Table of Contents

Part i A Method for Viewing Film as Religion:Existing Approaches to Religion and FilmThe Definition of Religion Myths about Myth Rituals and Morals The Religion-Film Dialogue as Interreligious Dialogue Part ii Genre and Film Analyses Westerns and Action Movies:Die Hard (1988) Gangster Films The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather, Part II (1974) Melodrama, Tearjerkers, and "Women's Films":Titanic (1997) Romantic Comedies:When Harry Met Sally (1989) Children's Films and Fantasy E.T., The Extraterrestrial (1982) Science Fiction:The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) The Original Star Wars Films (1977, 1980, 1983) Thrillers and Horror Movies:Alfred Hitchcock Psycho (1960) The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Conclusion Notes Bibliography Name and Subject Index Film Index About the Author

About the Author

John C. Lyden is the Liberal Arts Core Director and Professor of Liberal Arts at Grand View University. He is the author of Film as Religion, Second Edition: Myths, Morals, and Rituals (NYU Press 2019), and the editor of the Journal of Religion & Film as well as the Routledge Companion to Religion
and Film, among other books.

Reviews

"A very important book. Lyden urges respect for how films actually function for people who watch them. He lays out an insightful and compelling case for considering film-watching a religious activity. In so doing, he offers a major challenge to all those who discuss culture, religion and theology today. - --Clive Marsh, co-editor of Explorations in Theology and Film"Lyden's book is well-written, insightful, and especially engaging for anyone who loves movies."--Religious Studies Review "..offers several new perspectives on this increasingly popular and gradually more critical area. It also is wellsuited for the religious studies classroom. Lyden's writing is clear, and he nicely describes some of the more difficult theories of religion in ways that are accessible to undergraduates. In fact, the next time I teach my course "Myth and Ritual on Film" I will assign Film as Religion because of its analogizing methods of showing how film does indeed function as religion in contemporary U.S. culture."--Journal of the American Academy of Religion "Lyden offers perceptive criticisms of some of the most influential ways of talking about myth." -- Crisis Magazine Lyden has articulated a well-defined methodology that relies on some of the best resources religious studies can bring to the table." -- Film Quarterly "Lyden lays an imrpessive and sound foundation for his vision: to provide a systematic method for connecting religion and film studies... This is truly significant, immensely compelling, and dynamically provocative work. Essential." --Choice"Lydens book gives a valuable overview of the state of research in this field as well as inspirational ideas for further study. Lydens theories offer important new perspectives for future debates." -Sylvie Magerstaedt, Communication Research Trends