Alokolaro, Ann O

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Loyola Marymount University

Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiryand PracticeVolume 9 | Issue 1 Article 29-1-2005Scripture on the Silver Screen, by Adele ReinhartzAnn O. AlokolaroFollow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ceThis Book Review is brought to you for free with open access by the School of Education at Digital Commons at Loyola Marymount University andLoyola Law School. It has been accepted for publication in Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice by the journal's editorial board andhas been published on the web by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons at Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. Formore information about Digital Commons, please contact digitalcommons@lmu.edu. To contact the editorial board of Catholic Education: A Journalof Inquiry and Practice, please email CatholicEdJournal@lmu.edu.Recommended CitationAlokolaro, A. O. (2005). Scripture on the Silver Screen, by Adele Reinhartz. Journal of Catholic Education, 9 (1). http://dx.doi.org/10.15365/joce.0901152013tial corrective to the repeated equating of the male with the rational. And,indeed, there is a real richness in the comparison between Mary’s assent tothe angel, which was at one and the same time a forceful fiat combined withthe greatest humility, and the role of philosophy to assert its fullest self whileremaining conscious of its own limitations. But certainly, despite models ofLady Wisdom in Scripture and Lady Philosophy in Boethius, the Catholictradition would both benefit from and survive deeper and more potentiallypainful introspection on how it has repeatedly and regrettably genderedrationality as a predominantly male trait. REFERENCESFoster, D. R., & Koterski, J. W. (Eds.). (2003). The two wings of Catholic thought: Essays on Fideset ratio. Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press.John Paul II. (1998). Fides et ratio. Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference.Joseph M. Incandela is a professor of religious studies at Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame,Indiana.SCRIPTURE ON THE SILVER SCREENADELE REINHARTZWESTMINSTER JOHN KNOX PRESS, 2003$24.95, 256 pagesReviewed by Ann O. AlokolaroEven educators in a Catholic school can find it challenging to engage stu-dents in a conversation concerning religion or the Bible. Teaching youngpeople today can seem counter-cultural when competing against lessonstaught on television, on the radio, and in movies. The Bible does not alwaysseem applicable to today’s world and the lives of young people. Thus, edu-cators use creative ways to entice young minds to see a purpose in readingthe Bible and learning about its teachings. Adele Reinhartz of McMasterUniversity has discovered a way to engage students by meeting them whereBOOK REVIEWS      121they are. Scripture on the Silver Screen explains the connection between theBible and Hollywood movies, showing how the Bible is used in movies. Ingaining an understanding of the Bible, one also gains a deeper understand-ing of the movie which references the Bible. Reinhartz wants to “help oth-ers to an educated reading of the text against which movies and other popu-lar representations of the Bible may be tested” (p. 188).Reinhartz does not claim to have expertise in the movie industry and hasonly a limited perspective on cinematic criticism from a love of watchingmovies. Although a love of movies does not make a “film critic, a profes-sional student of film, or a scholar in film studies” (p. 2), this does not lessenReinhartz’s credibility. What expertise is lacking, Reinhartz makes up forthrough research of movies and knowledge of the Bible. Reinhartz devel-oped a course that focused on examining the Bible through movies. Unableto find much text to support such a course, Reinhartz wrote Scripture on theSilver Screen, with the intention to begin a “starting point for reflection anddiscussion, whether by individual readers, students in formal university orcollege courses, or participants in less formal youth and adult education set-tings” (p. 4).Reinhartz chooses 12 films that make references to the Old Testament,the New Testament, even the Book of Revelation. Each chapter begins withan introduction explaining a passage in the Bible, which gives the historicaland literary context of the passage. Reinhartz then explains the film in a shortsummary. The summary gives a good idea of what happened in the movie,yet at the same time protects those who have not seen the movie because itavoids telling the whole story. In the case that a reader may not have seen themovie, such as with The Sixth Sense, Reinhartz warns the reader to stop read-ing until after he or she has seen the movie because this chapter will ruin theending for the reader. When discussing the use of the Bible in the movies,the author divides this discussion into two sections. One section makes con-nections between the movie and the Bible within the movie’s plot and char-acters. The other section makes connections between the Bible and themovie’s themes.It is in these sections that Reinhartz goes back to thoughts mentionedduring the introduction of the chapter to bring everything together. Thisguides the reader easily through the process of reading the Bible and watch-ing the movie. It is so engaging that the reader may find himself or herselfwanting to read the actual passage from the Bible to see the connectionsmade to the movie on his or her own. When Reinhartz discusses Fried Green Tomatoes, the reader learns thatRuth is the only book in the Bible that discusses female friendship. Throughexplanation of the Book of Ruth and description of the use of the Bible inthe movie, the reader can see that Fried Green Tomatoes is modeled after the122 Catholic Education/September 2005theme of female friendship in Ruth. Although one may have already foundFried Green Tomatoes to be a movie about female friendship, one may nothave found that same theme in the Bible. Scripture on the Silver Screen atfirst seems to help readers better understand the deeper meaning behind themovies. Yet in some cases, the book actually gives a deeper appreciation andunderstanding of the Bible as used in the movies.In most cases, however, one will gain a better insight into the deepermeaning of a movie. Such is the case with The Sixth Sense. Reinhartz intro-duces this chapter by explaining Psalms as a “collection of poems or songsthat were probably written for use in worship in the Jerusalem Temple” (p.82). Through the author’s understanding of the Psalms and The Sixth Sense,a relationship is noted between the main characters, Malcolm and Cole, inwhich both characters have specific responsibilities to each other, based onPsalm 130. In Psalm 130, there are those who cry out for help and those wholisten. In The Sixth Sense, the ones who cry out for help are the dead peopleand Malcolm, and the one who listens is Cole. Reinhartz also makes a con-nection to the Bible with the perception of Cole in a cruciform position, oneof the many characters in the 12 movies presented to portray this cruciformposition. In understanding the meaning of Psalms, one also understands thedeeper meaning of the movie and life: “The Sixth Sense, like Psalm 130, maybe interpreted metaphorically as a film about the ghosts that plague us all andthat can be laid to rest only by talking about them directly with those whomwe love” (95).Scripture on the Silver Screen will change the way one views movies. Itwill also encourage one to read the Bible. Scripture on the Silver Screen doesnot suggest that moviegoers must understand and read the Bible to enjoy amovie. The book does not suggest that those making films necessarily intendthe viewer to catch the biblical references, or that the filmmaker even knowsthe biblical references. The book does, however, do an excellent job of mak-ing connections between two very different genres. Scripture on the SilverScreen would be a wonderful book to use as a reference in a classroom toengage students and encourage conversation.Ann Alokolaro is a teacher at Bishop Blanchet High School in Seattle, Washington.BOOK REVIEWS      123

Scripture on the Silver Screen, by Adele Reinhartz

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