LG 512 ECD Fall 94

Summer 2020/Fuller Online

TC530

Johnston

TC530: THEOLOGY AND FILM (4 Units: 160 Hours). Robert K. Johnston.

DESCRIPTION: This course will engage with a theology of culture by focusing on one particular aspect: theology and film. The course will (1) view, discuss, and analyze a multicultural and global selection of films, (2) provide the student methodological and critical perspectives for engaging culture, both from the humanities and the social sciences, (3) explore theological and biblical perspectives foundational to theology and film criticism, and (4) provide contextual approaches for Gospel articulation and invitation.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will be able to (1) articulate the relationship between theories and practices for sympathetic engagement with culture as expressed in the media, (2) engage appreciatively and critically in film interpretation, (3) explore and construct possible theological and biblical approaches for engaging with our contemporary culture, (4) articulate something of the presence and purposes of God in human culture, and (5) describe approaches for Gospel demonstration, articulation and invitation through the use of film in their Christian witness and discipleship.

COURSE FORMAT: This course will be delivered online over a ten-week period aligned with Fuller’s academic calendar. Students are required to interact with the course material, with each other, and with the instructor regularly through online discussions, reading, and other assignments that promote active learning. Course content is communicated through required readings/viewings, video lectures, and written materials. Weekly discussions, assignments, and lectures are focused on a series of particular films and a range of critical readings. During online discussions, students will typically (1)discuss the movies, (2)consider aspects of the nature of film and/or theology, (3)use selected critical and theological approaches to culture, (4)enter into theological criticism with the film, and (5) explore missional possibilities within this engagement.

REQUIRED VIEWING AND READING: 1,085 total number of pages required.

Eighteen films: Decalogue I (Poland); Crimes and Misdemeanors; Stranger than Fiction (German/Swiss/USA); Moulin Rouge (Australia); UP; Lucky; Little Miss Sunshine; Roma (US, Mexico); Babel (Mexico/France/USA); Water (Indian); The Lunchbox (Indian); Get Out; BlacKkKlansman; Calvary (Ireland/UK); Silence; Smoke Signals (Native American); Departures (Japanese) and one film of the student’s choice from a list of provided.

The following texts:

Barsotti and Johnston, eds. God in the Movies: A Guide for Exploring Four Decades of Film. Brazos Press, 2017. ISBN: 978-1587433900, Pub. Price $12.10/Kindle $12.99. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library. [115 pages assigned]

Boorstin, Jon. Making Movies Work. Silman-James Press, 1995. ISBN: 978-1879505278, Pub. Price $29.95. Kindle $9.95 and used copies [224 pp.].

Callaway, Detweiler and Johnston. Deep Focus: Film and Theology in Dialogue. Baker Academic, 2019. ISBN: 9781540960030, Pub. Price $19.93/Kindle 14.57. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [272 pp. assigned].

Ecclesiastes (multiple readings during the quarter) [50 pp.].

Johnston, Robert. Useless Beauty. Wipf & Stock, 2011. ISBN: 978-1610978293, Pub. Price $19.64/Kindle $6.99, Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [100 pp. assigned].

Villarejo, Amy. Film Studies: the basics. 2nd ed. Routledge, 2013. ISBN: 978-0415584968, Pub. Price $22.88/Kindle $7.09, Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [184 pp.].

Class reader on e-reserves (approx. 140 total pages): critical essays and chapters by bell hooks, Kutter Callaway, Ellen Davis, Mako Fujimura, Joel Green, Gordon Lynch, Ted Turnau, and others.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

Weekly Video or BlueJeans lectures and summary announcements from the professor [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, 2, 3, 4 and 5]. [20 hours].
250-word weekly forum posts and 250-word weekly forum responses by the students (15%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, 2 and 3]. [20 hours].
DLA through facilitation of a movie group in a ministry context [This assignment is related to learning outcome #5]. [5 hours].
1,085 pp. of required reading [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, 2, 3, 4 and 5]. [40 hours]
Viewing the assigned movies. [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, 2, 3]. [40 hours].
Quiz on Boorstin, Making Movies Work - (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2]. [1 hour].
Quiz on Villarejo, Film Studies: the basics - (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1 and 2]. [1 hour].
One 600-word (2-page) critical review of Callaway, Detweiler and Johnston, Deep Focus, with reference to Turnau's chapter. - (15%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #2, 3 and 4]. [5 hours].
Signature Assignment: 1000-word (4-page) report and reflection on facilitation of a movie group using a film and resources from Barsotti and Johnston, God in the Movies (25%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #5]. [8 hours].
2,000-2,500 word (8-10-page) paper on a film (approved by the instructor) bringing the movie into dialogue with Ecclesiastes, whether letting the film shed light on the biblical text, using the biblical text to critique the movie, or otherwise engaging in dialogue (35%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, 2, 3, 4 and #5]. [20 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Option to meet the TH5 or C2 requirement in the 120 MDiv program. Meets the culture (CULT) requirement in Cultural Literacy for MA programs; meets the MACL in Integrative Studies requirement for an interdisciplinary course (IDPL).

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: As a course which seeks a dialogue between theology and contemporary culture, this class may include visual, written, aural, and/or thematic content that might prove disturbing to some.