Nach der Macht ist vor der Macht. THE YOUNG POPE als spielerisch–kritische Reflexion zu kirchlicher Macht heute

After Power — that’s how theologians describe the situation of the catholic church today. The TV–Series THE YOUNG POPE from Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, aired in October 2016 is an esthetically impressing, ironic piece on what papal power in the 21th century could be and what meanings power in a catholic context can have. This article deals mainly with four topics: (1) Structures of power. How are these structures made visible, who are their agents and how is the tension between collegial power and solitary power depicted? (2) Power to what purpose? What does this pope use his power for? Is it just erratic, unreasonable “powerplay” or are there goals that can be achieved only by the special power of papacy? (3) The power of images and the power over images. The TV–Series deals with the power images (photos, the internet) have in our world, even on the church and how this power can be mastered by refusing to be pictured. On a higher level this question also deals with the problem of images, especially the image of God in Christian theology. (4) The power of prayer and the powerlessness of doubt. THE YOUNG POPE also suggests a discussion on power through prayer and the experience of powerlessness in constant doubt of God. The representations of these two fundamental questions in catholic theology are quite irritating and impressive and worth examining

Der/die/das Böse

Vorstellun

Drawn Stories, Moving Images. Comic Books and their Screen Adaptations

The comic transcends the merely entertaining, and fans of comics become engaged and invested in the field through a range of activities. Major cities host regular comic conventions, attracting hundreds of thousands of attendees each year, who search for special issues of their favourite comic-book series, meet artists, attend workshops and buy merchandise. Many fans do not stop at just attending conventions; they do so dressed as their favourite comic characters or wearing badges, buttons, T-shirts or sweaters with images of those characters on them. In other words: many fans do ot merely consume comic books; rather, they arrange a considerable part of their lives around them and in some cases even embody their heroes, that is, they copy their behaviour and their language. The comic universe, the comic books and the range of activities emerging out of them and around them become a meaningful universe for fans