Cinematic Savior: Hollywood's Making Of The American Christ [Hardcover]

From Cecil B. DeMille's production ofKing of Kingsin 1927, to Mel Gibson's recentThe 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, whileThe Last Temptation of Christdeals 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 asKing of Kings, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Jesus of Nazareth, The Last Temptation of Christ, andThe Passion of the Christ, as well as the more allusive and implicit use of Christ-related themes inSpartacus, Shane, andThe 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 moviesand in American popular culture at large.

STEPHENSON HUMPHRIES-BROOKSis Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Hamilton College, where he teaches courses in film, religion, and popular culture. He has been interviewed frequently on the subject of Jesus in film for outlets including theNew York Timesand NPR. He has also contributed to a number of edited collections.

[H]umphries-Brooks reconstructs the making of a cinematic savior with clarity and unhlc;