Fuller Online
TC530: Spring 2010
Johnston/Barsotti

TC530: THEOLOGY AND FILM (4 units).
Robert K. Johnston, Professor of Theology and Culture;
Online Facilitation by Catherine Barsotti, Adjunct Instructor in Theology and Culture.


DESCRIPTION: This course will consider 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, and (3) explore theological and biblical perspectives foundational to theology and film criticism.

SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: This course will help students develop skills in cultural analysis and interaction by providing a critical and theological framework for viewing cinema. While such engagement is not sufficient for effective ministry, it is a necessary part of that task.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will be given the opportunity to develop the tools to

  1. articulate something of the presence and purposes of God in human culture;

  2. understand the importance of cultural engagement for effective ministry;

  3. describe and assess contemporary cultural trends as embodied in the media;

  4. engage appreciatively and critically in film interpretation;

  5. explore possible theological and biblical approaches to our contemporary culture; and

  6. consider the use of film in their Christian discipleship and ministry.

COURSE FORMAT: The class will be conducted on the Internet using a 10-week lesson program aligned with Fuller's academic calendar. Weekly learning experiences will include film viewing, dialogical lectures, critical readings, online discussions and journaling or other written assignments. Two films will typically be assigned for viewing prior to each class along with a range of critical reading. During each class, 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, and (4) enter into theological criticism with the film. Occasional outside resource persons will be utilized.

REQUIRED VIEWING AND READING:
  1. Viewing sixteen films: Decalogue 1 (Polish); Crimes and Misdemeanors; Stranger than Fiction (USA/Swiss); Training Day; Moulin Rouge (Australian); Smoke Signals (Native American); American Beauty; Little Miss Sunshine; Run Lola Run (German); The Princess and the Warrior (German); Magnolia; Punch Drunk Love; About Schmidt; Sideways; Water (Indian); Plus one TBA at start of the course.

  2. Reading from the following texts:
Ecclesiastes.

Barsotti, Catherine, and Robert Johnston. Finding God in the Movies. Baker, 2004.

Boorstin, Jon. Making Movies Work. Silman-James Press, 1995.

Johnston, Robert. Reel Spirituality. 2nd ed. Baker, 2006.

________. Useless Beauty. Baker, 2004.

________, ed. Reframing Theology and Film. Baker, 2007. (Essays by leading scholars and practitioners.)

Murphy, Roland, and E. Huwiler. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs. NIBC 12. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1999.

Course Reader (essays by Gordon Lynch and bell hooks).

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:
  1. Viewing and journaling on assigned movies (5%).

  2. Weekly online discussion regarding assigned films, readings and questions (15%).

  3. Quiz on Boorstin, Making Movies Work (5%).

  4. Two 3-page critical reviews and questions on:
    (a) Johnston, Reel Spirituality and
    (b) an essay from Johnston, ed., Reframing Theology or the course reader (20%).

  5. A 3-page report on ministry project using film (use Finding God in the Movies) (15%).

  6. One 10-page paper on a film(s) (approved by the instructor) bringing the movie(s) 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 (40%).

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets the culture requirement in Cultural Literacy for MA programs (CULT); meets the MACL in Integrative Studies requirement for an interdisciplinary course (IDPL); MA in Global Leadership degree Ministry Focus Elective.

This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. (Posted January 2010)