Scripture on the Silver Screen - Softcover

Adele Reinhartz

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0664223591 ISBN 13: 9780664223595

Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003

Synopsis

Eloquently written and meticulously researched, Scripture on the Silver Screen offers all students of Scripture--whether in an academic classroom or at home--an inviting new way to further their biblical literacy. It questions the "Hollywoood Hermeneutic" that too often views the Bible as prop, but also recognizes the contributions of movies that successfully integrate the Bible as a plot-making device. Each chapter begins with a discussion on the focal Bible passage, placing it in its literary and historical context, followed by a summary of the film and its main themes.

About this title

About the Author

Adele Reinhartz is Associate Vice-President of Research at the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, where she also holds the position of Professor in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies.

Reviews

Religion professor Adele Reinhartz offers a thoughtful study on biblical themes in Hollywood movies with Scripture on the Silver Screen. By focusing on just a dozen key films, and by narrowing the book's examination to the ways the Bible is portrayed in those films, Reinhartz's study is clear, concise and absorbing. For some of the films, the biblical connection is explicit in the narrative itself (e.g. the role of the Book of Ruth in Fried Green Tomatoes, a story about women's friendships), while for others, the Bible's role is more subtle and symbolic (e.g. the "Fall" and the exile from Eden depicted in Pleasantville). Reinhartz's tone is typically full of praise for the films discussed here, but she also includes a final chapter on movies that got it wrong-those that, like Nell or Pale Rider, offer misleading or superficial understandings of scripture.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0664223591
• ISBN 13: 9780664223595
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 217