The Bible and Film: Exodus, Creation and American Culture
Hosted By: My Jewish Learning
Since the birth of cinema, the Bible has been a star of the silver screen, influencing many of the movies we love.
Some films retell (or attempt to retell) biblical stories. Others include biblical quotations, biblically-named figures, biblical story-lines, and sometimes Bibles themselves as they tell their own (non-biblical) stories.
In this new online course with world-renowned scholar Adele Reinhartz, we will look at Hollywood examples of both categories — from the iconic “The Ten Commandments” from 1956 to the simulacrum of “The Truman Show” in 1998.
We will begin with a general overview that will include some pointers on how to watch these films and what to watch out for. In the sessions that follow, we will discuss and watch clips from movies based on two central biblical stories: The Exodus story and the story of creation (Genesis 1-3).
Our discussion will focus on 1) how these films are interpreting the bible; 2) what they tell us about the role of the Bible in American society; and 3) what they might say about American society itself.
6 Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. ET
June 9 – July 14
