Film as Religion
Myths, Morals, and Rituals
Second Edition
John C. Lyden
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York
© 2019 by New York University
All rights reserved
References to Internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author nor New York University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Lyden, John, 1959– author.
Title: Film as religion : myths, morals, and rituals / John C. Lyden.
Description: Second edition. | New York : New York University Press, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019009086 | ISBN 9781479802074 (cl : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781479811991 (pb : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Motion pictures—Religious aspects. | Motion pictures—Moral and ethical aspects.
Classification: LCC PN1995.5 .L89 2019 | DDC 791.43/682—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019009086
To Liz
Life Partner, Best Friend, Fellow Traveler
CONTENTS
Introduction
PART I: A METHOD FOR VIEWING FILM AS RELIGION
1. The Definition of Religion
2. Myths about Myth
3. Rituals and Morals
4. Religion-Film Dialogue as Interreligious Dialogue
Intermission: Thoughts on Genre and Audiences
PART II: GENRE AND FILM ANALYSES
5. Westerns and Action and Superhero Films
6. Gangster Films
7. Melodrama and “Women’s Films”
8. Romantic Comedies
9. Children’s Fantasy Films
10. Science-Fiction Films
11. Horror Films
12. War Films
Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Name and Subject Index
Film Index
About the Author
In the years since the first edition of this book appeared in 2003, the study of religion and film has exploded. There are now more scholarly books and articles published in this area, more college classes taught on the subject around the world, and more papers given at conferences in multiple nations with international participation. There has also been an expansion of methods of analysis used and types of films studied. Scholars who write about religion and film are better schooled in film studies and so have brought their knowledge of filmmaking to their research, offering analyses of the art of the film that transcend its narrative structure and look rather at how film techniques can convey meanings and affect audiences. Audience-reception studies are increasing, and there is a greater awareness that film cannot be studied apart from the circuit of culture that includes the way that films are interpreted by various audiences, as well as how they are developed, marketed, and distributed. The range of films studied has also grown to encompass more nations and a range of religious and cultural backgrounds, and the people writing about them now reflect the same diversity.
One reason for this expansion of scholarship about religion and film may lie in the fact that the study of religion and popular culture in general has been growing during these same years. The academic study of religion has become aware of the influence of popular culture on beliefs and values, largely because of the advancing power of media through the development of new technologies. YouTube changed access to video content with its creation in 2005, even as the development of the iPhone in 2007 made video content accessible and portable. With the development of social media in the last decade, individuals now communicate more easily through devices, sometimes at the expense of face-to-face contact. In 2005, just 5 percent of the US population used social media; in 2018, 69 percent did.1 The number of worldwide users of social media is now over 2.5 billion, and by 2020, it is predicted to be almost 3 billion—or one-third of the world’s population.2 At the same time, television viewing is shifting to online platforms that are displacing traditional broadcast and cable delivery, as viewers access programs through streaming services or web pages, and this is changing not only how they watch but when and what they watch. All this has also affected film viewing as well, as today we can watch movies not only in theaters or on DVDs but also by streaming them directly to our computers or phones.
It might even seem that movies are now passé, as people choose instead to indulge in social media or stream other video content to their devices. Yet we still watch feature-length movies, at home as well as in the theaters. Movies remain a big business, as huge amounts are invested in films through digital special effects delivered in 3-D and huge profits are made as viewers flock to see them on large screens the first weekend they come out. In order to make these profits, films almost inevitably must deliver the spectacle of fact action, impressive visuals, and high-quality surround sound, usually in relation to a predictable genre product. In fact, the top one hundred worldwide box-office-grossing films are almost exclusively made up of action or fantasy/science-fiction films or movies targeted to children.3
But the diversity of ways in which we can access films has also diversified the markets so that there are more independent films being made as well. And although they may struggle with the resources for wide distribution in theaters, these films can still find a secondary market through DVDs and streaming technology that may allow a box-office “sleeper” to become a rental hit years later. A film may be popular with a niche audience and so have a measure of success even if it does not break any box-office records, and newer technologies have made it possible for such films to be accessed and enjoyed by these niche markets even when they are geographically dispersed or isolated.
Films, then, remain widespread and influential among popular culture products, and this is enough reason to continue studying them. While the plethora of television shows offer stories that delay their endings through cliffhangers and multiple seasons, a feature film still offers the satisfaction of a story that finishes in a few hours, usually leaving us with a sense of wholeness and immersion that not all media experiences can offer—and that invites comparisons to religion.4
When I wrote the first edition of this book, it was still uncommon to analyze films as if their impact and reception were analogous to those of religions.5 Since that time, it has become much more common to do so, although many scholars remain cautious about going so far as to name film or other aspects of popular culture “religion.” For example, S. Brent Plate has argued that “religion and film are like each other” (emphasis in original), in that “cameras and rituals frame the world, selecting particular elements of time and space to be displayed” in order to invite