My argument right now is that over the years not only has the violence level of Jesus films increased, but Jesus has become more and more super-human. That's not a theological argument, mind you, but rather just a look at the Jesus character. I mean let's face it, Mel Gibson's Jesus would have been dead from blood loss long before he ever carried the cross to Golgotha. But I also haven't seen many of these movies in quite awhile (if ever) so I might change that working hypothesis.
Oh man, I'm totally nerding out. I apologize. Here... here's a picture of a hamster for those of you who are bored with this entry already.
I tried to get Archie to help me with my homework. He decided to try and make a nest out of my wool sweater instead. He's tricky like that.The difficult thing about being a "Religious Studies" master's student is that I'm not always sure I belong in "Religious Studies." However, I think this is an issue for most people in Religious Studies departments. A lot of what we do, what we're interested in, sort of spans disciplines. Some of us are interested in archaeology, sociology, psychology, history, literature, etc. But we all come together under the umbrella of "religious studies" because what we study has some aspect of "religion" in it... maybe.
So I ask myself: my paper is on film, and while it's religious film, is it religion? Is what I'm doing film studies or is it religious studies? Do I belong in another department?
Perhaps it all comes down to the question of "what is religion really?"
I'll get back to you on that one...
PS: Did you know Christian Bale once played Jesus? I don't know that I'll be watching "Mary, Mother of God" for my paper, but I just might for my own fascination. Is it possible he could rival Willem Dafoe as my favorite? Uh oh...
4 comments:
Why not include some information on crucifixion other than just on Jesus. If you are concerned with the "super-human" Jesus, compare Him to other victims of crucifixion and see how that turns out.
2 things,
1.)i think that there should be two catagories for your jesi (jesuses, etc..) one intended for secular audiences and one intended for religious audiences. I'd be interested to see what the difference between the jesus in JCS and the difference in the jesus from something like TBN.
2.) wow, i haven't been stalking you properly. I have a lot of blog to catch up on.
John: I'm writing a paper for my other grad class (Biblical Interpretation) on historical crucifixion and what that experience would have been like. It's quite enlightening, and hopefully it will play into my thesis along with this paper. Thanks for the comment! :-)
Travis: 1) Good call. Though I think most of what I'll be watching is "secular" or at least "Hollywood" Jesus.
2) You should just come have a beer and a cigar with me. It'd be easier!
Sounds like a cool paper. You'll probably be forced to address the issue of censorship in film considering some renaissance art wouldn't have made it past the Hays Code (the precursor to the MPAA). Then again "The Greatest Story Ever Told" would have predated the Supreme Court decision that film was a "business" and NOT protected by the 1st Amendment.
Also, try to find a place in your paper for that TV movie just called "Jesus" where he (er... He) was depicted as a pretty cool guy (er... Guy), starting water fights during baptisms, snapping people with towels, and stuff.
That's my 2 pieces of silver.
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