Need a suggestion for a good movie? Ask Joshua Hicks '09, a rising senior from Newton, Mass. Hicks is collaborating with Professor of Religious Studies Stephenson Humphries-Brooks on a project titled "Romans, Movies, and the Disappearance of the Bible." The project is funded by the Emerson Foundation Grant Program, which provides students with significant opportunities to work collaboratively with faculty mentors, researching an area of interest. The students will make public presentations of their research throughout the academic year.
Hicks is investigating the shift from overtly religious films of the '50s and '60s to recent films, which he sees as possessing a more symbolic approach to religious themes. In addition to reading works on religious context, he is analyzing more than 20 films this summer, from Spartacus and The 10 Commandments to Saving Private Ryan, often watching them multiple times to look at the trend. He plans to create a timeline showing the change from explicit religious themes to subtler imagery. In addition, he will investigate four films, Garden State, The Godfather, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and The Matrix in greater depth to examine their approaches to religion.
Hicks explains the shift through changing expectations of films over the last half-century. In the past, he says, "cinema was a religious spectacle, and people went to see it for that. Now if people want religion, they're going to find it in their own way." This more personalized approach to faith means that movies code religious themes in symbolic imagery, so that audiences can interpret them however they wish. Individual faith is especially important in films such as "Saving Private Ryan," which "deals with religion on a personal level" though the motif of prayer, Hicks says. In "Die Hard," the Christ figure is transmuted into a lone ranger, a "good guy" who tries to save the world and suffers in the attempt. "Garden State," he explains, turns the Christian parable of the prodigal son into an existentialist question, again exploring religious themes on a personal level.
As a religious studies major, Hicks says his defining moment in the study of film was the "Religion and Film" class taught by Humphries-Brooks. Then other classes such as "Women and Islam" and "Chinese Cinema" kept the interest current. "I keep being exposed to film, and it makes me love it even more," explains Hicks. His next film class will be "Celluloid Savior," also taught by Humphries-Brooks, which discusses the depiction of Jesus Christ in modern media. The current trend of a more individualized faith in movies is a hopeful development, Hicks says, since film is an important medium for people to experience spirituality. "People love movies – they're not going to stop watching them," he says. "It can be a huge learning experience. We can tap into a persona we want to be like; we can love that person."
Aside from watching movies, Hicks is choir president, and is a member of the Buffers, the Emerson Literary Society, and Christian Fellowship. He performs in a band currently known as The Chickpeas, which plays classic rock covers, and is president of the Musical Student Union. In addition, he serves on the HALT committee and works as a resident assistant in Milbank residence hall.
His plans for the future are just as varied. Hicks plans on attending seminary and is considering a career in ministry. He also hopes to open a recording studio and focus more on music in the future, but "I can't let movies go," he says. He is considering pursuing film studies, and for his senior thesis is writing a script for a modern-day film about Jesus Christ, based on one of his favorite films: "The Greatest Story Ever Told."
-- by Laura Bramley
Hicks is investigating the shift from overtly religious films of the '50s and '60s to recent films, which he sees as possessing a more symbolic approach to religious themes. In addition to reading works on religious context, he is analyzing more than 20 films this summer, from Spartacus and The 10 Commandments to Saving Private Ryan, often watching them multiple times to look at the trend. He plans to create a timeline showing the change from explicit religious themes to subtler imagery. In addition, he will investigate four films, Garden State, The Godfather, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and The Matrix in greater depth to examine their approaches to religion.
Hicks explains the shift through changing expectations of films over the last half-century. In the past, he says, "cinema was a religious spectacle, and people went to see it for that. Now if people want religion, they're going to find it in their own way." This more personalized approach to faith means that movies code religious themes in symbolic imagery, so that audiences can interpret them however they wish. Individual faith is especially important in films such as "Saving Private Ryan," which "deals with religion on a personal level" though the motif of prayer, Hicks says. In "Die Hard," the Christ figure is transmuted into a lone ranger, a "good guy" who tries to save the world and suffers in the attempt. "Garden State," he explains, turns the Christian parable of the prodigal son into an existentialist question, again exploring religious themes on a personal level.
As a religious studies major, Hicks says his defining moment in the study of film was the "Religion and Film" class taught by Humphries-Brooks. Then other classes such as "Women and Islam" and "Chinese Cinema" kept the interest current. "I keep being exposed to film, and it makes me love it even more," explains Hicks. His next film class will be "Celluloid Savior," also taught by Humphries-Brooks, which discusses the depiction of Jesus Christ in modern media. The current trend of a more individualized faith in movies is a hopeful development, Hicks says, since film is an important medium for people to experience spirituality. "People love movies – they're not going to stop watching them," he says. "It can be a huge learning experience. We can tap into a persona we want to be like; we can love that person."
Aside from watching movies, Hicks is choir president, and is a member of the Buffers, the Emerson Literary Society, and Christian Fellowship. He performs in a band currently known as The Chickpeas, which plays classic rock covers, and is president of the Musical Student Union. In addition, he serves on the HALT committee and works as a resident assistant in Milbank residence hall.
His plans for the future are just as varied. Hicks plans on attending seminary and is considering a career in ministry. He also hopes to open a recording studio and focus more on music in the future, but "I can't let movies go," he says. He is considering pursuing film studies, and for his senior thesis is writing a script for a modern-day film about Jesus Christ, based on one of his favorite films: "The Greatest Story Ever Told."
-- by Laura Bramley
