This book offers a history of films with Biblical, spiritual, and supernatural themes.
This volume follows the evolution of one of the Hollywood's longest running thematic concerns. From the silent era to the present,
Sacred Profanity: Spirituality at the Movies examines the rich diversity of films with spiritual themes--films that reflect our own fascination with the divine and supernatural, while evoking the specific times in which they were created.
From
Birth of a Nation to
Angels and Demons,
Sacred Profanity discusses over 180 films with an insightful, movie lover's approach. Coverage encompasses Biblical stories like
King of Kings; films about spiritual characters, such as
The Nun's Story; foreign masterpieces like
The Seventh Seal; movies that incorporate spiritual symbolism, such as
Taxi Driver and
Cool Hand Luke; horrifying visions of the Satanic like
The Exorcist, and controversial works like
The Last Temptation of Christ. The book also looks at the history of Hollywood's attempt to maintain moral order through censorship, as well as the growing influence of filmmakers' own spiritual beliefs on the movies we see.
