Fall 2017/Pasadena

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 class meets once per week for three-and-a-half hour sessions for a total of 35 hours of classroom instruction for lecture and discussion plus 5 hours of directed learning activities for a total of 40 instructional hours. Class will include discussion, small groups, and lecture. Films will usually be assigned for viewing prior to each class along with a range of critical reading. During each class, students will typically (1) discuss the movie(s), (2) consider aspects of the nature of film and/or theology and/or Gospel demonstration, (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. Occasional outside resource persons will be utilized.

REQUIRED READING AND VIEWING: 1,210 pp. of required reading and 16 films for required viewing.

Sixteen films: Decalogue I (Polish); Crimes & Misdemeanors (Jewish); Stranger than Fiction (Swiss/American); Moulin Rouge (Australian); Training Day (African American); Water (Indian); Smoke Signals (Native American); Up; American Beauty; Little Miss Sunshine; Calvary (Irish); Run Lola Run (German); Okuribito/Departures (Japanese); The Adjustment Bureau; Noah; Tree of Life.

The following texts:

Barsotti, Catherine and Johnston, Robert, eds. God in the Movies. Baker, 2017. ISBN: 978-1587433900, Pub. Price $21.99 ($13.41) [150 pp. assigned].

Boorstin, Jon. Making Movies Work. Silman-James Press, 1995. ISBN: 978-1879505278, Pub. Price $9.99 Kindle (used at Amazon) [162 pp. assigned].

Ecclesiastes (multiple readings); portions of Job, 2 Samuel, Isaiah, 2 Chronicles.

Johnston, Robert. God’s Wider Presence. Baker, 2014. ISBN: 978-0801049453, Pub. Price $26.00 ($14.96) [126 pp. assigned]

________. Reel Spirituality. 2nd ed. Baker, 2006. ISBN: 978-0801031878, Pub. Price $28.00 ($15.36) [277 pp. assigned].

________. Useless Beauty. Wipf & Stock, 2004. ISBN: 978-1610978293, Pub. Price $25.00 ($12.95) [110 pp. assigned].

Villarejo, Amy. Film Studies: The Basics. 2nd ed. Routledge, 2013. ISBN: 978-0415584968, Pub. Price $20.24 [172 pp.].

Class reader (approx. 199 total pages): critical essays and chapters by bell hooks, Kutter Callaway, Ellen Davis, Gordon Lynch, William Placher, Kathryn Tanner, and others.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

  1. 1,210 pp. of required reading [58 hours].

  2. Viewing and journaling on assigned movies and class participation (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, 2, and 3]. [30 hours]. Note: this includes 6 hours of DLAs.

  3. Quiz on Boorstin, Making Movies Work (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2]. [1 hour].

  4. Quiz on Villarejo, Film Studies (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1 and 2]. [1 hour].

  5. Critical response to Johnston, Reel Spirituality (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, 2, and 3]. [2 hours].

  6. 2 or 3 page personal reflection paper on film’s spiritual power (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #4 and 5]. [3 hours].

  7. One four page report of a ministry project using a film from God in the Movies that encourages Gospel demonstration, articulation and invitation (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #5]. [10 hours preparing, facilitating, and writing].

  8. One ten page paper on a film (approved by the instructor) bringing the movie into dialogue with Ecclesiastes, using film theory and constructing a possible theological and biblical approach for engaging with our contemporary culture (40%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #2-5]. [20 hours preparing & writing].

  9. Class participation [35 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Option to meet the TH5, C2, or C3 requirements in the 120 MDiv Program.

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.


NOTE: This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. Textbook prices are set by publishers and are subject to change.

For your convenience, order these texts online through the Archives Bookshop.