Abstract
As a Crusades epic, the film Kingdom of Heaven revives the 12th century history in the critical city of Jerusalem. The story surrounds a French blacksmith Balian who defends Jerusalem and contends with the Islamic leader Saladin who attempts to seize back the holy city from the Christians. Through the special themes in region, religion and war, Kingdom of Heaven seems to indicate the conflicts between the East and the West. Furthermore, the outbreaks of 9/11 and the Iraq War definitely make this film’s release more controversial. Kingdom of Heaven, being a film, an essential medium of mass communication, the style in which it expresses its story and ideology is worth considering in depth. By exploring this Hollywood film which lacks of the typical Hollywood style, this paper discusses the significance in making Kingdom of Heaven in the wake of 9/11 and how the critical debate surrounding the film is a reflection of contemporary ideologies.
Highlights
This journal is published by the University Library System of the University of Pittsburgh as part of its D-Scribe Digital Publishing Program and is cosponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Press
Kingdom of Heaven is an epic action movie directed by English director Ridley Scott and was released in the year 2005
As Ridley Scott explained (Monroe, 2005), they pre-decided to make this movie before the Iraq War, but shortly after the Black Hawk Down made by him, 9/11 occurred
Summary
This paper will discuss the significance of making the movie after 9/11 and the ideologies expressed by the film. The film is an epic which involves history, religion, culture, war and love story in a Hollywood style. Kingdom of Heaven has not vilified and demonized the Christian main enemy Saladin as what traditional Hollywood films had typically done before, despite it being filmed after the fateful period.
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