Symbols In The Sister Act

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Comedy films are solely not based on just the entertainment for the audience. Comedy films have an interesting way of bringing in a hidden meaning within the story line. The film, Sister Act directed in the early 1990s is a philosophical tale of Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene was biblical women that became condemned by her neighbors for her sins but saved by Jesus. The main character, Deloris Wilson, is a modern symbolism of Mary Magdalene. She is a sinful black showgirl at the Nevada Club who goes into witness protection as ‘Sister Mary Clarence’ when her boyfriend, Vince, and his two minions; Joey and Willy, are trying to condemn her. Director Emile Ardolino breaks down the power structure of religion by using female empowerment and discovers the balance between religious life and ordinary life. In the early 1990s, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) became the first episcopal conference worldwide to adopt guidelines against sexual abuse (Kokesch, 2006). Priests were believed to be the first connection towards God, but people began to feel a distrust toward priests after sexual abuses against children was discovered. Male dominance is the structure of all religion, yet, the film is a celebration of female empowerment using nuns as the symbol. The priest becomes …show more content…

The comedy itself is entertaining to watch, yet, it holds an important message that human beings need to understand. The main character battles between her desire to live her exotic life, while her reason to live a simple life in the convent exemplifies the power struggles that human beings face every day. Just as Mary Magdalene was condemned and saved by Jesus, Deloris has found her sanctuary and has reached salvation. Director Emile Ardolino utilizes the empowering female roles of nuns to shed a new light on the power structure of religion and discover a unity between religion and ordinary

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