Celluloid saints
Book Description
Theresa Sanders bridges the worlds of cinema and spirituality in this thoughtful exploration of how Hollywood portrays the sacred lives of saints. Rather than dismissing popular films as shallow entertainment, Sanders demonstrates how movies can serve as powerful vehicles for understanding complex theological concepts through the universal language of human experience.
This insightful work examines diverse cinematic treatments of fundamental aspects of sainthood, including martyrdom, miraculous events, religious devotion, and ascetic practices. Sanders also ventures into more challenging territory, analyzing how films have depicted saints during the Holocaust and those who struggled with mental illness. Through careful analysis, she reveals why different filmmakers approach these sacred stories in vastly different ways.
Sanders writes with dual purpose and remarkable clarity. For movie enthusiasts, she provides essential context and analytical tools to evaluate religious portrayals on screen with greater sophistication. She acknowledges that Hollywood often lacks theological depth, yet argues that cinema's approach, while sometimes unsophisticated, offers unique insights worth examining.
For theology students and spiritual seekers, Sanders demonstrates how abstract religious concepts can find expression through the concrete language of film, where ideas manifest through events, emotions, dreams, and human relationships. She contends that meaningful theology must translate into experiences people can understand and connect with personally.
This work invites readers to discover how cinema can deepen their appreciation for both spiritual wisdom and the art of storytelling.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Medium (200-400 pages) (~7 hours)
📄 Length: 237 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore Religious aspects
- ✓ Explore Religious aspects of Motion pictures
- ✓ Explore Film
- ✓ Explore Motion pictures, religious aspects
- ✓ Explore Christianity
- ✓ Explore Religion in motion pictures
- ✓ Explore Religion
- ✓ Explore Motion pictures
