Description
Book SynopsisThe Spirit and the Screen engages contemporary films from the perspective of pneumatology to give theologies of culture fruitful new perspectives that begin with the Spirit rather than other common theological contact points (Christology, anthropology, theological ethics, creation, eschatology, etc.). This book explores pertinent pneumatological issues that arise in film, as well as literary devices that draw allusions to the Spirit. It offers three main contributions: first, it explores how Christian understandings of the person and work of the Spirit illuminate the nature of film and film-making; second, it shows that there are in fact “Spirit figures” in film (as distinct from but inseparable from Christ-figures), even if sometimes they’re not intended as such, “Spirit-led” characters, are moved to act “prophetically,” against their inclinations and in excess of their skill or knowledge and with eccentric, life-giving creativity; third, it identifies subtle and explicit symbolizations of the Spirit in pop culture, symbolizations that requires deep, careful thinking about the Christian doctrine of the Spirit and generate new horizons for cultural analysis. The contributors of this book explore these issues, asking how Christian convictions and experiences of the Spirit might shape the way one thinks about films and film-making.
Trade ReviewRather than once again exploring films which have a Christ-figure—e.g., Logan, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest—The Spirit and the Screen focuses instead on the importance of the Spirit, believing that the Spirit of Life is in all things, both inspiring and advocating. The authors of this first-rate collection are a diverse group of younger and more mature scholars, male and female, Pentecostal and non-Pentecostal, white and persons of color. Together, their differing perspectives help readers understand the range and depth of film analysis from a pneumatological perspective. In the process, they break new and helpful ground in theology and film studies. Highly recommended!
-- Robert K. Johnston, Fuller Theological Seminary; author of
Reel Spirituality and
God’s Wider PresenceTable of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction: Beginnings and Aspirations (or: The Spirit Glows Where It Wills)
Chris E.W. Green
Part 1 | The Spirit and the Nature of Film(making)
Chapter 2 The Move of the Spirit: Pneumatology and Temporality in Malick’s Cinema
Chris E.W. Green
Chapter 3 Feed the Birds: Mary Poppins, Film Musicals, and the Spirit of Life
Kutter Callaway
Chapter 4 Traditioning and the Spirit in Martin Scorsese’s Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story
Jeffrey S. Lamp
Chapter 5 Power of the Spirit: Sayers and Cinema
Crystal L. Downing
Part 2 | Spirit Figures
Chapter 6 POWER. GRACE. WISDOM. WONDER.: The Paraclete in Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman
Steven Félix-Jäger
Chapter 7 Exegeting Samwise the (Brave) Advocate
Lucia M. Sanders
Chapter 8 Paciencia y Fe: The Spirited Presence of Abuela Claudia in In the Heights
Wilmer Estrada-Carrasquillo
Chapter 9 The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come’: A Pneumatological Exploration of Te Fiti in Disney’s Moana
D. Coleby Delgado
Part 3 | The Spirit-led Life
Chapter 10 The Hospitality of the Spirit in Encanto
“Joey” Alan Le
Chapter 11 ‘Leave Six Inches for the Holy Spirit’: Lady Bird Comes of Age
Gaye Williams Morris
Chapter 12 Spiritus Absconditus: Listening to the Holy Spirit in Des Hommes et des Dieux
Sid D. Sudiacal
Chapter 13 A Hidden Life: Nonviolent Civil Disobedience and the Spirit of God in an Age of Totalitarianism
Robby Waddell
Chapter 14 Conclusion: Collective Themes and Common Threads
Steven Félix-Jäger
