Explorations in Theology and Film: An Introduction

This book brings together theologians, biblical scholars, film and media specialists, and experts in language and literature to consider the potential of film to contribute to contemporary theological discussion. Introductory questions covering methodological and theoretical issues are discussed together with substantial theological evaluations of particular films, including Dead Poets Society, the terminator films, Awakenings , The Piano , and the films of Martin Scorsese. An extensive bibliography and annotated resource section serve to make this book of interest to students and scholars of not only theology but media and cultural studies, as well as the general readers.

List of Contributors. List of Plates. Introduction (Clive Marsh and Gaye Ortiz) . Part One. 1. Film, Movies, and Meanings (David Browne). 2. Film and Theologies of Culture (Clive Marsh). 3. The Uses of Film in Theology (David John Graham) . Part Two. 4. From Domination to Mutuality in The Piano and in the Gospel of Mark (David Rhoads and Sandra Roberts). 5. The Drama of Salvatin in George Stevens′s Shane (Robert Banks). 6. Edward Scissorhands: Christology from a Suburban Fairy–tale (Peter Malone). 7. Redeeming Violence in the Films of Martin Scorsese (David John Graham). 8. Liberation in Awakenings (Ian Maher). 9. Jesus Christ Movie Star: The Depiction of Jesus in the Cinema (William R. Telford). 10. The Terminator Movies: Hi–Tech Holiness and the Human Condition (Gaye Ortiz and Maggie Roux). 11. Stuck in Time: Kairos, Chromos, ad the Flesh in Groundhog Day (Robert Jewett). 12. Moral Ambiguity and Contradiction in Dead Poets Society (Stephen Brie and David Torevell). 13. Between Eden and Armageddon: Institutions, Individuals, and Identification the the Mission, the Name of the Rose, and Priest (Vaughan Roberts). 14. The Spirituality of Shirley Valentine (Clive Marsh). 15. Did You Say "Grace"?: Eating in Community in babette′s Feast (Clive Marsh). 16. Optimism, Hope, and Feelgood Movies: The Capra Connection (Stephen Brown) . Part Three: . 17. On Systematizing the unsystematic?: A response (David Jasper). 18. Theology Beyond the Modern and the Postmodern: A Future Agenda for theology and Film (Clive Marsh and Gaye Ortiz). Annotated bibliography. Index of Biblical references. Film Index. General Index.

Clive Marsh lectures in theology, religious and cultural studies at the University College of Ripon and York St. John, England, and in the Biblical Studies Department of the University of Sheffield. His interests include the history of quests of the historical Jesus, and modern and contemporary systematic theology. He is currently working on a book on Christology, using art and film as resource material. Gaye Ortiz lectures in theology, religious and cultural studies at the University College of Ripon and York St. John, England, and is a media writer and broadcaster, specializing in theology and the media. She is a member of the Catholic Theological Association of Great Britain and a founder member of the Leeds Diocesan Media Commission. As a member of ICOC (the International Catholic Organisation for Cinema) she has served on international film festival juries, twice as jury president. Together with Stephen Brown she has co–ordinated Faith and Film for the Leeds International Film Festival.

"I can see great similarities between a church and a movie–house. Both are places for people to come together and share a common experience." Martin Scorcese, The Century of Cinema: A Person Journey " Explorations in Theology and Film is an intriguing and worthwhile addition to the burgeoning literature on religion/theology and film." Isabel Wollaston "This is a fine book which will become essential reading for those engaged in media studies but will also be valued by any who are interested in theology and culture." David Bridge "A start has been made, to take seriously the dominant art form of the last hundred years, to acknowledge that it too can have a part in the theological enterprise, and for that it is to be welcomed." Tim Noble