Scoring Transcendence: Contemporary Film Music as Religious Experience

by Kutter Callaway

Films are the lingua franca of western culture; for decades they have provided viewers with a universal way of understanding the human experience. And film music, Kutter Callaway demonstrates, has such a profound effect on the human spirit that it demands theological reflection.
By engaging scores from the last decade of popular cinema, Callaway reveals how a musically aware approach to film can yield novel insights into the presence and activity of God in contemporary culture. And, through conversations with these films and their filmmakers, viewers can gain a new understanding of how God may be speaking to modern society through film and its transcendent melodies.

263 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 2013

About the author

Kutter Callaway (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is assistant professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the author of Watching TV Religiously: Television and Theology in Dialogue and Scoring Transcendence: Contemporary Film Music as Religious Experience. Prior to teaching at Fuller, Callaway served in pastoral ministry for nearly a decade, focusing primarily on young and emerging adults. He writes for Christianity Today, Fuller's Reel Spirituality website and the Huffington Post.

Reviews

[Martin Riexinger · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book based on the strange theological opinion that the experience of film music can be considered as a part of general revelation, which means the experience of God through phenomena in the world, but not specific Christian doctrines. This is independent from whether the film and its music actually carry a conscious Christian (or other religious message).

That being said, the book contains nonetheless some good remarks on the function of music in film, based on the analyses of numerous films from the 1970s-2010s, with a particular focus on Pixar, because animation is not restricted by real world limitations.

[Carissa Zwerg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of really interesting stuff in here, but it's very hard to follow if you're unfamiliar with any of the movies mentioned.

[Janae Epp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the first two chapters analyzing music in Pixar’s films. Some of my favorite content that I’ve read in months. After that, there were still good insights. I just started to get lost since there were films I wasn’t familiar with, and I struggled with the author’s particular articulation/understanding of general revelation, which I felt like went a step beyond what I was comfy with during my quick read (will need to revisit when I can sit in it a bit longer). Overall, though, grateful for Callaway’s careful thought and insight. A needed contribution to the discussion of film and theology. Looking forward to reading again when not for a class so I can ponder further.

[Carl Laamanen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very solid and exciting piece of scholarship from Callaway. Accessible, yet scholarly; groundbreaking, yet unassuming.