Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Theology and Film: Challenging the Sacred/Secular Divide

I didn't write this review but want to share this information with you; I know Dr. Gaye Ortiz very well and admire her work in theology and film. I ordered my copy already...

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Book Review
Ortiz co-authors textbook

Gaye Ortiz, communications and professional writing, has co-authored a textbook Theology and Film: Challenging the Sacred/Secular Divide, which discusses the conflict between theology and contemporary culture by examining such movies as Unforgiven, The Passion of the Christ, Something’s Gotta Give, Vanilla Sky, and Jarhead

The textbook, released last month, addresses such themes as religion and the sacred, human dignity, eschatology, war and peace, violence, justice, feminism, and the environment. The book also has online resources available at www.blackwellpublishing.com/theologyandfilm.


"Ortiz and Deacy offer a singularly rich analysis of the ways that theology and film interlace. Using Niebuhr's Christ and Culture as an interpretive model, they put their fingers on the theological pulse of thousands of contemporary and classic, pop and art films with stunningly insightful success. Their command of both film language and divergent currents in contemporary theology allows them to respect each film as an artistic work in its own right, which illuminates issues such as violence, women's rights, the environment, and apocalyptic discourse. I highly recommend this thoughtful book for classroom use and just plain reading pleasure," says Sara Anson Vaux of Northwestern University, in a review of the book on Amazon.com.

Dr. Ortiz received bachelor degrees in theology and public media from the University of Leeds, a master’s degree in theology and ethics of communication from Edinburgh University, and a doctoral degree from the University of Leeds. Dr. Ortiz, a lifetime honorary fellow of St. John University, York, England, joined the Augusta State faculty in 2002 and currently teaches communication studies.

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