Jesus Films Research Articles

Interculturele filmtheologie in India en Afrika en onder de Afrikaans-Amerikanen in de Verenigde Staten Intercultural Film Theology in India and Africa and Among the African-Americans in the United States

Dit artikel bevat een analyse van de culturele interpretaties die werden gehanteerd tijdens het maken van vier Jezusfilms geproduceerd in India, Afrika en de wereld van de Afrikaans-Amerikanen in de Verenigde Staten. Daarin wordt tevens aandacht geschonken aan de wijze waarop deze films hun uiteenlopende sociale en historische contexten weerspiegelen. Het blijkt dat het concept van de interculturele theologie een goed instrument is om de Jezusfilms in hun verschillende perioden en contexten te analyseren. Om te beginnen richt deze analyse zich op de hoofdlijnen in de ontwikkeling van de Jezusfilms in het Westen. Daarbij wordt tevens aandacht geschonken aan de problemen waarmee de filmmakers werden geconfronteerd, want deze problemen oefenden ook invloed uit op de films die zij produceerden. Daarna volgt een meer gedetailleerde analyse van de Indiase Jezusfilms en de films waarin een zwarte Jezus figureert. Het artikel sluit af met een terugblik waarin zichtbaar wordt wat de niet-westerse Jezusfilms zo bijzonder maakt.

The Quest for the Cinematic Jesus: Scholarly Explorations in Jesus Films

This article looks at an emerging research trend in biblical studies: Jesus and film. Within the past two decades, New Testament scholars have been attracted to the numerous films about Jesus not merely as a source of illustrations, but as an avenue to interpret the New Testament Gospels—or as Larry Kreitzer proposes, ‘reversing the hermeneutical flow’. With a growing interest in this new discipline to the task of biblical interpretation, it has become an accepted critical approach to the study of Jesus and the Gospels. This article surveys some various ways in which scholars have explored Jesus films, such as with a view to provide refreshing insights into difficult scholarly issues (e.g. the Synoptic problem). Furthermore, the article examines how scholars have begun in recent years to function as critics of controversial Jesus films and also as consultants for new film projects.

The FilmSon of Man: An Artistic Revelation of Jesus the Christ

The 2006 film, Son of Man, a significant contribution to the Jesus film canon, presents a Christ contextualized in a contemporary African setting. The artistry of this film, the author argues, is best appreciated through the genre of Neo-HooDoo which privileges the local, the spontaneous, and the democratic over the universal, the classical, and the official. This film through its artistry re-inscribes understandings of Incarnation, Redemption, Resurrection, and Revelation. Son of Man is a unique artistic contemporary vehicle for theological education.

God in the Details: The Cleansing of the Temple in Four Jesus Films

God in the Details: The Cleansing of the Temple in Four Jesus Films

Judas Iscariot: The Archetypal Betrayer and DeMille’s Cine-Biblical Salvation within The King of Kings (1927)

Cecil B. DeMille, the legendary cofounder of Hollywood, progenitor of Paramount studio, and unsung Christian auteur was a master of the American biblical epic whose indelible classics became the template for numerous ancient epics thereafter. Utilising humanist film criticism as the guiding analytical lens, the critical DeMille, film and religion literature was selectively reviewed and his silent Jesus film, The King of Kings (1927) was closely examined to reveal his dramatic construction of Judas Iscariot, which was briefly compared to some cinematic rivals to highlight its frequent superiority. Often unappreciated was DeMille’s harmonisation of the conflicting hanging versus disembowelment accounts of Judas’ demise. It was concluded that DeMille was a defter biblical filmmaker than has been hitherto appreciated. Further research into DeMille studies, Hollywood epics, and the emerging interdisciplinary field of religion-and-film is recommended, warranted, and already long overdue.

The Passion as Horror Film: St. Mel of the Cross

Abstract: The precursors of The Passion’s gory torture and crucifixion are action and horror films, not the gospels or Jesus films. Given his previous work, Gibson’s use of the suffering, action hero conventions is not unexpected. The more surprising use of horror techniques likely reflects horror’s popularity and the spread of its artifice through so much of recent cinema. The Passion so effectively displays crucifixion’s gore and violence that its “hidden” providential narrative may be lost on many. Moreover, the successful spectacle also raises questions about the gospels’ own relationships to horror.

Showing Compassion and Suggesting Peace in Karunamayudu, an Indian Jesus Film

��� At the heart of this essay is a discussion of Karunamayudu (Telugu for ‘Man of Compassion’; 1978), one of India’s best-known Jesus films. The central claim being made here is that in addition to representing the story of Jesus’ life, this movie portrayed Jesus’ compassion as a solution to conflict that was widely accessible to many viewers and particularly pertinent during one of India’s most turbulent decades. My argument is based on two complementary observations. First, the cries for peace expressed in the film’s narrative resonate with the events and conditions contemporary to its production and release. Second, by showing Jesus’ responses to situations that could be understood as allusions to contemporary conflicts, the film demonstrated a way of peace that would have resonated with the ideals of most religious communities in South India. By emphasizing Jesus’ compassion in the course of retelling his story, Karunamayudu suggested a path to peace in troubled times. 1 SYNOPSIS AND PRODUCTION HISTORY 2 Like most of the better-known Western movies of Jesus’ life, Karunamayudu (1978) is a fairly standard collation of the gospel accounts of Jesus’ life. It is woven together by his encounters with five other main characters: Barabbas (Thagyaraju), Judas, Mary Magdalene, the disciple John and a blind man named Malachi (Chandra Mohan). In one way or another, and at various stages in the narrative, each is won over by the compassion of Jesus, played by Vijay Chander. Barabbas, Judas and their band of zealots are waging guerilla warfare on Rome and meet with Jesus to forge a strategic alliance. Their impressions of him, however, lead them in different directions. Mary Magdalene finds forgiveness for her life of impropriety and John’s hope for a messiah is fulfilled. His blind friend,

Shanti Sandesham, a New Jesus Film Produced in India: Indian Christology in Pictures

AbstractSince the middle of the 1970s at least three Jesus films have been released in India, the last one in 2004. This article offers an analysis of the two most circulating movies, KARUNA MAYUDU and SHANTI SANDESHAM. First, the focus is on the contents of the movies and the measure in which they reflect the contents of the gospels. Then attention is paid to their affinity with the Indian context and with the so-called Bollywood films. Finally the Christologies of these films are discussed and analysed. KARUNA MAYUDU seems to stand nearer to the gospels, but SHANTI SANDESHAM has a certain affinity with dalit theology.

The Gospel According to Judas: Myth and Parable

AbstractJesus films improve the Judas story by adding plot connections and amplifying Judas' character, but their Judases reprise "the Gospel according to _" pattern. Like Jewison's Judas, they all are part of the adoring Christian chorus. Films' selective uses of the gospel Judas incidents intensify the gospel exclusions. Judas remains the traitorous disciple who deserves his fate. Films' visuals continue the iconography of art and create interlocking scenes associating Judas with Jesus' opponents. While some films motivate Judas traditionally, others modernize Judas' motivation in order to create a simulacrum of a modern person. Regardless, Judas remains the mythic other whose exclusion separates us from the evil that we do not wish to accept as part of our self-identity. Films' Judases define what "we" are not. We can arrange the Judases of Jesus films into four types: a traditional Judas, a modern, human Judas, a Christ-figure Judas, and a parabolic Judas. The first two Judases are clearly part of Christian myth-making. While the Christ-figure Judas may suggest an antimyth opposing the Christian myth, it ultimately supports Christian mythology as well. Only the parabolic Judas contests the continuing power of Christian discourse by telling stories alongside "the gospel" story. The parables of Arcand's Daniel and Jones's Brian suggest a view askew on Christian discourse that invites us to read other Jesus films and the gospels themselves parabolically and to find the evil lurking and the "dark night of story" within Christian mythology.

History and Pseudo-History in the Jesus Film Genre

AbstractMovies in the Jesus film genre often claim to be not only faithful renditions of their texts—the New Testament Gospels—but also accurate representations of the person, words and deeds of the historical Jesus himself. More fundamentally, they also presume a tight connection between historicity and faith. A viewer who learns about the historical Jesus through these films, they suggest, will have his or her faith forever strengthened. The irony is that whereas the Gospels have inspired profound ideas and beliefs that have shaped Christian spiritually through the two millennia since Jesus' lifetime, their transformation on the silver screen almost always results in a superficial, shallow, simplistic representation of Jesus, his life and his significance for humankind. While almost every Jesus movie has its moments of grace and artistry, most of them plod through the story even as they claim to bring to life both the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith.This paper explores two films—Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Denys Arcand's Jesus of Montreal (1989)—that break out of this pattern, and in doing so mount a fundamental and explicit challenge to the links between scripture, history and faith. Paradoxically, this challenge allows them a more profound and nuanced exploration of Christian faith than can be found in most other films of this genre.

Text and Context: the Passion of the Christ and Other Jesus Films

This article approaches the immense popularity of Mel Gibson's 2004 film, The Passion of the Christas a significant artifact in the contemporary public, cultural curriculum, and a unique opportunity for religious educators to build on its notoriety. Five interrelated contexts are identified and explored to assist religious educators more deeply understand and better interpret the significance of this film and all Jesus films. These five contexts are: (1) narrative theology, (2) scripture, (3) midrash, (4) the early film industry, and (5) the Jesus film canon.

Passion-ate Moments in the Jesus Film Genre

Passion-ate Moments in the Jesus Film Genre

The Image of Jesus Christ in the Jesus Films Used in Missionary Work

AbstractThis article starts with a short introduction to the history of films about Jesus Christ. These were already produced in 1897, within two years of the first ever showing of any film. At first the churches seemed to react positively, but later their attitude reversed. Later yet the churches changed their minds again. Since 1979 the concept of translating the gospel into film language gained an increasing adherence. The theological portraits of Jesus in the two films most used in missions and missionary work are analysed. Furthermore the impact of these films is dealt with.

Friendly and Fun-loving are not Enough: A Theological Critique of the Latest Jesus Film

Friendly and Fun-loving are not Enough: A Theological Critique of the Latest Jesus Film

The Synoptic Jesus and the Celluloid Christ: Solving the Synoptic Problem Through Film

Study of the Synoptic Problem is often thought to be outdated, irrelevant and dull. We know the solution and we ought to spend time on newer, more exciting approaches to the New Testament. Yet one of those newer approaches, the study of the New Testament in film, provides surprising possibilities for Synoptic study by allowing us to explore a more three-dimensional model of Synoptic relationships. Jesus films variously harmonize, epitomize, omit, change and manipulate in a creative interaction with the synoptic texts, the study of which sheds new light on those texts and the relationships between them. This article introduces a fresh way of looking at the Synoptics by focusing on the treatment of the Sermon on the Mount in five Jesus films, and comparing it with Luke's treatment of the Sermon on the assumption that he, too, has a copy of Matthew's Gospel. Luke's handling of the Sermon has several features in common with the Jesus films' handling of the same material, specifically relocation, abbreviation, redistribution, restructuring and the enhancing of dramatic elements. This provides us with a stimulus to re-think the common yet dubious claim that, on the assumption that he knew Matthew, Luke's redaction of the Sermon on the Mount is inexplicable.