Religion and Disney. Religion and Film

Transcription

1 Religion and Disney Religion and Film

2 Why Disney? According to film & religion scholar Melanie Wright, scholars rarely address why they have chosen the films that they study - personal preference seems the only discernable factor. Reasons for studying Disney and Religion can be identified as follows: Disney films, theme park productions, and other entertainment products often fit functional, formal, and substantive definitions of religion/film (as we will see.) It provides a unified (in a qualified way) body of work Global in influence (2nd largest media owner in the U.S., earned 27+ billion dollars last year huge, influential, global in scope why NOT study Disney? Familiar to virtually all in North American context (99+ per cent of North Americans have seen a Disney film) Open to multiple interpretations Subject to religious controversy (Disney Boycott) Personal preference

3 Popular film Scholarly analysis of religion and film often focuses on art -type films Analysis often draws on Marxist or psychoanalytic models for analysis Study of popular film largely dismissed - why? If its popular, it must be empty of meaning? If its popular, the audience must be mindless consumers? If its popular, it must be corporate, and therefore made only to make money - potential for ideological element dismissed?

4 Corporate Disney and the mindless consumer? Example: two fan interpretations of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs What feeling are each of these fans arguing represent the meaning of Snow White? Is there a right interpretation here?

5 Animated Film Animation largely dismissed as childish Suggestion that animated film carries meaning, that audiences engage critically with that meaning, rarely credited as possible. But - animation = ultimate in mise-en-scene (staging the scene) - no detail is accidental, because each detail must be drawn and redrawn Analysis of animated film for meaning therefore very warranted

6 Vrindavan Das - Radha Krishna on the throne What is religion? Is it: Church attendance? Rituals? (baptisms, marriages, funerals?) Doctrines? (God exists, Life is suffering, etc.?) Sacred stories? Transcendence? Community? Or is it something much broader: The fundamental conviction that life makes sense, that we have a purpose, that we are connected to something greater than ourselves, that the sum is greater than the parts? Dr. He Qi, Losing Paradise -

7 One model for determining the religious nature of film William Telford: A film that is appropriate for study in the context of religion and film should have one or more of the following elements: 1. Make use of religious themes/motifs/symbols in their title (but what might religious themes/symbols etc be?) 2. Have plots that draw upon religion. 3. Are set in the context of religious communities. 4. Use religion for character definition. 5. Deal directly or indirectly with religious characters (i.e. Buddha, Jesus, angels, demons), texts (Bible, Koran, Vedas, etc.) or locations (Heaven, Hell, Spirit world, Afterlife, etc.) 6. Use religious ideas to explore the experiences and transformation or conversion of characters. 7. Address religious themes and concerns, including ethical issues.

8 A Conventionally Religious Film (non- Disney) Many Religion and Film type courses attempt to study only films that meet ALL or ALMOST ALL of Telford s criteria. In doing so, we are often left with films like this one explicitly religious, according to conventional definitions. Is this the only kind of film we can study from a Religious Studies perspective? Where would that leave the study of Disney and Religion?

9 God help the Outcasts The Hunchback of Notre Dame is the most obvious Disney fit for Telford s model - What is the message of this song? What elements add to the message of this scene - lighting, backgrounds, juxtaposition of elements, characters, lyrics? Does the fan video represent a response in keeping with the sentiment, staging, intent, musical theme, etc. of the song? Do the conventional religious elements do justice to the broader Disney message however? What do YOU consider to be the major themes in this film?

10 Hercules What explicit religious elements are evoked here? What elements add to the message of The Gospel Truth scene - lighting, backgrounds, juxtaposition of elements, characters, lyrics? What purpose does the phrase The Gospel Truth serve? If the message of Hercules can be said to lie in the song Go the Distance would this message fit conventional religious definitions, or does it require a broader definition of religion?

11 Steps towards a broader theoretical model Religion can be understood on three distinct levels: 1. From a Functionalist perspective (vis a vis Emile Durkheim s model of religion). Durkheim basically asked the question What function does religion serve?) His answer: religion makes society s key values sacred and thereby sanctifies the status quo. Applied to film, we can ask: Does the film utilize religious elements to reinforce social norms? Does the film act to minimize dissent (and reinforce the status quo)? Does the film sacralize community values (ie. American Dream, Individualism, etc.) by making them seem the one, true way?

12 Functionalist definitions of Religion and Film Example: the sacralization of work and home in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

13 2. From a Formal perspective, religion is defined in terms of the formal (specific) elements such as myths, rituals, symbols, moral codes, community of believers that various world religions tend to contain. Applied to film (and TV), what elements can we find? Myth = a sacred story, a story that communicates meaningful truth (often in symbolic form) to the community (Jedi, Trekkers?) Rituals - activities conducted that communicate religious meaning Opening night midnight showings = religious ritual? Moral Codes - defining good and evil - (and sin, salvation, redemption, truth, etc.) - does film do this? Path for living a good life made evident Community of believers - fans? Formal definitions of religion

14 Formal definitions of religion/film/pop culture Example: exploring the nature of evil in The Princess and the Frog

15 3. From a substantive perspective, religion is defined as the way in which human beings relate to the ultimate substance of faith; and the way in which humans define the essential elements of human experience. Applied to film, can we see these elements also? Transcendence does the film reveal the possibility of, and the path to, another world outside of normal daily experience is transcendence made manifest? Relationship with a higher power, however defined does the film tell us how to relate to the divine, the supernatural, the holy? Human nature Does the film tell us what it means to be fully human? To be superhuman? To be subhuman? Substantive definitions of religion

16 Substantive definitions of Religion Example: path to fulfillment/being fully human in The Princess and the Frog

17 How to determine the religious dimensions of film Melanie Wright proposes that analysis of religion and film must take into account 4 areas: 1. Narrative - defined as story, characters, plot, etc. 2. Style - the aesthetic and audio-visual dimensions of the film - mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and sound. 3. Cultural and Religious context - the cultural framework within which the film was produced, and within which it is consumed 4. Reception - how has the film been interpreted by (various) audiences, including scholarly, religious, government, fan, etc. communities? Keeping these areas in mind, we can search for functional, formal, and substantive elements of religion in Disney films.