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The Hidden God: Film and Faith

Mary Lea Bandy, Antonio Monda

New York, NY: Museum of Modern Art (2003), 299 pp.

"The Hidden God, which accompanies a film series of the same name organized by The Museum of Modern Art and screening in October and November of 2003, explores the ways in which a sense of God may appear in films, whether or not it is understood as such or is visible to the eye. This book contains o ... more

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Mediating Religion: Conversations in Media, Religion and Culture

Jolyon P. Mitchell, Sophia Marriage (eds.)

London; New York: T&T Clark (2003), xv, 407 pp.

"This is the first book to bring together many aspects of the interplay between religion, media and culture from around the world in a single comprehensive study. Leading international scholars provide the most up-to-date findings in their fields, and in a readable and accessible way. Some of the to ... more

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Film as Religion: Myths, Morals, and Rituals

John Lyden

New York: New York University Press (2003), viii, 289 pp.

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Representing Religion in World Cinema: Filmmaking, Mythmaking, Culture Making

S. Brent Plate (ed.)

New York; Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan (2003), vi, 272 pp.

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Cinema e chiesa: I documenti del magistero

Dario E. Viganò (ed.)

Cantalupa (IT): Effata (2002), 454 pp.

"Suddiviso in tre sezioni (testi dei Pontefici, atti della Curia romana, documenti della Chiesa italiana), il volume presenta lo sviluppo cronologico degli interventi della Chiesa sul cinema offrendo per ciascuno di essi una nota sintetica per una corretta comprensione. Sono raccolti non solo i docu ... more

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Infinity Festival: Film e ricerca dello spirito. Alba, 6-13 Aprile 2002

Cantalupa (IT): Fondazione Ferrero; Effata (2002), 221 pp.

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Lights, Camera... Faith! A Movie Lover's Guide to Scripture: Movie Lectionary, Cycle B

Peter Malone, Rose Pacatte

Boston: Pauline Books and Media (2002), 440 pp.

"This second volume of Lights, Camera ... Faith! provides new thought-provoking passages into the world of the Gospels through popular film. By exploring 74 movies in the light of the Sunday Scriptures, Malone and Pacatte create a dialogue between Scripture and film, engaging faith through culture a ... more

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Pentecostalism, Prosperity and Popular Cinema in Ghana

Birgit Meyer

Culture and Religion, volume 3, issue 1 (2002), pp. 67-87

"As a result of the liberalisation and commercialisation of the media in the wake of Ghana's return to a democratic constitution in 1992, there has emerged a new public sphere which has been successfully and effectively colonised by Pentecostal-charismatic churches and led to the rise of a Pentecost ... more

Cinema e religione: Ricerca sui film attinenti alla religione nella storia internazionale del cinema: Volume primo

Aldo Bernardini (coord.)

Città del Vaticano: Filmoteca Vaticana; Ente dello Spettacolo (2002), xxiv, 321 pp.

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Evocare l'inatteso: Lo sguardo trasfigurante nel cinema di Andrej Tarkovskij

Massimo Nardin

Rome: Associazione Nazionale Circoli Cinematografici Italiani (ANCCI) (2002), 608 pp.

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Educommunication: Around the World in 50 Stories

Brussels: UNDA (2001), 102 pp.

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Educommunication: Around the World in 50 Stories

Brussels: UNDA (2001), 97 pp.

5th World Video and Multimedia Forum: Videotheque

Bruxelles: OCIC; UNDA (2001), 64 pp.

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Lights, Camera... Faith! A Movie Lover's Guide to Scripture: Movie Lectionary, Cycle A

Peter Malone, Rose Pacatte

Boston: Pauline Books and Media (2001), 393 pp.

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Visioni della parola: Il rapporto tra bibbia e cinema

Roma: Associazione Nazionale Circoli Cinematografici Italiani (ANCCI); Cinecircoli Giovanili Socioculturali (CGS); Cineforum Italiano (CIN.IT); Centro Studi Cinematografici (CSC) (2001), 111 pp.

Giovanni Paolo II e il cinema: Un itinerario di fede e cultura, arte e comunicazione

Claudio Siniscalchi (coord.)

Roma: Ente dello Spettacolo (2001), 254 pp.

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Stories We Tell Our People: Asian Cinema, Cultures, Values and More

Jacob Srampickal, Leela Joseph (eds.)

New Delhi: OCIC Asia (2000), 167 pp.

"This collection, sponsored by the Asian office of the International Catholic Organization for Cinema (OCIC), provides an overview for the study of cinema in Asia. It consists of articles, more or less arranged in concentric circles, addressing cinema in general, Asian cinema, and the cinema of part ... icular countries. Authors include film critics, scholars, and film makers. The first and most general section asks how the cinema teaches values, examining the process of the construction of meaning. Jacob Srampickal, one of the volume's editors, sees the cinema as a mirror of social values while Peter Malone, the international president of OCIC and a film critic from Australia, examines the hopes and failures of cinema in teaching family values. He highlights in particular questions of patriarchy, commitment, cohabitation, separation and divorce, single parenting, careerism, rebellion, peer pressure, and sexual abuse as they appear in films. Virgilio Fantuzzi, a Rome-based film educator, provides a theoretical piece on transcendence in film and introduces a number of film makers known for their transcendental style. Jose Palakeel, the dean of studies at Ruhalaya in Central India, argues that audiovisual expression is particularly apt for the construction of meanings and values. Rooting his analysis in Jungian psychology, he notes that the individual constructs meaning and values through association of images, feelings, relationships, and intuitions. The section also includes Pope John Paul II's World Communication Day message of 1995, the centenary of the cinema. Because of its general character, this first section proves less helpful than the others in the book. Several of the writers correctly remark that their topics need more space for development. They do, however, raise key issues, particularly regarding the mechanisms through which cinema influences culture and society. The second section, on Asian cinema, returns to these themes. Gaston Roberge, the founder of Chitrabani in Calcutta, specifically investigates the film as a cultural object and tries to identify how people interact with it in the context of Asian cultures and values. Aruna Vasudev, the editor of Cinemaya, an Asian cinema magazine, argues that even in the face of Hollywood blockbusters an Asian cinema has emerged with an emphasis on "the continuity of certain traditions--the family, the community, honour, emotionalism" (p. 52). He illustrates these themes and concerns with examples of film from Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, India, and Iran. The Sri Lankan film critic Tissa Abeyasekara raises a challenge to this view, acknowledging that, while there is cinema in Asia, it may not have developed a specifically Asian aesthetic or idiom. Noting cultural differences across Asia, he admits that Asian cinema does share at least two common elements--a lack of support for the medium and a lack of integration with the rich traditions of the plastic arts across the region. The book's third section, consisting of examples and studies from the various countries of Asia, proves the richest by far, particularly for a reader less familiar with Asian cinema. Satish Bahadur, a retired member of the Film and Television Institute of India, contributes a study of the cultural and historical factors that have shaped cinema in India, discussing themes, directors, styles, and audiences. For example, Indian life has made cinema an urban phenomenon, but one rooted in the culture of the village, with city dwellers still clinging to village values. This juxtaposition also helps to explain the side-by-side existence of the Bollywood film and the socially conscious film. Roberge adds another essay here that explores some specific films and their relationship to the Indian family. Rounding out the examination of India is Manjunath Pendakur, a professor of international communication at Northwestern University (USA). His essay on Indian documentary film traces the rise of an independent film industry, competing with official government documentary production. The cinema of other Asian countries receives briefer treatment. Tadao Sato, a Japanese film critic, penetratingly explores Japanese cinema by asking whether there is something "typically Japanese." His historical overview explains the rise of certain themes and approaches to acting and film making while relating these to the history of Japan in the twentieth century. Lawrence Saldanha, a film educator in Pakistan, surveys a young Pakistani industry, noting its mixed fortunes in the face of shifting government regulation. Nicasio Cruz, a film critic, traces the rise in Filipino cinema of the action spectacle and the teen heart-throb movie. Both connect to the immense popularity (and political success) of movie stars in Filipino culture. James Reuter, a film educator on the staff of the Catholic Church communication office, asks whether there is place for God in the midst of such spectacle and vulgar romance films. Finally, William Biernatzki, the editor of Communication Research Trends, and Taewon Suh, a university lecturer, provide an overview of cinema in the Republic of Korea. They look both at the state of the industry (affected by government quotas, censorship, and the threat of piracy) and at the development of a Korean aesthetic. The editors close the volume with reprinted "testimonies" from two great Indian directors: Satyajit Ray ("Why Do I Make Films?") and Shyam Benegal ("Values Are of Primary Importance to Me")." (https://www.thefreelibrary.com) more

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