Description
The purpose of this paper is to help you become sensitive to the presence of theology and theological judgments when they are not necessarily explicit. You will watch one of the movies listed below and write an 4-5 page paper engaging ideas in the movie that relate to our understanding of God, of creation, of the relationship between reason and faith, salvation, and/or of human beings and human happiness. Some of the questions you might ask yourself when you watch the movie are: what is being said about God or what is being implied about God in the movie? How does the movie depict human nature, and how does this line up with the Christian understanding of human beings in the image of God? As sinful? What seems to be the source of human happiness for this movie, and how does this relate to Christianity’s understanding of human flourishing? What is being said about “faith,” and how does it relate to reason? (You don’t need to use these questions. I placed them here to give you an idea of what to ask yourself when you watch the movie.)
It’s up to you how you structure your paper. That’s part of the creativity. But make sure to engage concrete parts of the movie; do not talk in generalities, and do not—whatever you do, do not—simply describe what goes on in the movie. Engage the judgments in the movie. It’s like a movie review, except you are reviewing the movie’s theology (even if that theology is not explicit).
You are not required to use secondary sources, but that will help your paper. Also, use Chicago Manuel of Style to guide the writing of the paper.
Movies: Tree of Life (2011); Les Misérables (2012 or 1998 versions); The Village (2004)
No cover page is needed. Place your full name (and only your full name) at the upper right of the paper. The paper should be double-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman font, 1” margins left and right, and page numbers on upper right.