Manchester University Press
11 The devil and the Culture Wars
Abstract
This chapter examines how the devil in both Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ (2004) is used as a political and rhetorical device, both within the epics and as a reflection of the historical and cultural moment. It will also analyse these entries in the culture wars for their place in demonising Others, focusing on The Passion of the Christ as a post-9/11 commentary, looking back for the beginnings of these controversies and demonic constructions in The Last Temptation, forwarding these ideas onto our current revision of the culture wars and creating a bridge between the pre-modern and the modern biblical epic.
Abstract
This chapter examines how the devil in both Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ (2004) is used as a political and rhetorical device, both within the epics and as a reflection of the historical and cultural moment. It will also analyse these entries in the culture wars for their place in demonising Others, focusing on The Passion of the Christ as a post-9/11 commentary, looking back for the beginnings of these controversies and demonic constructions in The Last Temptation, forwarding these ideas onto our current revision of the culture wars and creating a bridge between the pre-modern and the modern biblical epic.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of figures ix
- List of contributors xi
- Preface by Adele Reinhartz xv
- Acknowledgements xix
- Introduction 1
- 1 Battles over the biblical epic 23
- 2 Depicting ‘biblical’ narratives 36
- 3 Special effects and CGI in the biblical epic fi lm 50
- 4 The phenomenon of biblical telenovelas in Brazil and Latin America 68
-
Part II Modern narratives and contexts in adapting the Bible
- 5 Mythic cinema and the contemporary biblical epic 87
- 6 The Nativity reborn 102
- 7 Convince me 122
- 8 Controversy and the ‘Culture War’ 143
- 9 ‘Can anything good come out of Southern California?’* (*hyperlink to John 1:46) 161
- 10 Examining the digital religion paradigm 174
- 11 The devil and the Culture Wars 193
- 12 Ben-Her(?) 214
- 13 The biblical-trial film 230
- 14 ‘Squint against the grandeur’ 247
- Filmography 265
- Index 270
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of figures ix
- List of contributors xi
- Preface by Adele Reinhartz xv
- Acknowledgements xix
- Introduction 1
- 1 Battles over the biblical epic 23
- 2 Depicting ‘biblical’ narratives 36
- 3 Special effects and CGI in the biblical epic fi lm 50
- 4 The phenomenon of biblical telenovelas in Brazil and Latin America 68
-
Part II Modern narratives and contexts in adapting the Bible
- 5 Mythic cinema and the contemporary biblical epic 87
- 6 The Nativity reborn 102
- 7 Convince me 122
- 8 Controversy and the ‘Culture War’ 143
- 9 ‘Can anything good come out of Southern California?’* (*hyperlink to John 1:46) 161
- 10 Examining the digital religion paradigm 174
- 11 The devil and the Culture Wars 193
- 12 Ben-Her(?) 214
- 13 The biblical-trial film 230
- 14 ‘Squint against the grandeur’ 247
- Filmography 265
- Index 270
