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In a huge departure from the normal format, Katie & Joe revisit the recent Holiday Special episode on Elf (2003), featuring Dr Chris Deacy, to share some insights gained and questions raised by that episode. If you have not yet listened to our Elf episode, we highly recommend doing so first, and coming back to this one.
Discussion points include:
The Jews Who Wrote Christmas, by Rob Kapilow
Elf screenwriter, David Berenbaum's relationship with Christmas films, as discussed in The Movies That Made Us
Pew Research's Portrait of Jewish Americans (2013)
Santa Slashers, Silent Night Deadly Night (1984) and Violent Night (2022)
And, is Christmas really pagan? Professor Candida Moss has an answer for you.
If you know of any research that is relevant to the topics discussed in this episode, or would simply like to share your thoughts on our discussion, please do Get In Touch!
And if you're still not done with the cultural trappings of Christmas yet, do check out "The Very Recent Origins of the Christmas Tree" by friend of the show, Dr Andrew Mark Henry.
Episode Credits:
Thanks again to Dr Chris Deacy for his contribution. And to everybody who voted in one of our polls and shared your thoughts with us - it was much appreciated!
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In 2003, relative newcomers, Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel, were cast in a film written, produced, and directed by a bunch of inexperienced guys, to star alongside national treasures, Ed Asner and Bob Newhart, and screen icon, James Caan. The film was Elf: a goofy story about a man, raised in the North Pole among Santa's elves, who sets off to New York City to find his long-lost Scrooge-esque father. Inspired by the stop-animation classic, Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), infused with references to other Christmas staples such as A Christmas Carol and Miracle on 34th Street (1934), and scored with beloved Christmas music spanning from the traditional (The Nutcracker) to mid-century croons (Baby It's Cold Outside), Elf quickly became classic in it's own right. For many people, this film that is a loving homage to so much Christmas media that came before is now the proto-typical Christmas movie.
What can Elf tell us about the role movies play in Christmas celebration, and the common lessons they convey? And how should we understand them: As strictly secular content? Or something a little more religious? Join us for this special holiday episode as we chat with Dr Chris Deacy about Christmas movies and home-spun religion.
Episode Credits:
Many thanks to Dr Chris Deacy for his time and expertise.
Chris is the Director of Studies for the School of Culture and Languages and the Course Lead for Philosophy, Religion and Ethics at the University of Kent. Chris's PhD back in the late 1990s, in the University of Wales, was in the area of redemption and film, and he has written several books over the years in the area of theology and film, with a particular focus on the cinema of Martin Scorsese. Chris hosts a weekly podcast called Nostalgia Interviews With Chris Deacy, and a weekly film programme on KMTV in Kent, where guests discuss their four favourite films. Chris has also presented a six part BFI-funded documentary TV series, called Generation Why, about religion, spirituality and ethics which explores young people’s views around faith and culture in the UK today. Chris’ latest book is, “Christmas as Religion: Rethinking Santa, the Secular, and the Sacred”. You can find Chris @DeacyChris
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It's February 1692 and a mysterious illness has befallen two young girls in Salem, Massachusetts. Eleven-year-old Abigail Williams and nine-year-old Elizabeth Parris have been having violent fits, and bouts of catatonia. A doctor declares the cause: Witchcraft! Three women of low social standing are accused. But it is not long before the accusations start to spread. Paranoia overtakes the community. Witches are seen everywhere. Over 150 people are accused, and 25 dead before this infamous witch-hunt finally comes to an end. How could this all have gotten so out of hand? Was it all superstitious nonsense run wild, or does this episode carry important lessons for us today?
Join us in this second and final part of our Halloween Special as we explore the historical backdrop to Arthur Miller's The Crucible (1996).
If you haven't yet listened to our first episode on The Crucible & McCarthyism, we suggest you do so first.
A glossary and full list of resources can be found on our website.
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It's the first years of the Cold War. Fascism has been defeated abroad but a new Red enemy is emerging and the US government is stoking fear among it's citizenry. Neighbour is turning on neighbour; friend on friend; paranoia is spreading. What do YOU do?
Playwright Arthur Miller looked to a similar event in American pre-history to produce The Crucible (1953). Set in 1692, Salem, Massachusetts, the play (and 1996 film adaptation) explores a witch-hunt that consumed the community. Accusations of witchcraft and consorting with the devil abound, scores are settled, lives ruined. Behind it all, Miller issues a clarion call against McCarthyism, and witch-hunts more broadly.
Join Joe and Katie for this two-part discussion on the background to this chilling story, in our Halloween 2023 special.
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In this bonus episode on The Terminator (1984), Dr Michelle Fletcher talks to us about using the complete Terminator series in a classroom to highlight the way in which texts change over time in response to cultural and historical shifts. We also discuss how to teach with film without asking students to watch an entire movie.
If you haven't listened to our main episode of The Terminator, we recommend doing so first, so you have the full context for our discussion.
Many thanks to Dr Fletcher for her extra time.
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In this bonus episode on The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), Dr Marian Kelsey explains how she uses characters from The Lord of the Rings to teach about biblical prophets - including, the role of the prophet and the nature of prophecy - and the difficulty of discovering that students are not necessarily familiar with the same cultural content as their teachers.
If you haven't listened to our main episode on The Lord of the Rings, we recommend doing so first, so you have the full context of our discussion.
Many thanks to Dr Kelsey for her extra time.
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In this bonus episode on The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), we chat some more with Matt Page about using The Last Temptation in public education settings (such as church groups) to help people understand that they bring their own context and cultural baggage, to any text they read, including the Bible. Matt also talk about how he addresses antisemitism in Jesus films, and the challenges posed to the educator when the film deals with deeply-held religious beliefs, and he provides us with his top recommendations to learn more about The Last Temptation.
If you haven't listened to our main episode on The Last Temptation of Christ, we recommend doing so first, so you have the full context for our discussion.
Many thanks to Matt for his extra time.
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In this bonus episode on Dune (2021), we chat with Katherine Gwyther, about using Dune in her research. Kat gives us an introduction into Fredric Jameson's thoughts on fantasy and science-fiction (including what Jameson has to say about the spice worms in Dune), and explains why she prefers to teach Hebrew Bible with films like Dune, rather than with traditional biblical-adaptation movies.
If you haven't listened to our main episode on Dune, we recommend doing so first, so you have the full context for our discussion.
Many thanks to Kat for her extra time.
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In this bonus episode on La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1928) and Joan of Arc (1948), Dr Laura O'Brien talks to us about viewing period drama as a form of history writing, the way multiple films on the same figure or event can help students think about historical questions and reception narratives, and the online spaces in which some of the best examples of popular reception are happening today. We also talk about some of the practicalities of teaching with film, including: how to integrate film into lesson-planning and assessments; the time film-watching asks of the student; how students today consume, and therefore think about film; and the difficulties of access.
If you haven't listened to our main episode on Joan of Arc, we recommend doing so first, so you have the full context for our discussion.
Many thanks to Dr. O'Brien for her extra time.
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In this bonus episode on Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), Dr Andrew Mark Henry gives us a bit more insight into how he utilizes the Star Wars franchise to teach about the process of canonization, the human impulse to write spin-off literature (fan fiction) that we see in so many early Christian texts, and the usefulness of analogy to building understanding. He also talks to us about his approach to public education, and the thought process that goes into creating content for Religion For Breakfast (his hugely successful YouTube channel).
If you haven't listened to our main episode on Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, we recommend doing so first, so you have the full context for our discussion.
Many thanks to Dr. Henry for his extra time.
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In this bonus episode on Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), we talk to Dr Piyawit Moonkham about teaching anthropology with film, how his students get to try out anthropological methods and skills through film analysis, and the insight we gain when we rewatch.
If you haven't listened to our main episode on Raya and the Last Dragon, we recommend doing so first, so you have the full context for our discussion.
Many thanks to Dr. Moonkham for his extra time.
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The Green Knight (2021) is a surreal retelling of the 14th century poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Directed by David Lowery, the film departs from its source material to present a compelling account of a man's mission to become a knight, live up to a legend, and face his own mortality.
The King Arthur legend is a fitting end to our season on Chosen Ones - a king who was destined to rule the Britons, fighting the invading Saxons and whom, it is said, will one day return to once again save his people. Yet in this film, we are shown the cost of living up to one's own legend, the ways in which stories are weaved around protagonists, and what being chosen may ultimately mean.
Join us as we wrap up Season One of Gods & Moviemakers. We talk about Arthurian legends, representing the past on screen, religion and magic, and of course, chosen ones. Be sure to look out for future releases and announcements concerning holiday tie-in episodes and Season Two, coming late 2023.
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When Raya and the Last Dragon premiered in 2021, it gave us Disney’s first South-East Asian princess, and joined a small minority of Western films centring South-East Asian people, culture and society. News of the film, therefore, drew a lot of excitement from SE Asian people (and those with SE Asian heritage) looking for representation in Western media. The film’s reception was more mixed however, with many feeling it just didn’t quite get things right.
In this episode, we’re joined by doctoral candidate, Piyawit Moonkham, to talk about Raya and SE Asian representation, specifically, that of the Naga, a semi-divine serpent found in Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain traditions. As the Naga was the inspiration for the eponymous Dragon, we focused our questions on that. Join us as Piyawit explains how Naga differ from Western and East Asian dragons, where the Naga myth came from and how it functions in SE Asian belief systems, and how Raya represented this important part of SE Asian culture.
Glossary:
Heterarchy - A power structure that exists outside or adjacent to established power structures within societies, or within organised groups, in which authority is distributed rather than centralized around one individual / group. ("Power" as broadly understood relating to status, influence or responsibilities)
Mythscape - The way in which people understand their surrounding landscape through myth.
Episode Credits:
Many thanks to Piyawit Moonkham for his time and expertise. Piyawit is a Ph.D. Candidate (ABD) in Archaeological Anthropology at Washington State University. His research focuses on human use of social space, built environment, and natural landscape through a diachronic investigation of spatial patterns of historical monuments, myths, and local folklores in Northern Thailand and Mainland Southeast Asia. His article “Ethnohistorical Archaeology and the Mythscape of the Naga in Chiang Saen Basin, Thailand” was published last year in Trans-Regional and -National Studies of South East Asia. You can find Piyawit on Twitter @JiwMoonkham
Update: Since recording with us, Piyawit has successfully defending his doctorate. Congratulations Dr. Moonkham!
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At first glance, Star Wars appears to be a fictional world built with religion and religious ethos: The Jedi live an ascetic lifestyle (much like Jesus, the Qumran community, Buddhist monks, and other religious orders), they dress kind of like Franciscan monks, they have a temple to gather in, they are guided by prophecy, and await deliverance to a better era by a "chosen one" figure; and let's not forget, Anakin Skywalker is literally the product of a virgin birth. Yet, probe a little deeper and you find most of that world building is only surface-level, falling apart under scrutiny. In this episode, join us as we ask Dr Andrew Mark Henry, What, if anything, does Star Wars have to offer those of us interested in religion? And how could George Lucas have created a better realized narrative? Our conversation focuses on the third installment in the Star Wars saga, Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) - featuring the only failed "chosen one" of our season.
For a glossary of key terms, as well as a list of suggested articles, books, and videos on Star Wars and religion, head on over to the episode page on our website: www.godsandmoviemakers.com
Episode Credits:
Many thanks to Dr Andrew Mark Henry for his time and expertise.
Andrew is a scholar of early Christianity with a research focus on late Roman magical practices and demonology. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Mind and Culture, a non-profit research centre in Boston, MA. Andrew also manages Religion for Breakfast, a hugely popular YouTube channel dedicated to online religious literacy education. You can find Andrew on Twitter @AndrewMarkHenry
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When The Matrix debuted in 1999, audiences were delighted by its use of Hong-Kong style fight choreography (rooted in wuxia and involving mixed martial arts performed, in part, by suspending actors on wires) combined with a new cinematographic style, later known as "Bullet Time". Hollywood was forever changed. But the film was far more than a visual spectacle. Filmmakers, Lana and Lilly Wachowski, produced an action film that was also deeply intellectual, playing with allegory, religion, and philosophy in new ways. In so doing, it prompts age old questions on the nature of reality, and what it means to be masters of our own fate. In this episode, Dr King-Ho Leung breaks down some of the richer metaphors in the film, discusses the protagonist, Neo, as a 'Chosen One' who chooses to be chosen, and demonstrates how The Matrix can illuminate classical philosophical and theological ideas, including: Plato's Allegory of the Cave, René Descartes's theories on the nature of being, and Karl Barth's understanding of Christ.
Episode Credits:
Many thanks to Dr King-Ho Leung for his time and expertise. King-Ho is Senior Research Fellow at St. Mary’s College, the University of St. Andrews. He was previously Lecturer in Philosophy and Theology at the University of Chester. His work has been published in journals including Philosophy, Modern Theology, Studies in Christian Ethics, and Theory, Culture & Society. He is currently completing a book on the understanding of philosophy as a spiritual practice and its relation to contemporary conceptions of secularity. You can find King-Ho on Twitter @kingholeung.
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How do we remember the people of the past? And what does it mean to enact that remembering through the medium of film? Joan of Arc (b. 1412-d. 1431) has been depicted on film more than most historical figures. The broad outlines of her life certainly provide the basis for good drama, as she went from peasant girl to successful military leader to heretic, burned at the stake, all in under 5 years. A complicated figure in her own time, Joan's story became all the more enthralling when she was eventually given sainthood by the very Church that martyred her. Still, the various ways she has been remembered on screen may be almost as interesting as The Maid herself, for what it can tell us about ourselves and about the act of commemoration in popular culture.
Join us, as we compare two wildly different Joan of Arc films, La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1928) and Joan of Arc (1948), and two wildly different Joans, with our wonderful guest, Dr Laura O'Brien.
For a Glossary, Map of Joan's journey, and a picture of Les Larmes de Jeanne d'Arc (The Tears of Joan of Arc), visit the episode page of our website.
Episode Credits:
Many thanks to Dr Laura O'Brien for her time and expertise. Laura is Assistant Professor in Modern European History at Northumbria University, Newcastle. She is a cultural historian of France and Europe, and her work is particularly focused on visual culture and performance, including how history is adapted and depicted via cinema and theatre. Her research interests also include the cultural history of religion in France, print culture, and the history of Paris. You can find Laura on Twitter @lrbobrien.
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When you imagine the distant future, what do you see? Some, like Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek, envision a future utopia, where humankind has finally worked through their differences, solved hunger and poverty, and have united in a mission of peace and discovery. For many others, like HG Wells, author of The Time Machine, the future is a post-apocalyptic dystopian nightmare of our own creation. In his 1965 novel Dune, Frank Herbet envisioned a future that has advanced as much as it digressed, rebuilding the feudalism of our past in far off galaxies. Dune clearly doesn't present a utopian future. But are utopias really all they're cracked up to be?
In this episode, we look at Deni Villeneuve's 2021 adaptation for the big screen (the first, in what will be a series of films). We explore the nature of utopia, and dissect the biblical parallels in a fictitious future world filled with ritual, belief, and religious imagery. What sort of figure is our protagonist, Paul Atreides? Is he a "chosen one" akin to Moses? Or is he more of a classic Jesus-type saviour figure? Finally, we pull the future all the way back to the biblical past to ask: Can you read the Bible as science-fiction?
Glossary:
A glossary of terms used in Dune, and their relationship to real-world words / concepts, can be found on our website: www.godsandmoviemakers.com/episodes-104-dune
Episode Credits:
Many thanks to Katherine (Kat) Gwyther for her time and expertise.
Kat is a PhD researcher in Hebrew Bible at the University of Leeds, working on utopia and Exodus. She’s interested in how utopian literature and science fiction (and the related criticism) can enrich our understanding of biblical texts and their reception. You can find Kat on Twitter @KatGwyther.
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On a cold Parisian night in October 1988, a Molotov cocktail was thrown into the St. Michel cinema, seriously injuring thirteen people; it was just one of a number of violent protests against Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ. What was it about this film that caused so much anger? What was behind the uproar it inspired worldwide? In this episode we revisit and rethink the controversy, and ask: Was the outrage warranted, or is the film actually a deeply pious and personal exploration of faith? In his attempt to understand the dual nature of Christ, we see Scorsese presenting a Jesus that is more “Chosen One” than “Saviour Figure”, giving us the most human Jesus in cinematic history.
Glossary:
Hypostatic Union - A theological term that expresses the Christian belief that in Christ, two natures exist together, each retaining their own full and complete properties. These two natures, God and Man, are not commingled or united. The Hypostatic Union was formalized at the Council of Chalcedon in 451.
Episode Credits:
Many thanks to Matt Page for his time and expertise.
Matt is a bible and film expert, having published and lectured on the topic for over twenty years. His Bible Films Blog is the largest source of information about bible films on the internet. Make sure to check out his recent book, 100 Bible Films, published with the British Film Institute. You can find Matt on Twitter @MattPage.
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In many ways, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring perfectly demonstrates most of the tropes of a "Chosen One" type: An ordinary person chosen for an extraordinary task, guided by a mentor-type figure, and aided by a loyal support system. But who is the chosen figure in this film? Is it the hobbit, Frodo, or Aragorn, the king to be? In this episode we debate who has been chosen, and what biblical imagery may be present in our two potential chosen one characters. We also look at two of the primary influences on JRR Tolkien's writing: his Catholic faith and his experiences of trench warfare during the First World War (1914-18).
Episode Credits:
Many thanks to Dr Marian Kelsey and Dr James Connolly for their time and expertise.
Dr Kelsey is a Teaching Associate in Hebrew Bible at the University of Nottingham. Make sure to look out for her chapter, "Retellings of Biblical Narrative in Science Fiction and Fantasy" in the forthcoming Routledge Handbook of the Hebrew Bible in Contemporary Fiction and Poetry. You can find a full list of Dr Kelsey's publications on her website, or follow her on Twitter @MERKelsey.
Dr Connolly is an Associate Professor of Modern French History in the School of European Languages, Culture and Society at University College London. You can find him on Twitter @DrJamesConnolly.
A full list of books, articles, and other resources can be found on our website: godsandmoviemakers.com
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We kick off our "Chosen One" season in the last years of the Cold War to talk about James Cameron's second-best film in the Terminator franchise, The Terminator (1984). Is it a sci-fi nativity play, ushering in hope for a new future? Or are we witnessing a Revelation-style final battle? Come join us as we learn about the nuclear-anxiety film genre, why apocalyptic stories are all about looking backwards, and which character Arnold Schwarzenegger originally was intended to play.
Episode Credits:
Many thanks to Dr Michelle Fletcher for her time and expertise.
Dr Fletcher is a Research Associate on the Visual Commentary on Scripture, an editor of Bloomsbury’s Scriptural Traces series, and Secretary of the British New Testament Society. Make sure to check out her book, Reading Revelation as Pastiche. You can find her on Twitter @NTRight.
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