Film
Since its introduction to America and the world, film has become one of the most important and popular cultural mediums ever (Marsh 33). Ever since the motion picture industry began, the role of Jesus Christ has been used numerous times in different ways. These portrayals of Jesus in film have varied in showing either a traditional image, pertaining to the gospels, or one more unconventional, usually based on someone else's interpretation. Both of these different ways of showing Jesus and his life have greatly influenced people’s image of him (Brunstad 145). Because of the movies' portrayals of Jesus, his differing image has also been shown as more human, usually when Jesus is unconventional, or more divine. The portrayal of Jesus Christ, from Ben-Hur to The Passion of the Christ, focuses too much on either his human aspect or his divine aspect, but has never met the correct depiction of a believable God-man.
Jesus Christ shown as a God-man is central to Christian beliefs. In Christian culture Jesus is understood to be both fully divine and fully human at the same time. Because of this idea, the attempt has been made by several films to show Jesus in this way, but has never been achieved.
The movies that will be discussed in this paper came out between 1959, after Ben-Hur, and 2004, before The Passion of the Christ. They are as follows, in chronological order of when released: Ben-Hur, King of Kings, The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, Jesus Christ Superstar, Jesus of Nazareth, The Last Temptation of Christ, and The Passion of the Christ. Ben-Hur came out in 1959. It was directed by William Wyler. The role of Jesus was played by Claude Heater. This movie de...
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... of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 15 March 2004. 25 Apr 2004 .
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Marsh, Clive and Gaye Ortiz, eds. Explorations in Theology and Film. Oxford: Blackwell, 1997.
Medved, Michael. Hollywood Vs. America: Popular Culture and the War on Traditional Values. New York: HarperCollins, 1992.
Stern, Richard C, Clayton N Jefford, and Guerric DeBona,. Savior on the Silver Screen. New York: Paulist, 1999.
Turner, Matthew Paul. “Jesus in Living Color.” Christian Single 26 (2004): 40.
In a well-written short story, different literary elements and terms are incorporated into the story by the author. Ernest Hemingway frequently uses various literary elements in his writing to entice the reader and enhance each piece that he writes. In Hills Like White Elephants, Hemingway uses symbols to teach the reader certain things that one may encounter during daily life. Symbolism may be defined as relating to, using, or proceeding by means of symbols (Princeton). The use of symbols in Hills Like White Elephants is utterly important to the plot line and to the fundamental meaning of the story. Through this use of symbolism, the reader can begin to reveal the hidden themes in this short story.
Some works show their true colors right away. Gene Edward Veith’s book, Reading Between The Lines, addresses philosophical ideas, literary sub genres, and reader criticisms in order to ascertain a Christian’s role in literature. He also goes through various historical periods and examines their more prominent works and schools of thought. While a select few of his conclusions about Christianity in relation to the arts have merit, others contain more damaging implications. Specifically, his statements regarding television represent inaccurate and offensive thinking.
Willa Cather’s “Paul’s Case,” displays the conflict between conformity and individuality through the main character, Paul. On a number of occasions, Paul is forced to lie and steal to escape the conformists who wish to control him and stifle his unique imagination. However, his lying, stealing, and attempts to escape the conformists, only force Paul into isolation, depression, and feeling a sense of shame for his individuality. Throughout the story one might see Cather’s constant contrast of individuality versus conformity, as well as Paul’s lying and stealing. Cather seems to draw the conclusion that extreme individuals, much like Paul are simply misunderstood, and not offered the acceptance they desire from conformist society.
Evans, Sara. Wang, Bella ed. "Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway Study Guide : Summary and Analysis of "Hills Like White Elephants"". GradeSaver, 10 December 2010 Web. 9 March 2014.
"A Critique of Inherit the Wind: Analyzing One of the Most Anti-Christian Films in History." Protestantism. Web. 02 June 2010.
Snead, James A., Colin MacCabe, and Cornel West. White Screens, Black Images: Hollywood from the Dark Side. New York: Routledge, 1994. Print.
Paul believes that everyone around him is beneath him. He is convinced that he is superior to everyone else in his school and in his neighborhood. He is even condescending to his teachers, and shows an appalling amount of contempt for them, of which they are very aware.
... ed (BFI, 1990) we read … “contrary to all trendy journalism about the ‘New Hollywood’ and the imagined rise of artistic freedom in American films, the ‘New Hollywood’ remains as crass and commercial as the old…”
"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.
Moreland, J.P., and Wilkins, Michael, ed. Jesus Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents the Historical Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995.
In the beginning of the story, Paul seems to be a typical teenage boy: in trouble for causing problems in the classroom. As the story progresses, the reader can infer that Paul is rather withdrawn. He would rather live in his fantasy world than face reality. Paul dreaded returning home after the Carnegie Hall performances. He loathed his "ugly sleeping chamber with the yellow walls," but most of all, he feared his father. This is the first sign that he has a troubled homelife. Next, the reader learns that Paul has no mother, and that his father holds a neighbor boy up to Paul as "a model" . The lack of affection that Paul received at home caused him to look elsewhere for the attention that he craved.
Burroway, Janet. Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft. 6th ed. New York: Longman, 2003. As Rpt. in Rankin, Paul "Hemingway's `Hills Like White Elephants'." Explicator, 63 (4) (Summer 2005): 234-37.
Paul's father is a single parent trying to raise his children in a respectable neighborhood. He is a hard worker and trying to set a good example for his son. His father puts pressure on Paul by constantly referring to a neighbor, whom he feels is a perfect model for his son to follow.
Hills Like White Elephants, written by Ernest Hemingway, is a story that takes place in Spain while a man and woman wait for a train. The story is set up as a dialogue between the two, in which the man is trying to convince the woman to do something she is hesitant in doing. Through out the story, Hemingway uses metaphors to express the characters’ opinions and feelings.
Lyden, J. (2003). Film as religion: myths, morals, and rituals. New York, USA: NYU Press.