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From Cecil B. DeMille's production of King of Kings in 1927, to Mel Gibson's recent The Passion of the Christ, films that discuss the meaning of Jesus have provoked interest, discussion, and reevaluation on a large scale. Hollywood films that deal with this subject have consistently managed to augment their inherent power by commenting simultaneously on political and cultural matters, and drawing from alternative cultural and mythological sources. The Greatest Story Ever Told, for instance, uses a landscape similar to that of the American West, while The Last Temptation of Christ deals with themes related to modern American notions of sexuality and sin. This timely examination considers the life of Jesus as it has been portrayed in such films as King of Kings, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Jesus of Nazareth, The Last Temptation of Christ, and The Passion of the Christ, as well as the more allusive and implicit use of Christ-related themes in Spartacus, Shane, and The Matrix. It looks at the diverse content and often-surprising impact of these and other films, and reveals how these depictions have helped determine, and been determined by, particularly American notions of who Jesus was, how he lived and died, and what he means for both our religious and secular cultures.Through an objective consideration of these movies, the emergent religious culture of mainstream American film becomes apparent as a central element in Hollywood movies—and in American popular culture at large.
E-Book Content
CINEMATIC SAVIOR: Hollywood’s Making of the American Christ
STEPHENSON HUMPHRIES-BROOKS
Praeger
CINEMATIC SAVIOR
Hollywood’s Making of the American Christ STEPHENSON HUMPHRIES-BROOKS
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Humphries-Brooks, Stephenson. Cinematic savior : Hollywood’s making of the American Christ / Stephenson Humphries-Brooks. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–275–98489–3 (alk. paper) 1. Jesus Christ—In motion pictures. 2. Motion pictures—United States. PN1995.9.J4H86 2006 791.43'651—dc22 2006002723 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 2006 by Stephenson Humphries-Brooks All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006002723 ISBN: 0–275–98489–3 First published in 2006 Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.praeger.com Printed in the United States of America
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I. Title.
For Lauren and Sharon
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
ix
Introduction
1
1. Love and Betrayal: Magdalene, Judas, and Jesus
9
2. I Was a Teenage Jesus in Cold War America: King of Kings, 1961
23
3. The Greatest Story Ever Told: Suburban Jesus and the Mortgaged Gospel
39
4. Jesus Christ Superstar: The Cinematic Savior as Alienated Hero
55
5. Jesus of Nazareth: The Contribution of Television
69
6. The Last Temptation of Christ: The Psychological Problem of God in a Body
83
7. How Jesus Got a Gun
101
8. The Passion of the Christ: Jesus as Action Hero
117
Conclusion: Where Does Jesus Lead Us?
133
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Contents
Notes
139
Filmography
143
Works Consulted
145
Index