Today's class was particularly interesting to me because Professor Harris spoke to us about film and the different ways it can relate to religion. We then proceeded to fill out a shot-by-shot analysis of David Fincher's, Fight Club. As a cinema studies major I found this exercise very enjoyable as it was mixing SMC305H1l's material with many things I have learned in my intro to film class.
The exercise and the entire topic surrounding film and religion got me thinking of just how many movies use religious ideas, iconography and even religious humor. There are obvious films such as Mel Gibson's, The Passion of the Christ, which strives to be as historically accurate as possible. This movie tells the plight of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and is a guaranteed tear jerker. Then there are movies such as Kevin Smith’s Dogma which has a much lighter and comedic air about it. The movie tells the story of two angels who have been expelled from heaven and wish to re-enter via a loophole they have discovered. A woman who is unknowingly the descendant of Christ must stop them. I know it doesn’t sound like a knee-slapper, but trust me, like any Kevin Smith film it’s very funny. The beauty of this film (besides the hilarious script), is the fact that while being so funny in no way does it demean religion. In fact, after watching this one would come to believe that Kevin Smith is a devout Christian with a great sense of humor. The amount of research and pure knowledge of the Christian religion required of a person to have written this film is not on the light side. Not bad for a guy who created the characters Jay and Silent Bob (who I actually quite like).
Basically, films depicting religion come in many forms. They can be serious and precise to the biblical stories or they can revamp the tales and modernize them. Either way it’s entertaining to watch and viewers can learn about Christianity in whichever version.
In case you are unaware, Kevin Smith is a devout Catholic.
ReplyDeleteIn case you were interested, here is a video of Smith picketing Dogma when it was released back in 1999: Kevin Smith Protests Dogma
I find it interesting that society likes to believe that religion is not as important as it use to be yet it can be found pretty much everywhere. To add to your religious related movie list, I think we can all agree on Pixar’s Wall-E pretty much being a knock off of Noah’s Arc. What I love about these types of movies is that it shows the viewer that religion is not plain and boring. It is also a smart way to teach people about religion because we live in a society where we easily learn something by watching rather then reading. Movies like Wall-E or Mel Gibson’s, The Passion of the Christ are both two very different movies that in the end teach the audience about Christianity and the bible. What’s good about this is that filmmakers are using different approaches to teach religion since everyone’s preferences are not the same. It’s also interesting for producers to poke fun of a religion in order to get their message out. Movies like Tom Shadyac’s Bruce Almighty can be seen as a great movie reflecting upon religious values because Tom Shadyac is able to joke with religion with out causing such a commotion in the media.
ReplyDeleteOne of the negative side effects to these types of movies is that some may view it as a way to show dominance over another religion. This simply means that creating movies based on one specific religion like Christianity can make other people of different faiths feel isolated from society because they do not practice Christianity. Some non-Christian families might even view these movies as propaganda to convert people into Christians. I believe that in today’s society, everyone must be treated equally meaning that if someone wants to base a movie on the teachings of Christianity then other directors will have to make movies based on other faiths because it is morally fair to everyone.