Go with Peace Jamil - Affirmation and Challenge of the Image of the Muslim Man

Lately, several studies have looked at how Muslims are represented in film. This article takes a Scandinavian perspective on the topic and presents an analysis of masculinity and Islam in the Danish action drama Go with Peace Jamil. First an introduction to Islam in film in the western world in general and in Scandinavia in particular is presented, after which Go with Peace Jamil is discussed as a film that affirms some of the problematic images of Muslim men in film, but also challenges these images. As in so many other western films, Muslim men in Go with Peace Jamil come across as violent and aggressive, but in this film, in contrast to many Hollywood productions, we are introduced to many kinds of Muslims and varying ideas of Muslim masculinity

Religion and Film: The Basics

This is a book review of Religion and Film: The Basics (Routledge, 2021)

Madness, Otherness and Transformation: Exploring Religion in Nordic Crime Films

This article was delivered as a paper at the 2015 International Religion and Film Conference in Istanbul, Turkey

George D. Chryssides and Stephen E. Gregg (eds): The Insider/Outsider Debate: New Perspectives in the Study of Religions

Review of George D. Chryssides and Stephen E. Gregg (eds): The Insider/Outsider Debate: New Perspectives in the Study of Religions. Equinox, 2019

Postmodern messiahs: the changing saviours of contemporary popular culture

The messiah myth is alive and well in the modern world. Contemporary science fiction film has taken the myth to heart and given us an endless stream of larger than life heroes. The heroes of the present are, however, not exactly the same as the heroes of the past. A changing world demands new things of its saviours. Using a textual and narrative analysis based on insights gained from feminist film theory and cultural studies, this article looks closely at the messiah theme in science fiction films and TV series from the last three decades. The study explores the changes that have occurred in relation to images of the body, the attitudes and personalities of modern heroes, gender, questions of power and ideas of the transcendent. The article then discusses what these changes both between newer and older heroes and between contemporary heroes and the traditional messiah story might say about religion and spirituality in the modern world. Finally the article explores the question of why the messiah myth still finds an audience today

Struggling bodies and body struggles: explorations of body and religion in contemporary Nordic film

This study focuses on representations of the body and religion in Nordic film. The aim is to illustrate the kinds of representations of religion and the body that can be found in contemporary Nordic films, demonstrate how these representations relate to religion, the body and film more generally, and explore what perceptions of and attitudes to the body and religion the representations suggest. The analysis begins with an introduction to religion and film studies, religion in Nordic film and the themes and films chosen for this study. After this a short overview of earlier studies dealing with the body, film, and religion is presented, before delving into the issue of the body and religion in Nordic film. The article is concluded by reflecting on the more over-arching ideas and attitudes that the material can be argued to point to and the possible changes and challenges the films express

Filmic constructions of the (religious) other: Laestadians, abnormality, and hegemony in contemporary scandinavian cinema

Religious themes and characters have lately assumed center stage in a number of Scandinavian films. As with films from other parts of the world, so also in Scandinavian films a suspicion of certain religious traditions can be observed. In Scandinavian films this is not only true of traditionally foreign religions, but for some domestic religious groups as well, among them the Laestadian revival movement. In this article we analyze how this movement and its members are constructed as Other in four Scandinavian films. We theorize this ‘Othering’ with the help of Gramsci’s concept of hegemony and argue that the ‘othering’ of Laestadians helps present the contrasting views as ‘normal’ and unproblematic. In the final section of the article we discuss the findings from the perspective of media and religion in a post-secular society, arguing that the media are today central to our understanding of religion, but at the same time shape religion in accordance with their own logics. We suggest that what is needed in order to understand how religion and groups such as the Laestadian revival movement are constructed in the media is religious media literacy