams. Finding God in the Dark: Taking the Spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius to the Movies, Boston, Pauline Books & Media, 2004. Runions, Eric, How Hysterical: Identification and Resistance in the Bible and Film, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. Scott, Bernard Brandon, Hollywood Dreams & Biblical Stories. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1994. Stern, Richard C., Clayton N. Jeffords and Ruerric Demona, O.S.B., Savior on the Silver Screen. New York: Paulist Press, 1999. Walsh, Richard, Finding St Paul in Film, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2005. Watkins, Gregory J, Teaching Religion and Film, New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Weisenfeld, Judith, Hollywood Be Thy Name: African American Film, 1929-1949, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007. Wright, Melanie J., Religion and Film, London: I.B. Tauris, 2007. Web Resources: Bible Films. Bible Films Blog: http://biblefilms.blogspot.com/

Journal of Religion and Film, http://avalon.unomaha.edu/jrf/ Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, http//www.usask.ca/relst/jrpc/index.html