#religionandfilm

[tellingittash]

Hey everyone! So today, I finished reading the second edition of “Film Studies: The Basics” by Amy Villarejo. Now, I know there is a 3rd edition, but I don’t own that one. Maybe for Christmas. But I don’t own it now so this is the one I’m talking about. I first got this book because I took a class called “Religion and Film: Screening The Sacred” and our professor gave us the second chapter to read. I decided to find and buy the whole book because, if one chapter is good, then the whole book must be great for my studies. I can kind of see why he only had us read the second chapter. That is the only chapter that trains people on how to read films in a textual way, which is what we were doing for the class. The rest of it is a lot of study on how movies are made and how to think about the contexts of movies and different schools of thoughts about movies, but not a lot that a person would use to identify religious messages in movies. However, I should have read this book earlier because I now, in retrospect, would have found this so helpful in my Critical Approaches to Literature class. So I guess better late than never, right? If you want to think about films more critically, I would highly recommend this book. The material is all pretty great, with chapter 2 being the most practical for, as mentioned earlier, giving you the tools to articulate points about films. However, the book is pretty short and covers a ton of history and theory and concepts all relating to film, but they are pretty shallow as a result of this. This is a good starting place that would introduce you to directions you might want to look more into (from the history of the camera to the way capitalism affects films). But if you already know a lot about film studies or aren’t interested in it at all, probably not something you’d enjoy. But still, very useful to have a way to convey why you like something in a movie. #filmstudies #thebasics #amyvillarejo #secondedition #bookstagram #book #bookreview #bookrecommendations #books #religiousstudies #religiousfilm #religiousfilms #religionandfilm #religiousstudiesnerd #film #filmmaking #filmcommunity #filmproduction #filmmakers https://www.instagram.com/p/ClH0UYurSyh/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[arnisvanur]

Noah is coming.

[arnisvanur]

„In the midst of the desperation and seeming hopelessness there are chinks of light that restore faith in human nature. Whether it be the self-sacrifice and hard work of local villagers helping injured tourists get medical attention or the over-worked and under-resourced medical staff performing miracle after miracle, the heart is well and truly tugged.“

I agree. It's an excellent movie.

[arnisvanur]

I saw Ice Age 4: Continental Drift last night with four of our children. It’s a fun movie that made all of the kids giddy with laughter. At the same there is a serious undertone and positive message regarding family. This message is summarized in the final song of the film: We are family:

We are, we are Not your ordinary fami-mily But we can all agree that We are, we are Close as close can be

So it don’t matter what it looks like We look perfect to me We got every kind of lover We’re so lucky indeed They can keep on talking It don’t matter to me cause We are, we are family

The family in question is also described as a herd by Diego, the sabre-toothed cat and in a herd everyone takes care of each other. This is a positive and affirming message and it can be quite relevant today, as a reflection on different family models.