Abstract
Films and television series often have a cultural impact that exceeds anything offered in print or the pulpit. Directors such as Terrence Malick, Steven Spielberg, and Jordan Peele, among many others, have understood their capacity to inspire, challenge, and educate. Movies often engage with the Bible in innovative ways, leading to new insights and the inclusion of diverse, global perspectives.
The current issue of Interpretation brings together renowned experts who put the Bible and film into mutually critical conversation. Some of the authors examine the Bible and film, as they consider biblical themes (creation, theodicy, family) that appear in movies. Others take up the Bible in film, the cinematic depiction of biblical stories and characters and the how these relate to what we find in the actual books.
First is the article by Adele Reinhartz, who examines the use of biblical allusions and themes in Jordan Peele’s terrifying, evocative film, Us. Peele's acute social commentary includes a cryptic reference to Jer 11:11. The two worlds, that of the “regular” humans and the Tethered (their frightening doppelgangers), collide in the film, and Reinhartz brilliantly explicates the ethical complexities and the ways in which the mirroring of the two types highlights social and racial injustices and the purpose of the Jeremiah citation.
The absurd, inexplicable, and fleeting nature of human existence is perhaps the central theme in the book of Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth), and Matthew Rindge explores the complex message in this book through the lens of the recent film, Everything Everywhere All at Once. Through its playful, creative, and poignant exploration of one family’s relationships with each other and an oppressive society, Everything Everywhere All at Once suggests that meaning can only be found in human connections and reconciliation. Rindge's essay explores the multiverse in the film, its profound social commentary, and many corollaries with Ecclesiastes/Qoheleth.
Ezekiel 16 represents perhaps the most disturbing “text of terror“ (to use Phyllis Trible’s language) in the Bible. Rhiannon Graybill puts this difficult text, which involves misogynistic language and sexual violence, into dialogue with the haunting film, Promising Young Woman. Both the biblical passage and Promising Young Woman explore the precarious status of women and their vulnerability to so-called “good guys.” Graybill’s engaging essay compels the reader to reconsider feminist responses to sexual violence, as she also includes a creative exposition of the Iranian film, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.
The various Star Trek series have captivated viewers for generations, but in most iterations and episodes, Black identity and consciousness have received minimal attention. The notable exception is Star Trek Deep Space Nine. In his creative essay, Roger Sneed explores two episodes, “Deep Space Nine” and “Far Beyond the Stars,” and the role of Captain Benjamin Sisko as “Emissary to the Prophets.” Sneed demonstrates the creative power of science fiction to engage in social commentary and to echo biblical prophecy, and he commends this Star Trek series for its prophetic ability, “to lead us out of the darkness of the White supremacist imaginary.”
Finally, Rhonda Burnette-Blesch takes the reader on an interesting tour of the Bible in film by considering the interpretive moves undertaken in the hit television series, The Chosen. Specifically, she looks at how this series engages disability and whether the viewer finds ableist interpretations of the biblical stories involving healing. In the biblical world and in the present day, physical and mental challenges are often seen as afflictions that result from sin and make someone less than a full person. Yet The Chosen elevates some of the secondary characters in Scripture, including those with disabilities. According to Burnette-Blesch, the show’s creators often bring nuance to the backstories of these characters and their challenges. With other characters, unfortunate stereotypes and stigmas remain. This essay demonstrates the use of hermeneutical approaches like disability studies to critique the Bible and modern interpretations of it.