Viewing Terrence Malick's "A Hidden Life" as Political Theology: Toward Theocinematics

In this article, I bring Terrence Malick's 2019 film, A Hidden Life, into conversation with two of philosopher Paul Ricoeur's concepts: (1) the "social imaginary" as the interplay of ideals, images, ideologies and utopias, and (2) Ricoeur's description of the genre of "...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of religion and film
Main Author: Mayward, Joel ca. 20./21. Jh. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: 2023
In: The journal of religion and film
Further subjects:B Paul Ricoeur
B Film criticism
B Parable
B Theological Aesthetics
B Political Theology
B Theology and film
B Terrence Malick
B Social Imaginary
B A Hidden Life
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:In this article, I bring Terrence Malick's 2019 film, A Hidden Life, into conversation with two of philosopher Paul Ricoeur's concepts: (1) the "social imaginary" as the interplay of ideals, images, ideologies and utopias, and (2) Ricoeur's description of the genre of "parable" as a narrative-metaphor which provokes a "re-orientation by disorientation" within an audience’s imagination. Drawing from Ricoeur's thought, I apply a theological film criticism I call "theocinematics" to A Hidden Life in order to call attention to the ways in which the cinematic form itself engenders sociopolitical and theological thought. Through emphasizing film aesthetics in my analysis, I am ultimately suggesting that A Hidden Life as a cinematic parable has the potential power to affect and inform our social imaginaries for the good.
ISSN:1092-1311
Contains:Enthalten in: The journal of religion and film