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Scripture on the Silver Screen
Eloquently written and meticulously researched, Scripture on the Silver Screen offers all students of Scripture--whether in an academic classroom or at home--an inviting new way to further their biblical literacy. It questions the "Hollywoood Hermeneutic" that too often views the Bible as prop, but also recognizes the contributions of movies that successfully integrate the Bible as a plot-making device. Each chapter begins with a discussion on the focal Bible passage, placing it in its literary and historical context, followed by a summary of the film and its main themes.
217 pages, Paperback
First published October 31, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 11, 2017
An interesting book to read in 2017, despite (or because of the fact) that this covers the films of the 1990s.
I don't usually think of religion as playing a big role in the movies of the Nineties, not in the way the movies of the Fifties are often seen as invoking religion. However, Reinhartz shows how the Bible undergirds films such as "The Truman Show," "Fried Green Tomatoes," "Pleasantville," "The Sixth Sense" and even "Cape Fear," to say nothing of the more "obvious" examples like "The Apostle" and "Dead Man Walking."
It is a thought-provoking book. I found Reinhartz's ideas clearly expressed and pretty much on target with the films I had seen.
What really made me think though was how "alien" these Nineties movies seem compared to what plays at the multiplex today. I don't want to embrace the stereotype and say "movies today are all superheroes and spectacle and have nothing to say to adults," but compared to the movies in this book, I have to say that ("Silence" and "The Founder" aside) movies today seem pretty shallow.
I don't usually think of religion as playing a big role in the movies of the Nineties, not in the way the movies of the Fifties are often seen as invoking religion. However, Reinhartz shows how the Bible undergirds films such as "The Truman Show," "Fried Green Tomatoes," "Pleasantville," "The Sixth Sense" and even "Cape Fear," to say nothing of the more "obvious" examples like "The Apostle" and "Dead Man Walking."
It is a thought-provoking book. I found Reinhartz's ideas clearly expressed and pretty much on target with the films I had seen.
What really made me think though was how "alien" these Nineties movies seem compared to what plays at the multiplex today. I don't want to embrace the stereotype and say "movies today are all superheroes and spectacle and have nothing to say to adults," but compared to the movies in this book, I have to say that ("Silence" and "The Founder" aside) movies today seem pretty shallow.
December 27, 2016
Reinhartz, Adele. 'Scripture on the Silver Screen' in Revelation: Representations of Christ in Photography, ed. Nissan N. Perez (London: Merrell, 2003).
“Gran Torino” is the Gospel incognito and has surprisingly profound Christological themes. Clint Eastwood's character, Walt Kowalski, appears to be an elderly version of Eastwood's “Outlaw” and “Dirty Harry” personas: a vigilante seeking retributive punishment.
In a brilliant twist, Eastwood totally subverts all assumptions and becomes a Christ-figure who embodies Jesus’ self-sacrifice at the hands of his enemies in order to liberate the terrorised community (John 10:11-15, 15:13).
We see a distinct New Testament meta-narrative of shepherd-care and crucifixion that produces a redemption outcome. (p189)
“Gran Torino” is the Gospel incognito and has surprisingly profound Christological themes. Clint Eastwood's character, Walt Kowalski, appears to be an elderly version of Eastwood's “Outlaw” and “Dirty Harry” personas: a vigilante seeking retributive punishment.
In a brilliant twist, Eastwood totally subverts all assumptions and becomes a Christ-figure who embodies Jesus’ self-sacrifice at the hands of his enemies in order to liberate the terrorised community (John 10:11-15, 15:13).
We see a distinct New Testament meta-narrative of shepherd-care and crucifixion that produces a redemption outcome. (p189)
August 15, 2011
Courses like “Theology in Contemporary Art Forms” have been offered at the seminary level for decades. Unfortunately, many of the books only deal with films that have an overtly compatible message. Scripture on the Silver Screen aggregates an intriguing amalgam of both overt and ambiguous illustrations of the power of scripture on contemporary film. For me, this is a better volume than most. Oh, to be sure, I have some questions about some of her emphases. Her so-called “queer reading” of the Book of Ruth and “Fried Green Tomatoes” didn’t completely catch me by surprise. I had realized the sexual ambiguity in the latter, but hadn’t realized the lesbian affinity to the former. Admittedly, Reinhartz didn’t suggest that this was an appropriate reading to the Book of Ruth; she merely spent a page or so delineating why such a reading was possible. She didn’t address the counter-indicators (Naomi’s assumption that Ruth and her sister-in-law, Orpah, needed husbands (Yes, I know it was standard for economic reasons in that era.) and the emphasis on finding Ruth a husband among Naomi’s kin). In spite of Ruth’s mellifluous vow of loyalty to Naomi, there is no clue about a sensual relationship between Ruth and Naomi. Although Reinhartz mentions the lack of an overt indicator in the biblical book, the essay on “Fried Green Tomatoes” seemed forced.
Nonetheless, I particularly enjoyed the author’s approach to “Dead Man Walking” as compared to Leviticus and to “Pleasantville” as compared to Genesis and Revelation. The former seemed very balanced in terms of those who use the Bible to support the death penalty and those who use the New Testament to oppose it. The author walks a very fine line between the necessity of retribution in a righteous God to the desirability of redemption in a righteous God. Both elements of God’s personality, as revealed in scripture, are important. Since believers act upon both sides with good reason.
With “Pleasantville,” it was interesting to see the tightrope between the “fall” and the positive aspect of “becoming.” For me, it is always frustrating when the “fall” of humankind is trivialized into eating an apple and becoming sexual. It is also equally frustrating when theologians concentrate solely on the liberating aspect of the expulsion from Eden. Without that expulsion (whether literal or metaphorical), we would not be truly human. The Satanic serpent was partially truthful in observing that humans would know the difference between good and evil (though that perception is mitigated by a wide spectrum of delineations as to where the dividing line should be drawn between the two within various choices), but the whole truth of humans not being totally capable of making unconstrained and unaffected choices wasn’t verbalized in the pronouncement by this ancient symbol of wisdom. The discussion of “Pleasantville” is nicely balanced between the two approaches (though the “fall” portion is initially tied solely to sexual activity and it is only later that it is broadened to include intense emotion of all kinds). It is interesting that the author would discuss this film with no overt biblical references within it. Rather, the author notes the symbolism of: the fruit (brightly shining red in the midst of the black and white world of ‘50s television), the burning bush, the rainbow, and the cruciform pose.
I particularly enjoyed references to a film called “Magnolia” where the appeal to scriptures (in overt places, but thrown in as an afterthought when the screenwriter/director discovered that his “plague of frogs” was similar to what occurred in Exodus. I’d never seen the film, but I plan to view it in order to discover what the film might say about God’s role at points in life where determination and chaos seem equally defensible. My personal view is that God could determine events, but often builds systems that allow humans to explore authentic choices, but that’s a discussion for a different time.
Another strength of the book is that, without being self-righteous or judgmental, the author discusses the misuse of the Bible. Against the positive messages in “The Shawshank Redemption,” there is some discussion of the hypocrisy of the warden and in “Pale Rider,” the author critiques the exceedingly tenuous identification of Eastwood’s character with “Death,” the rider of the white horse in the famous “four horsemen” of Revelation 6. We also see a brief discussion of the use of Song of Songs in the movie “Nell” where the biblical book would normally set up a sexual tension, but misleads in a film that almost celebrates asexuality.
Though the twelve film examples were somewhat dated by the time I discovered Scripture on the Silver Screen, several of the discussions are valuable enough that I expect to use film clips from certain films in my “Ethics in Games and Cinema” class. I’ve read several books that take a “Theology and Contemporary Art Forms” approach, but I believe this one is the strongest of them all. I like the methodology (summarizing the plot, observing the basic themes, noting themes congruent with biblical themes, discussing specific use of scripture, and offering conclusions) and always felt that the discussion was balanced (at times, perhaps too balanced as it wasn’t always clear where the author stood).
Nonetheless, I particularly enjoyed the author’s approach to “Dead Man Walking” as compared to Leviticus and to “Pleasantville” as compared to Genesis and Revelation. The former seemed very balanced in terms of those who use the Bible to support the death penalty and those who use the New Testament to oppose it. The author walks a very fine line between the necessity of retribution in a righteous God to the desirability of redemption in a righteous God. Both elements of God’s personality, as revealed in scripture, are important. Since believers act upon both sides with good reason.
With “Pleasantville,” it was interesting to see the tightrope between the “fall” and the positive aspect of “becoming.” For me, it is always frustrating when the “fall” of humankind is trivialized into eating an apple and becoming sexual. It is also equally frustrating when theologians concentrate solely on the liberating aspect of the expulsion from Eden. Without that expulsion (whether literal or metaphorical), we would not be truly human. The Satanic serpent was partially truthful in observing that humans would know the difference between good and evil (though that perception is mitigated by a wide spectrum of delineations as to where the dividing line should be drawn between the two within various choices), but the whole truth of humans not being totally capable of making unconstrained and unaffected choices wasn’t verbalized in the pronouncement by this ancient symbol of wisdom. The discussion of “Pleasantville” is nicely balanced between the two approaches (though the “fall” portion is initially tied solely to sexual activity and it is only later that it is broadened to include intense emotion of all kinds). It is interesting that the author would discuss this film with no overt biblical references within it. Rather, the author notes the symbolism of: the fruit (brightly shining red in the midst of the black and white world of ‘50s television), the burning bush, the rainbow, and the cruciform pose.
I particularly enjoyed references to a film called “Magnolia” where the appeal to scriptures (in overt places, but thrown in as an afterthought when the screenwriter/director discovered that his “plague of frogs” was similar to what occurred in Exodus. I’d never seen the film, but I plan to view it in order to discover what the film might say about God’s role at points in life where determination and chaos seem equally defensible. My personal view is that God could determine events, but often builds systems that allow humans to explore authentic choices, but that’s a discussion for a different time.
Another strength of the book is that, without being self-righteous or judgmental, the author discusses the misuse of the Bible. Against the positive messages in “The Shawshank Redemption,” there is some discussion of the hypocrisy of the warden and in “Pale Rider,” the author critiques the exceedingly tenuous identification of Eastwood’s character with “Death,” the rider of the white horse in the famous “four horsemen” of Revelation 6. We also see a brief discussion of the use of Song of Songs in the movie “Nell” where the biblical book would normally set up a sexual tension, but misleads in a film that almost celebrates asexuality.
Though the twelve film examples were somewhat dated by the time I discovered Scripture on the Silver Screen, several of the discussions are valuable enough that I expect to use film clips from certain films in my “Ethics in Games and Cinema” class. I’ve read several books that take a “Theology and Contemporary Art Forms” approach, but I believe this one is the strongest of them all. I like the methodology (summarizing the plot, observing the basic themes, noting themes congruent with biblical themes, discussing specific use of scripture, and offering conclusions) and always felt that the discussion was balanced (at times, perhaps too balanced as it wasn’t always clear where the author stood).
December 26, 2016
While now a bit dated, Reinhartz has done an excellent job exploring the Biblical themes found in a number of movies. While a good job was done for almost all of them, her insight on "Pleasantville" was the best I've seen. If you would like to do a "movie class" for a congregation, here are some excellent insights to share.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews