This piece of work will try to show ‘A critical reflection on the representation of Jesus in film and of filmic Christ figures.’ It will be split into two sections regarding this. The first will talk of how Jesus is shown to be in film, how easy it was to identify the figure on screen as Jesus and if when we did so we could see him as we have always believed him to be, including things like, the look of the man, the clothes the ways of movements and speech, if the portrayal was deemed as a success or failure, if the portrayal kept ‘true’ to bible sources or if it was taken in a new direction all together. If the Jesus we saw on screen followed our expectations of how we expected him to act to those around him and the challenges he faced, or if his mannerisms followed what we could find in the bible about him. Was the film itself supposed to show a true representation of Jesus? Was it a comedy or action film, a film meant to inform of a bible story or to show us a new way of thinking? This again will have an impact on how we see the representation of Jesus in said films and on how seriously we take the ideal of him we are being given to heart. It may also touch on the effect of seeing a positive/negative representation of Jesus will change our overall view, depending on how well the film used it. The second part of this piece of work will cover the section on Christ figures in film. It will go into detail about the recent debate of what a Christ figure is in film, and include some recent examples, it will try to point out some both obvious portrayals and also more subtle portrayals, it will touch upon the use of subtle ways to subconsciously make our mind connect the person in the film to what we know of Christ outside of film, suc...
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...e last 24 hours of Jesus’s life, but gives us the most accurate according to the bible portrayal of Jesus out of the three films. It follows the gospels closely, including the trail of Jesus, him being found not guilty and the choice of the people between the freedom of Jesus and the freedom of a notorious criminal. Visually we see again the man who is young and dressed in while with the facial hair that we associate with Jesus. We see his behaviours mirroring how we believe the Son of God would have behaved, showing the healing of the guard’s ear, and the begging for the forgiveness of God for his tormentors as he suffers on the cross. This is by far the most easily identifiable Jesus of the three films; he fits almost perfectly into our perceptions. It follows the gospels and because of this the film was meant to and does show a ‘true’ representation of Jesus.
In this first chapter of Jesus and the Disinherited , the author Howard Thurman describes
Neill, Alex. “Empathy and (Film) Fiction.” Philosophy of film and motion pictures : an anthology. Ed. Noel Carrol and Jinhee Choi. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. 247-259. Print.
In The Meaning of Jesus N.T. Wright and Marcus Borg present different views on issues relating to how Jesus is viewed. While Borg and Wright do agree on central ideals of Christianity, Borg tends to have more liberal views, whereas Wright holds more conservative views.
Film Analysis of All That Heaven Allows Chosen sequence: Golden Rain Tree/Cary's bedroom scene. Before the emergence of 'auteur theory' the director Douglas Sirk was a renowned exponent of classical Hollywood narrative, particularly in the genre of romantic melodrama, of which his film All That Heaven Allows is a classic example. However, he is now regarded as a master of mise-en-scene, one of the few tools left to a director working within the constraints of the Hollywood studio/institutional system who is now thought to have been highly critical of American mainstream culture and society in this prosperous era. 1, 2 The 'Golden Rain Tree' sequence occurs early on in the film after the opening panoramic, establishing shot - showing the scene of the action, a small middle-class New England town in autumn. The main protagonists are soon introduced of which the prime causal agent is an unsettled woman, Cary Scott (Jane Wyman), in keeping with romantic melodrama.
...ude the controversial issues about Jesus. Andreas seemed to have been on the border line with following Jesus and believing he was some guy that was telling lies around the cities. It’s not until Jesus is up for execution when he becomes a follower of Christ. Once Andreas returns, he learns that Barabbas and two zealots were arrested. Barabbas is Andreas’ friend, so he decides to propose ways of rebellion to the Romans. Pilate decides to have a meeting with Andreas about his proposal leads. Pilate manipulates Andreas’s proposal by giving the people of Jerusalem the decision which criminal to keep from execution: Barabbas or Jesus. In the end the people chose Barabbas which meant Jesus, including two other criminals, was sent to be crucified. The story concludes with Andreas recognizing Jesus’ power after so many of the people in his life have been changed by Jesus.
In my opinion it's better to see a film without hearing too much about it beforehand. With The Passion I was expecting to be bored for the first hour while seeing Christ preaching to his followers and healing the sick but Gibson didn't tire us all with that, he filmed it in an interesting way which pleasantly surprised me. In fact I was very impressed with the opening scenes. Instead of showing us Jesus' life from birth to death Gibson set the film at the last two days of his life while having the odd flashback to Jesus' earlier days.
Classic narrative cinema is what Bordwell, Staiger and Thompson (The classic Hollywood Cinema, Columbia University press 1985) 1, calls “an excessively obvious cinema”1 in which cinematic style serves to explain and not to obscure the narrative. In this way it is made up of motivated events that lead the spectator to its inevitable conclusion. It causes the spectator to have an emotional investment in this conclusion coming to pass which in turn makes the predictable the most desirable outcome. The films are structured to create an atmosphere of verisimilitude, which is to give a perception of reality. On closer inspection it they are often far from realistic in a social sense but possibly portray a realism desired by the patriarchal and family value orientated society of the time. I feel that it is often the black and white representation of good and evil that creates such an atmosphere of predic...
"The Passion of the Christ" by Mel Gibson, recounts the last twelve hours of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, portraying his arrest, trial, crucifixion and death. One of the most popular religious movies in modern times, it therefore becomes susceptible to criticism. Although the film is based upon the stories within the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, there are many exaggerations and non-biblical elements present in the movie. This is not unexpected, since it is a movie, but the vivid detail of the brutality in the movie as well as the Anti-Semitic theme are the most publicly criticized elements of the movie. The Passion emphasizes the brutality Jesus endured to give himself for his people, but at the same time in the movie the Jews are the ones that cry for his death. During several scenes of The Passion of the Christ, there are elements such as characters, themes, and motifs that are not found within the gospels, but are in the movie to add more dramatic elements.
In the 1967 prison film Cool Hand Luke, directed by Stuart Rosenberg, there are many examples of theological symbolism and religious themes. Most of the symbolism alludes to Jesus Christ, which is often utilized in film to add depth to the protagonist in the story. Such Christ figure symbolism can also be seen in films such as the 1999 hit The Matrix and the original Star Wars film (1977). Along with these visual suggestions, there are also thematic elements that underlie Cool Hand Luke which involve Biblical allusions and metaphysical questions.
When I saw Lars and the Real Girl on the choices of movies for this project, I knew exactly what I wanted to write about. I really enjoyed this movie and its uniqueness. This movie has the most unique plot I have ever witnessed in a film. At the end of the movie, Margo says to Lars, “There will never be one like her” in reference to Bianca. In reality, there will never be a movie like this one. What I enjoyed most about this film was it was a Christian film but wasn’t a Christian film. What I mean by that is that it didn’t just throw Christianity in your face while watching it. Nothing about this film seemed fake. It never seemed as if the writer was trying to tell you one specific message of the film. The writer was simply telling a story, and leaving it up to the audience to figure out what the message of the story was for that particular person. The writer left it up for the audience’s interpretation. Everything in this film seemed genuine and real. It was something that I really could see happening at my church community. I will be honest when I first read the initial plot before I watched the movie; I was skeptical of how this movie would involve Christianity, but after watching the whole movie I saw that there were elements of Christianity all throughout the movie. From the perception of the church to the common beliefs of the characters, the Christian faith was shown in all aspects of the movie. Lars and the Real is not only a movie, but it is a lesson that through faith and the strength of a community a troubled soul can be healed. There are four specific items I am going to address in this paper: the message of the film regarding the Christian metanarrative, the way Christianity was...
The image of Jesus nailed to a wooden cross by the palms of his hands and with a crown of thorns wrapped around his head is one that has transcended all time barriers. It has inclusive been replicated into figure form that is utilized in various ways but whose primary function is to serve as a constant reminder of the physical suffering endured by Jesus. In The Dream of the Rood however, the perception of Jesus Christ as not only the son of God and savior of mankind but also as a human with the capacity to feel pain, is subverted when through the perspective of a personified cross he is conveyed as a warrior in the midst of combat. The portrayal of Jesus in this way immediately evokes the image of an ideal stereotypical hero who is strong, courageous, and unrelenting in appearance. Nevertheless, it can be said that this type of hero is more inclined towards fantasy than it is based on reality because these idealized heroic figures have only ever truly existed in a fictional universe. The depiction of Jesus as a warrior thus, undermines forms of heroism that stem from explicit suffering that is not concealed but rather expressed by the individual.
Yet, before any arguments on these two films can be analyzed, we must first briefly discuss each of the films plots and characters to provide background for the thesis. Chronologically, The Blood of Jesus came first, so that is where we will begin. The setting for the film takes place in a small southern town, where a religious woman, Martha, is accidently shot by her undevout husband, Ras. After being shot, due to the limited medical advancements of the time, there was not much that could be done for Martha. In other words, everyone in the town knew she was going to die. Yet, when she is in her comatose state of slumber she encountered an angel, who gives her wisdom of how to avoid the devil and finally reside in Zion or Heaven.
In the film “The Passion of the Christ” by Mel Gibson the life of Jesus Christ is portrayed to the audience using his interpretation of the historical moment in which Jesus Christ was crucified. In the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John the stories recounted about the life of Jesus Christ are different, because each one was centered to the particular needs of their community. By not following the Gospels word for word Mel Gibson is able to dramatically depict the mercy, love, and salvation Jesus Christ had for the children of God. In doing so Mel Gibson was also able to impact people and have them reflect on the sins they have inflicted on God.
The Paschal Mystery is a key element in our Catholic faith. As Catholic we believe that God came down from heaven and became one of us. Jesus is that fulfilment and came down to save us. The Paschal Mystery is the events that made know to us the Jesus is the true Messiah. Jesus we tried by His peers and was crucified. He died on the cross to give us salvation, which he did. He then was resurrected after three days, which is the complete basis for our faith. The Paschal Mystery includes the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus, but also includes Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven and the descent of the Holy Spirit. The last two are not depicted in the movie but are the basis of the modern church. The movie, Jesus of Nazareth depicts the first three well, but leaves out the last two, even though Jesus is very present in them. The movie did capture the true religious message of it but also showed it in a secular way that everyone can understand
‘Then came the films’; writes the German cultural theorist Walter Benjamin, evoking the arrival of a powerful new art form at the end of 19th century. By this statement, he tried to explain that films were not just another visual medium, but it has a clear differentiation from all previous mediums of visual culture.