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Deep Focus: Film and Theology in Dialogue
Three media experts guide the Christian moviegoer into a theological conversation with movies in this up-to-date, readable introduction to Christian theology and film. Building on the success of Robert Johnston's Reel Spirituality , the leading textbook in the field for the past 17 years, Deep Focus helps film lovers not only watch movies critically and theologically but also see beneath the surface of their moving images. The book discusses a wide variety of classic and contemporary films and is illustrated with film stills from favorite movies.
272 pages, Paperback
Published March 19, 2019
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About the author
Robert K. Johnston
36 books10 followersRobert K. Johnston (PhD, Duke University) is professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He is the coeditor of both the Engaging Culture and the Cultural Exegesis series and is the author or coauthor of several books, including Reel Spirituality, Reframing Theology and Film, and Finding God in the Movies.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 4, 2025
2025
“[W]e can only overcome otherness when the Other overcomes us” (200). I don’t know which of the coauthors penned that sentence, but I imagine he took the rest of the day off in celebration of finishing a chapter with such style.
Looking forward to teaching through this one again this semester, as well as hanging out with Craig in Park City later this month. Deep Focus continues to be one of my favorite introductions to film and theology.
2023
Deep Focus is an excellent introduction to exactly what the subtitle promises: film and theology in dialogue. The three authors present a balanced approach to film viewing as a way of contemplating and discussing the big questions in life. As with any book about films, one of the main things I’m taking away from Deep Focus is a desire to see (or watch again) all the films they discuss—which is a lot (the index of films mentioned in the book is five pages of small print!), and it includes some great ones. I was happy to see, for example, that they share my love for Stranger Than Fiction, and the introductory material in the book focuses on The Adjustment Bureau, which I also enjoy but don’t hear much about.
I’ll remember two parts of this book in particular. The first is the chapter “A Diverse Church Responds,” in which the authors propose a continuum of how Christians tend to engage with (or avoid) films. The continuum starts with “avoidance” and then moves through “caution,” “dialogue,” “appropriation,” and “divine encounter.” I always appreciate a continuum that can help people move away from an either/or dichotomy, and the structure the authors propose here is, I think, accurate and helpful. In fact, I saw this continuum in practice just a few days ago, as I was looking at reviews of (of all things) Thor: Love and Thunder—which I think is one of Marvel’s most intriguing films and well worth pondering, but a lot of Christian reviewers exemplified the “caution” end of the spectrum and didn’t consider the questions that I think are most interesting.
The other part I’m continuing to think about is the final chapter, “The Trauma of Love in the Films of Christopher Nolan,” which brought out some points about Nolan’s work that I hadn’t considered before. Specifically, the authors talk about the idea of returning home, and the belief that there had to have been a time that was better than where we are now. Deep Focus was published before Tenet, but I can see the authors’ main points being played out in that wonderful movie, too. (And I wonder if Oppenheimer will actually begin in “the good time,” which Nolan’s films generally don’t.)
I get to teach this book in a theology and film class this semester, and I’m really looking forward to discussing it with the students. It provides a warm, engaging entry point for people who are just beginning to explore filmmaking and film criticism.
“[W]e can only overcome otherness when the Other overcomes us” (200). I don’t know which of the coauthors penned that sentence, but I imagine he took the rest of the day off in celebration of finishing a chapter with such style.
Looking forward to teaching through this one again this semester, as well as hanging out with Craig in Park City later this month. Deep Focus continues to be one of my favorite introductions to film and theology.
2023
Deep Focus is an excellent introduction to exactly what the subtitle promises: film and theology in dialogue. The three authors present a balanced approach to film viewing as a way of contemplating and discussing the big questions in life. As with any book about films, one of the main things I’m taking away from Deep Focus is a desire to see (or watch again) all the films they discuss—which is a lot (the index of films mentioned in the book is five pages of small print!), and it includes some great ones. I was happy to see, for example, that they share my love for Stranger Than Fiction, and the introductory material in the book focuses on The Adjustment Bureau, which I also enjoy but don’t hear much about.
I’ll remember two parts of this book in particular. The first is the chapter “A Diverse Church Responds,” in which the authors propose a continuum of how Christians tend to engage with (or avoid) films. The continuum starts with “avoidance” and then moves through “caution,” “dialogue,” “appropriation,” and “divine encounter.” I always appreciate a continuum that can help people move away from an either/or dichotomy, and the structure the authors propose here is, I think, accurate and helpful. In fact, I saw this continuum in practice just a few days ago, as I was looking at reviews of (of all things) Thor: Love and Thunder—which I think is one of Marvel’s most intriguing films and well worth pondering, but a lot of Christian reviewers exemplified the “caution” end of the spectrum and didn’t consider the questions that I think are most interesting.
The other part I’m continuing to think about is the final chapter, “The Trauma of Love in the Films of Christopher Nolan,” which brought out some points about Nolan’s work that I hadn’t considered before. Specifically, the authors talk about the idea of returning home, and the belief that there had to have been a time that was better than where we are now. Deep Focus was published before Tenet, but I can see the authors’ main points being played out in that wonderful movie, too. (And I wonder if Oppenheimer will actually begin in “the good time,” which Nolan’s films generally don’t.)
I get to teach this book in a theology and film class this semester, and I’m really looking forward to discussing it with the students. It provides a warm, engaging entry point for people who are just beginning to explore filmmaking and film criticism.
September 18, 2019
You can read my fuller review at Spoiled Milks (8/2/19).
How do movies have this effect on us? Are directors, producers, and editors merely trying to play with our emotions? To manipulate us? How are we to rightly interpret a movie? How should Christians approach movies? Just as many people wear glasses with “carefully calibrated lenses” so that we can se the world in focus, in Deep Focus, Robert Johnston, Craig Detweiler, and Kutter Callaway (JDC from now on) seek to bring you “a series of lenses to help us discern more clearly the images projected before us” (3).
JDC use the analogy of a phoropter, that funny-looking machine at the eye doctor. The series of lenses they offer come in the following chapters: historical, narrative, audiovisual, critical, ecclesial, theological, ethical, and a cultural lens. The book ends with a converging of these lenses by looking at :the trauma of love in the films of Christopher Nolan.”
Recommended?
The subtitle to the book is “Film and Theology in Dialogue.” The theology is strewn throughout the book. References to God and Christ are made, and section are filled with Bible verses. Ecclesiastes makes an appearance more than once, as movies can often show the vanity of the material world, even while praising it. However, I was disappointed at how much (or little) theological discussion there was. But perhaps that was due more to my own expectations rather than what the book itself promised.
This book is not a simple read, but it provides a good dimension on how to think through movies. It has given me a new appreciation for movies, and to be less skeptical toward them, though still cautious at understanding which ones will linger with me negatively (like horror movies). Movies can help give us a grand vision, a reminder of the eternity placed in our hearts which points us to how things should be, something that can only be accomplished by Christ.
How do movies have this effect on us? Are directors, producers, and editors merely trying to play with our emotions? To manipulate us? How are we to rightly interpret a movie? How should Christians approach movies? Just as many people wear glasses with “carefully calibrated lenses” so that we can se the world in focus, in Deep Focus, Robert Johnston, Craig Detweiler, and Kutter Callaway (JDC from now on) seek to bring you “a series of lenses to help us discern more clearly the images projected before us” (3).
JDC use the analogy of a phoropter, that funny-looking machine at the eye doctor. The series of lenses they offer come in the following chapters: historical, narrative, audiovisual, critical, ecclesial, theological, ethical, and a cultural lens. The book ends with a converging of these lenses by looking at :the trauma of love in the films of Christopher Nolan.”
Recommended?
The subtitle to the book is “Film and Theology in Dialogue.” The theology is strewn throughout the book. References to God and Christ are made, and section are filled with Bible verses. Ecclesiastes makes an appearance more than once, as movies can often show the vanity of the material world, even while praising it. However, I was disappointed at how much (or little) theological discussion there was. But perhaps that was due more to my own expectations rather than what the book itself promised.
This book is not a simple read, but it provides a good dimension on how to think through movies. It has given me a new appreciation for movies, and to be less skeptical toward them, though still cautious at understanding which ones will linger with me negatively (like horror movies). Movies can help give us a grand vision, a reminder of the eternity placed in our hearts which points us to how things should be, something that can only be accomplished by Christ.
November 29, 2025
I always really want to like these kinds of books. And, to be fair, there's a lot to like. Some of the chapters are legitimately the most productive I've read in examining theology and film in a fascinating, useful, instructive, edifying way. But in all of these books, inevitably, there is an overexplanation of some elements and an underexplanation of others in a way that (for me) muddles the effectiveness and power of the book. Not to mention that the examples used vary so weirdly and wildly in terms of age, range, and then the level of detail or explanation given as to their relevance, and it adds up to an uneven reading experience for even someone fairly steeped in these conversations. I really liked this book, to be totally honest, but it also exemplified the best and worst tendencies of the faith/film/theology genre in a way that made it both a joy and a slog to experience.
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August 18, 2021A quick review, not a close read. Nice work, friends, updating Rob's classic text though.
November 18, 2025
A book that actually takes movies seriously and God seriously. Pretty spot on stuff.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews