Abstract
In this paper, we present a poetics, or guide manual, for making narrative films that resemble biblical narratives. It is similar to Aristotle’s Poetics, only his was for creating drama (though it is of course often used for film now) and was based on Greek dramas and epics. Our poetics is specifically for making films and is based on an even more ancient body of narratives—the Hebrew Bible. In articulating a biblical poetics for filmmakers, we draw heavily on the work of a few of the many biblical-narrative scholars of the last half-century, who draw in turn from the even more extensive research that has been done on narrative theory in general. Our project is one that Aristotle might have undertaken if he had read the Bible and its commentators and known about film.
Highlights
In this paper, we present a poetics, or guide manual, for making narrative films that resemble biblical narratives
In articulating a biblical poetics for writers of screenplays, we draw heavily on the work of a few of the many biblical-narrative scholars of the last half-century, who draw in turn from the even more extensive research that has been done on narrative theory in general
Following the first four chapters in Bar-Efrat’s Narrative Art in the Bible, we discuss in detail the categories of narrator, characters, plot, and space and time
Summary
We present a poetics, or guide manual, for making narrative films that resemble biblical narratives. Bible, who, according to scholars, use various conventions and forms to help draw viewers into empathizing with opposing viewpoints of characters and into feeling a stronger need to interpret for themselves what is happening in scenes In response to this project, two concerns may arise that the above biblical-narrative scholars have already addressed: (1) How can biblical conventions be meaningful to us, a modern Western audience far removed from the text’s original culture? They are unlike message-driven films that don’t empathetically arrive at a consensus of understanding Put another way, these films do four things that bible stories do, but which few, if any, films do together: enhance empathy with multiple characters, promote sharing in consensus resolutions, employ tight plots with integrated character development, and present highly selective scenes. Following the first four chapters in Bar-Efrat’s Narrative Art in the Bible, we discuss in detail the categories of narrator, characters, plot, and space and time
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