Studies of religion and film have long been dominated by the question of a film's fidelity to a religious text or worldview, or its value as a tool in ministry and mission. Religion and Film seeks to redress this balance, and will have strong appeal to students as well as general readers interested in all aspects of the inter-relationship of religion and the cinema. Drawing on cultural studies approaches, and focusing on such films as La Passion de Jeanne D'Arc, Lagaan, My Son the Fanatic, The Wicker Man and The Passion of the Christ, Melanie Wright looks at varied screen representations of religion; at films shaped by strong convictions about the place of religion in society; and at the roles that people play as consumers of film.
""The developing field of religion and film is very new and encourages a wide range of different interests and approaches, as Melanie Wright rightly acknowledges in this substantial contribution to film and religion studies. The whole area has not yet developed very far, is something of a hodge-podge, and to a certain degree we do not yet know what we are doing. By selecting a particular systematic approach to religion and film--which incorporates an analysis of narrative, style, content and reception--Wright makes a great step forward for the whole field. Her cultural studies approach to the topic proposes a clearly defined solution to the subject's fragmentariness: a challenge that is long overdue. Moreover, the account she gives of each film that she considers is thorough, fascinating and enlightening.""--William L Blizek, University of Nebraska at Omaha, and Editor of The Journal of Religion and Film
""Melanie Wright not only provides fascinating discussion of a range of important movies, but also moves the fledgling field of 'religion and film' to the next stage by drawing attention to concepts, questions and themes that undergird this exciting interdisciplinary endeavour... a must-read for anyone interested in the integral relationship between religion and film in Hollywood and beyond. It will also prove an indispendable text for undergraduates and their teachers.""--Adele Reinhartz, University of Ottawa
