The Bible and Film

Bible and Film (volume 78, issue 3) is the current issue of Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology. This journal is one The Husband has had a subscription to for decades. I don't usually even look at them, but how could I resist this subject?! My interest in religion goes back to early childhood, and film is a favorite subject for me.

from the beginning:

Films and television series often have a cultural impact that exceeds anything offered in print or the pulpit. Directors such as Terrence Malick, Steven Spielberg, and Jordan Peele, among many others, have understood their capacity to inspire, challenge, and educate. Movies often engage with the Bible in innovative ways, leading to new insights and the inclusion of diverse, global perspectives.

The current issue of Interpretation brings together renowned experts who put the Bible and film into mutually critical conversation. Some of the authors examine the Bible and film, as they consider biblical themes (creation, theodicy, family) that appear in movies. Others take up the Bible in film, the cinematic depiction of biblical stories and characters and the how these relate to what we find in the actual books.

The first article is about the use of biblical allusions and themes in the film Us, which I've never seen and don't have ready access to. I skipped that article. The second article deals with the movie Everything Everywhere All at Once and the connections the author sees with the book of Ecclesiastes. The third article explores the status of women in Ezekiel 17 and the films Promising Young Woman and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. The fourth article considers two episodes of the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and how some science fiction works echo biblical prophecy. The last essay is a "tour of the Bible in film" with a consideration of the television miniseries The Chosen in light of the interpretive choices made there.

The number of television works as opposed to actual feature films was not what I expected and was a disappointment, but I still got a kick out of seeing a journal like this deal with this subject.