Catholics in the Movies
Oxford et al.: Oxford University Press (2008), xiv, 362 pp.
Contains illustrations, index
ISBN 978-0-19-530656-9; 978-0-19-530657-6 (pbk)
"Rather than being marginal to American popular culture, Catholic people, places, and rituals are all central to the world of the movie. Catholics in the Movies begins with an introductory essay that orients readers to the ways that films appear in culture and describes the broad trends that can be seen in the movies' hundred-year history of representing Catholics. Each chapter is written by a noted scholar of American religion who concentrates on one movie engaging important historical, artistic, and religious issues. Each then places the film within American cultural and social history, discusses the film as an expression of Catholic concerns of the period, and relates the film to others of its genre." (Publisher description)
"Although the title of this collection is Catholics in the Movies>, it is in fact about so much more than Catholics and movies, encompassing a range of subjects that bear on religious life in US history including race and gender, immigration and sexuality, fear and power. McDannell and the other writers bring Catholic history to light, but they also illuminate a much wider cultural field with compelling, insightful results." (Gary Laderman, Chair and Professor, Department of Religion, Emory University)
Why the movies? Why religion? / Colleen McDannell, 3
The silent social problem film: regeneration (1915) / Judith Weisenfeld, 33
Boys to men: Angels with dirty faces (1938) / Thomas J. Ferraro, 59
Jews and Catholics converge: the song of Bernadette (1943) / Paula M. Kane, 83
America's favorite priest: Going my way (1944) / Anthony Burke Smith, 107
God and guns: Seven cities of gold (1955) / Theresa Saunders, 127
Life on the frontier: Lilies of the field (1963) / Jeffrey Marlett, 149
Praying for stones like this: The Godfather trilogy (1972, 1974, 1990) / Carlo Rotella, 177
Catholic horror: The exorcist (1973) / Colleen McDannell, 197
Cops, priests, and the decline of Irish America: True confessions (1981) / Timothy J. Meagher, 227
Worldly Madonna: entertaining angels: the Dorothy Day story (1996) / Tracy Fessenden, 251
Border saints: Santitos (1997) / Darryl V. Caterine, 277
Catholicism wow! Dogma (1999) / Amy Frykholm, 297
Votive offering: The Passion of the Christ (2004) / Colleen McDannell, 317
The silent social problem film: regeneration (1915) / Judith Weisenfeld, 33
Boys to men: Angels with dirty faces (1938) / Thomas J. Ferraro, 59
Jews and Catholics converge: the song of Bernadette (1943) / Paula M. Kane, 83
America's favorite priest: Going my way (1944) / Anthony Burke Smith, 107
God and guns: Seven cities of gold (1955) / Theresa Saunders, 127
Life on the frontier: Lilies of the field (1963) / Jeffrey Marlett, 149
Praying for stones like this: The Godfather trilogy (1972, 1974, 1990) / Carlo Rotella, 177
Catholic horror: The exorcist (1973) / Colleen McDannell, 197
Cops, priests, and the decline of Irish America: True confessions (1981) / Timothy J. Meagher, 227
Worldly Madonna: entertaining angels: the Dorothy Day story (1996) / Tracy Fessenden, 251
Border saints: Santitos (1997) / Darryl V. Caterine, 277
Catholicism wow! Dogma (1999) / Amy Frykholm, 297
Votive offering: The Passion of the Christ (2004) / Colleen McDannell, 317
