religion film media

JRFMJOURNAL

201905/02

RELIGIONFILMMEDIA

JRFMJOURNAL FOR RELIGION, FILM AND MEDIA

201905/02

Alexander D. Ornella (ed.)

Apocalyptic Imaginings

Licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC


CHIEF EDITORS Stefanie Knauss Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati Villanova University University of Munich (LMU)

Christian WesselyUniversity of Graz

EDITORIAL BOARD Bärbel Beinhauer-Köhler Philippe Bornet University of Marburg University of Lausanne

NatalieFritz Anna-KatharinaHöpflinger Catholic Media Center Zurich University of Munich (LMU)

Marie-Therese Mäder Alexander D. Ornella University of Munich (LMU) University of Hull

ADVISORY BOARD Freek Bakker Chris Deacy Utrecht University University of Kent

Cristiana Facchini Peter Hasenberg University of Bologna Catholic Film Commission Germany

Theresia Heimerl Julia Helmke University of Graz University of Erlangen

Syed Adnan Hussain Athina Karatzogianni Saint Mary´s University of Halifax University of Leicester

Gerhard Larcher Markus Leniger University of Graz Cath. Academy Schwerte

Walter Lesch Marek Lis Université Catholique de Louvain University of Opole

Clive Marsh Charles Martig University of Leicester Catholic Media Center Zurich

Marcello Neri Margaret Olin University of Flensburg Yale University

FlorencePasche-Guignard SofiaSjö University of Fribourg Åbo Akademi University

Joachim Valentin Paola von Wyss-Giacosa University of Frankfurt University of Zurich

Elie Yazbek Reinhold Zwick Saint-Joseph University of Beirut University of Münster

CONTACTInstitut für Fundamentaltheologie / JRFM Heinrichstrasse78/B/1,A-8010Graz,Austria

e-mail:[email protected] www.jrfm.eu


JRFMisapeer-reviewed,open-access,onlinepublication.Itoffersaplatformforscholarlyresearchinthebroadfieldofreligionandmedia,withaparticularinterestinaudiovisualand interactive forms of communication. It engages with the challenges arising from the dynamic development of media technologies and their interaction with religion.

JRFM publishes peer-reviewed articles in English that focus on visual and audiovisual me-dia, featurefilm, documentary, advertising, interactive internet-basedmedia andotherforms of communication in their interdependencies with contemporary or historical forms ofreligion. Itcriticallyreflectsontheoriesandmethods,studieson intermediality,phe-nomenological and comparative approaches tomedia and religion acrossdifferent cul-turesandperiods.Themainfocusliesoncontemporaryphenomena,butdiachronicana-lysisoftheinteractionbetweenreligion,filmandmediaisalsopromotedasanessentialfacet of study.

JRFMiseditedbyanetworkofinternationalfilm,mediaandreligionexpertsfromdiffe-rentcountriesandwithprofessionalexperience in research, teachingandpublishing inaninterdisciplinarysetting,linkingperspectivesfromthestudyofreligionandtheology,film,media,visualandculturalstudies,andsociology. ItemergesfromthecooperationbetweendifferentinstitutionsinEurope,particularlytheUniversityofGrazandtheUni-versityofZurich,andispublishedincooperationwithSchürenpublishinghouse,Marburg(Germany).Itisanonline,open-accesspublicationwithprint-on-demandasanoption.ItappearstwiceayearinMayandNovemberandencompassesgenerally4–6articles.

If you are interested in publishing in JRFM,pleasevisitourwebsitewww.jrfm.eu.Youwillfinddetailedinformationaboutsubmission,reviewprocessandpublication.Weencoura-ge papers that deepen the questions addressed by the calls for papers and free contribu-tionswithinthewiderprofileofthejournal.

JRFMthanksthefollowinginstitutionsfortheirfinancialsupport:UniversityofGraz,AustriaUniversityofMunich(LMU),GermanyDasLandSteiermark,AustriaSchürenVerlag,Marburg,Germany

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Cover image Skips. © Alexader D. Ornella.

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Contents

Alexander Darius OrnellaEditorial 7

John LynchMr Robot: Hacking the Apocalypse 15

Stephanie BenderJust Popular Entertainment or Longing for a Posthuman Eden? The Apocalypse in Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam Trilogy 31

Jennifer WoodwardTotalitarian Opportunism. Cataclysm, Nietzschean Thought and Cultural Transformation in J. J. Connington’s Nordenholt’s Million (1923) 51

Javier Campos Calvo-SoteloApocalypse as Critical Dystopia in Modern Popular Music 69

Bina NirWestern Apocalyptic Time and Personal Authentic Time 95

Open Section

Teemu TairaReading Bond Films through the Lens of “Religion”. Discourse of “the West and the Rest” 119

David S. DaltonOn (Dang) Quesadillas and Nachos. Mexican Identity and a Mormon Imaginary in the Films of Jared Hess 141

Russell C. PowellNarrative and Experiment, Religion and Politics in Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life 167

Contents | 5www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2

Media Reviews

Adam BajanBook ReviewMarcus Moberg, Church, Market, and Media 189

Grace ChiouBook ReviewAnthony Hatcher, Religion and Media in America 193

Michael Funk Deckard and Cassie OvercashBook ReviewChristopher B. Barnett/ Clark J. Elliston (eds.), Theology and the Films of Terrence Malick 198

Joel MaywardFestival Review72nd Festival de Cannes. Finding Faith in Film 204

Call for PapersJRFM 2021, 7/1 The Materiality of Writing. Books in Religious Traditions 214

6 | Contents www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2

DOI: 10.25364/05.05:2019.2.1

Alexander Darius Ornella

Editorial

The UK Parliament prorogued, a UKSupreme Court judgement declaringthatParliamentisnotprorogued,apo-litical (far) right-wing shift sweeping acrossEurope,theAmazonrainforeston fire, heatwaves across the worldand predictions that climate change isreachingthepointofnoreturn,theUnited States on the brink of a trade warwithChina, speculations about arecessioninEurope,ongoingprotestsinHongKong: theeventsof 2019 sofar seem to suggest that the social fab-rics of societies are rupturing and what wehaveseenin2019mightmerelybeatasteofwhatistocomein2020.

At the time of writing this editori-al,fortheauthor,theimmediatedayofreckoningseemstobe31October2019 when the United Kingdomwillleave the European Union (or not) with a deal (or without one). And a dayofreckoning31Octoberbecamewhen Boris Johnson had Brexit count-downclocks installed in 10DowningStreet and the Tory Headquarters (fig.1).1 Waiting for this day of reck-oning feels,at least formeasanEUcitizenlivingandworkingintheUnitedKingdom,abitlikebeingstuckinlimbo,whereeternal salvation,prosperityand imperialglory (if Johnson’s fantasiesbecometrue)andeternaldoomandaplungeintoinsignificancearecompetingnarratives on the horizon of contemporary UK political and popular culture.

1 Cf.Clark2019a;Clark2019b.

Fig. 1: The Conservatives, BREXIT Countdown Clock, tweeted 31 July 2019, https://twitter.com/

Editorial | 7www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 7–14

The narrative horizon of imperial glory and doom has also driven parliamen-tary debate ever since the Brexit referendum. So strong was that narrative ho-rizon,thatasanobserver,Ihavebeenpuzzledbytheunwillingnessof(some)politicians togobeyond their ideological frame just so they can continue toreassure themselves of their individual power and importance while holding the entire country hostage and taking it on a path of destruction. And I am refer-ring not to any economic impacts of whatever Brexit scenario might become reality,buttothedestabilizationofthesocialfabric.MoresoassincetheBrexitreferendum,UKpoliticiansseemtohavedevelopedacertainfetishfordestruc-tion. That Theresa May had to resign and Boris Johnson ascended to power appearstohavebeentheultimateindulgenceforanumberofBrexiteers,whocelebratedMay’s failure to get her deal approvedbyParliamentwith cham-pagneparties(fig.2).2

That parts of the electorate continue to put their trust into politicians who use stories from fantasyland as their narrative frame is on the one hand part of anattempttoredefinepoliticalpracticeandpoliticalnorms,asJonathanWhite

2 Cf.Syal2019.

Fig. 2: The Conservatives, Out of the EU Facebook Event, tweeted 23 August 2019, https://twitter.com/Conservatives/status/1164825101608607744 [accessed 30 August 2019].

8 | Alexander Darius Ornella www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 7–14

argues,3 and on the other hand connects the current socio-political climate in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world to themes addressed in this issue: the apocalyptic and social anxieties it connects to.Toexpressapocalyptic(andindeedutopian)ideas,thevisualcansometimes

excelwherewordsmightfail: intheformsofimages,figuresofspeech,verbaldepictions,symbolicaction.Afterall,socialactorsoftendrawonstrongandpow-erfulvisuallanguageandimagerytoconveyemotions,stirupangst,instillhope,garnersupport,orcausedivision.Suchimagesandemotionscanbepowerfulcon-tributorstoswayingpublicopinion,somethingthatthepoliticalrighthascraftful-lymastered.Yet,StevenJoycearguesthat“Thepowerofapocalypticrhetoriccannot be reduced to the socio-economic status of marginalised groups. Some-thing about the rhetorical structure itself creates an appeal that works across classes,ideologies,ethnicities,andagegroups.[…]Ifwearetounderstandwhyitissowidespread,wemustunderstandthenarrative’sintrinsicmerits.”4

Immersingourselves in thevisualsofapocalypticandutopian ideas, then,might help us better understand the appeal apocalyptic narratives might hold. BrexitoffersussuchanopportunityinparticularwhenwepaycloserattentiontocitiesintheUnitedKingdomwithapro-Brexitmajority,theirlookandfeel,

3 Cf.White2019.4 Joyce2018,45.

Fig. 3: National Picture Theatre, Beverley Road, Hull, 2019. Photo: Alexander D. Ornella.


and theiraesthetics.Kingston-upon-Hull, thecity I live in,hasa totalpopula-tionofroughly260,000peopleandhadaBREXITreferendumturnoutof62.9%(113,355validvotes)andvoted67.6%leave.5

Withunemploymentratesof7.54%(agecohort16–64),6 a below-the-nation-al-averageaveragesalary,andgeographicallylocatedattheendofthetrainline,thecityhasseenbrighterdays.AsaNorthSeaportcity,HullwasoneofthemostbombedcitiesduringSecondWorldWar,leaving95%ofhousesdamaged.Tracesofthebombingscanstillbeseentothisdate,asforexamplewiththeremainingfaçadeoftheNationalPictureTheatreonBeverleyRoad(fig.3).7

Economically,too,thecityisstrugglingasitreliedforalongtimeonitsfisheriesindustry.Yet,followingtheCodWarsthatstretchedfromthelate1950sintothemid1970s,thefisheriesindustryslowlydeclinedandeventuallycollapsed.MovingfromthecontinenttoHullasanoutsider,Ibelieveitisthisexperienceofalmostabsolutedestructionandeconomicdeclinethat–inaway–shapesthecharacterof the city to this date (though those who grew up in Hull might disagree with me!).Forthepurposesofthiseditorial, IwalkedandcycledthroughHulltofind

tracesnotonlyofpastgloriesbutalsoofsitesthatmanifest,materialize,and

5 ElectoralCommission2019.6 HullDataObservatory2019.7 BBC2007.

Fig. 4: British Extracting Company Silo, Hull. Photo: Alexander D. Ornella.


visualize apocalyptic and utopian elements and connect the city to what holds the country hostage at the moment: the narratives around Brexit. Throughout thecity,onecanencounteranumberofabandonedordesolatebuildingsthatremindme–assomeonewhoisandstillfeelsforeigninthecityandindeedthecountry–oftheharshexperiencesandrealitiesHullanditspeoplehadtoen-dure:fromalivelyportcity(andthecity’sStreetlifeMuseumstillbearswitnesstoHull’svibrantlifeacenturyorsoago)totheHullBlitztothemoneythefish-eries industry brought in to its collapse.8 There certainly seems to be an apoca-lypticdimensiontoit:notonlytheconfrontationwithdestruction,decline,anduncertainty,but–inasensedeeplyapocalyptic–thehopethatatsomepointthings will turn for the better.Onmyjourneythroughthecity,Icameacrossthelistedbuildingoftheformer

BritishExtractingCompanysilo(fig.4).9 I found the appearance of the building withitslargeletters“BRITISHEXTRACTINGCO”strikingbecauseaestheticallyandonthe levelof language, itvisualizesBrexitdebates:thebuildingcanbetaken to stand for the former British Empire that tries to extract itself from its social and political environment. Like the oil extracting process that happened atthesitelongago,Brexit,sothepromisegoes,willextractthecherriesand

8 FishingNews2015.9 HistoricEngland2019a;HistoricEngland2019b.

Fig. 5: Skips, Wincolmlee, Hull. Photo: Alexander D. Ornella.


leaveotherresponsibilitiesbehind,tohelprestoretheEmpiretoitsformerglo-ry.Thefadingcolorsonthebuildinghavearomantictouch,bearingwitnesstoaformerglorythatjustwaitsrediscoveryandresurrection.Thecoverimageshowsastoragesiteforskips(fig.5).Theyellowishcolour

oftheskips,thenumberofskipsstoredthere,thedebristheystandfor,andtheimpendingstormsthecloudsherald,mademewonderaboutthecity–orcivi-lization–theskipstoragesitecouldpossiblybearwitnessto.Theemptinessofthe skips could be traces of a society that has given up or ceased to exist. They canalsostandforasocietythatisreadytoleavebehindthestormsofdifficulttimes.Inawaytheskipssit inaliminalstate,muchliketheentirecountry:inbetweenremainersandbrexiteersinatugofwar,neitherherenorthere,nomovementoneitherside,withalloutcomesequallypossible.Uncertainty.

The image of the excavators set in front of an industrial building I came across hasamorehopefulfeeltoit(seefig.6)–butagainislinkedtoBrexitfantasies.Britain, once at the forefrontof industrialization, hopes to revive its historicgloryand–byleavingtheshacklesoftheEuropeanUnionbehind–enteranewageofeconomicprosperity.Atleast,thesearethenarrativesandthementalimagery created and disseminated by Brexiteers.Atthepointofwritingthiseditorial,itisunclearwhetherBrexitwillhappen

atallorwhatvariantofitwillbepursued.Immersingoneselfintowns,theiraes-thetics,theirhistory,andlinkingthemwiththenarrativesofBrexit,however,

Fig. 6: Excavators, Headland Plant, Wincolmlee, Hull. Photo: Alexander D. Ornella.


can help us understand how everyday images of destruction or decline might contributetoasenseofdisempowerment,disillusion,andahopethatchange–whateverthatchangeactuallyis–willbringaboutchange.Inacertainsense,alltheseimagescommunicatethe–oftenshattered–hopes

forabetterlife.Theycommunicateadesireforchange,asharedagreementthatthingsmustchange,andtheshareddisappointmentinpastpromisesofchange.ImeanherenotnecessarilyunfulfilledpromisesbytheEU,butthedisappoint-mentofpro-Brexitvotersinthepoliticalsystemandpoliticalelites.“Whattheywanted”,NickWestcottarguesinanLSEblogpost,“wastobenoticed.”10

APOCALYPTICIMAGININGS–WHATTHISISSUEISABOUT

The articles in the thematic section of this issue of the JRFM address a number of issues thatcanhelpusbetterunderstandnotonly thefilms,TVseries,ortextstheauthorsarelookingat,butalsobroadersocio-politicalandpsycholog-ical issues linked to an apocalyptic mood we can trace throughout a number of societiestoday.JohnLynch’sarticleonMrRobot(TVseries,US2015–2019)dis-cussesquestionsofauthority,reality,andbelief.StephanieBenderinherarticle onMargaretAtwood’sMaddAddam Trilogy(2003,2009,2013) is interestedinhow apocalyptic imagery can help social actors think about and imagine bright-er futures.WecanuseJenniferWoodward’sdiscussionofJ.J.Connington’s1923apoca-

lypticnovel,Nordenholt’s Million as a starting point to explore and better under-stand socio-political narratives of salvation. Javier Campos Calvo-Sotelo looks at the idea of critical dystopia in music and the importance of art. It will be fasci-natingtoseehowcriticaldystopiainart,ormorespecificallymusicinthecaseofCamposCalvo-Sotelos’article,willcontinuetoreacttoandtransformwithcurrentformsofactivism,suchastheFridaysForFutureortheprotestsinHongKong at the time of writing of this editorial. Bina Nir concludes the thematic sectionwithareflectionontheperceptionoftimeandWesternideasofwetherandtowhatextentthefuturecanbe influenced.Again,this isquiteatimelyreflectioninthecontextofBrexitwherethepromiseofBrexiteersis“totakebackcontrol”.

OPEN SECTION

TheOpenSectionstartswithTeemuTaira’sanalysisofJamesBondfilmswithareligious studies perspective. He argues that religion is often used to label and singleouttheother,non-Western,orexotic.DavidDaltonprovidesuswithan

10 Westcott2019.


importantcontributiontobetterunderstandthedirectorJaredHess’sbodyofwork.DaltonarguesthatinordertomorefullyappreciateHess’sœuvre,inpar-ticularthefilmNapoleonDynamite (US2004),weneedtopaymoreattentiontothefilm’sandHess’ownrootedness inMormonculture.RussellC.PowellconcludesthisissuewithadiscussionofthepoliticalvisioninTerrenceMalick’sTheTreeofLife(US2011).Heattributesthelackofattentionthefilm’spoliticaldimension has received thus far to a broader ignorance of the social and politi-cal nature of theology.

BIBLIOGRAPHYBBC,2007,ListedStatusforBombedCinema,2February2007,http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/

humber/6324301.stm[accessed27September2019].Clark, Natasha, 2019a, Countdown to BREXIT: Boris Gets Countdown Clock Delivered to No10

DowningStreettoMarkthe91DaystoBrexit,TheSun,1August2019,https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/brexit/9633054/boris-gets-countdown-clock-delivered-no10-to-mark-the-91-days-to-brexit/[accessed30August2019].

Clark, Natasha, 2019b, Tick Tock: Brexit Countdown Clock is too Stressful for Downing StreetStaffWhoBANitfromNo10,TheSun,25August2019,https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/brex-it/9794184/brexit-countdown-clock-is-too-stressful-for-downing-street-staff-who-ban-it-from-no10/[accessed30August2019].

Electoral Commission, 2019, Results and Turnout at the EU Referendum, https://www.elector-alcommission.org.uk/who-we-are-and-what-we-do/elections-and-referendums/past-elec-tions-and-referendums/eu-referendum/results-and-turnout-eu-referendum [accessed 27 Sep-tember2019].

FishingNews,2015,PortsofthePast:HullHarbour,24September2015,https://fishingnews.co.uk/news/ports-of-the-past-hull-harbour/[accessed27September2019].

HistoricEngland,2019a, FormerBritishExtractingCompanySiloandAttachedReceivingHouse,https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1208698[accessed27September2019].

HistoricEngland,2019b,BritishExtractingCompanySilo,KingstonUponHull,https://historiceng-land.org.uk/services-skills/education/educational-images/british-extracting-company-silo-8678[accessed27September2019].

HullDataObservatory,2019,UnemploymentRate,http://109.228.11.121/IAS_Live/dataviews/tabu-lar?viewId=53&geoId=5&subsetId=[accessed27September2019].

Joyce,Stephen,2018,TransmediaStorytellingandtheApocalypse,Cham:PalgraveMacmillan.Syal,Rajeev,2019,JacobRees-MoggHostsChampagnePartyafterMayBrexitDefeat,TheGuardian,

16 January 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/16/jacob-rees-mogg-hosts-champagne-party-after-may-brexit-defeat[accessed30August2019].

Westcott,Nick,2019,“ThePowerfulPsychologicalRationaleBehindtheDesireforaNo-DealBrex-it”,LSEBREXITBlog,24July2019,https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2019/07/24/long-read-there-is-a-powerfully-rationality-behind-the-desire-for-a-no-deal-brexit/[accessed28September2019].

White,Jonathan,2019,PerformativeProrogation:WhatJohnson,CummingsandCoareTryingtoTeachthePublic,LSEBlog:BritishPolicyandPolitics,2September2019,https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/performative-prorogation/[accessed3September2019].


John Lynch

Mr Robot: Hacking the Apocalypse

ABSTRACTThis article is concerned with the American TV series MrRobot(US2015–2019) and its imaginative articulation of key theological and philosophical questions pertaining to au-thority,reality,andbelief.MrRobotissubjecttoananalysisthatreflectsitsintellectualsophistication,visualandphilosophicaldensity,andoperationalizingofanactiveandreflectiveaudience.Thearticlewillinvestigatethephilosophicaldispositionoftheseriesprotagonistandthosequestionsoftranscendence,truth,andexistence,heraises,tointerrogate something of the ontological disruptions initiated by digital media technolo-gies and the theological questions formulated within this process. The article considers the apocalyptic event around which the drama revolves as a system re-set and new beginningthatisrevealingofacertainkindoftruthalongsidethesubjectwhospeakstothistruth.ItdrawsontheoryfromGillesDeleuzeandPierre-FélixGuattari,BernardStiegler,AlainBadiou,andCatherineKeller.

KEYWORDSMrRobot,Apocalypse,ComputerHacking,TheEvent,Cryptography,Habit,Hope

BIOGRAPHYJohnLynchisAssociateProfessorofFilmandMediaStudiesatKarlstadUniversity,Swe-den. He has a forthcoming monograph to be published by Routledge on theological and philosophical themes in contemporary TV serial drama.

INTRODUCTION

“I’monlysupposedtobeyourprophet.You’resupposedtobemygod!”1

This article is concerned with the American TV series MrRobot (US 2015–2019) and its imaginative articulation of key theological and philosophical questions pertaining to authority, reality, and belief.2 MrRobot is a well-received and

1 MrRobottoElliot,MrRobot1.10(00:38:19).2 At the time of writing three seasons have been broadcast.

DOI: 10.25364/05.05:2019.2.2

Mr Robot: Hacking the Apocalypse | 15www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 15–30

populardramathatisunusualinthatitisacomplexandchallengingshow,yetitconsistentlyunderminesitsassertionsoftruth,bothvisuallyandtextually.Sucha3show gives support to the argument for the rise of what is described within televisionstudiesas“qualitytelevision”,4which ischaracterizedby,amongstother things, dramatic ambiguity, narrative complexity, and sharp social crit-icism, all ofwhich is coupledwith eloquent allusions to popular culture.MrRobotcertainlyexhibitsthesequalitiesand,Iwouldargue,isindeedaqualitytelevisionproduction.Suchqualityhasbeendriven,toasignificantdegree,byshifts in media platform technologies such as cable and streaming that allow for greatereconomicinvestmentsupportinglong-termseriesdevelopment,ratherthan the limitations of the traditional broadcast model with its brutal popularity index that could see shows cancelled before they had a chance to establish an economicallysustainableaudience.Arguably, thisshift in investmenthasele-vatedtheroleoftheseriesshowrunnertoalevelcomparabletothefilmauteurwhichpositsasingularizingauthorialvisionasakeycreativeforce,whatcouldbedescribedasatranscendentcreatorfigurefortheseriesuniverse.5 As evi-denceofthis,thereisagrowingnumberofhigh-caliberfilmdirectorswhohavemovedacross to television,bringingwith themsomeof thebest actingandtechnical talent currently available.

3 ThenumberingreferstoSeason2,Episode3,andtheepisodetimecode.Thismayvaryslightlydepending on which platform it is viewed.

4 McCabe/Akass2007.5 SeeMolloy2010;Redvall2013,Chapter5.

Fig. 1. Mr Robot 2.03 (00:45:50)3.

16 | John Lynch www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 15–30

What all this points to in the case of MrRobotisabeliefthatitcan,andshould,besubjecttoananalysisthatreflectsitsintellectualsophistication,visualandphil-osophicaldensity,andoperationalizingofanactiveandreflectiveaudience.Asawork of imagination and cultural critique it provides engaging and useful insights into the process of attempting to challenge the technological systems that have infiltratedallpersonalandsocialrelationstodayanddoessobydrawinguponarangeofkeyreligiousideasandconcepts.Theanalysisofferedherewillworkwith the philosophical disposition of the series protagonist and those questions oftranscendence,truth,andexistence,heraises,tointerrogatesomethingoftheontological disruptions initiated by digital media technologies and the theologi-calquestionsformulatedwithinthisprocess.Withinthedramaitself,wefollowtheperspectiveofthecentralcharacterElliotAlderson,acyber-securityengineerwho moonlights as a computer hacker and leader of an Anonymous-type collec-tive operating under the name of fsociety.6 Their target is a global tech corpora-tion,E Corp,which is responsible formaintainingthevastmajorityofpersonaldebt records across the globe. Hacking this system and erasing E Corp’selectronicarchivesisthemotivationacrossSeasonOne;SeasonTwodealswiththeconse-quencesofthisattack,andSeasonThreeseestheattempttoreverseit.7 The char-acter of Elliot has a problematic relationship with another character named Mr Robot,8 with whom he engages in an ongoing dialogue over the ethics of the in-tended hack and who is revealed by the end of Season One to be an hallucinatory manifestation of his deceased father. His father died of leukemia when Elliot was achild,aneventattributedtothecalculatednegligenceofanE Corp subsidiary. Giventhisissue’sthemeofapocalypseandauthenticity,thearticlewill,first-

ly,locatetheserieswithinaframedefinedbytheconceptsofhabitandhope,asawayofengagingwithitsformandcontent.Secondly,itwillconsidertheapoc-alyptic event around which the drama revolves as an intended system re-set and newbeginning,thatisrevealingofacertainkindoftruthalongsidethesubjectwhospeakstothistruth.Thirdly,Elliot’sextraordinaryabilityforcomputercod-ing and encryption links to certain ideas about secrets and their role in a notion of authority as that which is sustained by the possession of a key that can unlock and,byextension, also lock the sanctifieddata. Finally, thearticle addressesperhapsthemostpowerfulaspectofthedrama:Elliot’sparanoiaandpsychicalfragmentationasheoccupiesthisplaceontheedgeofthesystem,wherehismental and perceptual breakdown is the cost of his commitment to this act of erasure.Thevoice-of-the-Fatherthatforcefullyinterjectsintohisstreamofcon-sciousnessdemandingthathe“act”isunderstoodhereasamanifestationof

6 Anonymous is a loosely associated international network of activist and hacktivist entities. 7 Season onewas broadcast first in June 2015, season two in July 2016 and season three in

October-November2017.8 Whenreferringtothecharacter,standardtypeisused,whentheseries,italics.


whatCatherineKellerdescribesasacrypto-apocalypse,somethingthatemerg-esoutoftheamorphousrealmatthesubliminalmarginsofthemind,drivenbyacompulsivedesiretofixmeaningyetunabletoeverfullyescapetheindeter-minablenatureofthepsychosocialzoneoutofwhichselfhoodiscomposed.9

REPETITION AS DIFFERENCE: BETWEEN HABIT AND HOPE

What,then,doesitmeantoframetheanalysisoftheseriesbetweenthecon-ceptsofhabitandhope?Fundamentally,suchanapproachaddressestheessen-tialnatureoftheseriesasaseries,thatis,arepetitionofanimaginedworldthatthe viewer returns to in a process of captivation and familiarity. It is possible to trace this conception back to the founding consciousness of human existence inmyth, narrative, and thefirst visualizationsof theworldmarkedonto thewallsandsurfacesofthelandscape.However,wecanmorerecentlylocatetheemergence of this process in the rise of the printed serial form in the nineteenth century,beforeitshiftedintothemediaofcinema,radio,andthentelevision.OneaspectofcontemporaryTVseriesmuchcommentedupon,ishowthis

longer narrative form allows for deeper character development and more com-plexstructurestobeestablished,somethingthatismorelimitedbythetypicalninetyminutesofaconventionalfeaturefilm.10 This follows a tradition within cinemaofseekingtoextendtheaudienceengagement,somethingwecanseeinthefeature-lengthfilm.Thisformatemergedaround1912as,inpart,astrug-gleagainstthelimitationsoftheten-minute“one-reeler”,adurationthatwasdeemed by industry organizations such as the Movie Trust to be the maximum length of time an audience could be expected to maintain their attention.11 The introduction of the feature became an essential element in the development of a more sophisticated and middle-class audience for cinema throughout this period.12 In a broader sense, such qualities point to how film and televisionfunctionwith an increasing level of creative crossover. For instance, one ofthemosthighlyregardedfilmsofrecentdecades,thecomplexandchalleng-ing MullhollandDrive, from2001,writtenanddirectedbyDavidLynch,wasoriginally written and shot as a pilot for a TV series before Lynch adapted it into afeaturefilmafterrejectionfromappalledtelevisionexecutives.13 Incontrast,SamEsmail,thewriteranddirectorofMrRobot,originallyenvisagedthepilot

9 Keller1997,8.10 seeMittell2015.11 TheMovieTrustorMotionPicturePatentsCompany,wasa trustof tenfilmproducersand

distributors who attempted to gain control of the motion-picture industry in the United States between1908to1912.SeeIzod1988.

12 Butsch2000.13 http://www.lynchnet.com/mdrive/dffm.html[accessed12.09.2019].


episodeoftheseriesasafeaturefilmbutthenoptedforaserialformandhasstated:“We’remakingtheshowasifweweremakingafeature.Everyepisodeiskindofashortfilm.”14

Nevertheless, the contemporary serial form is arguably more than just alongerandmorecomplexnarrative,evenifenabledbythe“catch-up”technol-ogyofstreamingorbox-set,whichallowsforamorecompleteviewerengage-ment. It also points to a kind of acceleration of the ritualized experience that definedthetraditionalformatoftheweeklyshowthatwasuniversalupuntilonlyafewyearsago.SittingdownasafamilytowatchascheduledTVshow,ortheearlierlisteningtogethertotheradio,has,muchlikeweeklyattendanceatchurch,largelypassedoutofWesternculture.Itsdeparturecamewiththevastlyexpandedtechnologyoffragmentedandprivatizedconsumption,nowfurtherengineeredby thealgorithmicenginesofplatformssuchasNetflix.15 Nevertheless,wecanlookfortracesthatremainofthehabitualpracticeofrep-etition and routine that enabled this process of engagement.

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the dynamics of habit as a mechanism of consciousness and the question as to whether it should be consideredasalimitationonthinkingor,conversely,asthegroundfromwhichcreativity itself springs forth.16 It isusefultobrieflyconsiderthisdiscussioninrelationtorecentneuroscienceresearchthatshowsthepowerfuleffectsofthecomplex range of cerebral processes at work when watching something like TV serial drama.17 Complex dramas stimulate multiple parts of the brain simultane-ouslytoproduceanexhilaratingsenseofbeingimmersedinafictionalworld.18 In her book What Shall We Do with Our Brains?,CatherineMalabou provides a powerful critique of the ideological forces at work in the emergent network society,whereneuronal functioningand social functionbecome increasinglyindeterminable.Today,thereisaconcertedstruggleoverthedynamicandcre-ativeaspectsofthehumanmind,drivenby itsprofoundadaptability,tocap-turethispotentialanddivertitexclusivelytotheneedsofcapital.Ononeside,Malabou proposesthatcapitalismseekstodefinethisredirectingasapersonalresponsibilityforflexibilityandadaptability,whilstontheother,sheofferstheconceptofplasticity,withatransformativepowerabletogeneratealiberatingpathway. As she says:

14 Barr2015.15 The map of contemporary viewing habits is a complex one with traditional broadcast of national

eventsstillsignificantwhilststreamingplatformshaveamixofstaggeredweeklyreleaseofshows,oftenonaprovidersuchasHBO,evenasothers,suchasNetflix,releaseentireseasonsatoncetofosterapracticeof ‘binge’watching.There isnodoubt,however, thetraditionalmodel of consumption has been superseded.

16 Grosz2013.17 Ellison2015.18 GainesLewis2014.


Repetitionandhabitplayaconsiderablerole,andthisrevealsthatthere-sponseofanervouscircuitisneverfixed.Plasticitythusaddsthefunctionsof artist and instructor in freedom and autonomy to its role as sculptor.19

In the same way that the creativity of the worker is harnessed to the productive needsofcapitalthroughflexibleworkingand“neuralteams”,20 the imaginative potentialofthebrainisbeinglockedintoanewpatternofconsumptiondefinedby streaming platforms. But this interpretation is not a simple argument against the technology as a new form of enslavement or the emergence of what Ber-nardStieglerdescribesas“spiralingstupidity”,21forIbelievethat,attheirbest,such cultural productions can stimulate thoughts beyond a banal repetition of thesameand,attheveryleast,theycarrytracesofpastformationsofsociallytransformative thinkingabout the future. The viewers’ habitual engagementwithsuchcreativeworkisalsodrivenbyasenseofhope,abeliefinthepossibil-ityofdevelopingadifferentexistencewithinthisworld,andalthoughnolongerexplicitlydefinedinreligiousterms,thisdesireechoesreligion’spatternsandstructures. MrRobot, afictionalwork,positionsthecentralcharacter,Elliot,asessentiallydynamic,someonewhomweseeoscillatingbetweenhopeandde-spair,somethingarticulatedmostclearlyinhishallucinatorydialoguewiththeimaginarymanifestationofhisdeadfather.Thestrengthoftheshow,asanex-plorationofthepressuresexertedonthesubjectbytechnologicaltransforma-tion,comesfromitsstagingoftheinstabilityoftherelationalself,anon-screenunfoldingofadifferentandchallengingtypeofsubjectivity,onedriventotheedge by the parallel forces of escalating hyperconnection and intensifying isola-tion. It draws attention to the necessity for habit as a strategy for navigating the increasingly complex world whilst simultaneously undermining the ontological andepistemological foundations thatemerge,as thesecopingstrategiesbe-come yet opportunities for further exploitation. Atthispointwecanconsiderwhetherthedefiningeventfortheseries,the

systemre-setinitiatedbythedatawipe,ismoreanactofwishfulthinkingthanan authentic expression of hope. As Ola Sigurdson writes: Forhopetobehope,however,andnotonlywishfulthinking,itisimperative

thatthediscontinuitywithwhathascomebeforeisacknowledged,orinotherwords,thatthedarknessanddespairofourcurrentsituationisacknowledged.22

Elliot is clear about the alienated and degraded nature of the contemporary worldandisseeminglyofferedthechancetobeinvolvedinanactthatwillbe“thebiggestincidentofwealthdistributioninhistory…thelargestrevolution

19 Malabou2008,24.20 Malabou2008,43.21 Stiegler2015.22 Sigurdson2012,196.


theworldwilleversee”(MrRobot1.01,00:46:44).Howherespondstotheappealstotheauthorityoftranscendentfiguresthroughoutthisprocesspro-vides an insight into his own internal struggle and the implications of acting outsuchconvictions inthewidersocial realm.Whetherthere is, in fact,anysense of discontinuity between the before and after of the system re-set draws attention to the fundamental weakness of the particular conceptualization of this event.

THESYSTEMRE-SETASAPOCALYPTICEVENT

The opening scene of a television series is important in initiating the thematic core of the drama that will unfold over the course of the show.23 Functionally,itworks to quickly bring the viewer up to speed on what is at stake and to hope-fully engage them enough to attract their continuing attention. With MrRo-bot, thevoiceoverdeviceofaddressingtheaudienceasanimaginary“friend”immediately connects us to the world of the character and the fact that his communication is necessary yet also a sign of his mental instability. The premise of the drama is then laid out as we open to visuals of a group of businessmen silhouetted against the Manhattan skyline and a reversing rack focus that pulls thegroupintofocusintheforeground(fig.2):

(V.O.)WhatIamabouttotellyouistopsecret,aconspiracybiggerthanallofus.There’sapowerfulgroupofpeopleouttherethataresecretlyrunningtheworld.I’mtalkingabouttheguysnooneknowsabout,theguysthatareinvisible,thetop1%ofthetop1%,theguysthatplayGodwithoutpermission.AndnowIthinkthey’refollowing me.

23 Mittel55–85.

Fig 2. Mr Robot: 1.01 (00:00:21).


ForElliot,thecomputerhacker,thereisanecessitytocounterthisconspiracywithasimilarlysecretcabal,fsociety,whocanengineeradatawipethatwillheraldanewbeginning. Traditionally, theapocalypseunveils anduncovers thehidden truth,and the narrative of MrRobot revolves around this world-altering event designed to both liberate us from the burden of debt and as such to reveal the reality of the worldthatiscloudedbythis.Asstated,however,effectingthiseventproducesincreasinglevelsofpsychologicalconflictforElliot:initiatingthesystemhackini-tiates his cognitive fragmentation into antagonistic personalities. The apocalypse willmakeanewworldpossible,buttowhomortowhat,canElliotappealasanauthority that can validate his actions? The lack of such an authority threatens to undermine the entire process as he systematically retracts from trusting a smaller andsmallercircleofpeopleuntilfinallyinthelastmomentsoftheSeasonTwofina-lehecriesout:“Iamtheonlyonethatexists!”,atwhichpoint,unfortunately,heisshotbyanothercharacterwhom,inhisuncertaintyhehasdeemedbeimaginary.24 Pressingly,hehasbiggerproblemstoaddressinrelationtohisapocalyptic

hack of E Corpand itsfinancialrecords.Predictably,theoutcomeofthedataloss is a generalized state of economic chaos. Whilst the government struggles to achieve order and reassure a frightened public that it can resolve the sit-uation,areturntoasmall-scalecasheconomyisput intoeffect.Ratherthanthis leading to the expected collapse of E Corp,however,theCEOPhilipPriceactually uses the crisis to maneuver the company into a position of even greater dominance through the introduction of its own electronic bit-coin currency. The drama usefully stages the potential within any revolutionary event for forces of reactiontomobilizeatthemomentofradicalreconfiguration,potentially‘everybitasinnovative’,astheMarxistphilosopherAlainBadiouputsinhisworkEth-ics, and further raises the question whetherallofthis‘subversive’activityisnotpotentially another level of manipulation by rogue capitalists.25

BytheendofSeasonTwo,ElliotandhisalteregoMrRobotareabouttoblowupthebuildingthatcontainsthe,bynow,reassembledpaperrecordsoftheworld’sdebt,a sign thatElliot/MrRobotseemcondemnedtoanendless repetitionoftheiractions.Evidently,atthispointinthenarrative,Elliothassosystematicallyexposedthefalsityofthetruthclaimsthathavebeenusedtojustifythemeasurestaken by E Corp,thegovernment,andeveryonearoundhim,thatheiseffectivelyleftwithoutanystablepositionfromwhichtosecurehisownsenseofreality,there is no authority left to which he can appeal as guarantor of meaning. Whilst heisthesingularmastermindbehindthehack,evenifhisunderlingsprovidelaborforthetask,Elliotistrappedwithinanunstablerelationshipwithhisdeadfatherwhoappearsinhallucinatoryform,drivinghimtoevermoredestructiveactions

24 MrRobot2.12(00:39:20).25 Badiou2000,lvii.


inanefforttosecurefinalclosure.Here(fig.1),heragesatattemptstonaivelyap-pealtoatranscendentpower,expressedinasortofKaramozovianmoment,26 in agrouptherapysession,astheyaresatunderneathafigureofJesusonthecross:

IsthatwhatGoddoes?Hehelps?Tellme,whydidn’tGodhelpmyinnocentfriendwho died for no reason while the guilty roam free? Okay.Fine.Forgettheone-offs.HowaboutthecountlesswarsdeclaredinHisname?Okay.Fine.Let’sskiptherandom,meaninglessmurderforasecond,shallwe?Howabouttheracist,sexist,phobiasoupwe’veallbeendrowninginbecauseofHim?AndI’mnotjusttalkingaboutJesus.I’mtalkingaboutall organized religion. Exclu-sive groups created to manage control. A dealer getting people hooked on the drug ofhope.His followers,nothingbutaddictswhowant theirhitofbullshit tokeeptheirdopamineof ignorance.Addicts.Afraid tobelieve the truth.That there’snoorder.There’snopower.Thatallreligionsarejustmetastasizingmindworms,meanttodivideussoit’seasiertoruleusbythecharlatansthatwannarunus.Allwearetothemarepayingfanboysoftheirpoorlywrittensci-fifranchise.IfIdon’tlistentomyimaginaryfriend,whythefuckshouldIlistentoyours?Peoplethinktheirworshipissomekeytohappiness.That’sjusthowHeownsyou.EvenI’mnot crazy enough to believe that distortion of reality. SofuckGod!He’snotagoodenoughscapegoatforme.27

Elliotcanrailagainsttheabsurdityofacaring,purposefulGod,butatthesametime he never ceases to search for the truth in what is an increasingly feverish drive to establish something foundational. Yet this merely sees him wracked by doubt and perpetually tormented due to this irresolvable spiral of distrust. Like-wise,the5/9hack,astheeventisnamed,hasapparentlyproducednotanewworld,butsimplyadegradedoldonethatismateriallyworsefortheordinarypeople it was meant to liberate. The primary outcome of all of this is that E Corp emerges stronger and takes even greater economic control by establishing its own crypto-currency.28 Elliot can denounce God but the issue is whether he con-stantlyshiftshisappealtoauthorityelsewhere,neverabletofinallysettle.

So how has philosophy addressed such questions as they relate to an explic-itlyresistantandpoliticalprojectofradicaltransformation?Atthispoint,Iwantto turn again to Alain Badiou and his work Being and Event to unpack some of theseissuesandthinkthroughtherelationshipbetweeneventandsubjectivi-

26 SeeDostoevsky1992,237–246.27 MrRobot2.03(00:45:04–00:47:39).28 This raises the intriguing ideathat,ultimately,Elliothimself ismerelyamanifestationof the

abstract machine that is capitalism. Don DeLillo makes reference to the idea that protest plays a key role in the continuation of capital in his allegorical novel Cosmopolis,where themain character speculates on an anti-capitalist protest as a functioning as a form of ‘systemic hygiene’thatisrevealedby‘shadowoftransactionbetweenthedemonstratorsandthestate’,DeLillo2003,99.


ty.29 Inthistext,Badioulocatesthehumaninaninfiniteuniverse, lackinganyinherentmeaningorvalue,whereallwecansayontologicallyabouttheworldisthatitconsistsofwhathedescribesas“multiplicitiesofmultiplicities”thatnev-erfinallyresolvebut,rather,operateasafractalpattern,rejectingtheassertionofanymetaphysicalmomentof“One”.Badiou,therefore,positsmathematicsasontology,as this iswhatgivesusouronlyaccess tobeing, for itallowsamodelingofhumansituationsviaCantor’ssettheory.Intothisrealmeruptstheeventasthatwhichismorethanthesumofitsindividualactions,itsemergenceunpredicted and unforeseen by the instituted knowledges.Thevoid,arealmofpuremultiplicityandakindofsublimeabyssthathaunts

all that can be counted in the Badiouan sense, is figurativelywhere Elliot isplaced on the edge of as he brings into existence this particular event. This ac-tion,however,precipitateswithinhimafragmentation,asaresultofthesheerscaleofwhathe isattempting,and, inwhatcanbeseenasacompensatorygesture,generatesthenostalgichallucinationofMrRobot(fig.3).Asherailsagainsttheinauthenticityofcontemporarylife,“Isanyofitreal?

Imean,lookatthis,lookatit!Aworldbuiltonfantasy!Syntheticemotionsintheformofpills,Psychologicalwarfareintheformofadvertising!Mindalteringchemicalsintheformoffood!Brainwashingseminarsintheformofmedia!”,30 ElliotseekstoelevatehimselfintowhatBadioudefinesasasubject,onewhoisdrivenbyafidelity,afaith,totheeventasatruthprocedurethatisfoundat“thejunctionofaninterventionandaruleoffaithfulconnection”.31

29 Badiou2011.30 MrRobot1.10(00:43:12).31 Badiou 2011,239.

Fig. 3. Mr Robot: 1.10 (00:45:12).


Elliot lives in aworldof code, connections, and thedigital tracesofhumanweaknessthroughwhichheisabletomanipulatereality,yethecanonlydothisbyputtingonamask.Theapocalypticeventthatbecomesthedrivingforcetofinallyandcompletelyrevealtheactualityoftheworldtohimandeveryoneelse,ulti-mately fails to reveal its truth. The discursive oscillation between the characters of Elliot and Mr Robot plays out the tensions inherent in the militant-becoming that demandsfidelitytotheevent,asthefather-figurechallengesElliottostepupandact;toparaphraseBadiou,MrRobotdefiesElliotto“becometheimmortalyouarecapableofbecoming”.32 At the heart of this process is the paradox of commit-menttoanevent,somethingthatwillchangetheworld,butwhichrequiresforitsinitiationacertainkindofobjectification,aprocesstheeventisparadoxicallydesignedtocounter.Whatthedramahereplaysout,Iwouldargue,isaversionofaChristianexistentialdilemma,orexistentialtheatre,describedbyGabrielMarcelascreativefidelity,wheretheslippingintodogma,seeninthefigureofMrRobot,is a loss of the response to the presence of the Other to which the cause is sup-posedly directed.33 Elliot recognizes in Mr Robot what Marcel would call a kind of idolatryasherelentlesslypursuestheeffectivedestructionofthedataandtheeffectsonindividuallivesthatgowiththataction.Here,Elliotisconfrontedwiththebinarythinkingofthemilitant,MrRobot,whoinhisfervordemandsofhim:“TellmeonethingElliot!Areyouaoneorazero?That’sthequestionyouhavetoaskyourself.Areyouayesorano?Areyougoingtoactornot?”(fig.4).Inresponse,Elliotexpressesthedoubtsofthosewhoask:preciselywhywe

shouldcommitourselvestothislifeoffidelity?Bywhatorwhomarewecalled?

32 Badiou2000,51.33 Marcel2002.

Fig. 4. Mr Robot: 1.02 (00:24:25).


TherejectionofanexternaltranscendentagencyplaysoutinMrRobot as an interiordialoguethatfragmentsintoendless,fractaldigressions,unabletore-solveintoafinalauthoritativevoice.Thisfitswithbothacontemporaryculturalmoodandtheserialformitself,whichoperateswithanopenanddeferred,nev-er-finally-resolved,charactermotivation.ElliotandMrRobotappeartrappedina zero-sum game where one seeks to initiate a radical change in the world with allitsattendantviolence,andtheothershowssignsoftheexhaustionthathov-ers over any shift between event and void.34

Atthispoint,wecanaskthequestionofwhether, infact,this isanevent?Strippedofanyengagementwithawidercollective,itistheactionofasinglemind,with thesmallgroupof fsociety hackers functioning as subdivisions of Elliot’spersonality.Wakinguponemorningtofindthat,withoutwarning,theglobalrecordsofdebthavebeenwipedout,wouldpropelusnot intoanewworldoffreedomorafreshstartbutratherintoamateriallyworseone,stuckinastateoflimbowhilstthesamepowerfulforcesregroup,readytoemergewitheven tighter economic and political control. An action concomitant with exactly how the State responds to any acts of terrorism that aim to destabilize it. To this extent,MrRobotfundamentallyoffersaliberalcritiqueofthewish-fulfillmentfantasies of this techno-anarchist idea of change that has nothing to with imag-ining revolution as a collective process of radical social transformation out of which something truly new could emerge.

CRYPTOGRAPHY Inthissection,Iaddressanaspectoftheseriesthatresonatesgreatlywithre-ligiousnotionsofapocalypse,namely,theencryptionprocessattheheartofthe5/9hack.WhatwefindinMrRobot is not an attempt at destruction per se,suchasanattempttosimplydeletetherecords,butrathertheencryptionofallthedatausingahighlysecure256AESkey.35Thiskeyisthensettoself-destruct,making it impossible for E Corp to retrieve the data through any later decryp-tion. Therefore, to encrypt is make hidden or secret. The word crypt derives etymologically from the same source and refers to ritual rooms found beneath religious buildings. This sense of descending rather than ascending is a useful wayofcharacterizingElliot’sjourneyashegoesfromthelightofthecathedralintothegloomofthevault.Inmodernterms,acryptisalsoaburialvaultwherefamilymembersareinterred,hencetheappearanceoftheghostofhisfather.Creatively,alloftheseassociationsbecomemanifestinMrRobot, a series

that is nominally about living in an advanced computer technological world of

34 S2:04 Elliot and Mr Robot play several games of chess to resolve the question of who isdominant. All end in stalemate.

35 Advanced Encryption Standard.


surveillance and control. Visuallywithin the drama, this opposition betweensuchspacescanbeseeninthelightandorderoftheofficialandsanctifiedspac-es of All Safe and E Corp,withtheircorporatedesignandbrightlylitoffices,incomparison to the hacker collective fsociety,whichoperatesoutofadisusedConeyIslandarcade,akindofcryptwhereElliot’sdeadfatherisaliveand,inhismindatleast,actsastheleaderoftheproject.Inanencryptionprocess,thekeyiswhatallowsthedatatobede-ciphered;

otherwiseitremainsmeaningless.Intheshow,thekeyitselfisdestroyed,butElliot remainsas theagentofdeciphering, theonlyonewhocanengineerapossible decoding. Being in possession of the key is therefore to have abso-lutepowerasamediator.Partly,then,thisisaprocessforestablishingsecurecommunication between parties who are aware of the presence of adversaries whoseroleistohackintotheconversations.Incryptography,thisagentisgiventhedesignation“Eve”,theonewhoaccessesforbiddenknowledge.ForElliot,possessionofthiskeygiveshimpowerasheisabletointerveneinaperson’slifeandmakechangesthatwillaffectthemprofoundly,asweseethroughouttheshow,whetheracoffeeshopownerexposedasachild-pornprofiteerorthesecretly-married boyfriend of his therapist. Each one is confronted by Elliot and presentedwith thehacked information, renderingthemstrippedof theirau-thority and subsequently rendered powerless. But such dominance drives Elliot to ever-greater isolation as he draws away from social interactions and retreats intoloneliness,paranoia,andhallucination,highlightingthesocialcostofsucha process.36.Ultimately,bySeasonTwo,Elliotisliterallyinaprisonofhisownmaking,reminiscentofT.S.Eliot’swordsin“TheWasteland”, a poem centrally concerned with the degradation of daily life because of technology:

…IhaveheardthekeyTurn in the door once and turn once only Wethinkofthekey,eachinhisprisonThinkingofthekey,eachconfirmsaprison…37

ACRYPTO-APOCALYPSE

At the heart of MrRobot is the idea of a secret and the role of the apocalypse in revealingittotheworld,arevelation.Elliotisthedecoderoftheconspiracythatseekstocontinuetohidethistruthfromtheworld,thosepowerfulagentswho

36 DaveBoothroydwritesof thisprocessandtheontologicaluncertaintiesunleashedby it:“Itis because the very idea of full and open disclosure is a logical impossibility that not only will conspiracytheorisingdogthosewhoclaimtopractisesuchapolicy,but,mayonenotalsoaskin all seriousness: can anyone ever really know entirely whether or not by disclosing anything at alltheyhaveactedassomeoneelse’sstooge?”Boothroyd2013,120.

37 Eliot1922,lines410–416.


continueto“conpeople intobelievingsomething”asPhilipPriceputs it in re-sponsetothestateofpanicafterthe5/9hack.38 But by seeking out and confront-ingthisconspiracy,Elliotslipsintoparanoia–“Ithinktheyarefollowingme”–because the machine that he confronts is alreadyparanoid,itiswhatDeleuzeandGuattaridescribeas the“paranoidsocialmachine”.39 Elliot channels the perse-cutingvoicesintothevoiceofhisfather,astheantagonistagainsthisself.Para-noiaisneverstraightforward,however,foritalwaysasks:Whatdoesthismean?Similarly,Elliotconstantlysearchesfortheauthoritybehindthesignsheencoun-tersinhispursuitoftheevent.WhilsthispsychoanalystattemptstomapElliot’sthoughtsontoaconcealedcause,anorigin,atraumaticmomentthatisgroundedonaOne,hesimplycensorshisspokenwordsandhacksherlife,readshersecrets,identifieshersadness,andfindsherpointofvulnerabilitytomanipulateher.

The apocalypse functions here in the way it has traditionally worked: as sin-gularizing reaction against the sense of ever-multiplying states of being, asresistanceagainstempire,akindofcounter-universality.40SamEsmail,whosefamily isEgyptian,hasstated that theshowwas inspiredby theArabSpringas well as Occupy Wall Street and public awareness of the reach of big data.41 Whilst such social movements provide useful dramatic form for the series and itscharacterizations,thereremainsthequestionofthenatureofthevisionar-ticulatedthroughtheseries’explicitformulationsofsomethinglikethefiction-al5/9hack.Theessentialemptinessoftheevent–bynecessityitssecretandsingularnaturemakesitdevoidofanycollectiveforce–canbeinterpretedasacynical response to the belief in radical change as its failures are revealed. Aswehaveseen,onmanylevels,MrRobot is concerned with secrets and it

is precisely here that the notion of apocalypse as revelation gains its purchase. However,Iwouldarguethattheserieshassuchwideresonancenotsomuchbecauseofthenaïveideaofaconspiracydrivenbythe“1%ofthe1%”butrath-er because of a growing awareness that the relatively slower unfolding techno-logical apocalypse of contemporary society reveals that today there are actually no longer any secrets.42Ifthereisaconspiracy,itisoneorganizedaroundthestorage of secrets as data for potential manipulation by subversive agencies.

38 MrRobot:2.02(00:08:09).39 Deleuze/Guattari1983.40 Portier-Young2011.41 McAlone2016.42 JacquesDerridawritesinatextdated1994,laterpublishedinthebook,A Taste for the Secret,

“Ihaveatasteforthesecret,itclearlyhastodowithnot-belonging;Ihaveanimpulseoffearorterrorinthefaceofapoliticalspace,forexample,apublicspacethatmakesnoroomforthesecret.Forme,thedemandthateverythingbeparadedinthepublicsquareandthattherebeno internal forum is a glaring sign of the totalitarianization of democracy. I can rephrase this in termsofpoliticalethics:ifarighttothesecretisnotmaintained,weareinatotalitarianspace.Derrida2001,59.


This age is one where everything you think is private can be made public and whosemood is increasinglydefinedbyagrowingsenseofwidespreadpara-noia,astheabsolutelevelofsurveillancebecomesapparent.ThisgivesElliotaGod-likepower,butashepushesatthelimitsofhumanability,inthiscontext,he continuously breaks down. If there is a reality to MrRobot, it is this piling up of a compounded irreality where even perception itself is disrupted. Elliot might hatetheworld,trytoturnawayfromit,butheisultimatelyunabletoescapeit.Thevisiononofferhereisnotautopianonebut,rather,oneofdarkness,tothepointwhereSeasonTwoliterallyendsonablackout.Asacryptographer,Elliotprefers the dark seclusion of the crypt to the light of the chapel. Finally,inthissensetheapocalypticscriptofMrRobot can be read as akin to

CatherineKeller’s“crypto-apocalypse”,acounter-apocalypseasshedescribesit,which recognizes itself as an apocalypse but attempts to interrupt the interpre-tativehabitthroughashiftfromthesensefeartooneofhope,onethatremainsopenandongoingratherthanfinalandabsolute.Whatholdstheattentionforashow such as MrRobot is precisely the oscillation between fear and hope that the creator of the series has so far consistently repeated and is similar to the functioningoftheBookofRevelation,whichinKeller’swords,actsas“acoun-ter-culturalcodefordissent”asitmovesfrom“secrecyintopublicforecastingandopendefiance”.43 MrRobot is a contemporary manifestation of the impulse for thinking apossible revolution, yet, through its verydramatic staging as aconsumableproductofthecultureindustry,potentiallyfunctionstocontainthemovementforchangeitpresentsonscreen.Inthisregard,thisoperativeambi-guity that we see in MrRobotof‘presentingtheunpresentable’isthoroughlyapocalyptic,an“apocalypsehabit”,asKellerdescribesit,onewhosespiralofvi-olencestartswithaself-destruction,adestructionofselfinthecaseofElliot,yetrequires possibilities for action beyond the attraction of a messianic solution.44

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Molloy,Tim,2010,“AMCandtheTriumphoftheTVAuteur”,15December2010,http://www.the-wrap.com/amc-and-triumph-tv-auteur-23277/,[accessed12September2019].

Portier-Young,Anathea,2011,ApocalypseagainstEmpire:TheologiesofResistanceinEarlyJuda-ism,GrandRapids,Mich:Eerdmans.

Redvall,EvaNovrup,2013,WritingandProducingTelevisionDramainDenmark:FromTheKingdomtoTheKilling,Basingstoke:PalgraveMacmillan.

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Stiegler,Bernard,2015,StatesofShock:KnowledgeandStupidityinthe21stCentury,Cambridge:Polity.

FILMOGRAPHYMrRobotSeason1–3(Created by: SamEsmail,NBC,US2015–2019).


Stephanie Bender

Just Popular Entertainment or Longing for a Posthuman Eden?The Apocalypse in Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam Trilogy

ABSTRACTInthecontextoftheecologicalcrisis,talesoftheapocalypsehavebecomearegularfeatureofthecontemporaryculturalimaginary,beitinpopularfeaturefilms,non-fic-tionaltexts,ordystopiannovels.MargaretAtwood’sMaddAddam Trilogy (2004[2003],2010[2009],2014[2013]) investigates this curious form of entertainment both by em-ployingthetemplateoftheapocalypseitselfandbyreflectingonitscauseandeffectatthe same time. The novels reveal how worlds and their respective compasses of good and evil are constructed through storytelling and that the apocalypse is also a story which functions either as a moral structuring device or as an anaesthetic for the es-trangedsubjectsoflatecapitalism.Assumingameta-perspective,theMaddAddam Trilo-gy engendersethicalreflectionsonpossiblefutures,incorporatingrecentphilosophicalstrands like transhumanism and posthumanism.

KEYWORDS(Post-)ApocalypticFiction,MargaretAtwood’sMaddAddam Trilogy,NarrativeWorld-making,Ethics,Posthumanism,Ecology

BIOGRAPHYStephanie Bender is currently a PhD candidate in English Literary and Cultural Studies at theUniversityofFreiburg,Germany.Herdissertationtopicis“FutureFictionsinthe21stCentury:EthicsandAesthetics”.InadditiontoadegreeinEnglishandSportSciences(Universityof Freiburg), sheholdsaBA in InternationalBusinessManagement (HFUFurtwangen).Herresearchinterestsarethereforemanifoldandinterdisciplinary,con-vergingonquestionsofeconomics,ethicsandecology.

Avatar(JamesCameron,US2009),theworld’smostpopularfilmever,1 depicts a future humanity on the quest for new resources having plundered planet Earthtounviability;Interstellar(ChristopherNolan,US2014),anotherblock-

1 Cf. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/world/[accessed20September2018].

DOI: 10.25364/05.05:2019.2.3

Just Popular Entertainment or Longing for a Posthuman Eden? | 31www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 31–50

buster, likewisepicturestheendofEarth’scapabilitytohosthuman life;TheDayafterTomorrow(RolandEmmerich,US2004)imaginestheworstpossibleresultsofclimatechangethatmakeslargepartsoftheplanetuninhabitable–so does Snowpiercer (BongJoonHo,KR/CZ2014),onlyherethewholeworldisaffected;intheDisneyfilmWall-E (AndrewStanton,US2008)humanityhasalready abandoned earth and left the cleaning of its mess to robots. The list of popular21st-centuryfuturefictions portraying end-time scenarios as a result of anthropogenicecologicaldestructioncouldreadilybecontinued–thereisevenanameforthenewlyemerginggenreofsciencefictiondealingwiththedevas-tatinglegacyofclimatechange:cli-fi.2

Against the backdrop of doomsday prognoses of ecological degradation andnumerousotherproblematicfuture-relatedtendencies,itseemstobeim-menselyappealingthesedaystoimaginetheendoftheworldasweknowit,oratleasttheendofhumanity.Manyofthefilmsandnovelswhichfeaturetheendtimesarealsotaggedasapocalypticorpost-apocalyptic,whichrefersbackto the biblical story of the apocalypse yet has come to mean something very differenttoday.Oftenobliviousoftheoriginalstoryconveyinghopeandrevela-tion,theapocalypseinpopularfictionhasbecomeasynonymforcatastrophe.AndrewTatearguesthat“[a]pocalypseiswidelyunderstoodintheshared,pop-ularimaginationasakindofclassysynonymforspectaculardestruction,deathonavastscaleandthecollapseofallthatasocietymightholddear(families,cars,thecomfortsofhome)”.3

Some contemporaryworks, however, still exhibit parallels to theBookofRevelation, adaptedandplayfully twisted tofit theethical challengesof thecontemporaryhistoricalcircumstances.MargaretAtwood’sMaddAddam Trilo-gy (2004[2003],2010[2009],2014[2013])isacaseinpointwhichdepictsthedemiseofhumancivilisationresultingfromabio-engineeredplague.Itdiffersfrom other popular “apocalyptic” or “post-apocalyptic” future fictions in sofar as it functions as a meta-narrative on apocalyptic tales and worldmaking throughstorytelling.Atwood’snovelsusethetemplateoftheapocalypseandat the same time foreground its story-ness while imagining possible futures de-rived from present developments. By simulating these future worlds and point-ingtotheirnarrativeconstructedness,thenovelsfurtherallowthereadertoassess their ethical potential. In representing competing worldviews, the apocalypse and its aftermath

become catalysers of the distinct maps of morality upheld and constructed by differentsocialgroupsthroughthestoriestheytell.Inthissense,asintheorig-inalbiblicaltale,theapocalypseworksasamoralstructuringdevice.However,

2 Mayer2014,23.3 Tate2017,11.

32 | Stephanie Bender www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 31–50

Atwood’sdepictionoftheapocalypseintheMaddAddam Trilogy doesnotofferafixedmoraluniversebutremainsambiguous,leavingthefinaljudgementofgoodandeviltothereader.Theaestheticprojectionsmerelyofferopportuni-tiesforreflectionwhich,asIseeit,istheessenceofethics.Atthesametime,the trilogy is very unambiguous,with references toglobal capitalismand itsfutureconsequencesrevealinghow,inordertosootheitsalienatedsubjects,late modernity brings forth anaesthetic forms of popular entertainment. Rep-resentationsoftheapocalypseinpopularliteratureandfilmcanthereforealsobereadasanexpressionoftheself-alienationoflatecapitalistsocieties,whosemembersfleeintotheaestheticsoftheirowndestructionfortheapparentlackof any pragmatic alternative to the depressing status quo. The MaddAddam Tril-ogy offersaplayfulmeta-commentonthesetworeadingsinitsaddressoftheecological crisis of the present.

IMAGINARIESOFHUMANEXTINCTION– NEW UTOPIA OR COLLECTIVE DEPRESSION?

In the light of hard evidence of the anthropogenic destruction of the world ecol-ogy,manifestinclimatechangeanditseffects,thesixthgreatwaveofspeciesextinction, soil degradation, enormous amounts of micro-plastics in the seaandelsewhere, it is not surprising that the frustrationwithourown specieshas grown to the point where one might hope for its extinction for the sake of allotherlifeforms.MarkJendrysiknotes:“Reflectingthisvision,anewgenreofpopularfilmsandbooksasksustoconsiderhowtheEarthandthenaturalworldmightfareinthetotalabsenceofhumanbeings.Indoingso,theyforeseeanewsortofposthumanfuture,one inwhichnaturesurvivestheextinctionofthehumanrace.”4AccordingtoJendrysik,thepossibilityofourownextinc-tionhasbecomeanewutopia–one inwhichnaturemanages to surviveusandflourishesina“worldwithoutus”.5 The phenomenon is comparable to a depression on a large social scale: the self-esteem of the human species is so low that it considers itself worthless and dreams of its own suicidal death. At theendofthelastcentury,the“VoluntaryHumanExtinctionMovement”wasformed,proposingthatweshould“livelonganddieout”peacefully,simplybyrefraining from reproduction.6 The prerequisite for such self-hate is a profound alienation of human beings from themselves and from the natural and material

4 Jendrysik2011,35.5 Cf.AlanWeisman’snon-fictionalbookThe World without Us(2007), in which he imagines nature

reclaiming the Earth after humankind has vanished. There is also a novel with the same title by MireilleJuchau(2015)thatbelongstothepreviouslydiscussedend-times/cli-figenre.

6 This is the slogan of the movement as proposed on its official website: http://vhemt.org/ [accessed15October2018].


worldsurroundingthem,whichisbroughtaboutbythehegemonyofneo-liber-al capitalism and its concurrent forms of civilisation.7

Inasimilarvein,butwithregardtotheriseoffascism,WalterBenjamincon-cluded his famous The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction(1936)asfollows:“Mankind,which inHomer’stimewasanobjectofcontemplationfortheOlympiangods,nowisoneforitself.Itsself-alienationhasreachedsucha degree that it can experience its own destruction as an aesthetic pleasure of thefirstorder.”8 The proliferation of apocalyptic tales in contemporary future fictionsalsoallowsfortheconclusionthatonceagainhumanityhasreachedapoint at which there is a certain aesthetic pleasure involved in contemplating itsowndestruction:“Catastropheonaglobalscaleremainsacuriouslypopularformofscreenentertainment.[…]Suchnarrativesnotonlyseemstrangevisualcompanionstopopcornandicecream,butalsoarehighlymarketable.”9 In an at-tempt to explain this odd phenomenon of taking pleasure in contemplating the endoftheworldasweknowit,ElizabethRosenfollowsasimilarinterpretation:“Nodoubt,wedoloveapocalypsestoomuch.Butgiventhattheworldsome-timesappearstobecomingapartatitseconomic,political,andsocialseamsandthatthereis‘moreandmoreinformation,andlessandlessmeaning’(Beaudril-lard Simulation and Simulacra),ourfascinationwiththeapocalypticmythiscer-tainlyunderstandable.”10Thecontemporaryhumansubjectunderlatecapitalistconditions is thus not only fundamentally estranged but also irredeemably over-charged with the complexities of this world and the proliferating information that circulates within it without creating much viable meaning for individuals andlocalcommunities,asAtwood’sMaddAddam Trilogy also illustrates.

“APOCALYPSE”NOWANDTHEN

MargaretAtwood’s futurefictionsOryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, and MaddAddam are all written around an apocalyptic event which wipes out al-most the entire human civilisation on Earth and which would therefore certainly be seen as catastrophic by ordinary standards. Here it becomes evident that the meaningof“apocalypse”,originallyderivedfromthebiblicalStoryofRevela-tion,hasundergoneaprofoundsemanticshiftuptothepresent.Whileinpop-ularfictiontoday,“apocalyptic”isoftenunderstoodascatastrophicandthus

7 Cf. Critical theory on capitalism and alienation ranging from Karl Marx’s Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 (1932), via Adorno and Horkheimer’s Dialectics of Enlightenment (1944),tocontemporaryworkslikeHartmutRosa’sSocial Acceleration: A New Theory of Modernity (2013).

8 Benjamin2008,42.9 Tate2017,13.10 Rosen2008,xi.


entailsathoroughlynegativeevaluationoftheevent(s)described,intraditionalmythology,aswellasintheBible,ithasverypositiveconnotationsandismeantto convey hope and truth.

The traditional narrative that has come to be known as apocalypse was fully formed only with the advent of Christianity. It has narrative antecedents in the Old Testa-ment,andindividualcomponentsoftheapocalypticstorycanbetracedevenfurtherbacktotheancientcivilizationsoftheVedicIndians,Egyptians,Persians,Mesopota-mians,andGreeks.Theetymologicalrootoftheworldapocalypse is the Greek apoka-lypsis, meaning‘unveiling’or‘uncovering,’buttheword,asitdenotescosmicevents,isnotusedbeforeitappearsspecificallyattachedtotheBookofRevelationintheNewTestament,whereitreferstothedivinerevelationexperiencedbySt.JohnofPatmos,whoisshownthecomingstrugglebetweengoodandevilandGod’sulti-matejudgementupontheworld.11

Thesemanticchangeoftheterm“apocalypse”has itsroots intheRomanticperiodaround1800,withtheappearanceofthefigureof“thelastman”intheculturalimaginary.Examplesofthisliteraryandartisticfigureofalonelysurvi-voramidtheruinsofcivilisationcanbefoundinMaryShelley’snovelThe Last Man(1826)orJohnMartin’soilpaintingbythesametitle(1849).Inthisculturalandartistictrope,EvaHornseesadeparturefromtheoriginalapocalypticvi-sion as divine intervention towards the secular catastrophe of a godforsaken humanity.12AsaresultofEnlightenmentphilosophy,withitsemphasisonrea-son,humansas individuals,andthenaturalsciences,thebelief inGodasthesoleomnipotentrulerhasbecomeradicallyundermined.Instead,humankindisthrownbackuponitself,asexpressedbydepictionsof“thelastman”.Incontinuationofthedevelopmentsthathadstarted intheRomanticera,

“LastMannarrativebecamepopularinliterature,and,increasinglyinthetwen-tiethcentury,thecinema”.13Intheprocess,theapocalypsealmostcompletelylost its original meaning of revelation and hope and has come to signify disaster ortheendofhumanityinstead:“Theresultisthatastorywhichwasgroundedinhopeaboutthefuturehasbecomeinsteadareflectionoffearsanddisillusion-mentaboutthepresent,ableakshiftinemphasisfromthebeliefinanordereduniverse with a cogent history to one in which the overriding sense is of a cha-otic, indifferent,andpossiblymeaninglessuniverse.”14Atwood’sMaddAddam Trilogypartiallymirrorsthisshift,yetitisalsoambiguousandveryself-consciousaboutitstreatmentoftheapocalypse,bothasaplotelementandasadiscourse.

11 Rosen2008,xiii.12 Horn2014,47.13 Korte2008,152.14 Rosen2008,xiv.


MARGARETATWOOD’SMADDADDAM TRILOGY

Assumingameta-perspective,Atwood’strilogy takes up the phenomenon of theapocalypticculturalimaginary,bothonthestorylevelandonthelevelofgenre.Thefirstnovel,Oryx and Crake (2004[2003]), begins in the chronolog-icalmiddleofthestorywithadescriptionofapost-apocalypticscenery:“Ontheeasternhorizonthere’sagreyishhaze, litnowwitharosy,deadly,glow.Strangehowthatcolourstillseemstender.Theoffshoretowersstandout indarksilhouette[…]theersatzreefsofrustedcarpartsandjumbledbricksandassorted rubble sound almost like holiday traffic”.15 The typical description of a post-apocalyptic landscape filledwith absence is rendered through theeyesandmindofJimmy/Snowman,who,asatypical“lastmanfigure”,func-tions as the perceiving character or focaliser16ofthefirstnovel.Likemostofthecentralcharacters,hehastwonames:Jimmyinthepre-apocalypticworld,andthenamehehasgivenhimselftoassumeanewidentity,Snowman,inthepost-apocalypticpresent,alludingtothemysteriousAbominableSnowman.Inhismind,heconstantlyshiftsbackandforthbetweenhisreconstructedpastandthepost-apocalypticpresent.Mediatedbyhismemoriesandjudgements,the reader learns about the state of the pre-apocalyptic society and about the whyandhowoftheapocalypticevent,whichhasbeencausedbythescientistGlenn/Crake,whowilfullyengineeredadeadlyviruskillingalmosttheentirehu-man population on earth.Inthesecondnovel,The Year of the Flood (2010[2009]),twonarratorspro-

videdifferentperspectivesmainlyontheunfoldingoftheplagueitself.WhileRen’saccount is rendered in thefirstperson,Toby’sperspective ismediatedbyanexternalnarrator,assumingherpointofview.Thedoublingofnarrativeperspectivehighlights thenarrative constructionofpasts and realities, orofcollectiveworldsthatconstituterealities.Beforethebreakdown,TobyandRenwereatsomepointintheirlivesbothpartoftheeco-religiousgrouptheGod’sGardeners,andthroughtheirnarrativepointofview,theworldoftheGarden-ersasa spaceofdifference inpre-apocalyptic society is representedvery in-tensely in the second book.Thefinalpartofthetrilogy,MaddAddam (2014[2013]), focuses on narrative

worldbuildinginthepost-apocalypticworld,inwhichthereareonlyveryfewhumanbeingsleft,togetherwithanewbiotechnologicallyenhancedhumanoidspeciescreatedbyCrake,theso-calledCrakers.Again,itistoldbyanexternalnarratorandTobyisthemainperceivingcharacter,thistimehoweverwithsev-eralothersco-creatingandshapingthenarrative.Here,evenmorethaninthe

15 Atwood2004,5.16 Afocalisercharacteristhecharacterfromwhoseperspectivethestoryistold,althoughthat

character is not necessarily the narrator.


twoprequels,storytellingisforegroundedandexaminedasacollectiveprocessandasthebasicmeansofworld-construction.Fromthisperspective,theapoc-alypseisalsoexposedaswhatitis–astory.Itisatalewithacertainfunction,or, as Iwill argue,different functions fordifferentgroupsofpeopleand therespective worlds they inhabit and construct.

THE APOCALYPSE AS POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT IN LATE CAPITALISMSeenfromtheoutside,thethreenovelsareapieceofartandpopularenter-tainment aesthetically depicting the erasure of human society through an apoc-alypticevent.Hence,theycouldwellbesortedintothegenreof(post)-apoc-alypticfiction.Whatdistinguishesthemfromotherworksofthegenre isthemeta-perspectivetheyassume,for intheirstory-worldtoo,beforetheactualevent,apocalypticvisionshavebecome

a queasy form of popular entertainment. There had been online TV shows about it: computer-generatedlandscapepictureswithdeergrazinginTimesSquare,serves-us-rightfinger-wagging,earnestexpertslecturingaboutallthewrongturnstakenbythe human race.Therewasonlysomuchofthatpeoplecouldstand,judgingfromtherating,whichspikedandthenplummetedasviewersvotedwiththeirthumbs,switchingfromim-minent wipeout to real-time contests about hotdog-swallowing if they liked nostal-gia,ortosassy-best-girlfriendscomedies ifthey likedstuffedanimals,ortoMixedMartialArtFelonyFightsiftheylikedbitten-offears,ortoNitee-NitelivestreamedsuicidesorHottTottskiddypornorHedsoffreal-timeexecutionsiftheyweretrulyjaded.Allofitsomuchmorepalatablethanthetruth.17

From the quote it becomes clear that the immense popular interest in apoca-lyptic tales and images in the pre-apocalyptic story-world does not represent a consciousreflectionoranactualmoralstandpointonthepartoftheviewersasperhapsinthecaseof“TheVoluntaryHumanExtinctionMovement”.Instead,it has to be seen as an extreme piece of entertainment for enormously bored andalienatedsubjectsthatcouldeasilybereplacedbyanyoftheotherhorrificshows mentioned. The doubling of the apocalyptic imaginary the MaddAddam Trilogy representsendows thenovelswitha reflectiveangleon the functionofapocalyptictalesand,indeed,ofstorytellingaspartofworldmakinginandoutsidefictionassuch.Thepre-apocalyptichegemonicworldofthetrilogy,depictedmainlyinthe

firstbook,Oryx and Crake, isafutureversionofthecontemporaryneo-liberallate-capitalistworld:“InAtwood’sOryx and Crake, […]wefindanear-futureworldthatbothapproximatesandprojectsforwardfromthepolitical,socio-eco-

17 Atwood2014,32.


nomical, technological, and climatological givens of our presentmoment.”18 This future simulation in which the large corporations have replaced the state as an institution clearly entails a critique of the neo-liberal capitalist world of today.Somecritics likeJ.BrooksBousonreducethephenomenontoan“ev-er-spreadinganddeadly‘virus’ofAmericanism”,19 whereas I want to argue that “Americanism”isonlythemostobvioussymptomofaglobalcapitalistsystemthat has its roots in European colonial trade and the debt-based economy. Thelinkbetweenitscreedsandpractices,ononehand,andecologicaldegra-

dation,ontheother,ismadeexplicitinthenovelsthroughdescriptionsofthedevastated state of the natural world as a backdrop. As Sybille Machat propos-es,“MargaretAtwoodspinscurrentenvironmentalconcernsoftheearly21st century into the future and bases the physical world of the novel on their con-tinuation.”20 In Oryx and Crakethisisexpressedasfollows:“thecoastalaquifersturned salty and the northern permafrost melted and the vast tundra bubbled withmethane,andthedrought inthemidcontinentalplainsregionswentonandon,andtheAsiansteppesturnedtosanddunes.”21For the inhabitants of thisnear-futureworld,suppressionthusbecomesanimportantsurvivalstrate-gy,asToby,oneofthetwofocalisercharactersofthesecondnovel,The Year of the Flood,remembers:

[Shethinks:]Iknewtherewerethingswrongintheworld,theywerereferredto,I’dseen them in the onscreen news. But the wrong things were wrong somewhere else.Bythetimeshe’dreachedcollege,thewrongnesshadmovedcloser.[…]Everybodyknew.Nobodyadmittedtoknowing.Ifotherpeoplebegantodiscussit,youtunedthemout,becausewhattheyweresayingwasbothsoobviousandsounthinkable.We’re using up the Earth. It’s almost gone. Youcan’tlivewithsuchfearsandkeeponwhistling. The waiting builds up in you like a tide. You start wanting it to be done with.Youfindyourselfsayingtothesky,Just do it. Do your worst. Get it over with.22

Atthetime,beforejoiningtheeco-religioussecttheGod’sGardeners,Tobyisanordinarycitizenofthenear-futureversionoftheUnitedStates,exemplify-ing the state of consciousness that is normal or necessary for its profoundly estrangedsubjects.Spatially, thisworld is segregated into the compounds,where the corpo-

ration’semployees live ingatedcommunities,and thepleeblands,whichareghetto-like,quasi-anarchisticplaces.Lifeinthecompoundsasdescribedretro-spectivelybySnowman/Jimmyisfurthermorecharacterisedbyartificialityanda

18 Snyder2011,471.19 Bouson2011,17.20 Machat2013,107.21 Atwood2004,29.22 Atwood2010,284–5.


high degree of mediation:23“Jimmy’smothersaiditwasallartificial,itwasjustathemeparkandyoucouldneverbringtheoldwaysback.”24Therichpeople’scompounds are full of fake replicas and would-be authentic architecture and furniture,suchasthefamily’sCapeCod-styleframehouse.InanaccountofhischildhoodmemoriesJimmyrecalls:“Thefurnitureinitwascalledreproduction. Jimmywasquiteoldbeforeherealizedwhatthiswordmeant–thatforeachreproductionitem,therewassupposedtobeanoriginalsomewhere.Ortherehadbeenonce.Orsomething.”25AsJimmy’scommentexpresses,thesituationisreminiscentofBeaudrillard’sperfectsimulacrum,meaningacopywithoutanoriginalandnothingbutsignsreferringbacktoeachother–floodsofinforma-tion,butnothing“real”oractuallymeaningful.26 This feeling of inauthenticity of compounder lifestyle is shared by the second narrator and focaliser of The Year of the Flood,Ren,whomovesintothecompoundsasachild:“nothingfeltright.Allthatfauxmarble,andthereproductionantiquefurniture,andthecarpetsinourhouse–noneofitseemedreal.Itsmelledfunnytoo–likedisinfectant.”27

The children in the compounds grow up immersed in digital technologies and thevirtualrealitiesofinternet-basedcomputergames:“[Jimmy/Snowman]letshimselfdriftbacktothoseafter-schooltimeswithCrake.[…]TheymightplayExtinctathonoroneoftheothers.Three-DimensionalWaco,BarbarianStomp,KwiktimeOsama.”28Confinedtotherelativelynarrowspaceoftheircompound,youngpeoplehaveverylittleelsetodothatisconsidered“safe”,whichdimin-ishes the range of unmediated physical experiences for them and in the long runproducesfeelingsofalienation.Asaresultofthisveryartificiallifestyle,de-pression seems to be frequent among the compounders. To keep up the toxic statusquo,theproblemsofthisfuturesocietyareindividualisedandpsycholo-gised.Hence,thesolutionJimmy’sdadproposestohismotherwho,asaresultofseeingthroughalloftheseproblemsisconstantlyinalow,trance-likemood,is:“Takesomepills ifyou’resofuckingdepressed!”29 To ensure its socio-eco-nomic stabilisation, the compounder society furthermore requires collectiveanaesthetisation of its citizens through entertainment that can hardly ever be extremeenough,beitinaforementionedapocalypticTVshowsorliveexecu-tions and child pornography.

23 Iuse“mediated”hereasakindofantipodeto“authentic/natural”, referringtothegradualalienation from unmediated physical/corporeal experience to more and more mediated forms ofexperience,rangingfromsimplerepresentationinlanguagetoexperiencesthatareseveraltimesremoved,forexampleintheconsumptionofdigitalmediaorcopiesofcopies.

24 Atwood2004, 34.25 Atwood2004,33.26 Beaudrillard 1994,6.27 Atwood2010, 248.28 Atwood2004,47.29 Atwood2004,68.


Onthewhole,Oryx and Crake andthesecondnovel,The Year of the Flood,pointoutthemajorshortcomingsofthepre-apocalypticworldruledbyglobalcapital:itisaworldinwhichmonetaryprofitandefficacydetermineallvalues,includingthe value of human and non-human life. Owing to a lack of spirituality in this world ofbigbusiness,nothingcanbesacred(apartfrommonetaryvalueperhaps).In-stead,anoverrulingpositivismjustifiesthesupremacyofthenaturalsciencesthatworktowardsfantasiesofcompletemasteryovernature,andwhosefindingscanbeturnedintoprofit.Inanargumentwithherhusbandongeneticengineering,Jimmy’smotherdeclares:“You’reinterferingwiththebuildingblocksoflife.It’simmoral.It’s…sacrilegious.”30 The lack of sacredness here stands in harsh oppo-sitiontootherworldviewsandworldversionsofthenovels,suchasthatoftheeco-religioussecttheGod’sGardeners,whoseworldisdepictedveryprominentlyin The Year of the Flood.Tateevengoessofarastoarguethat“[a]debateonwhatmightbeconsideredtobe‘sacred’–life,community,artorasharedhistoryoftheplanet–isfundamentaltoAtwood’strilogy”.31 The trilogy certainly seeks to explore how human beings and collectives create values in their attempt at meaning-makingviadiscourseandstorytelling,whichresultsintheproductionofdifferentcoexistingworldswiththeirrespectivemapsofmoralityandvalues.Inparalleltoitsbiblicaloriginal,theapocalypsealsofunctionsasamoralstructuringdevice,expressingtheirdifferencesinworldmakingandmorality.

THE APOCALYPSE AS A MORAL STRUCTURING DEVICEIntotal,thereareat leastfourdifferentbutpartlyoverlappingbeliefsystemswith their respective moral compasses in The MaddAddam Trilogy: neoliberal capitalism, thenatural sciences, theeco-religionof theGod’sGardeners, andwhatcanbesummedupunder“thearts”,representedmainlybythe“wordsperson”Jimmyandonametafictionallevelbythenovelsthemselves.Theapoc-alypse and what follows makes them and their narrative strategies of worldmak-ing visible and functions as an ethical testing ground for their maps of morality. ItisfairlyobviousthatCrake’splanstore-createa“better”humanityhavefailedincertainrespects,notleastowingtoinconsistenciesinhisworldview,whichos-cillatesbetweenacritiqueoftechno-scientificcapitalismandadeepallianceandindebtedness to it.32However,itisimpossibletosimplydepicthimasthevillainof thenovels,owing to theambiguousportrayalof thepost-apocalyptic set-tinginthelastnovel,MaddAddam.33DespitesomecriticsarguingthatAtwood’snovel,likemostother(post-)apocalypticfictions,isnotverysubtleinconveying

30 Atwood2004,67.31 Tate2017,63.32 Cf.Korte2008,157.33 Criticism written before the publication of MaddAddam therefore often condemns Crake and

theGod’sGardenersfortheirfundamentalismandinhumanism.


itsmoralmessage,34 I believe that the trilogy is very ambiguous as to its moral stance. The aesthetic simulation of possible future worlds merely provides op-portunities for reflection for the reader rather thanafixedmoraluniverseorevensimplesolutionsfortheecologicalcrisisathand.Instead,The MaddAddam Trilogy lays bare the mechanics of world construction through storytelling and discourseandportraysitsmoralconsequences.Forexample,forCrakeandtheGod’s Gardeners the apocalypse clearly represents something positive. Fromapost-anthropocentricoreco-centricpointofview, it isdifficulttototallyop-posethetakethat“nature”35anditsnon-humancreatureswouldbebetteroffwithoutthekindofhumancivilisationrepresentedinthenovels’pre-apocalypticworld.ThisideaisreinforcedthroughtheextensiveportrayaloftheGod’sGar-deners and their means of narrative worldmaking in The Year of the Flood.TheGod’sGardeners’beliefsystemisbasedonapost-anthropocentrismin

which animals and other non-human creatures have souls and rights to life simi-lartothoseofhumanbeings.Theyexpressthisvaluesysteminhymnstitled“OhLetMeNotBeProud”,“OhSingWeNowtheHolyWeeds”or“WePraisetheTinyPerfectMoles”,andsermonsheldbytheirleader,AdamOne,ontheirfeastdays,suchas“TheFeastofAdamandAllPrimates”,inwhichhediscussestheclosekinshipbetweenhumansand“theotherAnimals”aswellasthemoralob-ligations that follow from that.36Insteadofjustifyingeco-centrismscientificallyor“rationally”only,AdamOneconnectstheGardeners’valuesandlifestyletoGodandGod’screation:“Bycoveringsuchbarrenrooftopswithgreenerywearedoingoursmallpart intheredemptionofGod’sCreationfromthedecayandsterilitythatliesaroundus,andfeedingourselveswithitsunpollutedfoodintothebargain.Somewouldtermoureffortsfutile,butifallweretofollowourexample,whatachangewouldbewroughtonourbelovedPlanet!”37 Many ofAdamOne’ssermonsincorporatescientificfindings,yetheclearlypointsoutthatthepurelyscientificparadigm(asrepresentedbyCrake)isfoolishinitsde-nialofmetaphysicsandspirituality:“GodispureSpirit;sohowcananyonerea-sonthatthefailuretomeasuretheImmeasurableprovesitsnon-existence?”38 IntheGardeners’world,thestoriesthatAdamOnetellsinhissermons,the

songs,andtherhymesallconnectaspiritualandreligiousbeliefsystemtoacertain mode of material living and especially of interacting with the natural environmentinasustainablemanner,forexamplethroughcommunity-basedrooftop gardening as a form of non-capitalist production. Even though the

34 Bouson2004,140–1;Tate2017,66.35 The framing of all that is non-human, or not human-made as “nature” is problematic from

certaineco-criticalperspectives,likeTimothyMorton’sEcology without Nature.36 Atwood2010, 63.37 Atwood2010,13.38 Atwood2010,62.


Gardeners hardly partake in the capitalistworld, they still sell some of theirproductsat“thetreeoflifemarket”,whichshowshowallworldsareintercon-nected and overlap at their margins. In opposition to the inauthenticity of the compounds,theGardeners’lifestyleandtheirproductsareseenas“authentic”bytheircontemporarieslivinginthecompounds:“theGardenerproducewasthe real thing. It stank of authenticity: the Gardeners might be fanatical and amusinglybizarre,butatleasttheywereethical.”39TheGod’sGardenersalsoattribute“beingethical”tothemselvesandtheirwayofliving–abeliefwhichisreinforcedbytheirawaitingtheapocalypse.Forthem,thestoryoftheapoc-alypsefunctionsasamoralstructuringdeviceparexcellence,andfurthermoremirrors the original meaning of the term as hopeful revelation:

WeGod’sGardenersareapluralNoah:wetoohavebeencalled,wetooforewarned.Wecanfeelthesymptomsofcomingdisasterasadoctorfeelsasickman’spulse.WemustbereadyforthetimewhenthosewhohavebrokentrustwiththeAnimals–yes,wipedthemfromthefaceoftheEarthwhereGodplacedthem–willbesweptawaybythewaterlessFloodwhichwillbecarriedonthewingsofGod’sdarkAngelsthatflybynight,andinairplanesandhelicoptersandbullettrains,andontransporttrucks and other such conveyances.40

It remains open whether Crake is the sole initiator of the plan to rid the planet of itshumanmalady,orwhethersomeoftheGod’sGardenersarecomplicitinhisplan,astheyalsoaspiretowardsanapocalypsetheycall“thewaterlessflood”,which would cleanse the earth from a destructive human culture. Like its biblical precursor,theworldviewrepresentedbyCrakeandtheGardenersentailsamor-al map in which the pre-apocalyptic world is found evil and untenable and hope isdirectedtowardsapost-apocalypticNewJerusalem,orEdenintheGarden-ers’jargon,asthissermonheldbyAdamOneshortlyaftertheplagueindicates:

Whatacauseforrejoicingisthisrearrangedworldinwhichwefindourselves!True,there isacertain– letusnotsaydisappointment. The debris left by the Waterless Flood,likethatleftbyanyrecedingflood,isnotattractive.Itwilltaketimeforourlonged-forEdentoappear,myFriends.ButhowprivilegedarewetowitnessthesefirstpreciousmomentsofRebirth!Howmuchclearertheairis,nowthatman-madepollution has ceased!41

InoppositiontoCrake,however,theGardenersseetherootofevilnotinthehumangeneticmake-up,asthetermAnthropocene(theageofhuman)implies,but in the toxic lifestyle of late capitalism.

39 Atwood2010,170.40 Atwood2010, 110.41 Atwood2010,443.


Following RogerMoore, the contemporary geologic era should rather becalled “Capitalocene”, as the ecological degradation stems not fromhumanlife in general but from a very distinct system of economic production and its concurrent belief systems and lifestyles.42Hence,adifferenthumanworldandcultureispossible,inwhichtheecologyisnotwrecked.Inthenovels,thisalter-nativeworldisrepresentedbytheGod’sGardeners,whoaccordinglybelieveintheirsurvivingthefloodasaresultoftheirbetterlifestyle:“Amassivedie-offofthehumanracewasimpending,duetooverpopulationandwickedness,buttheGardenersexemptedthemselves:theyintendedtofloatabovetheWaterlessFlood,withtheaidofthefoodtheywerestashingawayinthehiddenstoreplac-estheycalledArarats.”43 Apocalypticism from this point of view functions as anorderingdeviceinanotherwisechaoticworld,asitconstructsafixedmor-al compass of good and evil.44 The example in the MaddAdam Trilogy demon-strates,however,thatthismoralcompassonlypertainstoacertaingroupandtheir strategies of worldmaking through storytelling and discourse. The Garden-ersliveinanoralculture;inhymns,versesandsermons,theyconstructabeliefsystemwhich is fundamentallydifferent from thehegemonic systemaroundthemthatthey,inallusionto“hell”,call“theexfernalworld”.WithrespecttotheGod’sGardenersandtheireco-religion,Atwood’strilo-

gy also assumes a meta-perspective by depicting in detail the process whereby TobybecomesaGardener,whichallowsforadeconstructivelookbehindthescenes.WhenTobyisaskedtojointheGardeners’leadershipranksbybecom-ingan“Eve”,shefearsthatitwouldbehypocritical:“‘I’mnotsureIbelieveinallofit.’‘Insomereligions,faithprecedesaction,’saidAdamOne.‘Inours,actionprecedesfaith.You’vebeenactingasifyoubelieve,dearToby.As if –thosetwowordsareveryimportanttous.Continuetoliveaccordingtothem,andbeliefwillfollowintime’.”45Havingacceptedtheposition,TobyfindsoutthatinspiteoftheGardeners’apparenttechnophobia,eachoftheleaderssecretlyownsalaptopandthatAdamOnesometimesdeliberately“invents”certainstoriestomakethemembersbelieveanddowhathethinksisright:“‘Forgiveme,dearToby,’hesaidwhentheresthadgone.‘Iapologizeformyexcursionintofiction.I must sometimes say things that are not transparently honest. But it is for the greatergood.’”46 With regard to theoftencomic representationof theGardeners,andalso

TobyandRen’ssometimescriticallydistancednarrativeperspectives,HopeJen-ningsarguesthattheGardenersarecriticisedbythenovelsfortheir“inhuman-

42 Cf.Moore2015.43 Atwood2010,47.44 Cf.Tate2017,17.45 Tate2017,201.46 Tate2017,219.


ism”andthatthereforeThe Year of the Floodshouldbeunderstoodasa“cau-tionarytaleaboutcautionarytales”inecocriticalmovements.47 I would ques-tion this readingbyarguingthat theGardeners representnot“inhumanism”butasteptowards“posthumanism”,andthattheirportrayalandespeciallyTo-by’simmersionintotheircreedaredepictedverypositivelybythenovels.48 By foregroundingthenarrativeconstructednessoftheGardeners’beliefsystem,Atwoodemphasisesthatitisthestoriesthatdeterminetheaction,inthiscasethe distinctive behaviour of Gardeners towards the natural world. Even though TobyisemotionallydistancedfromtheGardeners’worldinthebeginning,shebecomesarealGardenerbyfirstacting“asif”shebelieves,beforefullyinternal-ising the Gardeners creed and habits. She even keeps them up throughout her isolation during plague and carries them over into the post-apocalyptic setting. Thelastpartofthetrilogy,MaddAddam,consequentlyendswiththeteachingsof the Gardeners being successfully passed on to the Crakers. Similar to theGardeners’ teachings and believes, Crake’smapofmorality

stands inoppositiontothecapitalistmap,yet isheavily indebtedtoapurelyscientificworldviewanditsessentialism.Whileitistypicalof(post-)apocalypticfictioninrecentyearsthatthecatastropheisofanthropogenicorigin(e.g.anu-clearincidentinCormacMcCarthy’sThe Road,climatechangeinTheDayafterTomorrow),theMaddAddam Trilogy’sapocalypticevent isstillanexception,as it is caused deliberately by Crake to solve the problem of human-made eco-logicaldestruction.Itisthereforefuelledbygoodintentions,echoingtheideaof human extinction as a new utopia. As Crake furthermore bioengineers the Crakers,whoaremeanttosurvivetheplague,theparallelstotheBiblicalapoc-alyptic story become more obvious: the end of humankind and its late mod-ernformofcivilisation,whichisrenderedasmorallydebauchedinthenovels,becomesthebeginningofabetterposthumanworld–at least fromCrake’spointofview. InsteadofGod,however, it isCrakeasanordinaryhumanbe-ingwhohasputhimselfintoaGod-likepositionbybringingontheapocalypse,self-righteouslyreigningoverlifeanddeath:“Sittinginjudgementoftheworld,thoughtJimmy;butwhyhadthatbeenhisright?”49 The consequences of not askingaboutrightsisoftenthematisedinrepresentationsofthescientificbe-lief in“progress”andmastery insciencefiction, startingwithMaryShelley’sFranken stein.50 Inthisearlyscience-fictionnovel,ascientificexperimenttoarti-

47 Jennings2010,11;14.48 Again,readingthelastpartofthetrilogyleadstoconclusionsthanarenotthatsameaswhen

one looks at The Year of the Flood alone.49 Atwood2004,406.50 SomescholarsdefineFrankensteinasanimportantforerunnerofsciencefictionintheformof

scientificromance(e.g.Parrinder2015,40),whileothersfollowBrianAldiss’sclaim(seeAldiss1973) thatFrankensteinisactuallytheur-textofallsciencefiction(e.g.Alkon1994).


ficiallycreateahumanbeinggoesofftherails,confrontingthescientistandhiscontemporarieswithunforeseenmoralproblems.Inasimilarmanner,Crakeen-gineersanewhumanoidracewhichisgeneticallyfreedfromthehumanflawsheprimarily sees in symbolic thinking and representation.According tohim,these human traits have led to the will to dominate others and nature in a vi-olentmanner–ironically,thisisexactlywhathedoeshimselfthroughhisact.Intheend,however,Crake’splansfail,ashiscreaturesbreedwiththehumansthathavesurvivedinspiteoftheplague;theCrakersevenstarttodevelopar-tisticandsymbolicformsofrepresentation,aswellasaquasi-religiouscreed,inwhich–allthemoreironically–hefunctionsasagod-likefigure,eventhough“CrakewasagainstthenotionofGod,orofgodsofanykind,andwouldsurelybedisgustedbythespectacleofhisowngradualdeification”.51However,india-loguewithoneoftheGardeners,Crake’swishtoassumegod-likepowerundertheguiseofscientificfeasibilityisforeshadowed:“‘Illnessisadesignfault,’saidtheboy.‘Itcouldbecorrected.’[…]‘So,ifyouweremakingtheworld,you’dmakeitbetter?’[Ren]said.BetterthanGod,waswhat[she]meant.[…]‘Yes,’hesaid.‘Asamatteroffact,Iwould.’”52 Here it becomes evident that the un-fettered belief in a world which is fully explainable and controllable through the paradigmofthenaturalsciencesiscomparabletoareligiouscreed,yetwithoutmetaphysics or a god. The centre of this belief system is instead occupied by humanity. Therefore,Crakeandhisworldviewsymboliseaformofhumanismthattran-

scends the biological boundaries of the human through science and technolo-gy,andthereforebecomesakindoftranshumanism.FrancescaFerrandostatesthat“philosophically,transhumanismrootsitselfintheEnlightenment,andsoitdoesnotexpropriaterationalhumanism.Bytakinghumanismfurther,tran-shumansimcanbedefinedas‘ultra-humanism’”.53 Instead of aspiring for more conventional transhumanist goals such as radical life expansion and enhance-mentofintellectualcapabilities,54whichheonlyusesasdummy“carriers”forhisrealdesigns,55Crake’stranshumanismrunsintheoppositedirection:backtowhatisconventionallythoughtofasamore“primitive”stageofevolutionbecausetheCrakers’intellectualcapabilitiesaresomewhatlimited,theyhaveaveryshortlifespan,andtheirphysiologyisfitforeatingnothingbutleaves.Hence,Crake’sredefinitionofwhatis“good”andwhatprogressmeansforthe

51 Atwood2004,126.52 Atwood2010,176–177.53 Ferrando2013,27.54 As depicted on the website of the transhumanist movement https://humanityplus.org/

[accessed12October2018].55 Crakeusesapillhecalls“BlyssPluss”asa carrier forhisdeadlydiseaseandadvertises it as

prolongingyouth,amongothereffects.


planetanditsecologyisengrainedinhisapocalypticdeed,mirroringafunda-mentallydifferentmapofmoralitywhichhascommongroundwiththeVolun-tary Human Extinction Movement and human extinction as the new eco-uto-pia,aswellaswiththeGod’sGardeners’belief.ThefutureworldturnsouttobequitedifferentfromhowCrakehadintendedittobe,astheCrakerscouldnotberidofartisticproduction,storytellingandmythcreation,andsharetheirworldwiththesurvivinghumanandnon-humancreatures,aswellaswithotherhybrids. The post-apocalyptic world can thus be interpreted as coming close to aposthumanistutopia–orinGardenerterms,aposthumanistEden.

A POSTHUMANIST EDENThe post-apocalyptic setting of the MaddAddam Trilogy has already been dis-cussed against the philosophical backdrop of posthumanism by critics like Va-leriaMosca,whoarguesthatAtwoodstagesnottheendofhumanitybut“theendof‘thehuman’asitistraditionallyconceived”.56 Posthumanism in this sense has to be distinguished radically from transhumanism as it provides an attempt to overcome humanist anthropocentrism in favour of non-human agents and subjectivities,aswellassystemicwaysofthinkingandrelationality.AccordingtoFrancescaFerrando,“[p]osthumanismisaphilosophywhichprovidesasuit-ablewayofdeparturetothinkinrelationalandmulti-layeredways,expandingthe focus to the non-human realm in post-dualistic, post-hierarchicalmodes,thus allowing one to envision post-human futures which will radically stretch theboundariesofhumanimagination.”57

Posthumanist themes such as animal personhood and hybridity are taken up especially in MaddAddam,whichdepictsthepost-apocalypticsceneryinmoredetail.Thepigoons,aspigswithhumanbraintissue,provideagoodexampleforposthumanistsubjectsandrelationsinthelastnovel:beingaproductoftech-nologicalalterationandahybridbetweenhumanandanimal,theybecomefullyacceptedmembersofthepost-apocalypticsocietyandaregrantedsubjectivityandagency. Insteadoftalkingandwritingabouttheminanobjectifiedman-ner,asisusuallythecasewithanimals,TobyforinstancecorrectshernarrativeaboutSnowman-Jimmyclingingtoapigoon:“clingingtoitsback.Her back. The Pigoonswerenotobjects.Shehadtogetthatstraight.Itwasonlyrespectful.”58 Thepigoonsarealsogivenavoice,astheCrakersareabletocommunicatewiththem.Thefinalbookofthetrilogyendsonaverypositivenotewithafuneralinwhichdifferentspeciestakepartandmourntheirdeadtogether:“ThePigoonswishedtocarryAdamandJimmytothesiteforus,asasignoffriendshipand

56 Mosca2013,47.57 Ferrando2013,30.58 Atwood2014,350–351.


interspeciesco-operations.[…]TheCrakerssangalltheway.”59 The postapoc-alyptic mixed-species society can thus be seen in the light of a posthumanist utopia,whichfurthermoremakesitdifficulttosimplycondemneitherCrake’sapocalyptic deed or the creed of the Gardeners.

STORIES MAKE WORLDS AND VALUESInitsmeta-textualapproach,theMaddAddam Trilogy not only imagines the prac-tical and non-hierarchical coexistence and co-habitation and even cross-breed-ing of humans, technologicallymodified creatures, and animals, but also re-flectsontheroleofstoriesinshapingworldsandtheirsystemsofthoughtandmoraljudgement.Likemanyposthumanistphilosophers,CaryWolfepointsouttheimportanceof languageforposthumanisttheory:“WhatIamsuggestinghereisthatyourtheoryoflanguagematters,anditmattersnotjustepistemo-logically[…]ormethodologically[…]becauseallsortofconsequences,bothontologicalandethical,followinitswake–consequencesthatIhavetriedtodrawoutontheterrainofthequestionofspecificdifferencesandthequestionofsubjectivity.”60Languageandstorytellingarethereforeamajorthemeinallthreenovels,referredtobymetatextualcommentssuchas:“There’sthestory,thenthere’stherealstory,thenthere’sthestoryofhowthestorycametobetold.Thenthere’swhatyouleaveoutofthestory.Whichispartofthestorytoo.”61 What furthermore contributes extensively to the theme of story-telling are the Crakers and their need for stories to give them an identity and a history. Despite the fact that Crake did his best to rid his newly created human race of art, symbolic thinkingandmythcreation,everynight“[a] story iswhat theywant”.62

Onaformallevel,thethemeofstorytellingasworldconstructionisrepre-sentedmainlybythedifferentnarrativesituationsofthethreenovelsthatdrawattention to the act of narration itself. In The Year of the Flood, forexample,thishappensthroughadoublingofnarrativeperspectives, featuringbothRen’saccountoftheyearsjustbeforeandafterthefloodandToby’sperspectiveonexactly the same events. Narrative construction becomes most explicit in Madd-Addam,inwhichTobyisthemainfocalisercharacter.Herownstoryishoweverinterwoven with the stories she tells to the Crakers and the stories her partner Zebtellsher.Thismakesthepointthatstorytellingisacollectivephenomenon;itisnotjustthenarratorwhocreatesandshapesthestory,butalsoheraudi-ence and the stories she is told by others. One might even go so far as to con-

59 Atwood2014,373.60 Wolfe2010,47.61 Atwood2014,56.62 Atwood2004,124.


clude that the whole physical book the reader is holding in her hands is actually theresultofToby’swritingdownthestory,owingtometatextualcommentslikeTobytellingtheyoungCrakerBlackbeard:“‘Iamwritingthestory,’[…]‘Thestoryofyouandme,andthePigoons,andeveryone.”63InspiteofCrake’sef-forts,theCrakersfurthermorelearnhowtowriteandtellstoriesthemselves,sothatintheend,thenarrativeistakenoverbyBlackbeard:“ThisistheendoftheStoryofToby.IhavewrittenitinthisBook.AndIhaveputmynamehere–Blackbeard–thewayTobyfirstshowedmewhenIwasachild. Itsaysthat Iwastheonewhosetdownthesewords.”64 Through the sometimes deliberately inventedstorieswhichfirstSnowmanandlaterTobytelltheCrakers,aswellasToby’sandBlackbeard’swriting,theCrakersbuildupsomethinglikeacommonhistoryorfoundationalmyth,reminiscentofotherfoundationalculturalandre-ligious texts like the Bible. They decide that this book must also be copied and continued:“anotherBookshouldbemade,withthesamewritingasthefirstone.Andeachtimeapersoncameintotheknowledgeofthewriting[…]thatonealsowastomakethesameBook,[…]attheendoftheBookweshouldputsomepages,andattachthemtotheBook,andwritedownthethingsthatmighthappenafterTobywasgone.”65ThismarkstheCrakers’transitionfroman oral culture to a written culture and proposes that storytelling and symbol-isingpracticesarebasicallywhatmakeshumanbeingshuman,andthatthesecannotbegenetically“editedout”.Again,thisrepresentsametafictionalcommentontheimportanceofnarra-

tiveandliteratureasameanstomakesenseoftheworld,orrathertomakeaworldatall.Itmatterswhotellsthestory,howitistold,withwhatintentions,wholistens,whatfeaturesinthestoryandwhatisleftoutforthekindofworldthatiscreatedthusly,andthemapsofmoralityitwillentail.Crake’sproblematicworldview and the dystopian depiction of the pre-apocalyptic capitalist world furthermore mirror what happens if the arts and humanities are almost elimi-natedorareat least“nolongercentraltoanything”.66 By letting the Crakers turnintoabookculture,Atwoodemphasisesthevalueofartandliteratureforanyfutureor(post)humansociety.Inthissense,thetrilogycanitselfbeseenascontributing largely to an ethics for the future in the age of the Anthropocene or Capitalocene. Rather thanbeingonly“acautionary tale”aboutpossible futuredevelop-

ments,as theMaddAddam Trilogy isoftenreferredto, thestory is, Iwanttosuggest,aboutstorytellingandhowstoriesmakeboth(future)worldsandeth-

63 Atwood2004,374.64 Atwood2004,390.65 Atwood2004,386.66 Atwood2004,227.


ics.Inthissense,theapocalypsemustalsoprimarilybeseenasastorythatcanmake sense of an otherwise chaotic and possibly hopeless present. It can func-tion both as a moral structuring device for testing or promoting the values and alternative interpretationsofgoodandevilofagivengroup,or itcansimplybereducedtoapieceofmassentertainmentforthealienatedsubjectsoflatecapitalism.Thedifferencebetweenthetwofunctionsorreadingsoftheapoc-alypseamountstothedegreeofconsciousnessandreflectioninvolvedinthetellingandlisteningtooftheapocalyptictales.Byreflectingonthesedifferentreadings and foregrounding narrative forms of worldmaking with their respec-tivemapsofmorality,Atwood’strilogyallowsthereadertocometotheirownethical conclusions about the ecological crisis through aesthetic simulations,withoutforeclosinganydefiniteanswers.Thisdistinguishesherspeculativefic-tion fundamentally from other tales of the contemporary apocalyptic imaginary and provides a link back to the original meaning of the apocalypse as revelation. The MaddAddam Trilogy uncovers that it is through stories that we make worlds andthatthereisaneedfornewanddifferentstoriestocreatebetterfutures.

BIBLIOGRAPHYAldiss,BrianW.,1973,BillionYearSpree.TheTrueHistoryofScienceFiction,GardenCity:Doubleday.Alkon, Paul K. 1994, Science Fiction before 1900. ImaginationDiscovers Technology,New York:

Twayne.Atwood,Margaret,2004[2003],OryxandCrake,NewYork:AnchorBooks.Atwood,Margaret,2010[2009],TheYearoftheFlood,London:Virago.Atwood,Margaret,2014[2013],MaddAddam,NewYork:Anchor.Beaudrillard,Jean,1994[1981],Simulacra&Simulation,translatedbySheilaFariaGlaser,AnnAr-

bor: University of Michigan Press.Benjamin,Walter,2008,TheWorkofArtintheAgeofitsTechnologicalReproducibility,andOth-

erWritingsonMedia,editedbyMichaelJennings,translatedbyE.F.N.Jephcott,Cambridge:Belknap.

Bouson,J.Brooks,2004,“‘It’sGameOverForever’:Atwood’sSatiricVisionofaBioengineeredPost-human Future in Oryx and Crake”,JournalofCommonwealthLiterature39,3,139–56.

Bouson,J.Brooks,2011,‘We’reUsingUptheEarth.It’sAlmostGone’.AReturntothePost-Apoca-lypticFutureinMargaretAtwood’sYear of the Flood, JournalofCommonwealthLiterature46,1,9–26.

Ferrando, Francesca, 2013,Posthumanism,Transhumanism,Antihumanism,Metahumanism,andNewMaterialisms:DifferencesandRelations,Existenz.AnInternationalJournalinPhilosophy,Religion,Politics,andtheArts8,2,26–32.

Horn,Eva,2014,DieZukunftalsKatastrophe,FrankfurtamMain:Fischer.Jendrysik,MarkS,2011,BacktotheGarden:NewVisionsofPosthumanFutures,UtopianStudies

22,1,34–52.Jennings,Hope,2010,TheComicApocalypseofThe Year of the Flood,MargaretAtwoodStudies3,

2,11–18.Korte, Barbara, 2008, Fundamentalism and the End: AReading ofMargaretAtwood’sOryx and

Crake intheContextofLastManFiction,in:Stierstorfer,Klaus/Kern-Stähler,Annette(eds.),LiteraryEncountersofFundamentalism.ACaseBook,Heidelberg:Winter,151–163.


Machat,Sibylle,2013, In theRuinsofCivilizations:NarrativeStructures,WorldConstructionandPhysicalRealitiesinthePost-ApocalypticNovel,Trier:WissenschaftlicherVerlagTrier.

Mayer,Sylvia,2014,ExplorationsoftheControversiallyReal:Risk,theClimateChangeNovel,andtheNarrativeofAnticipation,inMayer,Sylvia/WeikvonMossener,Alexa(eds.),TheAnticipa-tionofCatastrophe.EnvironmentalRiskinNorthAmericanLiteratureandCulture,Heidelberg:Winter,21–38.

McCarthy,Cormac,2006,TheRoad,London:Picador.Moore,JasonW.,2015,CapitalismintheWebofLife,London:Verso.Mosca,Valeria,2013,CrossingHumanBoundaries.ApocalypseandPosthumanisminMargaretAt-

wood’sOryx and Crake and Year of the Flood,AltreModernità/OtrasModernidades/AutresModernités/OtherModernities9,38–52.

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FILMOGRAPHYAvatar(JamesCameron,US2009).Interstellar(ChristopherNolan,US2014).Snowpiercer (BongJoonHo,KR/CZ2014).TheDayafterTomorrow(RolandEmmerich,US2004).Wall-E (AndrewStanton,US2008).


Jennifer Woodward

Totalitarian OpportunismCataclysm, Nietzschean Thought and Cultural Transformation in J. J. Connington’s Nordenholt’s Million (1923)

ABSTRACTThisarticleconsidersJ.J.Connington’s1923BritishdisasternovelNordenholt’s Million asaresponsetoitsBritishinter-warcontextbyexaminingthenovel’spresentationofcataclysm as an opportunity for social change. Nordenholt’s Million utilises an apoca-lypticscenarioinvolvingsoildenitrificationasameansofofferinganuncompromisingcritique of conventional government systems and its wider social context. Drawing upontheappealofextremepoliticsanddisplayingaffinitieswithNietzscheanphilos-ophythroughout,Nordenholt’s Million emphasises the necessity of dictatorship during periodsofsocialandeconomicdifficulty. Itusessuchcircumstancestochampionso-cial transformation from what it presents as a state of contemporary decline towards a highlyefficient,eugenicallyconstructedpost-apocalypticutopiansociety.

KEYWORDSDisasterFiction,Apocalypse,Literature,Nietzsche,Inter-warBritain,Eschatology,Uto-pia,ScienceFiction

BIOGRAPHYJennifer Woodward is a senior lecturer in Film Studies and English Literature at Edge HillUniversity,UK.HerPhDexaminedBritishDisasterScienceFictionbeforetheSec-ondWorldWarandalongsideherinterestsinspeculativefictionandadaptationstud-ies,shehaspublishedworkexaminingdisasternovelsbyauthorssuchasArthurConanDoyleandR.C.Sherriff.SheisalsoontheeditorialcommitteeforGylphiPress’sSFStoryWorlds series.

J.J.Connington’s1923apocalypticnovelNordenholt’s Million is one of sever-al British catastrophe narratives written prior to the Second World War that usedisasterasameanstoenvisionsocialtransfigurationandpoliticalwish-ful-filment fantasy. Suchnarratives formabodyof secular-eschatology thatusedisaster narratives to address contemporary social concerns and model social change.Specifically,Nordenholt’s Million uses a global cataclysm to champion

DOI: 10.25364/05.05:2019.2.4

Totalitarian Opportunism | 51www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 51–68

proto-fascist dictatorship as a solution to weak government and contempo-rarysocialandpoliticalcrises.DisplayingaffinitieswithNietzscheanphilosophythroughout,itarguesthatundercertainconditions,dictatorship,brutalityandpopulationcontrolmaybenecessary,evenadvantageous,fortheconstructionofahighlyefficient,eugenicallyshapedutopia.Thusthetextoffersaninvalua-bleinsightintothewaysthateschatologicalnarrativestructures–dealingwithendingsandnewbeginnings–havebeenadoptedbysecularwriterstopresentissuesaroundmorality,socialtransformationand“humannature”.Thenovelopenswiththesignificantlynamednarrator,Flint,visitingWoth-

erspoon,a scientific“dabbler”andwriter for thepopularpress.1 In contrast to the protagonist the highly competent multi-millionaire businessman Stanley Nordenholt,Wotherspoonisinept,focussedmoreonhiswritingthanonbeingaproficientexperimenter inhisstudiesofnitrifyinganddenitrifyingbacteria.Whenanunexplainedfireballmutatesthedenitrifyingbacteria,Wotherspoonis too inattentive to notice.2Inshortorder,themutatedbacteriacausemassivecropfailureandwidespreadstarvation.FivemillionEnglish(ratherthan“Nor-denholt’sMillion”,which isNordenholt’srecruitingslogan)aresavedonlybyNordenholt’s foresight anddynamic response, as he secures resources fromAmerica and embraces the calamity as an opportunity to take control of the situation in Britain.3AfteroverthrowingthefailingBritishgovernment,Nord-enholtestablisheshimselfasdictator,selectingthosewhoaretosurviveandrelocatingthemtoa“NitrogenArea”intheClydeValley.Nordenholt’scharacterissignificant.InThe Pattern of Expectation,I.F.Clarke

reads Nordenholt’s Millionasthesourceofaparticular“variantonthedisasterstory”,the“salvationmyth”,whichrelates“howamanofgenius,usuallyasci-entist,savesaremnantofhumanityandlaysthefoundationforabetterorderofexistence”.4Althoughnotascientist,Nordenholtbecomes“thearchitect”ofafuturecivilisationplannedandexecutedbyFlint,his friend,andElsa,hisniece.5Asthenarrativeprogresses,theblightnotonlyprecipitatesmassstar-vation but also exposes the degenerative path on which the pre-cataclysmic societyhadembarked.Hence,Nordenholt’sactionsintheClydeValleyprovidea remedy both for the blight and for what are presented as the regressive ten-denciesoftheEnglish.Atthenovel’sconclusion,anewcivilisationemergesandovercomeswhatthetexthasframedasthesocial,politicalandeconomicprob-lems of post-war Britain.

1 Connington1923,8.2 Connington1923,27.3 Connington1923,45–66.4 Clarke1979, 229.5 Connington1923,146.

52 | Jennifer Woodward www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 51–68

The anti-democratic ideology actioned by Nordenholt and implemented throughout Nordenholt’s MillionalignsitwithwhatDanStonedefinesas“ex-tremesofEnglishness”thought.6ExemplifiedinworksbywritersandscholarsincludingOscarLevy,AnthonyLudoviciandKarlSanderson,the“extremesofEnglishness”mindsetisseenintheirworks’embracingofradicalismandillib-eralisminrelationtoBritishconcerns.Althoughnotindividuallyfascist,theycome,Stonenotes,“veryclosetosatisfyingthecriteriaregardedbyscholarsas constituting fascism”.7 They embracemilitarism, the defence of Empire,thecallfora“masculinerenaissance”andeugenics,anddemonstrateanen-gagement with Nietzschean philosophy.8 Such thematic concerns indicate channelsofreasoningthathighlightwhatStoneidentifiesasa“provenanceofproto-fascistideasinBritain”beforetheSecondWorldWar.9Comparably,the response to the inter-war context evidenced in Nordenholt’s Million as-serts that failing democratic governments and a lack ofNational Efficiencycanonlyberemediedbyfascistpolitics,asolutionitpresentswithoutironyorsatireaswhollydesirable.Thepoliticalcontentofthenovel,whichchampionsautocracy,appearsgroundedinNietzscheanthoughtandpromotesNation-alEfficiencyandeugenics, clearlyalignsitwithan“extremesofEnglishness”ideology. It addresses contemporary British anxieties regarding political sys-tems, industry and industrial relations, and race and degeneration througha proto-fascist lens that sees dictatorship as the only viable response to ca-tastrophe.

ANTI-DEMOCRATICTHOUGHTINTHENOVEL

What is clear from the European movement towards anti-democratic political ideologiesbetweenthewars is that forceful,decisive leadershipwasconsid-ered by many an appealing alternative to what were popularly perceived as in-effectivemodesofgovernment.10 Richard Thurlow explains that many people sawdemocracyasa“fairweathersystem”notbestsuitedtotimesofsocialoreconomicdifficulty.11 There was an increased sense that democratic govern-ment pandered to the physically weakest and least intellectual in society.12 In

6 Stone2002,2–3.7 Stone2002,3.8 Stone (2002, passim) outlines how works by popular authors arose out of fears of decline

in Edwardian Britain. They represent trends in thinking prior to the Second World War that resulted in the popularity of extreme views in British society more broadly.

9 Stone2002,2–3.10 Thurlow1987,8.11 Thurlow1987,25.12 Schapiro 1972,8.


Britain,theappealofsuchideasemergedinthecontextofpost-warpoliticalinstability and social unrest and the economic crisis that would eventually lead totheGreatDepressionofthe1930s.Althoughlivingconditionsimprovedaf-terthewar,largelyduetoadvancesintechnology,itwasaperiodofindustrialdiscontent and economic decline arising from demobilisation and the return to a peacetime economy.13Furthermore,asThurlownotes,Britain’s“politicalsystem had been unable to check the sharp decline in British power in the late VictorianandEdwardianeras”.14 In Nordenholt’s Million that decline is averted by the rise of a totalitarian demagogue.The novel is overtly critical of democratic government, representing it as

weak,self-servingandcorrupt–acriticismofthepoliticalturmoilseeninsuc-cessive post-war British governments. Overt criticism of democracy begins when Flint is called to a meeting with Nordenholt and the government about theimpendingcatastrophe.ThePrimeMinister, looking“wornandagitated”butendeavouring“toassumeacheerfulandconfidentair”, isrevealedtobepreoccupied with preserving and consolidating his political position.15 Without irony,thePrimeMinisterstatesthat“nothingcouldbemorefatalthanagener-alelection”.16Thesatireisnotlostonthereader.Consciousoftheelectorate’sgrowinguneaseastheblightspreads,heseesthecrisisrequiringapublicrela-tions exercise to pacify them. At no point does the Prime Minister comprehend theapocalypticeffectsofthemassstarvationthatwillarisefromdenitrifyingthe soil.His strategy is reactive rather thanproactive,withnoprioritygiventoaddressingthecauseofthegrowingcatastrophe.Furthermore,noneofhismeasurescanbeimplementedquickly,sincehiscabinetisdispersed,withmanymembers abroad and unable to return. Nordenholt’s condemnations of thegovernment’sreactionareovert.Describingtheirplanstoaddresstheeffectsof theensuing cataclysmas“windowdressing […] topacify thepublic”,herecognises that politics is placed before action in their plans.17 Midway through themeeting,Flintisalsocriticalofthegovernmentresponse.Headmitsthat“Ihad become more and more uneasy. Through it all ran the governing thought thatsomethingmustbedone,whichwastrueenough;butthethingwhichheproposedtodo[…]wastopersuadethecountrythatallwaswell,whereasIfeltthattheessentialmatterwastoprepareagainstapracticalcalamity.”18 This practicalperspectivealliesFlintwithNordenholt,amanofdecisiveactionandforesight who has already secured emergency food stocks and surrounded him-

13 Hamilton1971,xxii;Thurlow1987,8;Smith1995,169.14 Thurlow1987,8.15 Connington1923,45.16 Connington1923,46.17 Connington1923,52.18 Connington1923,47.


self by those most able to manage the crisis.19Assuch,Nordenholtfulfils–infictionatleast–whatAlastairHamiltondescribesasthe1920s’“cravingforde-cisiveness”byoverthrowingtheparliamentarysysteminfavourofwhatispre-sented as necessary (for human survival) and advantageous authoritarian rule.20 Initsdistinctionbetweengovernmentalprevaricationandindividualaction,

thenoveldifferentiatessharplybetweenfeignedandgenuineauthority.AsFlintobservesNordenholt,henotesthat“whilethePremiercounterfeitedpowerinhisappearance,thisunknown[Nordenholt]embodiedit”.21 His determination overwhelmsthePrimeMinister,who“hadbeenbroughtfacetofacewithre-ality;andithadbrokenhim”.22Accordingly,hisdynamismandgreaterintellectmean that he has already secured a plan for how to deal with the crisis and he gains complete control of the country by leaving the politicians little choice but to conform to his plans. Flint remarks:

Irealisedwhathehaddone.Bysheerforceofpersonalityandaclearmind,hehadcarriedusalongwithhimandsecuredourassenttoaschemewhich,wildcatthoughitmightappear,seemedtheonlypossiblewayoutofthecrisis.Hehadconstitutedhimselfakindofdictator,thoughwithoutanyofthetrappingsoftheoffice;andnoone dared oppose him. The cold brutality with which he had treated the politicians wasapparently justified; for Inowsawwhither theirprocrastinationwouldhaveled us.23

Flint’sperspective,ashecontrastsNordenholtwiththepoliticians,echoesthecallfora“masculinerenaissance”associatedwith“extremesofEnglishness”ideas and connotes fascist ideas of authoritarian leadership. Nordenholt is de-pictedasanunopposableandnecessaryforce.HeisafictionalantidotetotherealBritishpoliticianswho,asThurlownotes,had failed“tocreatea societythathadadequatelycompensatedforthehorrorandtraumaofthewar[andwho]producedamoodoffrustratedangerwhichtaintedtheutopiancravingsofmanyattractedtoFascism”.24InpositioningNordenholtasasaviour-figure,the novel acknowledges an increasingly popular contemporary conviction that strong leadership was necessary if the nation was to survive its post-war crises. OnceNordenholthasestablishedhissurvivorsintheClydeValley,thenovel’srejectionofdemocracyisexplicit:hesendsthepoliticiansbacktotheirconstit-uencies to starve.25

19 Connington1923,52–65.20 Hamilton1971,259.21 Connington1923,50.22 Connington1923,59.23 Connington1923,65.24 Thurlow1987,25.25 Connington1923,72;106–107.


Whenhedeclareshimselfdictator,Nordenholtclearlyhasalong-termvisionthatgoesfarbeyondtheimmediatecrisis.Incontrasttothenovel’sself-serv-ingpoliticians,Nordenholtworksforthesurvivalandcontrolofaminorityofthepopulation:aeugenicselectionofBritain’smosttalentedandhard-work-ingpeople. The remainderare sacrificed to theblight.WithoutNordenholt’sdictatorship, thenovelsuggests, therecanbenoeffectiveaction,survivalorprogress;thecountry,andthepopulation,requiresaguiding,drivingforce,anarchitectandoverseer,embodiedbyNordenholthimself.

THE NIETZSCHEAN IDEA OF THE ÜBERMENSCH AND NORDENHOLT’S MILLION

The “extremes of Englishness” ideology foundwithinNordenholt’s Million is embodiedtoasignificantdegreebyNordenholthimself.Hischaracterisationdraws upon a number of Nietzsche-derived ideas that were in the popular cul-turalconsciousnessinthefirstpartofthetwentiethcentury.Anti-democraticpolitical ideologiesgained increasingpopularity in the inter-war years, a factreflected in the riseof fascismacrossEurope following the FirstWorldWar.Whatisclearfromthismovementtowardsautocracyisthatforceful,decisiveleadership was considered an appealing alternative to what were increasingly perceivedas ineffectivemodesofgovernment.Both inEuropeand inBritainfascism came to be regarded as a positive force that would allow for the crea-tion of a new society following the experience of the First World War.26 In Brit-ain,agrowingnumberofthinkerswereechoingtheanti-democraticsentimentsemerging across Europe.27 By adoptinga “historyof ideas” approach, Stonedemonstrates that such disillusionment with democracy was evident in fascist impulses in Britain. These fascist impulses are readily observable in Nordenholt’s Million.Indeed,anintellectualrecoursetoextremeresponsesasmeansofre-solvingproblemswasnotuncommon,makingNordenholt’s Million’sdepictionofextrememeasurestoachievewishfulfilmentperhapsappealingtocontem-porary readers. Presentedasanidealleader,Nordenholthasmuchincommonwiththeidea

of the Nietzschean Übermensch, whose popularity had grown through this pe-riod of post-war instability.Withinthetext,societyispresentedassomethingtobedrivenandshaped,tobemanagedand,attimesofcrisis,manipulatedforitslong-termbenefitbysuchaleader.RichardOveryexplainsthattheideaofa“NewOrder”basedonauthoritarianruleandactive,decisivegovernmentinwhichadictatorshipisbettersuitedtorepresentinganationwasinfluencedby

26 Thurlow1987, 25.27 Thurlow1987, 8.


“fashionable ideasofpersonalityandcharisma,derivedfromamisreadingofNietzsche’s ideaof the ‘superman’ as apoliticalphenomenon”.28 Fundamen-tal to this is the fact that in Nordenholt’s Million clear distinctions are made between“types”ofpeople:thesacrificedmajority,workersfortheNitrogenArea,Nordenholt’s“gang”andNordenholthimself. Suchdistinctionscanberead inNietzscheanterms.AsRichardSchachtexplains,Nietzsche“takeshu-manbeingstofallintooneorotheroftworadicallydifferentandwidelydispa-rategroups,oneverynumerousandoccupying‘thehumanlowlands,’andtheother,‘verysmallinnumber,’constituting‘ahigher,brighterhumanity’stand-ingfar‘above’therest”.29Essentially,althoughNietzschestatesinThus Spake Zarathustra that“mankindisarope,tiedbetweenanimalandOverman”,30 in-dicatingaspectrumofhumandevelopment,hebroadlydistinguishesbetween“higher”and“lower”typesofindividualsintermsoftheirpowerandability.31

In Nordenholt’s Million the creation of the Nitrogen Area facilitates the sepa-rationofthe“higher”and“lower”types.Whiletheworkershavebeensubjecttoeugenicallyintendedselection–theyarethosedeemed“mostfittedtosur-vive”outofthe“humanlowlands”–thosewhoworkdirectlyforNordenholtare distinguished by their exceptional abilities.32Theyrepresent,inNietzscheanterms, “higher” types“in relation to thegeneral runofmankind”.33 Schacht notes that inNietzsche’swritings theÜbermensch is the apotheosis of these “higher”types.34 While the ÜbermenschisonlyprophesiedinNietzsche’swork,heisrealisedinNordenholthimself.Heisdescribedas“Jagannatha”anda“Ti-tan”worshippedbyhis“gang”.35Heisestablishedas“above”therestofthepopulation.Furthermore,while“Nordenholt’sgang”represent“higher”menwho have the potential to develop into the Übermensch,Nordenholt is a fully realised“higherman”:anexceptionalindividualguidedbyhisownwillandmas-tery over himself.36Hischaracterisationastheapotheosisofthe“highertype”ofmanensuresthathe isaformidabledictator.AsFlintremarks,whileworkprogresses in the Nitrogen Area:

behindus,seatedatthenucleusofthatcomplexwebofactivities,therewasNord-enholt…thepresenceofthatcool intelligencebehindushadamoraleffectuponourminds.Heneverlessenedourinitiative,nevershowedanysignofvexationwhen

28 Overy2007,68.29 Nietzsche1968,4:1053–4:1067.30 Nietzsche2006,ThusSpakeZarathustra, 1:4.31 Schacht2002,381.32 Connington1923,6133 SeeSchacht2002,340.34 Schacht2002,349.35 Connington1923,259;199;237.36 SeeNietzsche2002,1:19andDiethe2007,128.


things began to go wrong. He treated us as colleagues though we knew that he was ourmaster.Andunderhisexamination,difficultiesseemedtofadeawayinourhands.37

Atthecentreofhiswebofplans,Nordenholt’sdetached“coolintelligencebe-hind”themisadrivingforce.Heisbotharchitectandoverseerofthenewsoci-etyheisshaping.Withouthisdictatorship,thetextsuggests,therewillbenoef-fectiveaction,survivalorprogress.Thus,hisroleistoachieveatransfigurativevisioninsociety,whichculminatesinhisfoundingofaNietzschean-typearistoc-racyatthewish-fulfilmentconclusionofthenovel.Asaresultofhislegacy,thebook concludes with the prospect of humanity progressing toward something analogous to the Übermensch,andthealternatepossibilityofhumandeclineifNordenholt’slegacyisnotpreserved.In his assumption and articulation of power, Nordenholt displays what

Nietzscheidentifiesasa“mastermorality”thatisabovethe“herdinstinct”thatcharacterisesconventionalmorality.Accordingly,inhisreshapingofeconomic,politicalandfinanciallandscapes,hisexecutionofthis“mastermorality”associ-ateshimwiththe“higher”typeofmanwho,like“thenobletypeofman,regardshimselfasadeterminerofvalues;hedoesnotrequiretobeapprovedof”.38 His intolerance of those he recognises as lazy or inadequate is essential to his ca-pacitytodrivethepopulationaccordingtohiswill–toachieveawish-fulfilmentsociety–afterthecataclysm.Inhisruthlessmanipulationofothersandhisout-rightrejectionofdemocracy,NordenholtstandsinoppositiontoJudeo-Christianmorality. This Judeo-Christian morality is attributed by Nietzsche to the general populationandsustainswhathecalls“slavemorality”andits“[q]ualitiesthatservetoalleviateexistenceforsufferingpeople[…];pity,theobliging,helpfulhand,thewarmheart,patience,industriousness,humility,andfriendliness[…].Herewehave thepointoforigin for that famousoppositionbetween ‘good’and‘evil’.”39AccordingtoNietzsche,thoselivingunder“slavemorality”viewthepowerfulwithdreadandassumethemtobeevil.Conversely,accordingto“mas-termorality”,itisthe“good”manwhoarousesfearandseekstodowhatmayconventionally be perceived as evil.40AsAbirTahaconfirms,Nietzscheanphiloso-phywasa“revoltagainsttheentirehumanisttraditionoftheWest:Judeo-Chris-tianity”.41ForNietzsche,the“slavemorality”createsa“herdanimal”whosepo-sitionisperpetuatednotonlybyreligionbutalsobythedemocraticmovement,whichheseesas“theinheritanceoftheChristianmovement.”42

37 Connington1923,95–96.38 Nietzsche2002,9:260.39 Nietzsche2002,9:260.40 Nietzsche2002,9:260.41 Taha2005,68.42 Nietzsche2002,5:202.


Aligning himself with a comparably Nietzschean view of democracy “notonlyasadegeneratingformofpoliticalorganisation,butasequivalenttoade-generating,awaning,typeofman,as involvinghismediocritizinganddepre-cation”,Nordenholtchampionstherebellionagainstamoralitythatpromotesthe“herding instinct”.Hedoessobyelevatinghimselfand thosewhoworkdirectlyunderhimabovethesocietal“herd”.43 Nietzsche contends that equali-tystiflesthemostcapable–thosewhoarepotentially“highertypes”.Schachtsummarises thisperspective inNietzsche’swork, stating thatNietzsche“dis-cernsanorderofrankamongsthumanbeings”and“acknowledgestheirdiffer-entcapabilities”.44Hence,Nietzschecontendsthatforhumankindtodevelopitisessentialto“maintaintheorderofrankintheworld”,andtoevenwidenthedifferencesbetweenthestrata.45Thus“highertypes”canonlybefosteredwhentheir“separationfromtheherdissufficientlygreattoestablisha‘pathosofdistance’,a‘disdainfortheconcernsoftheherd’.”46 WhereasforNietzsche“highertypes”areusuallyovercomebythemedioc-

rityoftheherd,Nordenholtfacilitatestheirelevation.Bothpriortotheblight(bysponsoringthoseheincludedinhis“gang”)andduringthecatastrophe,hisprimaryroleinvolvescultivating“thegreatestpossibilitiesamongthefewwhohaveit inthemtobeexceptionstotherule”.47 In the future that Nordenholt iscreating,there isnoplaceforthe“mediocre”man.TheunionleadersNor-denholt identifiesasunwelcome in theClydeValley, the religiouszealot thatdistracts thepopulation fromworkbyoffering them false hopes andwhomNordenholthaskilledandthegovernmentofficialswhoofferplatitudestogainpopularitywiththemassesareallidentifiedwiththe“slavemorality”associat-edwiththe“herdinganimal”.48TheirremovalfromtheNitrogenAreareflectstheendofwhatthenovelpresentsastheperpetuationofthe“mediocreman”,andisessentialtothewaythebookachievesitswish-fulfilmenttransfiguration.

Nietzsche argued that a morality that endorsed the herding instinct encour-agedafalsesenseofuniversalism,tendingtopromotepityfortheweakratherthanrespectforthestrong.Thatis,itendorsesthemoralitythatpraisesmedi-ocremenandsays,“belikethem!Becomemediocre!”49ForNietzsche,theonlyhope for future progress comes instead from a will to power:

ToteachmanthefutureofhumanityashisWILL,asdependingonhumanwill,andto make preparation for vast hazardous enterprises and collective attempt to put an

43 Nietzsche2002,5:203.44 Schacht2002,327.45 Nietzsche2002,7:219.AlsoseeSchacht2002,327.46 Schacht2002,338.47 Schacht2002,386.48 Connington1923,92;258;51.49 Nietzsche2002,9:262.


end to the rightful rule of folly and chance which has hitherto gone by the name of “history”.50

Nordenholt’s characterisationechoes suchawill topower.Reflectingonhisdrive,heechoesNietzschewhenheremarks,“There’sthatelementofriskatthe back of all real enjoyment, tomymind.”51 Establishing himself “above”the“mediocreman”,Nordenholtstandsreadyforthe“vasthazardousenter-prisesandcollectiveattempt”thatwillensurecivilisationenduresandevolvespost-catastropheaccordingtohis“WILL”.Strength of will is fundamental to Nordenholt’s leadership and echoes

Nietzsche’sconceptionofthe“freedomofwill”inwhich“apersonwhowills […]commandssomethinginsidehimselfthatobeys”andassuchisanexcep-tional individual.52 The Nietzschean will to power is characterised by an individ-ual’smasteryoveroneself,whichalso“giveshimmasteryovercircumstances,overnature”andelevateshimabove“allmoreshort-willedandunreliablecrea-tures”.53 While Nietzsche’s writings are largely existentialist, inNordenholt’s Millionsuchwilltopowerisused,incrisisatleast,formasteryoverothers.Con-sciously overcoming his own self-doubts by pushing himself as far as possible toestablishmasteryoverhimself,Nordenholt’sself-masteryextendstoafas-cinationwithanindividual’s“breakingstrain”,aphilosophywhichenableshimtogaugethecommitment, tendenciesandabilitiesofothers.54 Through Nor-denholt’s psychological understanding andmanipulation, the novel links thewish-fulfilmentachievedatitsconclusionwiththeabilitytomouldanddevel-opotherpeople.Accordingly,Nordenholt’sabilitytorecognisethe“breakingstrain”ofthosearoundhimenableshimtodesignatesome“humanbeingsas‘higher’inrelationtothegeneralrunofmankind”.55Asaresult,throughNor-denholt,thecataclysmwillnotonlybesurvived;itwillalsobeemployedasameansoferadicatingcontemporarysocio-culturalandpoliticalsystems,offacil-itating eugenic selection and establishing social restructuring. The distinctions of rank between “higher” and “lower” peoples, established by NordenholtandmaintainedbyFlintafterNordenholt’sdeath,whilebasedonNietzscheanclassificationsare,however,un-Nietzscheanintermsoftheirdelivery(viaNor-denholt’sdecisionto let45milliondie). Indeed,Nordenholt’spositionasma-nipulator and decision maker has more in common with the interpretation of Nietzsche’sworkthatwouldfamouslybeassociatedwithNazism.

50 Nietzsche2002,5:203.51 Connington1923,70.52 Nietzsche2002,1:19.53 Nietzsche2006,OntheGenealogyofMorality,II:2.54 Connington1923,72–75.55 Schacht2002,340.


In Thus Spake Zarathustra,Nietzschearguesthatthemainlessonofhistoryis that at exceptional times a man of destiny would use his will to rise above the herd of ordinary men.56Clearly,Nordenholtisdrawnassuchaman,emerg-ingatanexceptionaltimeofcrisistofoundadictatorshipdrivenbya“mastermorality”,which ispresentedasessential toprogress.AsClarkepointsout,inpost-FirstWorldWarBritain,the“oldfaithinhumanityhadgivenwaytoabeliefinthepowersofanexceptionalindividual,asaviourfarabovetherestof the community indeterminationand intelligence,who is theonly concili-atemeansofachieving the ‘ideal state’”.57 In its advocacy of dictatorship as ameansof efficient government,Nordenholt’s Million indicates that survival and cultural transformation can only be achieved through a drive towards Na-tional Efficiency untrammelled by conventionalmorality. The appeal for thereadercomes from identificationnotwith thestarvingmillionsorevenwiththeClydeworkerssufferingtofulfilNordenholt’splans,butwiththesurvivorsenjoyingnew,post-catastropheluxuries.Thus,thetextoffersanexaggerationofthewish-fulfilmentfantasiesfoundinmany“cosycatastrophe”science-fic-tion disaster novels which focus on survival and rebuilding over the tragedy of cataclysm,bypresentingthecaseforselectionandefficiencytoenablesocialchange.58

THE NATIONAL EFFICIENCY MOVEMENT

Stone argues that the National Efficiency movement influenced many “ex-tremesofEnglishness”texts,whichsoughttorespondtofearsofdegenera-tion.59 Indeed,NationalEfficiencyandeugenicswerebothofferedaspopularsolutions to contemporary political and social crises.60 In accordance with the movement,Nordenholt’s Million emphasises the importance of reinvigorating industrial production, creating new housing and rejecting the capitalist sys-temexistingbeforetheblight.Freedfromcapitalistideology,survivorsarenolongercompelledtoconsiderlossofprofitsovermassstarvationandthusworkcollectively towards social responsibility.Oncethecrisishaspassed,industrialproductionismaintainedinarebuilding

programmethatensuresfullemployment.TheemphasisonNationalEfficien-cycontrastsdirectlywiththesituationintheBritainoftheearly1920s,whichwasdefinedbyindustrialdecline,economicdownturnandincreasedunemploy-

56 Eatwell1995,8.57 Clarke1979,230.58 Aldiss/Wingrove2001,279.59 Stone2002,10;116.60 Stone2002,6–7.


ment.61Labourstrikesledtothelossof85millionworkingdaysin1921alone.62 These strikes had started in 1919 on the Clyde,wheremass demonstrationswereheldinfavourofa40-hourweek.Inresponse,thegovernmentmobilisedthe military and civilian volunteers to break up demonstrations.63 This oppres-siveresponsetostrikersissignificanttoNordenholt’s Million, which utilises such contemporary events to make its case for political and cultural transformation. Alluding positively to actions taken against Clyde Valley strikers under the De-fenceoftheRealmActandovertlycriticalofthestrike’scontext,inwhichpost-warrebuildingwasoccurringonlyslowly,thenoveljustifiesactionagainstan-yone refusing to work hard. Nordenholt allows no unionisation in his Nitrogen Areaandtoachieveasuitablelevelofefficiencycontinueshismanipulationofthe population.64

Using a rhetoric of fear and fairness Nordenholt manoeuvres the population towardspolicingitselfformaximumefficiency.Heaskstheworkers,“Isitrightthat a man who will not strain himself in the common service should reap what hehasnotsown?[…]Ordoyoubelievethiscommunityshouldriditselfofpar-asites?Ileavemyselfentirelyinyourhandsinthematter.”65Behindtherhetoric,Nordenholt’smotivesareclear:“Ishalldealwiththem–andIshalldoitbythehandof theirown fellows”,headmits.By this strategy,Nordenholtquashesdisputesoverpayandruthlesslyenforcedlongworkinghours,andterrorbe-comesameansofsecuringNationalEfficiency.AsFlintobserves,“Forthefirsttime, fear inmorethanoneformhadenteredtheNitrogenArea.”66 Norden-holt’sstrategyensuresthattheClydeValleypopulationhasnosympathyforthecondemned while at the same time it exonerates him from blame. At no point in itsdescriptionofNordenholt’s tyrannicalbehaviourdoes thenovelhintatirony:hisactionsarepresentedasentirelypragmatic,a“highermorality”thatemphasises the necessity of terror as a strategy in the control of population and thesecuringofNationalEfficiency.AnyobjectionsthereadermayhaveregardingthemeansbywhichNorden-

holtsecureshisachievementsaremitigatedbythenovel’sframinghisactionsasnecessaryandrational,andbyitstreatmentofhisnieceElsa’soppositiontohisselectionof5millionsurvivors.InakeyargumentbetweenElsaandFlint,theemotionalandlogicalimplicationsofNordenholt’sactionsareevaluated.67 Drawingonconventionalgenderbinariesoftheemotional,empatheticfemale

61 Taylor2001,145.62 Taylor2001,163.63 Rubinstein2003,110.64 Connington1923,92.65 Connington1923,111.66 Connington1923,112.67 Connington1923,220–230.


versus the logical, pragmaticmale, the textdramatizes theiroppositional in-terpretations of events. While Elsa can only see starving millions and think of dyingchildren,Flintexplains thatallowingmostof thepopulation todieen-sures some can be saved.68Duringtheirdebate,Elsa isshownas illogicalandemotional,unsuitedtomakingwhatarepresentedasrationalchoicesinatimeofcrisis.Inthisway,thetextassociatesoppositiontoNordenholt’sactionswithanaïve,illogicalandemotionalresponseratherthanreasonedthought.Elsa’sstandpoint,whilstostensiblyappealing,actuallyservestostrengthentheprag-matic position taken by Nordenholt and Flint.Nordenholt’sbanishmentoftheunskilledandtheunwillingfromhisClyde

area is a social Darwinist strategy that accelerates the natural winnowing of the populationbegunbythedisasterandextendedbythevirulentinfluenzathatfollows the blight. Early in the novel Nordenholt remarks that it was nature that passed sentence on humanity and in this context his own extreme responses are necessary in an extreme situation and are no worse than the ruthlessness of nature itself.69WithsuchjustificationsNordenholtdoesnotshyawayfromutilising violence and manipulation to achieve his aims. His propaganda cam-paign,forexample,isdesignedtoraiseandthenshatterthehopesofthepop-ulation in order to crush dissent and render the population fractured and fright-ened. The novel presents the use of propaganda for the purposes of terror as necessary–amanifestationofhis“mastermorality”–ratherthancruel.Oncetheimmediatedangerhaspassed,theanti-democraticideologyofthenovelismaintained and naturalised: democracy is not restored. Nordenholt tells Flint thatintheNitrogenAreathereis“nogabbleaboutdemocracy,nolawsamancan’tunderstand”.70Thus,Nordenholt’s Million promotes autocratic leadership asessentialfor,andcentralto,itsownformofsocialprogress.Asiscommonamongst pre-war secular disaster novels, catastrophe facilitateswhat is pre-sented as positive social change.71Followingthecataclysm,Nordenholt’sdirec-tionofthe“collectiveattemptsinrearingandeducating”resultsin“childrenwhothrong[thestreetsofthenewlybuiltcities]happierandmoreintelligentthantheirfathersintheirday”.Thesechildren“arealsopartofourwork”,Flintexplains,“taughtandtrainedintheidealsthatinspiredus”.72 Their education signalstheongoingsocialaimsofNordenholt’slegacy.

68 Connington1923,220–223.69 Connington1923,62.70 Connington1923,138.71 Woodward2017,43–47,providesanoverviewofhowpre-warsciencefictiondisasternovels

usedimaginedcataclysmstorealisewish-fulfilmentfantasies.72 Connington1923,198.


DEGENERATION AND EUGENICS AS THEMES WITHIN NORDENHOLT’S MILLION

Contemporaneousfearsofdegenerationarecentraltothenovel’sadvocacyofpopulationselectionandthenecessityforcontrolofthatpopulationby“high-ermen”.73 Importantly,thethreattohumansurvivalanddevelopment isnotonlyexternal,intheformoftheblight,butalsointernal,arisingfromwhatthetext presents as the nature of humanity. Nordenholt sends Flint to London to understand human nature deprived of the veneer of civilisation. This insight is invaluablefordevelopingFlint’srecognitionoftheneedforcontrollingthesur-viving population until it can be shaped into a less-base people. Nordenholt tells him,“Iwantyoutoseewhatit[humannature]amountstowhenyoutakeofftheleash.Ofcoursethebruteisthebasis.”74Accordingly,anentirechapterofNordenholt’s Million is dedicated to educating Flint by emphasising the fragility ofcivilisation.AsNicholasRuddicknotes,thischapter–“NuitBlanche”,withitssenseofanightthatisneverfullydark–isa“phantasmagoriaofembodiedanxieties”,chiefamongwhichisthevisionofhumanityconsumedincrisisbyits baser instincts.75 “NuitBlanche”charts Flint’s journeyamongsta starvingpopulationturningtocannibalism,ritualismandbarbarismand,assuch,com-mentscriticallyonhumannatureandthetenuousfaçadeofcivilisation.Flint’spassage into the Thanatotic burning landscape of London highlights the horrors “attherootsofhumanity”anddrawsattentiontohumanity’slinkstoitsanimalancestry.Flintlamentsthatthe“trailofthebrute’sovereverything”andonhisreturn,Nordenholtemphasisesthatthismustbetaken intoaccountasplansare made for the future development of civilisation.76

Cumulativelytheencountersduring“NuitBlanche”emphasisethattheca-tastrophehasexposedpeople’shiddennatures.Thecollapseof lawandtheonsetofmassstarvationoutsidetheNitrogenAreacreateunrepressed,animal-istic individuals. As a result of his experiences of barbarity during his long night inLondon,Flintunderstandsthat“theoldcivilisationwentitsway,healthyonthesurface,fulloflifeandvigour[…]yetallthewhile,atthebackofittherelurkedintheoddcornersthebrutal instincts,dartingintoviewattimesforamomentandthenreturningintothedarknesswhichwastheirhome”.77 While thesetraitsareassociatedwiththeentirepopulation(justastheyhadbeeninH.G.Wells’s1898disasternovelThe War of the Worlds in its subtler treatment ofthesameideas),heretheyarelinkeddirectlywithforeigners(aJewstere-

73 SeeStone2002,passim and MacKenzie1990,150.74 Connington1923,149.75 Ruddick1994,117.76 Connington1923,182.77 Connington1923,181.


otypicallyobsessedwithgold,aGerman“colony”thathascrucifiedavictim,anda“giganticNegro”practisingVoodoo)andadecadentaristocracy (LadyAngela,adegeneratearistocratdescribedas“rottentothecore”).78 As Ruddick notes, London is populatedby thosewho“havebeenmasquerading as civi-lisedhumanbeings”,suggestingthat“ForConnington[…]thenewurgencyforsurvivalinthemoralruinsofthepost-warnecessitatesahuntforscapegoats,rather than a period of introspection that might locate and confront the source ofthecatastrophewithin.”79However,itisinitsintrospection,itsattemptto“locateandconfrontthesourceofthecatastrophewithin”,thatNordenholt’s Millionprovidesscapegoatsinordertojustifyitseugenicagendaandachieveitswish-fulfilmentconclusion.TheimpliciteugenicobjectiveofNordenholt’sstrategyistheeliminationof

those judgedtobedegenerate:the lazy,theweak,foreignersandtheupperclass.However,as“NuitBlanche”makesclear,anotherformofselectioniscru-cialtoNordenholt’splans:selectionbaseduponefficiencyisalsofundamental.Eugenics is not associated solely with selecting the best people as progenitors offuturegenerations;italsoinformshowdifferentvocationsareclassifiedasworthy or unworthy.

VOCATION,EFFICIENCYANDELITISM

The vocations Nordenholt’s Millionpresentsasmostvaluablearepractical,par-ticularly relating to industry and science. Although Nordenholt is a businessman ratherthanascientist,hisdecisionsandactionsarepredicatedonNationalEf-ficiencyandscientificrationalismandhegathersscientistsaroundhiminordertofacilitatehisactionsassaviour,andinitiator,ofthenovel’soverallwish-ful-filment rebirth fantasy. Indeed, the catastrophe is overcomeby scientific in-novationandthesacrificeofselflessscientists.The“betterorder”offeredbyNordenholt’s Million is based on a society governed by a dictator whose policies areimplementedbyascientificandindustrialelitecomposedofthemostcom-mittedandproductiveinsociety.Inthisrespect,thetextisadeparturefromNietzschean thinking. Where for Nietzsche great importance is placed on artis-ticcreativityinrelationto“highermen”,herescientificdiscoveryandefficiencyarecentraltothecreationof“highertypes”.Progress,thenovelaffirms,isse-curedbytheelevationofthecompetentinordertoshapeanefficiency-basedsociety.AsMartinPughnotes,championsofNationalEfficiencycomplainedofthe decay of parliamentary systems and the incompetence of mature party pol-iticians in tackling complex issues. They sought to reduce the role of parliament

78 Connington1923,159–178.79 Ruddick1994,117.


by replacing elected authorities with experts and successful entrepreneurs “capableofpromotingthenational interest”.80 This strategy is precisely that adoptedbyNordenholt.Thekeyqualityofthoseheenlistsintohiselite“wasefficiency”,resultinginanaristocracyformedfromthe“super-excellenceofthehumanmaterialinwhichhe[Nordenholt]haddealt”.81

Unconcerned with egalitarianism, the novel offers a clear distinction be-tween an emergent aristocracy and the general population. The leaders and masses do not mix.82AsinNietzsche’sworks,boththe“herd”andthe“higher”typesarenecessaryelementsof society,but their separation–a“pathosofdistance”–isessential.Ifthe“higher”issufficientlydistancedfromthe“herd”,they may bring about the enhancement of life.83 This Nietzschean aristocratic division is akin to the separation at the conclusion of Nordenholt’s Million. Nord-enholt’saristocracyresidesinthenewcityofAsgard,namedaftertherealmoftheNorsegods,wheretheelitedesignthecitiesofthefuture.Thesecitiesarebuiltwiththeskillandsweatofthelabouringclass,whoseattentionandener-gy are syphoned into their construction.84Theyareutopianplaces,combiningpracticalitywithbeauty.Flintreferstothe“faintandperfumedbreezesbring-ingtheirsubtropicalwarmthastheyblowacrossthevalley;and[hesays]Ihear,faintandafar,thesoundsofmusicminglingwiththerustlingoftrees”.85 The suggestionofwarmth,beautyandsweet-smellingairinthesefinaldescriptionscreates from an eschatological perspective a perversion of the idea of a New Jerusalem.Moresecularly,itisautopianvisionthatformsafurtherjustificationforthenovel’sadvocacyoftotalitarianism.

The new cities of Nordenholt’s Million constitute awish-fulfilment fantasy ofurbanefficiencyandhygieneforthesurvivorsinvolvedinNordenholt’sremak-ingofBritain.Thecityoftheinter-waryears,asThomasLinehanreveals,wasa place of “squalor, deprivation and disease, poisoned environments whichbrutalisedtheinhabitants,destroyedtheirhealthandinvariablyimperilledthesurvivalof the race”.86Thiswashardly thecountryfit“forheroes to live in”promotedbyLloydGeorgein1918,andby1923,andthepublicationofNorden-holt’s Million,therewasnosignthathisvisionwasgoingtobeachieved.87 Ac-cordingly, informedbypost-warzeitgeist,Nordenholt’s Million advocates pro-

80 Pugh2006,15.81 Connington1923,236–237.82 Connington1923,112.83 Schacht2002,338.84 Connington1923,283.85 Connington1923,286.86 Linehan 2000,248.87 Pugh2009,60.


to-fascist ideas while drawing on eugenic perspectives for the improvement of humanity.Althoughitfindsradicallydifferentexpression,thepost-FirstWorldWar disenchantment evident in Nordenholt’s Million would also permeate Syd-neyFowlerWright’sinter-wardisasternovelsDeluge(1927)andDawn (1929),although, unlikeNordenholt’s Million, they advocate a complete rejection ofmodernity in favour of a re-assertive middle-class patriarchy controlling the land,workingclassesandwomen.Nordenholt’s Million’snon-democratic,high-lyefficientutopiabuiltonthesubjugationofthefewandthesacrificeofthemany is informed by a desire to overcome and where necessary oppress what itperceivesas“humannature”.Inkeepingwithits“extremesofEnglishness”themes,strongleadershipisshownasnecessaryinthenovel’semphasisonthebenefitsofdictatorialrule.Suchapositiverepresentationofdictatorship,evenoneapparently justifiedbycatastrophe,couldonlyhavebeenwrittenbeforetheSecondWorldWar.Nevertheless,itrevealshowitispossibleforsometoac-ceptanisolationist,anti-democraticandanti-liberalenvironmentasadesirablemeans of overcoming contemporary social and economic anxieties.

BIBLIOGRAPHYAldiss,Brian/Wingrove,David,2001[1986],TrillionYearSpree,NorthYorkshire:HouseofStratus.Clarke,IgnatiusF.,1979,ThePatternofExpectation,1644–2001,NewYork:Basic.Connington,J.J.(AlfredWalterStewart),1923[1946],Nordenholt’sMillion,Harmondsworth:Pen-

guinBooks,2nded.Diethe,Carol,2007,HistoricalDictionaryofNietzscheanism,Lanham,MD/Toronto/Plymouth:Scare-

crow Press.Eatwell,Roger,1995,Fascism:AHistory,London:Chatto&Windus.Hamilton,Alastair,1971,TheAppealofFascism:AStudyofIntellectualsandFascism,1919–1945,

London / New York: Macmillan.Linehan,Thomas,2000,BritishFascism,1918–39:Parties,IdeologyandCulture,Manchester:Man-

chester University Press.MacKenzie,JohnM.,1990,ImperialismandtheNaturalWorld,Manchester:ManchesterUniversity

Press.Nietzsche,Friedrich,1968,TheWilltoPower,editedandtranslatedbyWalterKaufmann,NewYork:

Vintage Books. Nietzsche,Friedrich,2002,BeyondGoodandEvil,editedbyRolf-PeterHortsmannandtranslatedby

JudithNorman,Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.Nietzsche,Friedrich,2006,ThusSpakeZarathustra,editedbyRobertPippin,translatedbyAdrien

DelCaro,Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.Nietzsche,Friedrich,2006,OntheGenealogyofMorality,editedbyKeithAnsell-Pearson,translated

byCarolDieth,Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.Overy,RichardJ.,2007,TheInterwarCrisis1919–1939,London/NewYork:Longman.Pugh,Martin,2006,“HurrahfortheBlackshirts!”FascistsandFascisminBritainbetweentheWars,

London: Pimlico.Pugh,Martin,2009,WeDancedAllNight:ASocialHistoryofBritainbetweentheWars,London:Vintage.Rubinstein,WilliamD.,2003,Twentieth-CenturyBritain:APoliticalHistory,Basingstoke:Palgrave

Macmillan.


Ruddick,Nicholas,1994,TheUltimateIsland,Westport,CT:GreenwoodPress.Schacht,Richard,2002,Nietzsche,London/NewYork:Routledge.Schapiro,Leonard,1972,Totalitarianism.London:PallMallPress.Smith,Malcolm,1995,“TheWarandBritishCulture”,in:Constantine,Stephen/Kirby,MauriceW./

Rose,MaryB.(eds.),TheFirstWorldWarinBritishHistory,London:E.Arnold,168–83.Stone,Dan,2002,BreedingSuperman:Nietzsche,RaceandEugenics inEdwardianand Interwar

Britain,Liverpool:LiverpoolUniversityPress.Taha,Abir,2005,Nietzsche,ProphetofNazism:TheCultoftheSuperman,Bloomington,IN:Author

House.Taylor,AlanJ.P.,2001,EnglishHistory1914–1945,Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.Thurlow,Richard,1987,FascisminBritain:AHistory,1918–1985,Oxford:Blackwell.Wells,H.G.,1976,TheWaroftheWorlds,London:Heinemann.Woodward,Jennifer,2017,R.C.Sherriff’sTheHopkinsManuscript(1939)andTransformativeDisas-

terFiction,Foundation:TheInternationalReviewofScienceFiction127,43–57.


Javier Campos Calvo-Sotelo

Apocalypse as Critical Dystopia in Modern Popular Music

ABSTRACTThe last book of the New Testament has inspired countless narratives and cultural pro-ductions. In the realm of popular music, the Apocalypse has been embraced as syn-onymous with imminent catastrophe, generating a dystopian discourse. As a tool for analysis, the concept of “critical dystopia” has built a useful means of connecting apoc-alyptic menaces, re-enchantment of the world, and social protest. At the same time, “authenticity” is a sacred dimension within rock, an antidote to commercialism and a key notion of doomsday scenarios. This article has two parts: first, a conceptual review of the state of the questions and debate involved; and second, an exposition of selected songs, followed by a summary of their main traits.

KEYWORDSApocalypse, Popular Music, Critical Dystopia, Authenticity

BIOGRAPHYJavier Campos Calvo-Sotelo holds a double degree in History (Autónoma University of Madrid) and Music (Conservatory of Madrid). He earned his Doctorate in Musicology in 2008 (Complutense University of Madrid) and has been part of several research projects on popular music, modern forms of religion, Celtology, and revival; he has specialized also in areas of systematic musicology. His work has been presented in a number of publications and at international conferences.

INTRODUCTION

The last book of the New Testament has inspired countless narratives and cul-tural productions, most of them unaware of its complex and metaphorical con-tents.1 Apocalypse/apocalyptic has thus become a self-referential category in the collective imagination, a fascinating icon no matter its distance from the

1 I am grateful to Alejandro Campos Presas, anthropologist and a drummer in a metal band, for his valuable help in the study of heavy metal music and religious traits involved.

DOI: 10.25364/05.05:2019.2.5

Apocalypse as Critical Dystopia in Modern Popular Music | 69www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 69–94

original. In the realm of popular music and especially after the two world wars, the Apocalypse was passionately embraced as synonymous with imminent catastrophe, generating a mainly dystopian discourse. As a tool for analysis, the concept of “critical dystopia”2 has provided a useful connection between apocalyptic menaces, re-enchantment of the world, and social protest. Yet “au-thenticity” is a sacred dimension within rock, an antidote to commercialism and “mainstream” as musical prostitution, very much in biblical style; for this reason, authenticity constitutes a key notion for doomsday scenarios. The connection between apocalypse and authenticity is therefore immediate and natural, with the former the desired and eschatological consummation of the latter’s victory against evil or the forces of falsehood and part of both an aesthetic and a moral universe of personal engagement, highly respected by rock fans. Authenticity becomes revelation of the divine to worshippers and a cathartic projection into the future/salvation.

The volume The Attraction of Religion, edited by Jason Slone and James Van Slyke, is founded on the question of why so many people are attracted to reli-gion, which seems to be an evolutionary puzzle dependent on functional adap-tations.3 Since the Enlightenment era, massive secularization and high technolo-gy have triggered the abandonment of conventional monotheistic religions, but the human spiritual principle probably remains in new formulas and neo-pagan tendencies to re-significate reality. Currently almost any cultural space can host spontaneous reactions that reify the inherent religious ontology of individuals. Media are constantly circulating the tropes and narratives of popular religion in ways that serve to “deepen an association rather than to comment on religion per se”.4 Instead of religious language disappearing, it has been diffused, re-ap-propriated, and heightened through the blending and borrowing of various tra-ditions and practices.5

Em McAvan describes the postmodern sacred as never directed toward one religious truth but instead “pastiched together from the fragments of spiritual traditions that do have that ontological foundation”.6 In everyday life there are transformations of a spiritual nature outside the religious sphere: “salvation, or analogues of salvation, are sought, found, or unconsciously implied in the every-day, in the vernacular”.7 The suggestion that religious forms may belong to or-dinary life has already been explored in terms of “implicit religion”, (E. Bailey),

2 Moylan 2000; Swanson 2016.3 Slone/Van Slyke 2016.4 Clark 2007, 72–73.5 Swanson 2016. See Campos 2016.6 McAvan 2010; emphasis original.7 Bacon/Dossett/Knowles 2015b, 5.

70 | Javier Campos Calvo-Sotelo www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 69–94

“invisible religion” (T. Luckmann), “surrogate religion” (R. Robertson), “qua-si-religion” (A. Griel and T. Robbins), and “hidden religiosity” (H. Kommers).

In 1516 Thomas More published in Latin his celebrated Utopia,8 which was in fact a socio-political satire. However, the notion of a perfect society is much older, starting with the myth of Eden. In classical Greece the legend of Arcadia was broadly exploited in arts and literature, and Plato wrote the Republic as an expression of his social philosophy. Christian theology was extremely dualistic, separating body from soul, with a similar polarity between the human commu-nity and the City of God (Augustine of Hippo). The Latin hymn Dies Irae, attrib-uted to Thomas of Celano in the thirteenth century and partially inspired by the book of Revelation, described the Last Judgment, with the trumpets sum-moning souls to the throne of God, where the righteous will be saved and the sinners cast into eternal flames; like many other medieval apocalyptic images, it involved the eschatology of a failed society and its annihilation. The sequels of Dies Irae spread over the centuries incorporated into requiem masses (by Mozart, Berlioz, or Verdi), contemporary music by composers like Wagner (Twi-light of the Gods), Scriabin (Mysterium), Ligeti (Lux Aeterna), Messiaen (Quartet for the End of Time), and Penderecki (Auschwitz Oratorio), and other cultured works describing doomsday either in biblical terms or in worldly holocausts.

“Dystopia”, the concept coined by John Stuart Mill in 1868, is omnipresent in cur-rent media, where it has become a popular locus for varied cultural formulas and parallel academic interest. Utopia, anti-utopia, dystopia, eutopia, critical dystopia, and other related terms are generally associated with literature, film, TV series, science fiction, and video games, but are associated much less with music, which is surpris-ing because there are countless musical-dystopian recreations: “[t]he sounds of the Bible are all over popular music, and its influence on that art form is inestimable.”9

The fact is that religion seems to return in our times (if it was ever absent), shrouded either in declared neo-pagan rites/beliefs or in unconscious formulas of de-secularization.

[T]he media are nowadays suffused with content that may prime (especially young) people for New Age spirituality – “glossy” spiritual magazines, shows like Oprah or Dr. Phil, television series like the X-Files or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and films like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter may play a major role in opening teenagers up to spirituality, preparing a first introduction to the spiritual milieu.10

TV series like Doctor Who (UK 1963–) and Game of Thrones (US 2011–2019) somehow build modern polytheistic cosmologies that the audience demand

8 Dē Optimo Rēpūblicae Statu dēque Nova Insula Ūtopia.9 Gilmour 2017, 76.10 Van Otterloo/Aupers/Houtman 2012, 253.


to cover their lack of divinities. Something similar could be said of the cin-ematographic sagas of The Lord of the Rings I–III (Peter Jackson, US/UK/NZ 2001–2003), Star Wars I–VI (George Lucas, US 1977–2005), Harry Pot-ter I–VIII (Various Directors, UK 2001–2011), Superman (Richard Donner, US 1978), Batman (Tim Burton, US 1989), and Tarzan (Kevin Lima and Chris Buck, US 1999). Comparable narratives can be found within graphic novels, computer games, and other media; the homo religious is still alive and very active.11

This article revolves around three key notions: critical dystopia, authentici-ty, and apocalypse, putting forward their significance and main content with-in the realm of modern popular music. Especial attention is given to “critical dystopia” because of its relevance for the research.

APOCALYPSE

Apocalypse means “revelation”, not destruction/devastation/catastrophe.12 De-spite this fact, there is no doubt about the weight of biblical-based mythology at present, visible in the “current American enthusiasm for apocalyptic litera-ture.”13 Robert Geraci puts forward a positive assumption of the apocalypse as an agent of transformation and virtual immortality; believers will expect a catharsis leading to a new and perfect existence.14 The book of Revelation also involves martyrdom and salvation: “Martyrdom is a prominent feature of the Apocalypse. In fact, Revelation contains the earliest depiction of martyrs in a post-mortem state.”15 The pain-to-glory metamorphosis could be interpreted as a liminal transition in rock musicians who sacrifice themselves (e. g., via drugs) to gain sacred status even if their life is the price, in line with the well-known motto “live fast, die young and leave a pretty corpse”.

Martyrs in Revelation “follow the Lamb wherever he goes” (14:4), and this includes his martryogical [sic] pattern of death, resurrection and glorification. … The martyrs are also presented as faithful witnesses … they are redeemed from the dead (14:3) and sit on Christ’s throne (3:22) to reign (20:6) and judge the nations (2:26). In other words, the martyrs do what Christ does. … As Jesus’ death became a paradigmatic model of discipleship, those who followed his path of suffering and martyrdom came themselves to function in some way as “second Christs”.16

11 Campos 2020.12 Chang 2011.13 Bendle 2005.14 Geraci 2010. See Heim 2017.15 Middleton 2015, 113.16 Middleton 2015, 114.


The sacrifice of one’s life is an irrefutable proof of authenticity, as it implies the abandonment of any material power or richness. After dying in full youth un-der mythicized circumstances, Jimi Hendrix, Janice Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse became automatically heroes-saints-subjects of adoration, as the remarkable pilgrimages of followers to their graves evince.

A term related to apocalypse is apocalypticism: “the belief that God has re-vealed the imminent end of the ongoing struggle between good and evil in his-tory”.17 Sklower approaches apocalypticism as part of the counterculture and integrated by three elements, all of them present in rock music: aesthetic van-guardism, the belief in the capacity of art to change society, and a specific re-lationship to modern life;18 the second of these features is crucial to this study. Since the 2000s so-called critical dystopia have actively renewed the production and perception of the modern apocalypse and its surrounding semiological uni-verse.19

CRITICAL DYSTOPIA

“Dystopia” is a two-part term, formed by dys (bad) and topos (place). Generally, it involves a society that is undesirable and/or frightening, the antonym of Uto-pia (the no-place coined by More as a too-perfect community). “Critical dysto-pia” is characterized by the possibility of improving the real world and avoiding a material disaster. It is opposed to “classical dystopia”, which describes and criticises – but mostly accepts – a sad fate for humanity. Andrew Feenberg stud-ied dystopia and apocalypse in light of the emergence of “critical conscious-ness”, addressing “the rise of new doomsday myths inspired by the invention of the atom bomb”.20 Feenberg was aware of the restrictions of conventional dys-topia: “[t]he concept of dystopia implies the impossibility of escape.”21 Drawing upon the work of political scientist Lyman T. Sargent, Thomas Moylan provided a definition of critical dystopia that is the foundational axis of the notion:

[A] textual mutation that self-reflexively takes on the present system and offers not only astute critiques of the order of things but also explorations of the oppositional spaces and possibilities from which the next round of political activism can derive imaginative sustenance and inspiration.22

17 Geraci 2010, 4.18 Sklower 2014.19 More nuances on the different dimensions and definitions of apocalypse and dystopia can be

found in Ania 2007.20 Feenberg 1995, 41.21 Feenberg 1995, 43.22 Moylan 2000, 15.


In challenging capitalist power and conservative rules Moylan sees hope and not resignation. Common dystopia is characterised by its creative capacity, but it renounces changing the world: “Formally and politically … the dystopian text refuses a functionalist or reformist perspective.”23 Moylan establishes a clear separation between the optimism of the 1960s and 1970s, which gave rise to a utopian wave, and the 1980s and 1990s (the Reagan Era), when globalist capi-talism flooded the world with inequality and pessimism, causing the return to dystopian narratives. Lorna Jowett assumes critical dystopia as “active hope”; within her perspective the TV series Angel (US 1999–2004) was not intended “as helping the helpless but as helping the hopeless”.24 Why did dystopia grow especially in the twentieth century? Two world wars, the arms race, technolo-gies considered as alienating and threatening human freedom, and capitalist excesses had an influence. But especially in the modern apocalyptic discourse, the motive of a third world war is constant, as many protest and rock songs reflect. Hence utopias turned into dystopias, “the product of the terrors of the twentieth century”.25 In fact, the concepts of utopia and dystopia are inextri-cably connected: “Utopia functions as warning to humankind … which delib-erately reminds us that what is at stake is nothing less than our future itself … [T]here can be no deliberations on dystopia without regarding utopia”.26

Some social and intellectual reactions to the universal threats of human-kind are close to critical dystopia, although they take a different perspective, encompassing interrelated meanings and formulas around the fear of massive destruction, with or without biblical reminiscences. Alternative Salvations, ed-ited by Hannah Bacon, Wendy Dossett, and Steve Knowles,27 deals with that trope, distinct from conventional salvation in orthodox religions; this volume stresses – in a theoretical framework of post-Christian spirituality – the opposi-tion between religious and secular salvation, affirming that the latter is achieva-ble independently of the former. Thomas Coleman and Robert Arrowood also advocate for a secular salvation;28 their guiding principle is atheistic, relying on the well-known assertion by Paul Kurtz and Edwin Wilson in their 1973 second Humanist Manifesto: “no deity will save us; we must save ourselves. We are re-sponsible for what we are and for what we will be.”29 There is a tight connection between the concepts of secular salvation and critical dystopia, because both

23 Moylan 2000, xii.24 Jowett 2007, 76.25 Moylan 2000, xi; Bendle 2005.26 Farca and Ladevèze 2016, 2–3. Emphasis original.27 Bacon/Dossett/Knowles 2015a.28 Coleman/Arrowood 2015.29 Generic Manifesto of the American Humanist Association, 1973, https://americanhumanist.org/

what-is-humanism/manifesto2/ [accessed 14 September 2019].


struggle for a better world, intending to positively renew social structures and human relationships. But the advocates of secular salvation strongly criticize Christians for their subjugation to the Almighty God, just expecting him to save them. Instead, these authors prefer to focus on the here-and-now: “Does ‘salva-tion’ denote something that falls into some inherently religious realm? Can it be understood apart from its traditionally theological and vertically transcendent cynosure? The answer, we argue, is: ‘absolutely’.”30

Moreover, they assess that forgetting about God would increase the imple-mentation of real solutions to humans’ troubles and injustices; some religious frameworks, they propose, provide an excuse for not taking action to make the world a better place. Caesar Montevecchio separates “biblical apocalyptic” and “secularized apocalyptic”,31 while Lyman Sargent points out with irony: “[g]iven our real world, who needs dystopias?”32. Sargent concludes that “[w]e need the dystopia to remind us that our dystopia could get worse, but we need the eutopia even more to remind us that better, while difficult, is possible”.33 Modern dystopias are, therefore, revulsive catalysts for societies where protest songs became rather outdated: “the New Left was born from the mood of anti-dystopian resistance”.34 If critical dystopia presupposes that people should not limit themselves to resignation but instead confront the capitalist system and its excesses, then it constitutes a call to civic activism.

AUTHENTICITY

In the confusion of values of our times, “authenticity” becomes a moral man-date for many rock followers. Authenticity rests “on two key concepts: orig-inality and trueness”, entailing a quasi-religious faith. Relying upon Walter Benjamin’s notion of “aura” in the contemporary work of art, Bernardo Attias theorizes authenticity as a “spiritual concept”, associated with “cult value”35 in terms of an overall “mystique of authenticity”.36 Not surprisingly we live a time with “thirst for the authentic”.37 Authenticity within rock is tied to a vague, nondenominational human spirituality, not unlike the transcendent qualities

30 Coleman/Arrowood 2015, 12. Around the notion of “secular salvation” several works by Dutch historian Jan N. Bremmer are worth consulting.

31 Montevecchio 2012, 6.32 Sargent 2013, 10.33 Sargent 2013, 12. “Eutopia” (from the Greek eu [good] and topos [place]) means the fair, desir-

able, and good community, as a real aspiration (in comparison with “utopia” as an unattainable concept).

34 Feenberg 1995, 43.35 Attias 2016, 133–134.36 Attias 2016, 136.37 McCoy 2013, 188.


associated with Western classical music in the nineteenth century. In militant followers it involves a holistic cosmology of life and music and a deep sense of discipline, including hypercritical issues about society as a great lie stemming from globalizing and commercial interests. For this reason, rockers look back to the past (recent as it may be) in search of “lost” authenticity. That is why authenticity is closely related to nostalgia and revival, as well as to the modern reading of the apocalypse that implies a radical metamorphosis of the mecha-nisms of power, institutions, collective mentality, systems of government, and the like. As stated in the call for papers for the Apocalypse and Authenticity conference held at the University of Hull in July 2017:

A number of media and film narratives propagate a sense of nostalgia and the idea that society needs to return to an (idealized) past if it wants to rediscover its authen-tic self and renew an authentic way of life. The popularity of such narratives seems to suggest that we long for things we experience as lost, and this experience might indeed drive apocalyptic imaginations: a desire for renewal and return to a nostalgic past that can only be achieved through an apocalyptic event and the collapse of es-tablished power structures and economic forces of oppression.38

Some celebrated rockers have empowered themselves as Messiahs by elevating their real or imagined authenticity to a transcendent dimension. That is the case for Cliff Richard,39 comparable to the massive adoration spectacle around Mi-chael Jackson,40 and the promise land myth in the lyrics of Bruce Springsteen.41 The Velvet Underground portrayed themselves as “the paragon of authenticity in rock music”,42 and “their nihilism and despair were coupled with a moralism that sought transcendence”, as can be appreciated in the Velvets’ most contro-versial song, “Heroin”.43 Neil Young’s “This Note’s for You” (This Note’s for You, 1988) is one of the most openly anti-consumer and pro-authenticity rock songs by such a celebrity, with direct critical allusions to Michael Jackson, Madonna, and several international brands. Young starts by claiming: “Ain’t singing for Pep-si / Ain’t singing for Coke … / This note’s for you”; and in the last verses states: “Don’t want no cash / Don’t need no money / … I’ve got the real thing / I got the

38 Apocalypse and Authenticity International Conference. 11–13 July 2017, University of Hull. Conference of the Theology, Religion and Popular Culture Network.

39 Löbert 2012.40 Carby 2001.41 McCarthy 2001.42 Attias 2016, 131. See Burns 2014.43 Attias 2016, 142, 138. As it frequently happens, personal life was reportedly different from the

public discourse; Attias 2016, 136: “The 1980s saw [Lou Reed] selling scooters for Honda while ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ played; the 1990s saw ‘Venus in Furs’ used somewhat absurdly as the soundtrack for a Dunlop tire commercial; and the 2000s saw him designing a smart-phone app (Dombal).”


real thing, baby.” Within this amalgam of critical, affective, and spiritual proc-lamations, fans as “believers” will develop a corresponding faith investment, depositing their spiritual disquiet on the singer-as-god that provides the “real” alternative, freeing the follower from the tyranny of consumer society. As stated above, authenticity is the cornerstone of rock culture, a sacred magnitude and the answer to the mainstream as musical corruption, very much in a biblical style.

The contemporary combination of these complex and cross-cultural cate-gories (apocalypse; critical dystopia; authenticity) demands specific study as it has triggered important cultural productions and social resistance concerning the universal fear of a nuclear holocaust. Dystopian popular music plays a nota-ble role in the development and spread of the corresponding narratives calling for civic rebellion, making possible by these means the articulation of a trans-formed protest song language and promoting a renewed engagement with the spiritual.

DYSTOPIAN POPULAR MUSIC

Apocalypse actually fits with rock: U2, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Iron Maiden, REM, The Doors, and Busta Rhymes, among many others, have created relevant songs involving the apocalypse-as-dystopia rhetoric. It is definitely a creative locus for composers and a stable territory for the collective imagination of their followers. The cultural context helps, as nowadays there is a strong scepticism about dogma and priestly hierarchy and the opposite ten-dency for religious personal ecstasy and new spiritual cultures. Starting in the 1960s “The Beatles replaced (or at least accompanied) baptisms, confirmations and bar-mitzvahs. Discos and dancing were more enticing than devotions.”44 With the arrival of rap and hip hop in the 1980s, it was clear that “the church’s exclusive rights on the rhetoric of ritual, sacred or otherwise, were over”.45

Probably the boomers’ rejection originated as a part of their generational re-bellion against their parents’ inherited culture. There are many songs opposed to Christian beliefs and dogmas; others attack the church or the figure of Jesus. Trash metal members burnt churches in Norway in the 1990s. Aqualung (Jethro Tull, 1971) inverted the initial terms of Genesis: “In the beginning Man created God; and in the image of Man created he him”. The song “Cathedral” by Crosby, Stills and Nash (CSN, 1977) ran: “Open up the gates of the church and let me out of here / … So many people have died in the name of Christ / That I can’t believe it all”. And so on. Lennon’s rejection of formal religion had an enormous echo; for him:

44 Marsh 2017, 234.45 Peddie 2017, 41.


[R]eligion is part of the establishment and its abuses, and he is characteristically blunt when asserting freedom from its control, as heard on John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band (1970): “There ain’t no Jesus gonna come/from the sky …” (“I Found Out”); “[They] Keep you doped with religion” (“Working Class Hero”); “I don’t believe in Bible/…/I don’t believe in Jesus” (“God”).46

In some cases, the objective was to provoke the audience with irreverence, without greater depth. In others, it was part of marketing strategies, for the menace of doomsday sells well. Importantly, in dystopian rock, devastation is anticipated in present life; hence the urgency of its apocalyptic assertions, together with the countercultural pressure that the realm of rock usually con-veys. The goal of demonic rockers was and is to “break on through” regardless of what exists on the other side; hence, “sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll” remains the battle cry for many rockers – from Alice Cooper to Marilyn Manson – who assault Judeo-Christian theology, value-free science, and Western institutions more for the sake of rebellion than anything else.47

However, rock has also provided quite a few pro-Christ songs and gestures with positive religious meaning, as can be seen in “Jesus” by the feared un-derground leader Lou Reed (The Velvet Underground, 1969). In the movie Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, US 1969), an icon of the hippie era, there is a scene of a mass in the commune, completely reverential despite unusual details. In 1970 Larry Norman released Upon This Rock, now viewed as the world’s first Christian rock album. Kris Kristofferson’s “Why Me Lord” (Jesus Was a Capricorn, 1972) sang: “Help me Jesus, my soul’s in your hand”. Those years also witnessed mu-sicals like Jesus Christ Superstar (Norman Jewison, US 1973) and Godspell (David Greene, US 1973), which attempted to de-officialise Christianism for youth, building a bridge between the church and counterculture in the figure of a rock-adapted Jesus. “The King of Carrot Flowers Pts. Two & Three” is a love song to Jesus by Neutral Milk Hotel (In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, 1998). In 2001 Mick Jagger released the song of gratitude “God Gave Me Everything I Want”. The so-called U2charist phenomenon (a Eucharist ceremony based on the music of U2) deserves attention. On 27 August 2014, I attended a met-al mass (i.e. a Lutheran mass with heavy metal arrangements) at the Temple Square Church, Helsinki. There are “more semiotically complex or directly chal-lenging pop,” such as:

Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” (Like a Prayer, 1989) or Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” (Born This Way, 2011), alongside sometimes darker, if equally contagious and compelling,

46 Gilmour 2017, 67. More nuances on the religious orientation of John Lennon and the countercultural era can be found in Campos 2020.

47 Dunbar 2002.


pop such as Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” (Talking Book, 1972), Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” (Thriller, 1982), Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” (/ Remember Yesterday, 1977) or Abba’s mysterious, even melancholic, “The Day Before You Came” (The Sin-gles: The First Ten Years, 1982).48

Therefore, despite oppositional stances, rock’s underlying interest in religion is pervasive: “music of the last fifty or so years constantly draws on language, themes and imagery from the Christian bible”.49 With respect to the Apoca-lypse, the confluence of the sacred and the profane is captivating for the au-dience: “Biblical apocalypticism continued to function as an important source of inspiration for many pioneering thrash metal bands, although arguably mostly as a rhetorical device.”50 Marcus Moberg even describes “theatrically ‘Satanic’ bands such as Venom, Bathory and Mercyful Fate”.51 Nevertheless, the wide-ranging genre of heavy metal music can be assumed to a large extent to be a culture of critical dystopia: “[T]he dystopian elements in metal music are not merely or necessarily a sonic celebration of disaster. Rather, metal music’s fascination with dystopian imagery is often critical in intent.”52

The combination of thrash metal and dystopia configures an educational lan-guage in its “abrasive tone and dystopian language” that “attacks norms, reli-gion, the economic and political status quo, and social injustice”.53 The correla-tion is automatic: “heavy metal’s association with religion … has developed into a defining characteristic of the genre as a whole”.54 However, metal is prone to a message of hope: “what seems like rejection, alienation, or nihilism” may be more productively viewed as “an attempt to create an alternative identity”.55 In metal music, dystopia prevails over nihilism. In fact, nihilism is the opposite pole of critical dystopia, just as metal dismisses utopia.

DYSTOPIAN SONGS SELECTION

This section considers a selection of 18 songs of interest for this study, which are presented in chronological order. There is a huge amount of other music that deserves attention from the perspective of popular culture and apoca-

48 Marsh 2017, 235.49 Gilmour 2017, 67.50 Moberg 2017, 225.51 Moberg 2017, 226. The names of some thrash metal main bands are expressive: Anthrax, Annihilator,

Artillery, Carnivore, Celtic Frost, Death, Deicide, Angel, Destruction, Exodus, Havok, Megadeth, Metal Church, Nuclear Assault, Overkill, Powermad, Savatage, Sepultura, Sodom, and Suicidal Tendencies.

52 Taylor 2006, i.53 Buckland 2016, 145.54 Moberg 2017, 223.55 Walser 1993, xvii.


lypse research, but that selected conveys a special meaning or formal traits. The relevance of the artist(s) has been also taken into account, as well some equitable chronological distribution. Two broad musical-literary categories can be identified: songs that specifically mention the Apocalypse (or biblical images of destruction) and songs with no explicit religious/apocalyptic references but that depict catastrophes like a nuclear war. In the latter the religious dimension can be uncertain. With respect to critical dystopia, some songs clearly belong to the category; a few do not, which makes them of interest as contrasting reper-toire. In a third group the boundaries between classical and critical dystopia are blurred, as the conceptual differences exist alongside coincidences.

Bob Dylan has been constantly attached to religious themes, particularly bib-lical. His conversion process, his visit to Pope John Paul II, his gospel albums, and some of his songs are undeniable proofs of a personal approach to (Christian) religion. “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” (A–1)56 was published shortly before the Cuban Missile Crisis; the lyrics are concerned with the tension of those years. It is a metaphorical and poetic song, where the “rain” is an allusion to a world war. However, the meaning beyond the words has remained a hymn against injustice and war. Some verses contain accusations in typically Dylanesque lan-guage: “I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken / I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children … / Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin”. Other famous dystopian and authenticity-com-mitted songs by Dylan are “All Along the Watchtower” (later covered by Jimi Hendrix), and “Masters of War”, and even more so, “The Groom’s Still Waiting at the Altar” (Shot of Love, 1981), perhaps the scariest of all Dylan apocalypse songs. The lyrics include: “seen the massacre of the innocent … / They’re killing nuns and soldiers”. In Tempest (2012) Dylan devoted the homonymous song to the Titanic shipwreck, with notable apocalyptic connotations. Nonetheless, Dylan’s dystopia usually leaves a margin for salvation:

Tempest is full of violence and bloodshed but there is possibly a hint of optimism in Dylan’s Titanic song as well. Humanity bobs along the chaotic sea often unmindful of the prophets’ warnings but not all is lost. Revelation anticipates a time when the sea, John’s symbol of chaos, will be no more (21.1).57

“The End” (A–2) by The Doors was conceived as the farewell to a girlfriend of Jim Morrison’s, but because of its use at the beginning of the film Apocalypse now (Francis Ford Coppola, US 1979)58 it became an icon of dystopian rock. The music is disturbing, in oriental style; just when the voice starts to sing, the screen shows a

56 Hereafter the indication (A-x) means Annex and the number of the song there, with its main data.57 Gilmour 2017, 71.58 Initial scene on: https://bit.ly/2LU6fGr [accessed 12 June 2018].


series of napalm explosions in the jungle of Vietnam. The contrast between Morri-son’s melancholic voice and the sudden violence of the bombs is daunting. The lyr-ics fit perfectly with the dystopian motifs that Coppola was looking for in his com-plex examination of the Vietnam War. In the scene an anguished existentialism prevails: “This is the end, beautiful friend / … I’ll never look into your eyes, again”.

David Bowie has been an assiduous composer of apocalyptic-themed music like “Five Years” (The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, 1972). “As the World Falls Down” (from the film Labyrinth, Jim Henson, UK/US 1986), and the late “Black Star” (Black Star, 2015) are other interesting cre-ations. “Future Legend” (Diamond dogs, 1974. A–3) lasts barely one minute; it begins with a distorted howl and features Bowie’s spoken-word vision of a post-apocalyptic Manhattan, now renamed Hunger City, comparing the human-oid inhabitants to “packs of dogs”. “Future Legend / 1984” is based on Orwell’s 1984, a true paradigm of dystopian literature. The two-part song opens the al-bum, and although lacking specifically apocalyptic content, it evinces the dysto-pian denunciation and positioning of Bowie. Some verses reveal a recreation of the aesthetics of horror: “And in the death, as the last few corpses lay rotting on the slimy thoroughfare … Fleas the size of rats sucked on rats the size of cats, …” In the following “1984” Bowie sings: “Beware the savage jaw / Of 1984 … / They’ll split your pretty cranium / … tomorrow’s never there”. With these early songs Bowie enlarged the list of classical dystopias, incisive in their complaints about chaos and anarchy, but rather resigned to their effects.

“London Calling” (A–4) is the opening song of the homonymous double LP released by The Clash in 1979. The list of horrors in the song is outstanding, describing awful man-made destruction and societal breakdown in marching beat: “London calling upon the zombies of death / … A nuclear era … London is drowning”. With its stomping rhythm and reiterative ostinato bassline, “Lon-don Calling” embodies the bleakest outlook upon the future. The official video clip emphasizes a dark and rainy atmosphere. Lyrics attack the Beatles popular-ity echoed by sound-alike bands in late 1970s (“that phoney Beatlemania”) in an implicit declaration of authenticity, as the Beatles belonged to mainstream in the punk territory. Punk is dystopian and nihilistic in essence; caustic state-ments stem from the particular aesthetics of the genre, intended to express horror and nausea, not to change the world. As Cyrus Shahan stated in his study of this genre in Germany: “German punk positioned itself in opposition to ‘1968’”, thus creating a “third space” in the generational struggle against the establishment. Punk’s “no future” mantra, “was not about resignation but rejection, rejection of the future promised by failures of the past at the violent moment of punk’s birth”.59 However, the “subversive, counter-discursive, and

59 Shahan 2011: 371.


anti-institutional” character of punk music knew “only one activity: the erasure of all traces of our times … calling only for destruction (including its own)”.60 Hence, “London Calling” – as well as many other analogous punk songs – is a clear representative of pre-critical dystopia.

In the 1980s videos routinely showed the images and sounds of bombs and peo-ple screaming. In R. E. M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” (A–5), the band tackles typical apocalyptic imagery, with vibrating juxtaposition of the upbeat melo-dy and Michael Stipe’s sharp irony: “It’s the end of the world …/And I feel fine”. The joyful tone of the song together with the visual narration of a devastated boy who visits the ruins of his parental home and cries as he hugs the portrait of his father completes the contrast, emotionally burdening the spectator. Irony is used effec-tively from the first verse: “That’s great, it starts with an earthquake”. But above all there is the warning: “Save yourself … / It’s the end of the world as we know it”.

Morrissey released “Everyday is like Sunday” (A–6) as the story of a survivor of a nuclear holocaust who even desires to have died: “How I dearly wish I was not here / In the seaside town / that they forgot to bomb / … Come – nuclear bomb!”. The lyrics are inspired by Nevil Shute’s post-apocalyptic novel On the Beach (1957), which describes a group of people waiting for deadly radiation in Melbourne, Aus-tralia, in the aftermath of a nuclear war. Morrissey uses a surprisingly light-spirited orchestral arrangement, perhaps to lend a layer of causticness to the bleak scenar-io. Despite the apparent renunciation of living, this song – and its official video clip – is one of the first representatives of critical dystopia within popular music: the main character (a young girl) does not accept the de-humanized culture that surrounds her and sends critical explicit messages, like the ecological poster she writes: “Meat is murder”. She also attacks two old canting women. It is a militant-protest song, calling for rebellion and action, in search of a different society and future.

Very different is the case of “The Earth Died Screaming”, by Tom Waits (A–7). The official video clip was shot in black-and-white, perhaps to stress the two opposite-colour extremes as symbols of life and death, of good and evil. The refrain is also based in the opposition of destruction and love, in a combination comparable to the final scene of 1964 Kubrick’s film Dr. Strangelove (UK/US), one of the greatest icons of dystopian films;61 “Well, the earth died screaming / While I lay dreaming / Dreaming of you”. However, the outstanding feature of Waits’ performance is his guttural and deep voice tone, violently distorted, ac-companied by mechanical and disquieting percussion. From a formal point of view, this is one of the songs that pays more attention to the sound parameters of the apocalypse, at least as a musician may imagine them.

60 Shahan 2011: 374–375. See Frith 1995.61 Another dystopian film directed by Kubrick, A Clockwork Orange (UK/US 1971), after Anthony

Burgess’ 1962 novel of the same title, is a foremost representative of dystopian cinema. Its soundtrack, by Wendy Carlos, includes striking electronic arrangements of classical pieces.


Despite the end of the Cold War with the meaningful demolition of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the 1990s witnessed an increase of the “millennial effect”, which triggered a renewal in the audio-visual language of dystopian cultures.62 1998 disaster movies Armageddon (Michael Bay, US) and Deep Impact (Mimi Leder, US) had an influence on the audience. Heavy metal participation on this topic became assiduous, with interesting creations and a controversial presence in certain narratives and actions. Trash metal, black metal, dead metal, and other heavy genres challenged modern societies and ways of life, devoting significant attention to apocalyptic matters in their oppositional and unromantic style, fo-cusing on imminent nuclear war and human extermination. Authenticity was by far their most worshipped dogma. The Finnish band Apocalyptica, created in 1992, is an interesting example. It consists of four cellists with solid classical for-mation, a striking ensemble for a metal band. In their record Inquisition Sympho-ny (1998), the first track, entitled “Harmageddon” (A–8), describes the battle of the end of history. Because the music is purely instrumental, the piece is full of contrasts and sonic effects, keeping the listener constantly alert; the timbral resources of such a low-pitched instrument as the cello is particularly hypnotic. In the official video, a gigantic pendulum together with the image of the four performers at different ages recall periodically the inexorable passage of time.

Busta Rhymes has performed lively fast-rapping that is fixated on the apoca-lypse. The front cover of his album Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front (1998) shows New York City in flames, the impact of an asteroid. However, its main song is “Extinction Level Event (The Song of Salvation)” (A–9), whose re-frain repeats: “Bomb threat to the whole world … / Check it out yo … / I be the closest thing to the next / Like the pain and sufferin’ of about a million deaths”. War is the real threat and the song a means of warning people when there is still time to join forces. The second title is meaningful: “song of salvation”, an argument that the singer repeats as a call to action, to override the “extinction level event”. The most hopeful and unifying verses are at the end, very much in critical-dystopia style: “now sing the song of salvation … / the dawn of global emergency … / the moment where we all come together as one unison … / and completely dominate all global events”. For these reasons, this “song of salva-tion” is one of the most outstanding creations within the category of popular music critical dystopia. It was enthusiastically received by Rhymes’ followers. As is usual in rap music, all the weight of the song relies upon the lyrics, as the musical structure is straightforward.

The third song selected from the dystopian year of 1998 is “Millennium” (A–10), by Robbie Williams, which tackles the expected end of the world at the turn of the millennium. The cover of the album is similar to that of Busta Rhymes dis-

62 Berger 2000; Knickerbocker 2010.


cussed above; in this case Williams is surrounded by flames as he flees the bomb blast terrified. Without any doubt the new millennium was a good pretext for apocalyptic discourse. Williams sings of a superficial society that “lives for lipo-suction” and will “overdose for Christmas” but “give it up for Lent”, warning of our demise due to moral collapse. However, he lampoons the lux culture that some have proposed helped make him into an international music star. So, he might fall within what he attacks, evidence of the opportunistic dimension of dystopian producers. The song is a well-constructed piece from mainstream pop-rock, with a catchy refrain and Williams himself playing the character of a wealthy banal womaniser.

After the September 11 attacks in 2001, social fears expanded on renewed grounds, frequently turning back to the desolation of the Cold War years. Black-alicious’ rap duet “Sky is Falling” (A–11) took the emblematic title of three films (two of them released in 2000), several novels and two music albums. It is a dystopian rap, with some racial allusions, lamenting the state of a world morally corrupt from top to bottom. The song unambiguously invokes the book of Reve-lation, but above all warns of a pervasive ethical breakdown that is preparing the way for worse times to come. The refrain sounds cheerful and almost naive while the lyrics are gloomy, in a typical contrast of the biblical-dystopian genre. Some verses run: “The sky is falling, life is appalling / And death is lurking, niggaz killing each other”. “Stay strong” is the final verse and contains the only support given to the listener. The recommended video clip (see A–11) fuses uninterruptedly natural and human violence, suggesting a full chaos. It is not an official Blackali-cious release, but a montage by the YouTuber SilentRockProduction (in 2010), which I have chosen because it reveals the tensions and fears experienced by the audience in their assumption and re-elaboration of dystopian songs.

Mr. Lif’s “Earthcrusher” (A–12) was released both in I Phantom (Definitive Jux, 2002) and as a live version in Live at the Middle East (Ozone music, same year). It is a bitterly mocking song: “At last / the day of the blast / disaster / wel-come to the hereafter”, as if the destruction of the world was a festive event. Mr. Lif tackles humans’ headlong demise within a political context, lamenting nuclear proliferation. After 3’15’’ (studio recording) we hear people crying, bombs and shots, and a devastated female voice crying, “Oh my God”. This song is another hypercritical prophecy possibly influenced by the 2001 terrorist attacks; the message conveyed becomes highly pessimistic and it has an em-phasis on determined sound effects but, for the same reasons, is destined to trigger social reactions.

One year later, the rock band Muse published “Apocalypse Please” (A–13), which included grim registers of an organ, a symbol of the final judgment. As in previous songs cited in this list, some elements were ironical and therefore provocative, like the title itself. Frontman Matthew Bellamy announced, “this is


the end of the world”, surrounded by powerful low-pitched drums, piano, and guitars/bass. The sonority is dramatic, in F sharp minor, with intense dynamics, an anguished character, and sounding as a farewell. At the beginning of the third millennium, popular music performers were singing the final destruction of the world more than ever, almost demanding it. In “Apocalypse Please” the lyrics are expressive and crystal clear, with a desolated refrain: “Declare this an emergency / Come on and spread a sense of urgency / And pull us through / … / This is the end / Of the world”.

U2 were able to bring some light to this overwhelmed scenario.63 “Yahweh” (A–14) is the last song of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004). It consti-tutes an open call to Jews, Arabs and Christians to build dialogue in peace, to look for solutions, and to love each other in evangelical terms; it must be locat-ed within the specific context of those years. The refrain directly addresses God, with the Hebrew – Old Testament – name (universal for several religions): “Yah-weh, Yahweh / Always pain before a child is born / … Still, I’m waiting for the dawn”. Thus, there is faith in God and hope, although the song wonders why suffering is an unavoidable stage before salvation. The response involves the fact that humans cannot just wait and hope; action is demanded: “Take these hands / Teach them what to carry / Take these hands / Don’t make a fist” (similar lyrics for “mouth” and “soul”). Importantly, the song completes an album that belongs in essence to critical dystopia. U2 had composed a number of apocalyp-tic songs (end-of-the-world focused) over three decades, like “Until the End of the World” (Achtung Baby, 1991), “The Wanderer” (Zooropa, 1993), and “Last Night on Earth” (Pop, 1997). However, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004) and No Line on the Horizon (2009) evinced a turn towards the here-and-now, challenging the audience to fight for a better world.

Iron Maiden included “Brighter than a Thousand Suns” in the meaningful al-bum A Matter of Life and Death (2006. A–15). As is typical of metal, the lyrics are both explicit and full of tragic resonances: “Minute warning of the missile fall / Take a look at your last day”. The contradiction that Michael Gilmour locates in this song evinces the crossroads of critical values and religious tensions that many people experience in extreme rock: Iron Maiden’s “Brighter than a Thou-sand Suns” … opens with a first-person plural confession (“We are not the sons of God”) and closes with the sinners’ prayer (“Holy Father we have sinned”).64

The song is also relevant because of its treatment of the apocalyptic ethos, showing how heavy rock tends to adopt biblical motifs, but gravitated towards a present reality. Human nuclear war more than any divine punishment hangs

63 The religious path of U2 cannot be summarized here, despite its importance. About their deeply religious contents see Calhoun (2018) and Roberts (2018). E. g., such a popular song as “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” (1987) is a true Christian anthem.

64 Gilmour 2017, 74.


like the sword of Damocles over humanity. Thus, the need to react becomes imperative, besides all biblical connotations:

We also find in “Brighter than a Thousand Suns” a possible connection between the image of nations rising (Jesus) and the powers of darkness described in Revelation when the songwriters introduce the terms “hate”, “fury” and “Satan”. The latter (Rev. 12.9) comes to the earth full of rage. … It also comes as no surprise to those reading Revelation (or listening to Maiden’s “Number of the Beast”, for that matter) that the Devil’s “time is short” (Rev. 12.12), so once again we find the songwriters aligning present-day enemies.65

By these means, heavy music may be aligned, surprisingly, with conventional morality and point toward positive solutions:

[E]ven with its carnivalesque reversal of values, heavy metal is often a conservative art form, relying on a clear demarcation of good and evil, God and the Devil. … the stress on dark elements in biblical apocalyptic contribute to a forceful and emotively charged call for peace.66

One of the most purely classical-apocalyptic songs ever composed is “My Apoc-alypse” (Metallica, 2008. A–16). Metallica musically recreates the aesthetics of destruction and horror, with violent drums and guitars, crushing beat, and an aggressive voice singing: “Hard explosive / … Feel thy name extermination / Desecrating, hail of fire”. Once more an unofficial video clip is recommended as a visual reference for the song (elaborated by Jankler TV in 2014) as it shows the iconography and fears that the audience were associating with dystopian mu-sic. It consists of brutal sequences from the Second World War. In general, mu-sic in the years after the terrorist attacks in 2001 evinces a strong concern, e. g., Jay Sean’s “2012 (It Ain’t The End)” (So High, Japan Edition, 2012) displayed a resigned desolation and hopelessness with no option for escape, advocating for a hedonistic night before the disaster. This music was to some extent a re-gression to older stages of dystopia, warning the audience of a nuclear end but seemingly impotent, unable to impede it. Quite possibly the economic decline of the Great Recession, in the late 2000s and onwards, also exerted an influence in this relapse into pessimism: “The economic downturn commencing in late 2008 generated predictions that ranged from the apocalyptic to the sanguine, across all sectors”.67

“Apocalypse Dreams” by Tame Impala (2012. A–17) somehow re-categorised dystopia in critical-constructive terms, fostering a sense of shared group mem-

65 Gilmour 2017, 75.66 Gilmour 2017, 75.67 Felton et al 2010, 619.


bership and identity. The Australian psychedelic rock band straightforwardly ap-pealed to the audience’s capacity to react, encouraging a collective response: “Are you too terrified to try your best? … / Do you really live without the fear? … / On and on we all go / Into another morning”. The message of hopefulness is clear in the initial words: “This could be the day that we push through / It could be the day that all our dreams come true”, like daydreams that are more real than real life, very much in the style of a psychedelic song.

This selection ends with “Sky’s Grey” (A–18), from 2017, by the Canadian band Destroyer. It proves that the apocalyptic narrative is still very present in Western culture. Lyrics are both accusing and warning but, interestingly, they address the self – and by extension the listener – more than abstract social sys-tems and established orders: “Bombs in the city, plays in the sticks / Should’ve seen it coming / Should’ve taken care / Should’ve tried pretending that anything was there”. The voice is a disturbing whisper, bass frequencies prevail, and a dark acoustic atmosphere pervades the whole performance. The return to acoustic instruments, following a simple harmonic cycle in D major (I-VI-IV), is interesting.

Many other songs could increase the list, including several by The Rolling Stones:

The Stones, with raucous voice and syncopated beats, employed Dionysian shock to expose the dark side of nearly everything. They pronounced the inevitability of nu-clear destruction in “Gimme Shelter” and the pleasure and power of drug addiction in “Sister Morphine.” They solicited unbounded hedonism in “Some Girls,” conveyed the inevitability of alienation in human relations (“Angie”), pronounced the impossi-bility of cosmic identity (“2,000 Light Years from Home”), vindicated Lucifer (“Sym-pathy for the Devil”), and promoted violent revolution (“Street Fighting Man”).68

“Bad Moon Rising” (Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1969) embodied the princi-ple of contrast between happy music and pessimistic lyrics. The verse “I hope you’re quite prepared to die” revealed the acceptance of the outcome. How-ever, it was also a call to reaction, as in classical dystopia the appeal to fight is always present. Peter Gabriel’s “Here Comes the Flood” (Peter Gabriel, 1977) lamented the end of days: “Drink up, dreamers, you’re running dry / … We’ll say goodbye to flesh and blood”. Prince (“1999”, 1982); Johnny Cash (“The Man Comes Around”, 2002); and Alice Cooper (“The Last Man on Earth”, 2011) also composed dystopian music. Critical dystopia is visible in songs like “Micro-phones in the Trees” by Silver Mt. Zion (Pretty Little Lightning Paw, 2004), which begins by poetically detailing the oppressive regimes of surveillance to which we are subjected, before opening up into a refrain of utopian hope that, when

68 Dunbar 2002.


played live, precedes an ecstatic instrumental climax: “Don’t! Give! Up! / Don’t! Give! In! / Our time will come / ’cause we are the flood”. The song is in E-Flat minor, following a well-known harmonic ostinato led by the violin. Its sound atmosphere is oppressive. Non-anglophone countries also participate in the production of dystopian music. For example, Spanish heavy metal bands have contributed doomsday songs and records, as in the case of Obús’ “Va a estallar el obús” (The obus is going to explode. Prepárate, 1981), Omission’s “Eve of an end” (The Unholiest of Them, 2016), and El Mago de Oz’s album Ira Dei (2019).

Currently, dystopia still works and sells within the music industry. To cite but a few more examples, St Vincent’s “The Apocalypse Song” (Marry Me, 2007) sings, “All your praying moments amount to just one breath”, in a direct biblical refer-ence to the brevity of life in the grand scheme. The song “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons (Night Visions, 2012) is completely apocalyptic. American progressive metal band Dream Theatre released The Astonishing in 2016, focusing explicitly on dystopia; it consists of a science-fiction narration structured as a “rock opera”.

TRAITS OF DYSTOPIAN SONGS

There are certain features that arise repeatedly in either the verbal or the for-mal narratives of the songs analysed. Most of them can be categorised within the broad concept of “dystopia”, while some belong specifically to the realm of “critical dystopia”.

Contextual oscillations are frequent, as in the case of “millennialism”: there is a concentration of apocalyptic songs in the last years of the twentieth cen-tury, when the millennium effect became fascinating. Another watershed was provided by the 2001 attacks in New York City, indirectly echoed in popular mu-sic; as a consequence, critical dystopia might have lost strength with the sense of universal vulnerability. A third negative wave stems from the recent Great Recession, which has had a deep economic and sociological impact worldwide. In all cases it is an urban apocalypse, or an apocalypse in the city: in dystopi-an rock the city is the epicentre of disaster, and sometimes salvation consists of sheltering in nature, in a well-known exercise of contemporary pastoralism. And it takes place in the present, it is an apocalypse now, which stresses the urgency of the call: in rock culture, devastation happens in this life; most songs warn of immediate disaster (or disaster already accomplished).

The accompanying iconography is expressive, visible on album images and video clips, as with the example of Busta Rhymes’ cover of his 1998 release Extinction Level Event, and Robbie Williams’ cover of Millennium the same year. The film-making quality in the videos is uneven, with some of them consisting of a simple and uncritical accumulation of disaster images, while others con-stitute a well-assembled short that develops an interesting plot in worthwhile


audio-visual combinations. These videos become powerful educational resourc-es because of their popularity and dissemination capacity. Often aesthetic vanguardism focuses on eschatology/devastation, recreating (fascinated by?) terror/sinister images (for example, David Bowie, in the gloomy video compo-sition, music, and lyrics of “Future Legend”). A key visual-literary element that permeates all this music is darkness, normally preceded by the blinding light of missiles (like in Iron Maiden’s “Brighter than a Thousand Suns”). Afterwards, darkness and silence dominate the scenario, sealing the triumph of death. Dark-ness is comparable to a visual silence, implying the end of colours, music, and life; it is described in the book of Revelation as a powerful weapon that releases the forces of evil.

Contrast is one of the main narrative resources within dystopia. In some songs, horror, death, hatred, devastation, bombs, and screaming are combined with love/nostalgic evocations of life, as happens in Tom Waits’ refrain from “The Earth Died Screaming”. Sometimes contrast turns into bitter irony, like in REM’s “This Is the End of the World”, where a happy melody sings, “And I feel fine”. Or even mockery: “welcome to the hereafter” (Mr. Lif, “Earthcrusher”) and the album Smile, It’s the End of the World, by Hawk Nelson (2006). An ex-treme case is the celebration of war, as in Morrisey’s refrain “Come—nuclear bomb!”. Irony becomes provocation, to galvanize the listener’s conscience and incite action, very much in the spirit of critical dystopia.

Striking titles are used to attract attention: “1984”, “Sky is Falling”, and “Earthcrusher” are clear examples (see Annex). Some words recur in titles and lyrics of apocalyptic orientation, for example, “End”, “Sky”, “Doom”, and “Apocalypse”; but surprisingly the most common is “World”, involving the de-struction of the whole earth in the catastrophe. This obsession may reveal in addition a call for universal twinning, which is logical because the life of every-one is at stake. The outcome is somehow an ideological unison regardless of the musical genre (punk, rap, pop, rock, heavy metal, and psychedelia) and as-sociated aesthetics, as a fundamental agreement about peace prevails. Another key locution is “The end”, which becomes an absolute in itself, entailing the an-nihilation of the world. “Authenticity” is a moral imperative but rarely uttered; the mere fact a menace such as the end of the world is addressed elevates the singer and the song to a committed dimension, above normal music. Moreover, the ordinary treatment of the notion focuses to a larger extent on criticising “inauthenticity”, understood as a sacrilege due to spurious grounds and leading to a fatal destiny.

Some verses are especially sharp/accusing, like those by Bob Dylan in “A Hard Rain’s A-gonna Fall”: “the executioner’s face is always well hidden”. An imper-ative tone is another common feature, with many direct orders to the listener that are reminiscent of military discipline: “do”, “go”, “hide”, “beware”, “stay


strong”, “check it out”, and others. The sense of alarm is overwhelming, trans-mitting fear, anxiety, and horror (in lyrics, sounds, and images), aiming by these means to trigger a critical reaction from the listeners.

Interestingly, it is rare to hear mention of an afterlife; affection and religious/hopeful emotions disappear in this music. The promise of redemption (liber-ation from slavery) is, nonetheless, implicit within critical dystopia as the last stage, after action. In dystopian music God is barely mentioned; “religious” rock is rare. Rock takes the semiology from the apocalypse but discards spiritual and theological dogmas. Within neo-apocalyptic cultures there is no resident theol-ogy that might challenge others as contradictory or false, and they lack a corpus of doctrinal contents, rites, and obligations.

The musical parameters of many of the songs commented upon above have parallels with standard rock songs, emphasizing lyrics via diverse resources. Broadly speaking the acoustic effects available for dystopian songs are simi-lar to those used in terror and war movie soundtracks: voices screaming, the thunder of bombs, and sudden outbreaks. Other recurring means are minor and diminished seventh chords and also gloomy melodies. The leading voice may whisper or roar, transmitting a specific emotion. Dissonances appear oc-casionally, shocking the listener, generally in combination with visual effects in the video. Powerful low-pitched sounds dominate, in an interesting association between this sound parameter and devastation. Perhaps this is why it is difficult to find apocalyptic music in female voices. A clear example is the Finnish band Apocalyptica, which we met above; it is integrated by four violoncellos, without a single violin or any other lighter instrument.

Most of these traits stem from the apocalyptic narrative that spread mas-sively throughout the Cold War, but they come also from rock music’s need to reinvent itself periodically and find new aesthetic channels of expression that maintain or increase its social impact. The coalescence of both causal scenarios has resulted in a fertile production, as we have seen in this study.

CONCLUSIONS

Critical dystopia in music is a catalyst for social awareness and cohesive pro-gress in the face of a worrying future. It endorses activist citizenship and polit-ical resistance against destruction-apocalypse, in place of passive capitulation. Its foothold is collective fear, which is re-negotiated as a social force that then counters passive dystopia.

The conventional opposition between classical and critical dystopia has been called into question because almost all dystopias can be assumed to be critical dystopias, as they encompass strong allegations about the potential dangers of war/abuses of human rights. The formulation alone can call for a reaction by


the audience, no matter the resignation that the message may convey. How-ever, critical dystopia, as analysed in this article, goes a step further by empha-sising the need for active rebellion and faith in a better future (salvation). An additional hypothesis of this article is that critical dystopia in popular music may have taken over from protest song, a genre that had decayed considerably after the countercultural era. The educational slant of dystopian songs must be em-phasised, intended to alert their audience and make people “learn” what they should think and how they should act, including even who to vote for. They form pedagogical narrations shrouded by the attractive language of popular music.

Dystopian rock is neither a religion nor the result of a formal theological sys-tem. It lacks a corpus of unified dogmas and objectives. The apocalypse in rock is the fear of a nuclear war (or comparable environmental disaster), but not of a fatal destiny executed by God. However, from a religious perspective, rock mu-sic plays a key sociological function in this contemporary dialectic, re-enchant-ing and de-secularising the world by means of the semiological recreation of Apocalypse and other fantastic realms. In this interpretive context devastation acts as a metaphor for punishment for social sins, generating a cultural desti-ny. Apocalypse also involves revelation-as-salvation, the final struggle between good and evil, the end of history, and the last rite of passage of humanity.

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FILMOGRAPHYA Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, UK/US 1971).Angel (Created by: Joss Whedon / David Greenwalt, The WB, US 1999–2004).Apocalypse now (Francis Ford Coppola, US 1979).Armageddon (Michael Bay, US 1998).Batman (Tim Burton, US 1989).Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Created by: Joss Whedon, The WB/UPN, US 1997–2003).Deep Impact (Mimi Leder, US 1998).Doctor Who (Created by: Sydney Newman / C. E. Webber / Donald Wilson, BBC, UK 1963–).Dr. Phil (Created by: Oprah Winfrey, CBS, US 2002–).Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, UK/US 1964).Game of Thrones (Created by: David Benioff / D. B. Weiss, HBO, US 2011–2019).Harry Potter I–VIII (Various Directors, UK 2001–2011).Labyrinth (Jim Henson, UK/US 1986).Oprah (The Oprah Winfrey Show, Created by: Oprah Winfrey, King World / CBS, US 1986–2011).Star Wars I–VI (George Lucas, US 1977–2005).Superman (Richard Donner, US 1978).Tarzan (Kevin Lima and Chris Buck, US 1999).The Lord of the Rings I–III (Peter Jackson, US/UK/NZ 2001–2003).X-Files (Created by: Chris Carter, Fox, US 1993–2018).


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ANNEX


Bina Nir

Western Apocalyptic Time and Personal Authentic Time

ABSTRACTTheconceptoftimeisculturallydependent.DuringdifferentperiodsinthehistoryofWesternculture,differingconceptionsoftimescompetedforprimacy,sometimescon-tradictingoneanother,sometimescomplementingeachother.ModernWesterners,Iwillclaim,liveontwotimelines–alinear,historicalandculturaltimelinedirectedtothe“endofdays”andapersonal,authentictimeline.

The Bible is a central cultural source for the linear conception of time: in the en-trenched Judeo-ChristianWestern conception, time has a beginning, “In the begin-ning,”andanend,“intheendofdays”.Timeisdirectedinitsentiretytothisfinalevent,totheestablishmentofGod’skingdom.Inourmodernconsumersociety,whichiswhol-lyconcernedwithpersonaltime,collectivetimehaslostitspurposeanditsreasonforbeing preserved. The relationship to time started to gradually change from the general conceptionsoflinear,collectivetimewhichisexternaltoustoamoresubjective,per-sonalconceptionoftime.Inconsumeristcapitalism,timebecomespersonal.Idemon-strate the representations of these two concepts of time in the paintings of Chaya Agur.

KEYWORDSAuthentictimeline,Biblicaltimeline,“EndofDays”,WesternCulture

BIOGRAPHYBina Nir completed her doctoral thesis in the Faculty of Humanities at Tel Aviv Universi-ty.Since2000,sheisalecturerattheYezreelValleyCollegeandtheDepartmentHeadof the Honors B. A. Program. Her research focuses on the interface of Western religions andcontemporarycultures,specificallythegenealogiesofculturalconstructsrootedintheWesternreligions, inareassuchastheperceptionsoftime,judgement,leader-ship,andsuccessandfailure.HerbookFailure of Success[inHebrew]waspublishedbyReslingPressin2016.

DOI: 10.25364/05.05:2019.2.6

Western Apocalyptic Time and Personal Authentic Time | 95www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 95–116

INTRODUCTION

Time is a culture-dependent concept. Throughout the various periods of West-erncivilization,differentconceptsoftime–somecontradictory,somecomple-mentary–havebeen incompetition.Westernerstoday,at leastthose inhab-itingsecularcultures,Ishallargue, livegenerallyalongtwoaxesoftime.Thefirstoftheseisalinearhistoricalandculturaltimelinewhichstrivestowardsthe“endofdays”,atimelinethatisbasedonafoundationalreligiousnarrativethathas been transformed by the culture. The second is a personal and authentic timeline which characterizes capitalism and the culture of individualism. This culturalperceptionoftimemanifestsitselfintheculturaldiscourse,aswellasin literature and in the arts.Inthisarticle,wewill lookatthesetwoaxesofculturaltimeandexamine

their religious roots. Religion is an explicit marker of culture. The religious doc-trinesofanygivenculturereflectitsthoughtsystemsandculturalvalues.TheChristian religion and culture of the West were based on the Jewish scriptures thatweretransmittedthroughoutthedifferentregionsoftheRomanEmpire.Christianity preserved and diffused the books of the Old Testament canon.1 BothreligionsviewtheOldTestamentasaholytext,astheabsolutetruth,theproduct of divine revelation. While the Catholic Church mitigated the authority ofthetextwiththeauthorityoftradition,theLutheranReformationmagnifiedtheimportanceofthewrittenword.Lutherrejectedtheauthorityoftraditionandestablishedthedoctrineof“SolaScriptura”–onehadtoreadthescrip-tures.Bydoingso,theReformationplacedtheJewishholybooksattheheartof European identity.2 Therefore I will look for the roots of the Western cul-tural perception of apocalyptic time in the texts of the Bible and the Christian scriptures,allwhileexaminingthedevelopmentofpersonal,authentictime.Iwill also analyse artistic concepts of time that do not necessarily represent the dominantperceptionspresentedinculture,aswillbeexplainedinthearticle,and even criticize present conventional concepts of time. I will demonstrate and analyse such approaches in the paintings of Chaya Agur.3 My explanations will be based on a personal interview with the painter in which she explained her paintings.

1 Malkin2003,44.2 Hacohen2006,23;Eliav-Feldon1997,30.3 ThepainterChayaAgur,whowasborninIsraelandhaslivedintheNetherlandsfor35years,

hassince1978exhibitedherpaintings regularly in theNetherlands (Amsterdam,TheHagueand Rosendale) and throughout Europe (Paris: The World Center for Contemporary Art,Nancy:GaleriePoirel,Barcelona:MarlboroughArtGallery).InIsrael,Agurexhibitedin2009attheMunicipalGallery inAfulaand in2010attheJerusalemTheaterforthePerformingArts.Between2002and2007, she ranaprivategallery in centralAmsterdam,“TheCrane”.Agurusesmixedtechniques,oilpaints,watercoloursanddrawing.HerartisinfluencedbyDaliandChagall and her style can be called surrealist-symbolic.

96 | Bina Nir www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 95–116

THE LINEAR TIMELINE

InWestern Judeo-Christian thought, timehasabeginning:“In thebeginningGodcreatedtheheavensandtheearth”(Gen.1:1,KJV),andanend:“And itshallcometopassinthelastdays”(Isa.2:2).Linearbiblicaltimeisirreversibleandstriveswhollytowardsthefinalevent,theestablishmentoftheKingdomof Heaven.4Theprophetspromiseusthatwehaveadecidinginfluenceonthisend,which isnotapredetermined future:“For if ye thoroughlyamendyourwaysandyourdoings…thenwillIcauseyoutodwellinthisplace,inthelandthat Igave toyour fathers, foreverandever” (Jer. 7:5–7). Man, in theBible,findshimselfwithinthestreamoftime,atanymomentofwhichhemaybesub-jectedtothetestofwhetherornothesucceedsorfailstoliveuptoGod’swill.5

This perception of time as an arrow leading from Genesis to Apocalypse lies at the foundations of Western culture and can be described as a vector. This vectorhasanascendingtrajectory,asopposedtoahorizontalone,similartothevectorofphysicaltime.Sincethereishopeforfuturesuccess,theunpre-determinedfutureisalwaysperceivedasahigher,moreperfectpointintime.Inotherwords,theupwardpointingvectorrepresentsourconceptoftimeashavingupwardmomentum(seefig.1).EarthlytimeintheBibleislinear,andthisfactisevidentnotonlyinthecos-

mologyofthecreationstory.Forexample,thetaskassignedtoMoseshasalinear timeline with upward momentum in that there is an expectation of future success.This lookingforwardtowardsthefuture,whichappearsforthefirsttime in the Old Testament as opposed to the predetermined future commonly accepted in the ancientworld, brings about anew ideaof faith. Time is notcircular,butunidirectionalandirreversible.TherecognitionofGod’swillinthepresentcontainsthehopeforabetterfuture,afutureinwhichonecanbere-warded.ThisperceptionismanifestedwhenGodsaystoAbraham:“Gettheeoutofthycountry,andfromthykindred,andfromthyfather’shouse,untoalandthatIwillshewthee.AndIwillmakeoftheeagreatnation,andIwillbless

4 Leibowitz2002.5 Rauch1978,10–11.

Fig. 1: Biblical time narrative graph.


thee,andmake thynamegreat; and thoushaltbeablessing” (Gen.12:1–2)and“Iwillmultiplythyseedasthestarsoftheheaven,andasthesandwhichisupontheseashore”(Gen.22:17).“InthebeginningGodcreated”–marksthebeginningoftime.Intheargu-

mentoverthequestionofwhethertheuniversehadabeginning,andifsowhatthatbeginningwas,therearetwomainschoolsofthought.Thefirst,whichin-cludesJudaic,ChristianandMuslimthought,claimsthattheuniversewascreat-ed ex nihilo,outofnothing,andthathumanitymustconstantlymakeprogress,as that is itsessence.SaintAugustine recorded,“But therewasnothingcor-porealbeforeheavenandearth…Forwhatsoeverthatwereofwhichsuchavoicewasmade,unlessitwasmadebythee,itcouldnotbeatall.”6 The second schoolistheoneexpressedbyPlatoandAristotle’sconceptionofGod,accord-ingtowhichGodisadesignerandanarchitect,butnotacreator.Thematerialworldisperceivedaseternalratherthancreated.“IfnowthisuniverseisfairanditsArtificergood,itisplainthathelookedtotheeternal”;7“God…havingreceivedallthatisvisiblenotinastateofrest,butmovingwithoutharmonyormeasure,broughtitfromitsdisorderintoorder”;8“Sotheuniversaldesignoftheever-livingGod…andhemadeitasphereinacirclerevolving,auniverseoneandalone”;9“Forthepatternisexistentforalleternity;butthecopyhasbeenandisandshallbethroughoutalltimecontinually.”10

“Thelastdays”markstheendoftime.ThefirstverseofGenesisalsolaysthefoundationfortheend,possiblyevenfortheApocalypse.Ifthereisagenesis,theremustbeanapocalypse.TheBible’slinearperceptionoftimeleadsfromthecreationtotheendofdays,anditisalongthistimelinethathistoryrunsitscourse.11Thearrowoftimepresentsgenerationaftergeneration,eventafterevent,upuntilthepresentmoment,fromwhichtherestretchesadirect,contin-uouslinetowardstheendpoint–thelastdays,theApocalypse.12 The prophets ofIsraelhadmuchtosayabouttheendofdays,andaboutitsdependenceontheconductofthecommunityandthenation:“Butinthelastdaysitshallcometopass,thatthemountainofthehouseoftheLordshallbeestablishedinthetopofthemountains;itshallbeexaltedabovethehills,andpeopleshallflowuntoit”(Mic.4:1);“ThussaiththeLord:Refrainthyvoicefromweeping,andthineeyesfromtears:forthyworkwillberewarded,saiththeLord;andtheyshallcomeagainfromthelandoftheenemy”(Jer.31:16).

6 Augustine1950,238.7 Plato1888,89.8 Plato1888,93.9 Plato1888,103–105.10 Plato1888,123.11 Dan2000,19.12 Zeligman1992,102–103.


This belief in the end of days penetrated Christianity mainly through the book ofRevelation,theRevelationofJohn.ThisbookwasheavilyinfluencedbytheapocalypticrevelationsofDaniel,whichbecameakindofmodelforallthevi-sionaryrevelationsthatcameafter it:“Andhesaid,Behold, Iwillmaketheeknow what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed theendshallbe”(Dan.8:19).Thethingsdescribed inDaniel’svisionbecamea cornerstone of historical perception in Western culture. Empires come and empiresgo,collidingwithoneanotherandreplacingeachotherinturn,butthisessential structure is the singular purpose that binds this process in an inevita-ble movement towards the end. The Revelation of John consists of a series of visionscomposedsometimearoundtheendofthefirstcenturyCEandattrib-utedtoJohnofPatmos,Jesus’sbelovedapostle.ItwasacallforChristianstopersevereintheirfaithandtolookforwardtothefinaltriumphovertheirene-mies.AccordingtoChristiandogma,thehistoryofmankindbeginswiththeFall,theoriginalsinintheGardenofEdenandAdamandEve’ssubsequentexile,andcontinuesthroughtothefinalsalvation.

The foundations laid in the book of Daniel were elaborated upon towards the endoftheSecondTempleperiod,justbeforetheTemple’sdestruction.13 There are those who maintain that this literature was written out of despair and loss offaithindailyreligiousworshipashavinganinfluenceonthesalvationoftheindividual and of the nation.14 The idea of the apocalypse in the New Testament isrootedintheOldTestament,15 and this fact raises two somewhat contradic-tory points: the Christian conception of apocalyptic time is not possible without thebasicassumptionofbiblicaltime,butatthesametimeitrequiresasharpdeviationfromthewaytimeisperceivedintheOldTestament,perhapsevenarupture.16TheHebrewBible,unlikemanyancienteasterncultures,ignoresthesupernaturalandplacesthehumanexperiencewithinone-dimensional,earthlytime.Insuchaviewoftime,theendofdaysisincludedaspartofhistoricalreal-ity. The Old Testament sources put forth not a coherent vision of salvation but rather a series of apocalyptic motifs which place an emphasis on the momentum towards salvation and redemption in the last days. Joseph Klausner stressed that theIsraelitesweretheonlyancientpeoplewhohadamessianicoutlook,andthislegacy,heclaims,waspassedontotheWesternworldbywayofChristianity.17

13 FlusseridentifiesalinkbetweenancientChristianityandcertainschoolsofthoughtinSecondTemple era Judaism. His overall conclusion is that Jesus himself associated with the sages and that there is a common denominator between Jesus’s philosophy and different factions ofJudaismattheendoftheSecondTempleperiod,includingpatternsofbeliefconcerningtheendofdays.SeeFlusser2009,131–132.

14 Dan2000,38.15 Efron2004,269–270.16 Dan2009.17 Klausner1926.


SaintAugustine is theone toadjust the Judaicmodelofhistory and timetofitChristianity.18Augustinedefinesinternal,experientialtime,andidentifiesthepastwithhistoricmemory,whilethefutureisidentifiedwithexpectation.Accordingtohim,humancivilizationisconsistentlyadvancinganddeveloping.Yet,inparalleltothistime,AugustinetalksabouttheeternaltimeinhabitedbyGod;mysticaltime.“IntheEternalnothingpassethaway,butthatthewholeispresent.”19Augustineattemptstofindasolutionandbridgethegapsbetweentwo contradictory concepts: eternal mystical time and linear earthly time. In hisview,thereisnoconflictbetweenthetwo.IntheChristianWest,thesetwodimensionsoftimecoexist,theextra-naturalmysticaltimeoccursalongsidethehistorical,earthlytime.HistoryintheChristian-Augustineconceptionislinear.Westernhistory,atleastinWesternliturgicalwritings,hasabeginningand

an end.20 All of Christian philosophy takes place within the sequence of time andthuswithinhistory.Thestoryofhumanity’sorigins,asitistoldintheWest,assumes the existence of progress21anddevelopmentor,inotherwords,anup-wardstrajectory,asexpressedbythearrowofbiblicaltime.Thislinearconcep-tionofhistoryanditsdivisionintosegments,whichfollowoneanotherastheygetcloserandclosertotheend,hasbecomedominantinalltheculturalspacesthat rely on the Bible as the cornerstone of their worldview.22 The foundation for this is laid out as early as the book of Genesis.Genesis,whichisa“bookoforigins”,tellsusofthe“originofheavenand

earth”aswellas thegenealogyof families, tribesandnations.Thebookde-scribesactsthatdenoteeitherprogressorregressionasfarasthefulfilmentofmankind’smission–asmandatedbyGod–isconcerned.Inotherwords,actsthat express loyalty to the mission or rebellion against it. The book then goes on to report on the successes and failures of the chosen ones to advance the great promise inherent in their mission. This is the same principle according to which thestoriesoftheIsraelites’originshadbeenselectedthroughoutthefirstfivebooks of the Old Testament. The Hebrew Bible is characterized by a historio-sophicalapproach,thatistosay,thewritingisinfluencedbytheexperienceofhistory,theimpressionsmadebyhistoricaleventsandhopeforthefuture.Thebiblicalstory iscomposedofthehistoryof ideasandof ideals,writtendownwithlinearuniformitythatdidnotexistinthefirstplace.23 This biblical under-pinninghashadaninfluenceonculturaldomainsthataremarkedbymodernity,capitalism and democracy. They are founded on a Christian worldview which

18 Russell1945,353–354.19 Augustine1950,231–232.20 Bloch1964,5–6.21 Carr1987,109–113.22 Dan2000,265–308.23 Zeligman1992,102–103.


had inherited the Judaic conception of time and history through the Old Testa-ment.24However,whiletheHebrewBible’sframeworkseeshistoryasaprocessseparatefromthedivine,theinclusionofGodinthecourseofhistorywasaninnovation brought about by Christianity.Thewritingofhistory,generationaftergeneration,was influencedby the

way the biblical stories were told. The three historical religions had imprinted our consciousness with a perception of history as a succession of patriarchs.25 Such a historical approach evaluates people and epochs by their contribution to humanity’ssuccess.Eventheterms“Renaissance”and“TheNewEra”,whichsucceededtheso-called“DarkAges”,expressabeliefinhistoricalforcesofre-newalandredemption.ThisbeliefisJudeo-Christianinitsessence–thebeliefthatwearemovingtowardsanewera,aneraofsuccessesandaccomplish-ments,asopposedtothefailuresofthepast.

A created world must make room for history because only under this as-sumptioncanone reject the theoryof theeternal returnofpastevents: thesequenceofgenerations,withoutbeginningorend,wouldtransformtimeintoa cyclical phenomenonwithouthopeormeaning.Christianity is a historian’sreligion–theChristianholybooksarehistorybooksandChristianworshipcom-memoratesepisodesfromthelifeofGodonearth,alongsidechurchliturgyandtheActsofSaints. There is another, evendeeper sense inwhichChristianityisfundamentallyhistorical.Thefateofhumanity,whichunfoldsbetweentheFallandJudgmentDay,standsbeforetheeyesofChristianityasacontinuousadventure.InChristianity,nevertheless,theologyisnotderivedfromthefuturebutfromthepromise,eventhoughhumanexistenceisasamatteroffactanencounterwithtimeandman’sactionswithintime.Westerncivilization,unlikemanyothercultures,hasgreatexpectationsoftime.Peopleofaction, intheWest,havetoconstantly learn lessonsfromthepast if theywishtosucceedin the future.26Historyhasastyleandanorder,whichgrowmoreperfectovertime.

THE RIFT BETWEEN MYSTICAL TIME AND EARTHLY TIME

It is a commonly accepted basic assumption today that the Bible perceives time asbeinglinear,asopposedtoothercultureswhichthinkoftimeasbeingcycli-cal.27Thereare,however,thosewhoopposethisgeneralizingnotionandthe

24 Russell1945,363–364.25 It is telling that the chroniclers of the Middle Ages could not help but begin their accounts of the

presentgenerationbyrelatingbacktoAdam,thefirstman(Sand2004,24).26 Bloch1964,5–6.27 Cultures which maintain circular time generally speaking see no point in planning for the future

oranticipatingit,forthefutureisnothingbutarepetitionofwhathasalreadyhappenedinthe


assumptionthatunliketheGreekconceptoftime,whichismainlyspatial,thebiblicalconceptoftimeistemporalandrhythmical,asmanifestedbyitsdivisionintofixedperiods.TheseapproachesclaimthatboththeBibleandtheGreektexts contain examples of these two concepts of time simultaneously. There areevensomewhoclaimthattheBiblealsoespousesthecyclicalviewoftime,28 alongsidethe linearview,asexemplifiedinthecalendar,which isthecyclicaltimeoftheseasonsintheLandofIsrael;29however,wewouldbewisetonotethattheconditionformaintainingthisscheduleisthelinear,historicalmemory.The belief in one, extra-natural, creator God took control away from the

wheeloffortune,theforcesofnatureandthedeterministicfatethatmakeupthe foundation of the cyclical time paradigm. Linear biblical time places the bib-licalIsraelitewithinspecifictime;thebiblicalIsraeliteisdriventhroughtimebyGod’swilltowardsabetterfutureattheendofdays.TheBibleseeslinearhisto-ry,however,asaprocessseparatefromGod.Nevertheless,therearetwokindsoftimeintheBible:theeternal,mystical

timerelegatedtoGodandthehistorical,lineartimewhichcoursesfromGenesistoApocalypse–earthlytime.Forbiblicalman,earthlytimeisunmistakablylin-earanddependentonobeisancetoGod’swill;Godexists,however,outsideofthistime,asaneternalbeing.TheBiblepaintstimeasaresourcebelongingtoGod,30 which he then dispenses willingly to man. As the composer of the Psalms putsit:“Thedayisthine,thenightalsoisthine:thouhastpreparedthelightandthesun…thouhastmadesummerandwinter”(Ps.74:16–17).Partakingintheexperienceofmystical,divinetime,whichisholy,isgiventomenonspecialoccasions,instanceswhenmanretiresfromlinear,earthlytimetoexperienceanotherkindoftime.Thecreator,whoisthemasteroftime,pluckstheSabbathoutofordinarytime,outofthelinearsequence,makesitholyandrelegatesittodivinetime.Lineartimeisthetimeoftoil,effortandworktowardsapurpose.TheSabbaththusbecomesaholyday,differentiatedfromordinarydaysandtheirsequentiality.It isoutsideoftherealmofhumanactivity,formanisnotallowed to do as he pleases on the Sabbath and the day is marked by a pro-hibitionofwork.ThistangibledistinctionoftheSabbath,which isessentially

past.IntheIndianHopilanguagetherearenotermsthatrepresentthepast,thepresentorthefuture.InWesternculture,wheretimeisanindependentdimension,itisindependentofthetypeofactivitythattakesplaceinit.AcultureoftimeandfatelikethatoftheChaldeans,bycontrast,hasgivenrisetoastrology,becauseintheirperception,time,whichisthecourseofthestars,determinesfate.SeeZakay1998,90–93.

28 Gelander believes that Isaiah presents a cyclical concept of time in his promise that at the end ofdayswhenpeopleinternalizetheirfaith,theuniversewillberecreated,withamoreperfectworldorder.“For,behold,Icreatenewheavensandanewearth:andtheformershallnotberemembered,norcomeintomind”(Isa.65:17).Gelander2001,Book2,124.

29 Schweid1984,14–15.30 AsJudahHalevi(1075–1141)expressedit:“Theslavesoftime–slavesofslavesarethey.”Time

isaslave–itissubjugatedtoGod.


differentfromallotherdays,generatestheexperienceofanotherkindoftime,divine-mystical time:31“ButtheseventhdayisthesabbathoftheLordthyGod:initthoushaltnotdoanywork…theLord…restedtheseventhday:where-foretheLordblessedthesabbathday,andhallowedit”(Exod.20:10–11).InJewishculture,holytimeisdifferentiatedfrommundane,ordinarytime.

Eternal time belongs to God and so do the heavenly bodies which dictate the humancalendar year – the sunand themoonare also subject toGod’swill.Whenhewants to,Godcan change their courseand stop time: “Sun, standthoustill uponGibeon;and thou,Moon, in thevalleyofAjalon.And the sunstoodstill,andthemoonstayed…Sothesunstoodstillinthemidstofheav-en,andhastednottogodownaboutawholeday”(Josh.10:12–13).Manhadexperiencedholy,mysticaltime,thateternalpresent,intheGardenofEden.32 FromthemomenthumanitywascastoutofEden,God,themasterofeternaltime,hasbeengrantingthemspecialoccasionsonwhichtheycanpartakeofthis time.TheHebrewmonotheismisthefirsttocomeupwiththeideaofGodwhich

exists outside of nature while controlling its forces. God reveals himself to man throughhisactionsinhistory,byappearinginearthly,humantime.Itisthroughthe transference of God from the realm of nature to the realm of history that Judaism has allowed God to be distanced from mankind. Unlike the pagan reli-gions,inwhichthecyclicalpowersofnatureareever-presentandmaninhabitsthesamemysticaltimeasthem,33 the God of the Old Testament exists outside ofnatureinaneternalpresentandrevealshimselftohumansperiodically,con-ducting his relationship with them linearly in the course of human time. This he doesthroughmiracles,revelationsandtheenvoyofangels.

The authors of the Old Testament share the idea that the divine real is scary andawful;aglimpseintomysticaltimeisthereforeapowerfulexperience.InthefirstchaptersoftheBible,mysticaltimeisveryclosetohumantime,whichis still in the process of becoming. God is very much involved in the lives of the firsthumans: hebreathes life into thefirstman, createswoman, andallowspeopletohearhisvoice.ThefirsthumansandGodstrollaroundtheGardenofEdentogether;itisplantedfirmlywithinmysticaltime(eventhoughitalreadycontainstheTreeofLife,forbiddentothehumans).TheguardingoftheTreeofLifebeginswiththeexpulsion,withthebeginningofhumantime:“Sohedrove

31 Schweid1984.32 Agur1997,213–215.33 InGreekmythologythemystical,eternaltimeisthetimeofthegods,butsometimeshuman

beingscouldexperienceittoo.DuringtheGoldenAge,whengodsandhumanscoexisted,thegodshadnotyetretreatedtothesummitofMountOlympus,butrathersharedthelandwithmankind,specificallyintheMaconavalley.Humanslivedalongsidetheimmortalsandremainedforeveryoung.SeeVernant2002,47–48.


outtheman;andheplacedattheeastofthegardenofEdenCherubims,andaflamingswordwhichturnedeveryway,tokeepthewayofthetreeoflife”(Gen.3:24).TheexileofmanoutofEdenbringsabouttheinitialriftbetweendivinetimeandearthly,lineartime,reservedforhumans.IntheculturesoftheEast,mysticaltimeisgenerallycontainedwithinearthly

time.InMesopotamia,humanactionsareareproductionofamythicalmodel,a repetition of the actions of the gods or of the ancient ancestors.34 In cultures wheretheconceptoftimeiscyclical,earthlytimeisnotdisconnectedfrommys-tical time. Every creation recreates the explicit cosmogenous act of creating the universe.Toensurethecontinuedexistenceofreality,onemustrituallyre-en-actthedivineactofcreation,whichmeansrevertingtocosmictime.Inthesecultures,seculartimehasnomeaning.Ritualscombinethetwokindsoftimeandmakeitsothatduringthemmandoesnotexistinmeaninglessseculartime,since he is emulating a divine archetype.35

InCatholicism,mysticaltimeislinkedtothereligiousexperience.36 The Church promised unconditional love to all those who took refuge under its wing and offeredhumanityawaytobelievethatGodlovesusandhasforgivenus.Theuniverse was a simple place to understand: man stood at its centre with heaven orhellashisfuturedestination,inthepromisedmysticaltime.Thetheologicalnotionoftimeisnotderivedonlyfromafixedfuture,butcomesalsofromthepromiseofsalvationastheChristian“RealizedEschatology”37 largely explains. With the acceleration of secularization processes in Europe at the end of the MiddleAgesandduringtheRenaissance,38humanity’slongingformysticaltimediminished,whereaslinear,earthlytimebecamemoreandmoresignificant.Thelossofconnectiontothismystical,religioustimehappenedgradually.In

theagrarian,pre-industrialsociety,peoplelivedaccordingtothecalmandreg-ular rhythm of the seasons and the calendar of agricultural work. The belief that beyond these time-marking events there was a realm of eternal time provided a

34 Eliade1959,22.35 Funkenstein,1991.36 Christiansbelieve intheendofdays,whenhumanitywill jointheeternal,mysticaltime.The

prophecyabouttheKingoftheendofdaysfirstappearedintheletter“OntheTimeandPlaceoftheAppearanceoftheAntichrist”,sentbyAdso,theabbotofEmperorLouisIV’swidow,in954.ThelettersaysthatattheendofdaystheKingoftheFrankswillriseupandunitetheEastandtheWestbyconqueringtheHolyLand.Astheendofmiraclesapproaches,GogandMagog will burst forth from the north but they will be defeated by the Christian King. After thevictory, theKingwillascendtotheMountofOlives,spreadouthishands, laydownhiscrownandreturnhissoultotheCreator.Then,aftereveryauthorityandjurisdictioninIsraelhasbeendestroyed,AntichristwillberevealedandtheeventsoftheApocalypsewillbegin.SeeYaliHaran2005,129.

37 “ThesalvationofindividualsistheprincipalfocusoftheearlierNewTestamentwritings.InPaulthissalvationisbothpresentandfuture;thetwoareclosely linked”(Metzger/Coogan1993,670).

38 Arbel2002,87–88.


measureofconfidenceintime.Theprocessofsecularizationandthetransitiontolifeaccordingtotheclockintheearthlyrealm,asopposedtothecalendarin conjunctionwitheternal time,gavepeople living inWesternculturesnewnorms and worldviews regarding time: the secular man had been exiled out of Edenforgood,tossedintoearthlytime,andthisnewfreedomimbuedhimwithfearandafierceappetiteforcompetition,successandglory.Wecandemonstratethelossofconnectiontoeternal,mysticaltimebyre-

ferring to thepainting“CrossingNature”byChayaAgur (fig. 2). In an inter-viewwiththepainter,sheexplainsthatthetitle“CrossingNature”hasadoublemeaninginrelationtothepainting–itreferstothecrucifixionofnatureaswellas theactofangeringnature,orgoingagainst its laws.Thepaintingdepictsthe paradox of the eternal time that Jesus represents as the son of God and the linear time of the ever-changing natural phenomena represented by his hu-manform.SheexplainedthatthecrucifixionrepresentsJesus’stransitionfromahumanexistenceinlineartimetoaneternaldivineexistence,aswellastheopportunitygiventomankindviathecrucifixiontofreethemselvesfromtheburdenoflineartime.Atthesametime,thecrucifixionalsodescribeswhatishappeningtoJesus’sbody,whichisacoherentpartofnatureandsubjecttoitsphysicallawsjustlikeanyothercreatureinthematerialworld.Thesubjectofthecrucifixionisverycommoninpictorialartandtherehavebeencountlessinterpretationsanddepictionsofitbydifferentartists.However,theemphasisalwaystendstobeonJesus’ssufferingand/oronthesufferingofthosearoundhim.Here,bycontrast,thefigureofJesusonthecrossispositionedinthemidstofbeautifulandindifferentnaturewhichcarriesonunperturbedinthefaceofthecrucifixion.ThedoveaboveJesus’sheadisanexampleofthisdualism–ontheonehand,itistheChristiansymboloftheholyspirithoveringoverhim,butontheotherhand,itisalsoananimalwhichusesitsenvironmentforitsownneeds,andassuchisbusybuildinganestforitschicksoutofJesus’slonghair.ThefigureofMariaonthedistanthorizonwaspaintedasthegrievingmother,basedonthemodelofMichelangelo’s“Pieta”.However,yetagain,unlikethecustomarydepictionsof Jesus’mother, she isnotbyhis side. Instead, she isdistantandsymbolicallyrepresentativeofthetwokindsoftime–astheeternalmother of God and as a human body painted in the shape of an hourglass whose timeisrunningout.Insteadofahalo,herheadiscrownedbyaclock-face.Thetwokindsoftimepresentinthepaintingarenotseparate–eternaltime

containslineartime,andviceversa.Thisisthepainter’sattempttoillustratetheparadoxoftimeinthehumanexperience.Manasacreatureofnature,madefromthedustanddestinedtoreturntoit,andManasacreaturemadeintheimage of God conduct a shared existence within the human frame. In my opin-ion,thepaintingemphasizesthe indifferenceofnaturetothehumanhistoryand its events within time. The painting contains other elements from the paint-


er’s symbolicworldwhichamplify theparadoxof timewithinexistence: thelyrebirdistheeternalsoulbeingraped(atJesus’sfeet)byalizard-likecreaturewhichsymbolizesaconnectiontotheearth.Insidethewater,weseethehybridcreaturebornfromthiscoupling–alizardwithlyrewingshesitantlywalkingonstilts.Ishallalsodemonstratethelossoftheconnectiontomystical,eternaltime

belonging toGodand theangels, and theentrenchmentwithinearthly timewhichprovokes the appetite formaterial success andearthlyglory, throughthepainting“FallingAngel”byChayaAgur (fig3). Theanalysisof thepaint-ing’ssymbolsandmeaningsisbasedpartlyontheinterviewwiththepainter.Whileinthepainting“CrossingNature”thepaintershowedthateternaltimeandlineartimearenotseparated,inthepainting“FallingAngel”weobserveaslightlydifferentangleonthesameconcept.Thispainting,paintedwithmixedtechniques,depictsanangelfallingfrommysticaltimedowntoearthlytimeashe crumbles into the treasures of which he is composed. Diamonds and gems scattereverywhere.Hisbrokenwingistrappedwithinthe“fake”lightofthe“cow”whichoverflowswiththemilkofsuccessandearthlyriches.Ontherightsideofthepainting,weseeaheavenlychickenlayinggoldeneggsandcastingthediamondsoutasbait–animageofwealthandfleetingsuccess.Humanity

Fig. 2: Chaya Agur, Crossing Nature, oil on canvas, 40 x 50 cm.


is represented by masks (the fake self that acts according to the convention of itshistoricaltime).Themaskshavegapingmouths,readytoswallowthewealthpouringdownintothem.Oneofthem,atthefrontofthepainting,isreachingoutahandtograbthefleetingwealththatisrainingdownbeforeit.Theartistcriticizeshere,inmyopinion,thecapitalisticpursuitofabundanceandsuccesswithinalineartimeandrepresentsitasanalienated,‘falsepursuit’whichdis-tances the human being from an authentic inner search.

PERSONAL AUTHENTIC TIME

The Renaissance is regularly presented as the period that saw the birth of the in-dividual,inthemodernsenseoftheword.However,thediscoveryoftheHumanduringtheRenaissanceisnotacompleteinnovation,butratheranewversionofaphenomenonwhoserootsarefirmlyplantedinthefoundationsofWesternculture. Individualism is tightly bound up with the birth of the self-awareness necessary for the development of the individual. While this self-awareness had

Fig. 3: Chaya Agur, Falling Angel, mixed techniques, 50 x 60 cm.


already developed all the way back in the classical era and in the ancient Jewish tradition,39 the rise of individualism in its modern reincarnation was made pos-sible by secularization:40 individualism allowed man to abandon his ties to the moralstructureofGod’suniverseinordertoacceptany“truth”hediscovered.Somewhat paradoxically, individualism developed within Christianity de-

spite the lack of freedom Christians experienced under the yoke of the Catholic Church. Christianity teaches the individual to distinguish between good and evil andallowshimto“fulfilhimself”.InJudaismandintheclassicalGreektradition,the individual actually has less responsibility than in Christianity: the Christian doctrine emphasizes the power of spiritual activity and the potential of the in-dividualtoincreasehisdivinecapacitiesthroughspirituallabour.Bydoingso,Christianitycontributedtothedevelopmentofself-awareness,andthisself,theonewhowieldsthisauthority,isperfectedduringtheRenaissance.41

TheprocessofsecularizationalsoinfluencedthewaytheWestapproachedhistory.Upuntilthethirteenthcentury,historiographywasdecisivelyChristiananddependentontheology,i.e.thereligiousestablishment,whichdeterminedcategorically which sources were worthy of historical attentions and which were forbidden.42ThepeopleoftheRenaissance,bycontrast,adoptedtheap-proachofCicero,whocalledhistory“theteacheroflife”andfocusedonhumandrama,humanrelationships,humanweaknessesandsuccesses.43 History too wentthroughaprocessofsecularization,basedonthearrowofearthlytime,asitischaracterizedintheBible.Thatistosay,itisinformedbytheideathatunderstanding human experiences of the past is helpful in understanding the present and can even be used to predict the future.

These combined phenomena of secular individualism and the return to earth-ly time can be witnessed in Renaissance art.44 The link between art and cultural moods is rather complex. The study of art history is based on the nature of the connectionbetweenworksofartandculturaltrendsorthezeitgeistindifferentfieldsofhumanculture.45 We can agree that Renaissance art celebrates the em-

39 TheGodoftheOldTestamentallowsmantobefree.AlthoughGodisalegislator,arewardgiverandapunisher,rewardandpunishmentarenotarbitraryacts,suchasCalvin’sGod’sdecisionsabout human destiny. The God of the Bible reveals to man the purpose of his life and how he mustgoaboutachievingsaidpurpose,buthedoesnotforcehiminanyparticulardirection.Whileidolatrydemandsservitude,themonotheisticworshipofGodenablesself-consciousnessbyexperiencinglifeasaproblem.SeeFromm1966,47.

40 Shanahan1992,56.41 Shanahan1992,53.42 Arbel2002,87–88.43 Arbel2002,90.44 We must keep in mind that Renaissance culture as we know it was the culture of the upper

classes,thosewithpowerandmoney,andnotofthemerchantsandthepetitebourgeoisie.SeeFromm1941,47.

45 Arbel2002,105;Huizinga1955,244–245.


poweredindividual,theselfasasourceoftruthandthus,throughaprocessofself-discovery,thecreationoftheuniqueself.Anexampleofthiscanbefoundin the biographies of the Renaissance. Biography provides a study of the individ-ualistic marks of distinction attributed to important persons.46

The race towards the future inside earthly time has led to, among otherthings, thedevelopmentof themodernconceptionof time,47 along with the growingimportanceofcompetition.Throughthisprocess,minutesbecameval-uable and time became such a precious resource that humans feel they must not waste it on worthless pursuits.48Forexample,theRenaissanceartistAlbertiBatista,49 inordertomakethemostofhistime,beganeachdaybymakingaprecise schedule. Man became master of his fate and time became a personal resource.Aswementioned, this appearanceof the individual alongwithhisunique

perceptionoftimeisreflectedinRenaissanceartinmanyways,includinginthetechnique of perspective drawing. Perspective captures an individualistic view oftheworldsinceitdepictstheobserver’spersonalpointofviewwithinearthlytime. The retreat of mystical time is the retreat of the simultaneous point of view,50which isawayof looking fromthestandpointofdivineeternal time,bearing no perspective geometrical considerations.Thepracticeofperspective,51whichwasdevelopedintheRenaissance,at-

tests to a change in the conception of time: the estimation of perspective is chronologicalandcausal.Astheobservermovesthroughtimeandspace,hispersonal perspective changes. Therefore the reality seems to change with every passing unit of time. This is a shift from the perception of eternal time and mys-ticsymbolismtoaperceptionoftimeinfluencedby,amongotherthings,newscientificthoughtgovernedby logicandtheobserver’s individualexperiencewithinasystem.Perspectiveisagraphicrepresentationofobjectsinthree-di-mensional space, according to the individual’s optical perceptionof reality.52 Whentheobservermovesthroughtime,atanypointintimetheobjectsinthedepictedspacearedrawnfromhispersonal,individualperspective.Manisthenplacedatthecentreoftheactofobservationasaninvestigatorofreality,as

46 Burckhardt1944,171–172.47 Levine2006,51–67.48 Fromm1941,58.49 Bluedom2002,227.50 Thesimultaneouspointofview,typicaloftheMiddle-Ages,wasnotsubduedbythelimitsof

timeandspaceorcauseandeffectasobservedinreality.Itwasanunindividual,eternalpointofview.SeeHuizinga,1955.

51 Arbel2002,113–114.52 Thelawsofperspectivearebasedonlinesthatmeetatonepoint–thefocalpointintheeyesof

the observer. The artist and architect Leon Battista Alberti established perspective as a theory forpaintersandarchitects.SeeBacket1994,88.


opposedtotheeternal,divinepointofviewwhichdominatedartoverthepre-vious centuries. The description of the world through the light entering the lens oftheobserver’seyeturnsthediscreteobserver–theartist– intothefocalpoint of the world.Thepainting“DeathofaSoldieronaMondrianBattlefield”byChayaAgur

(fig.4)isagooddemonstrationoftheperspectivetechnique.Thepaintersaidthat she was reacting to the theory of painting of Pieter Cornelis Mondrian. Mondrian,aDutchpainterandoneofthefoundersofModernism,paintedinprimary colours and in accordance with the golden ratio in an attempt to sim-plifythecomponentsofaesthetics.AccordingtoMondrian,theseelementsarethebasicfoundationofhis“reality”,thereisnorepresentationof“time”inthisreality. In thepainting“DeathofaSoldieronaMondrianBattlefield”,ChayaAgurinsertsthelineartimeofperspectiveintoMondrian’stimelessworld.Lin-eartimecontainsthetenses–past,presentandfuture–andthusAgurrepre-sentsdeathasbelongingtothenon-eternaltimeofperspective.Thesoldier’sgrave,thecanonsandthefieldsofcolourconvergeonasinglepoint,thevanish-ing point of the perspective. Perspective is limited: it cannot see space or time beyondthevanishingpoint,anddeathinthepaintingrepresentstemporality.

Fig 4: Chaya Agur, Death of a Soldier on a Mondrian Battlefield, oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm.


Agur’spaintingalsoexpressesacritiqueofmalelogic,expressedbylineartime,whilefemaletimeisrepresentedascyclical,thusthemalesymbolsinthepaint-ing are the ones painted in perspective.Thepainter’sclaimtochangeMondrian’stimelessnessintoalineartimein

herpaintingis,inmyopinion,nottotallysuccessful.Thetwo“Times”arenotentirelyseparated.Thepaintingisdividedintotwoparts–atthetop,Mondri-an’sgeometricformsandthebasiccoloursappearinhisownstyleandatthebottom,thepainterintroducesthelineartimebythelawsofperspective.Againwesee,asinherotherpaintings,thatthosetwotimesexistsimultaneously.Today,Westerners live along twoparallel axesof time.On the communal

andculturallevel,thelineartimeaxisismanifestedinthegrandnarrativesofhistory,democracyandcapitalism.Onthepersonalandauthenticlevel,West-ernmaniscaughtupintheracetowardsfuturesuccess,whichisalsofoundedonlinearthoughtandanticipationofthefuture,albeitonanindividualscale.Intermsofthereligiousunderpinningofthelineartimeline,thereisadistinc-tion to be made between approaches that see God as responsible for salvation andapproachesthatseemanascapableofinfluencinghisfateanddrivingthewheeloffortune.Whenhumansbelievetheycanaffecttheirfuture,becauseit isnotyetdetermined,theydevelopthemotivationtolaunchintoapursuitthrough time of future personal and authentic success. This motivation may be religiousinitsorigins,butithasundergoneaprocessofsecularization.Nevertheless, theaxisofpersonal time isalsobasedon religiouspatterns

ofthought.Thebeliefthatmancaninfluencehisfuturestemsfromthebiblicalconceptionoftime.Inthesecondhalfofthesecondcentury,theGreekphilos-opherGalenwasthefirsttopointoutthedifferencebetweenthebiblicalandGreek cultures and claims that the fundamental divergence between the two is theresultoftwodifferentcosmologies.53 Galen maintains that the principle of God’sfreewillcouldonlyariseagainstthebackdropofbiblicalcosmology,ac-cordingtowhichGodhasthepowertobringmatterintoastateoforder.God’swilldesignsadifferentfutureandcontainsthepossibilityofcreation,change,renewal,exchange, irreversibilityand improvement.Galenaddsthat the lackof free will in classical Greek culture is also a result of its proper cosmology. In aneternalanddeterministicworld,freewillcannotexist–everythingisinthehandsoffateandnecessity.TheOldTestament,whichpositsaworldcreatedex nihilo,pre-supposestheexistenceoffreewill.54 This free will is at the basis of the personal authentic axis of time.Intoday’stechnological,consumercapitalistsociety,timehasbecomeaval-

uable personal resource linked to success and achievement and perceived as

53 Dihle1982.54 Kaufman1972,244.


an authentic form of capital. Social and economic success today is measured in termsofefficacyandoptimalresultswithinalimitedframeoftime.Whoevercannotmeetthedeadlineorperformaccordingtoscheduleisconsideredunfitora failure. Itwas in1748 thatBenjaminFranklinutteredhis famousmaxim“Timeismoney.”55 This attitude towards time in the West has produced an eco-nomicmetaphoroftimeknownas“temponomics”–thecombinationoftimeand economics. Temponomics assumes that time is a resource that ought to beconsideredinthesamewayweconsidermoney,whichthereforemakesitpossibleto“earntime”,“savetime”andeven“selltime”.56

Time“passes”,time“goes”,time“flies”andtime“runsout”.Westernmanfeels as if time itself is in motion. Time is experienced as a central resource that isconstantlydepleting.Itisaunitofvalue,aformoftender,capitaltobeinvest-ed and consumed and most importantly an important resource for success.57 Somehaveevenproclaimedmodernman“drunkontime”.58 Our current West-ernmythisachroniclackoftime.SecularlifeintheWest,whichisdevoidoffaithorthebeliefintheeverlastingsoul,isimbuedwiththefeelingthattimeingeneral isalinearprogressiontowardsextinction.Inthepersonaldimension,Westerners live with the temporal biological feeling of our lives rushing by us and of ever-nearing death and personal decimation. Time-based expressions such as the “ticking biological clock” express life as a kind of organic clockwhose time is limited and allotted in advance.

EPILOGUE

Asthisarticleshows,thebiblicalarrowoftimewhichunderpinsthefoundationof Western culture and leads us from Genesis to Apocalypse is also present in the grand narratives of the modern age. The concept of progress as it relates to historycannotexistwithouttheassumptionofabeginningandanend,similarlytothewayMarx’spredictionsassumedthattheproletariatrevolutionwouldachievethefinalgoaloftheclasslesssociety.Theaxisofhistoricaltimeispre-sentedashavingadefiniteend.Inparallel,theriseofconsumersociety,whoseinterestliesinthepersonalauthenticaxisoftime,hasledtothedevelopmentofamoreindividualisticandsubjectiveperceptionoftime.However,whiletheoverallperceptionoftime intheWest is linear,today,

in thedigitalageand in theNewAgeera,wearewitnessingtheemergenceofnew,differentandalternative ideasof time.Wecanalso identifya return

55 Levine2006,90.56 Zakay1998,93–94.57 Nir2016.58 Eyal1996,141.


tomystical simultaneous time– toobservation fromthe“divine”viewpoint.Itispossiblenowadaystoseeorexperiencethewholeworldsimultaneously,thankstoan immensecapacityofmemory,which isnotunlikethecompletememory that is possible on the level of a higher power such as God.59 The cre-ation of a virtual environment can also be likened to world creation.60 A virtual reality is not necessarily similar to everyday reality. The virtual world can be very differentfromtherealworld,eveninitsmostfundamentalprinciples.Suchanenvironment takes us back to the dream time characteristic of surrealist art. Thedreamdoesnotfollowthelawsofrealityorofanyparticularstyle–everyartisthastheirownpersonal,subjectiveenvironment.To sumup, let us examine this surrealist dream time in thepainting“The

TwoMadonnas”byChayaAgur(fig.5),whichdepictsseveralrealitiesexistingsimultaneously,sidebyside.Thisisatimethatcontainseverything–thepast,the present and the future (as it appears nowadays in the digital augmented

59 Rosen2016.60 Friedman2006.

Fig. 5: Chaya Agur, The Two Madonnas, oil on canvas, 60 x 50 cm.


reality).The painter claims that we can see how every single thing in the painting stemsfromthesamesource,thesamefigure–Mary.Marypersonifiescreativ-ityandtheenergyoftheworldontheabstract,non-religiousplain.Everythingarisesfromtheshapeelementsofherdressandcrown–thesourceissingularwhiletheshapesareinfinite.Thespacesinthepaintingseemisolatedfromoneanother,whichiswhatlinearityfeelslike;however,infact,alltimescoexistsi-multaneously.Thepoet(representedbytheharp)drowninginthesea,Laoc-oönandhissonsbattlingreality,theyareallstrugglingagainstsomethingwhichisnotstableorreal,whichflowsoutofthedressandcomesbacktoit–thisisdreamtimeandcyclical,femininetime.Everythingstemsfromthesamefigureandmakesitswaybacktoit.Mary’shandsarecrossedandsheisdepictedina stable position which is symbolic of the Platonic ideal reality. Her eyes look withcompassionupontheentiretyofcreation,whilethesecondMadonna,herAmericancounterpartinthebottomrightcorner,istheMadonnaofmaterial-ism.Agur’spainting“TheTwoMadonnas”presents,inmyopinion,acriticalpoint

of view upon the linear time concept of the capitalist culture. This is why I chose to include it in the summary of the article. Maria looks on with compassion at humanity’sSisypheanstruggle inandwith time.Hercompassionstems fromthe broader perspective from which she observes reality. In the painting Maria herself is the source of all the seemingly changing forms that come from her and return to her.Thiscyclicalconceptionoftimepresentedbytheartist,sodifferentfromthe

dominantnarrativeintheWest,appearsalreadyinEcclesiastes:“Thethingthathathbeen,it isthatwhichshallbe;andthatwhichisdoneisthatwhichshallbedone:andthereisnonewthingunderthesun”(1:9),andresonatesinthewordsofShakespeareinSonnet123:

Ourdatesarebrief,andthereforeweadmireWhatthoudostfoistuponusthatisold,And rather make them born to our desireThan think that we before have heard them told.61

AccordingtoShakespearethequickagingandchangingofeverything“new”isactu-ally an illusion that conceals the cyclical truth.

61 Booth1977,107.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Agur,Elie,1997,PoemofTimeandSpace,Amsterdam:PaceSafortim.Arbel,Binyamin,2002,TheItalianRenaissance–EmergenceofaSecularCulture[Hebrew],Jerusa-

lem: Ministry of Defense Press.Augustine,1950,TheConfessionsofSt.Augustine,trans.J.G.Pilkington,NewYork:International

Collectors Library.Backet,Wendy,1994,TheHistoryofPainting,InAssociationwiththeNationalGalleryofArt,Wash-

ington,D.C.Bloch,Marc,1964,TheHistorian’sCraft,trans.PeterPutnam,NewYork:VintageBooks.Bluedorn,AllenC.,2002,TheHumanOrganizationofTime,RedwoodCity:StanfordBusinessBooks.Booth,Stephen,1977,Shakespeare’sSonnets,NewHavenandLondon:YaleUniversityPress.Burckhardt,Jacob,1944,TheCivilizationoftheRenaissanceinItaly,trans.S.G.C.Middlemore,Lon-

don: Phaidon Press.Carr,EdwardH,1987(1964),WhatisHistory?,NewYork:PenguinBook,2nded.Dan,Joseph,2000,TheApocalypseThenandNow[Hebrew],Herzlia:YediotAharonotPressand

Hemed Books.Dan,Joseph,2009,ChaosTheoryandtheStudyofHistory[Hebrew],TelAviv:DvirPublishing.Dihle,Albrecht,1982,TheTheoryofWillinClassicalAntiquity,Oakland:UniversityofCaliforniaPress.Efron,Yehoshua,2004,TheOriginsofChristianityandtheApocalypseinJewishHistory,[Hebrew],

Tel Aviv: Hakibutz Hameuhad.Eliade,Mircea,1959,CosmosandHistory:TheMythoftheEternalReturn,trans.W.R.Trask,New

York: Harper Torch Books.Eliav-Feldon,Miri, 1997, The Protestant Reformation [Hebrew], Jerusalem:Ministry of Defense

Press. Eyal,Nitza,1996,RealTime:TheArtist’sPersonalExperienceofTime[Hebrew],TelAviv:Modan.Flusser,David,2009,Jesus[Hebrew],TelAviv:DvirMagnesandZmoraBitan.Friedman,Doron,2006,VirtualEnvironments[Hebrew],Jerusalem:MinistryofDefensePress.Fromm,Erich,1941,EscapefromFreedom,NewYork:Holt,RinehartandWinston.Fromm,Erich,1966,YouShallBeasGods:ARadical InterpretationoftheOldTestamentandIts

Tradition,NewYork:FawcettPremier.Funkenstein,Amos,1991,OldTimesandNewTimes[Hebrew],Mahshavot(Thoughts)61,56–65.Gelander,Shamai,2001,OnthePerceptionofTimeintheBible–ADifferentOutlook[Hebrew],Beit

Mikra46,2,120–129.Hacohen,Ran,2006,RenewingtheOldTestament:HebrewScholarsinGermanyandBiblicalCriti-

cisminthe19thCentury[Hebrew],TelAviv:HakibutzHameuhad.Haran,Yali,2005,PoliticalMessianismin16th–17thCenturyFrance,in:Yossef,Kaplan(ed),Endsof

CenturiesEndsofEras[Hebrew],Jerusalem:ZalmanShazarCenterforJewishHistory,129–144.Huizinga,Johan,1955,TheWaningoftheMiddleAges,trans.F.Hopman,London:Penguin.Kaufman,Yehezkel,1972,TheHistoryofIsrael’sFaith[Hebrew],Jerusalem:MossadBialikPress.Kern, Stephen, 1983, TheCultureof Time and Space 1880–1918, Cambridge:HarvardUniversity

Press.Klausner,Joseph,1926,JesusofNazareth:HisLife,TimesandTeaching,trans.HerbertDanby,New

York: The McMillan Company.Leibowitz,Yeshayahu,2002,Faith,HistoryandBeliefs.ArticlesandLectures,Jerusalem:Academon

Press.Levine,Robert,2006,AGeographyofTime,NewYork:BasicBooks.Malkin,Ya’akov,2003,JudaismwithoutGod,JewishnessasCulture,theBibleasLiterature,Jerusa-

lem: Keter Press.Metzger,Bruce /Coogan,Michael (eds.),1993,TheOxfordCompaniontotheBible,Oxfordand

New York: Oxford University Press.


Nir,Bina,2016,TheFailureofSuccess[Hebrew],TelAviv:ReslingBooks.Plato,1888,TheTimaeusofPlato,ed.R.D.Archer-Hind,Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.Rauch,Leo,1978,FaithandRevolution:ThePhilosophyofHistory[Hebrew],TelAviv:YahdavPress.Rosen,Avi,2016,TheArtofCyberspace[Hebrew],TelAviv:ReslingBooks.Russell,Bertrand,1945,TheHistoryofWesternPhilosophy,NewYork:Simon&Schuster.Sand,Shlomo,2004,TheHistorian,TimeandImagination[Hebrew],TelAviv:AmOved.Schweid,Eliezer,1984,TheBookofTimeCycles[Hebrew],TelAviv:AmOved.Shanahan,Daniel,1992,TowardaGenealogyof Individualism,Amherst:UniversityofMassachu-

setts Press.Vernant,Jean-Pierre,2002,TheUniverse,theGodsandMen:AncientGreekMyth,trans.LindaAsh-

er,NewYork:HarperCollinsPerennial.Zakay,Dan,1998,PsychologicalTime[Hebrew],Jerusalem:MinistryofDefensePress.Zeligman,YitzhakArieh,1992,StudiesinBiblicalLiterature[Hebrew],Jerusalem:HebrewUniversity

Press.


Open Section

Teemu Taira

Reading Bond Films through the Lens of “Religion”Discourse of “the West and the Rest”

ABSTRACT“Religion”hasbeenabsentfromthestudyofJamesBondfilms.Similarly,JamesBondhasbeenabsentfromstudiesonreligionandpopularculture.Thisarticleaimstofillthegapbyexamining25Bondfilmsthroughthelensof“religion”.Theanalysissuggeststhatthereareanumberofreferencesto“religion”inBondfilms,although“religion”istypi-callynotamaintopicofthefilms.Furthermore,thereisadetectablepatterninthefilms:“religion”belongsprimarilytowhatisregardedasnotbelongingto“theWest”and“theWest”isconsideredmodern,developedandrationalasopposedtothebackward,exoticand“religious”“Rest”.When“religion”appearsin“theWest”,itisseenpositivelyifitisrelatedtoChristianityandconfinedtotheprivatesphereandtotheritesofpassage.Inthissense,representationsof“religion”inBondfilmscontributetowhatStuartHallnamedthediscourseof“theWestandtheRest”,thusplayingaroleinthemaintenanceoftheideaof“theWest”.Thiswillbedemonstratedbyfocusingonfourthematicex-amplesfromthefilms:mythicalvillains, imperialistattitudeto“religion”outside“theWest”,“religion”centralintheplot(voodooandtarot),Christianityin“theWest”.ThisarticlealsoprovidesgroundsforsuggestingthatreadingBondfilmsthroughthelensof“religion”contributestobothBondstudiesandstudiesonreligionandpopularculture.

KEYWORDSReligion, Film, James Bond, Popular Culture, the West, Discourse, Representation,Myth,Colonialism,Imperialism,Christianity,Secular,Rationality

BIOGRAPHYTeemuTairaisSeniorLecturerinStudyofReligion,UniversityofHelsinki,andDocentinStudyofReligion,UniversityofTurku.Heisco-authorofMedia Portrayals of Religion and the Secular Sacred(2013,withKimKnottandElizabethPoole)andauthoroffourmonographs (in Finnish) andhehaspublished several articles about religion,media,popularculture,atheismandmethodologyofreligiousstudies ineditedvolumesandjournalssuchasMethod and Theory in the Study of Religion and Journal of Contempo-rary Religion and Religion. See http://teemutaira.wordpress.com.

DOI: 10.25364/05.05:2019.2.7

Reading Bond Films through the Lens of “Religion” | 119www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 119–139

THE DOUBLE ABSENCE

JamesBondisoneofthebest-knownfictionalsecretagentsintheworld.There-fore,itisnotsurprisingthatBondfilmsandnovelshavereceivedalotofatten-tionfromscholars.TherearemanyinterestingtakesonthepopularfigureofBond,focusing,forexample,onnarrativestructures,imperialideologies,sex-ism,Britishnessandreadingformations.1Forsomereason,“religion”2 has not beenmuchwrittenaboutinBondstudies,althoughitisnotcompletelyabsent.3 Perhapsthisisexpected,becauseBondfilmsarenotseenas“religious”orascommentarieson“religion”.Therelativeabsenceof“religion”inBondscholarshipisonething;theother

notable absence is the lack of Bond references in studies on religion and popu-larculture.Thereisalivelyresearchindustryinreligionandpopularculture,andscholarshavebeenkeentostudypopularfilmswheneversome“religious”andmythicalthemesoccur,butBondfilms,asfarasIamaware,havenotbeenad-dressed.Theyhavenotreceivedasmuchattentionas,forexample,StarWars (GeorgeLukas,US1977–2005;J.J.Abrams,US2015;RianJohnson,US2017;J.J.Abrams,US2019)orStarTrek(GeneRoddenberry,US1966–69),tonamejustafewpopularexamples.4

1 Themost famous earlier readings areKingsleyAmis’s entertaining, less scholarly defenceofBond(Amis1965),UmbertoEco’sclassicanalysisofBondnovels(Eco1992)andaco-authoredstudybyTonyBennettandJanetWoollacott(Bennett/Woollacott1987).BothEcoandBennettandWoollacottaimtoexplainwhyBondispopular.Eco’soriginalityisindetectingakeysemioticstructure that explains the popularity of Bond novels. Eco argues that the stories are organized inbinaryoppositionsand repeatpatterns common tomythsand fairy tales. Eco’s reading iscomplicatedbyBennettandWoollacott,whocarveoutatheoreticalspaceforthinkingaboutBond’spopularity through the variety and complexityof “reading formations”, focusingnotonly on the novels but also on the broader Bond phenomenon. These readings have become standard examples in popular culture and cultural studies textbooks (Strinati 1995; Harris1996;Turner2003).TheydescribetheBondworldasright-of-centre,sexist,racist, imperialist,capitalist,individualist,escapist,nostalgic(forthelostBritishempire)andintertextual,butnotreducible toanyof these; it is capableof articulatingmanydifferentandevencontradictoryvaluesanddiscourses,andtheconstellationhaschangedovertime.Theseclassicstudiesareworth mentioning here to point out that they are a resource for thinking about the complexity of the Bond phenomenon (and avoiding reductive claims about Bond) and to emphasize that even critical analysis does not mean that the audience cannot (or should not) be entertained by Bond bymakinguseofthevarietyofopportunitiesforflexiblesignificationoftheBondphenomenon.

2 When I put “religion” in quotation marks it is to indicate the contested, constructed andheuristicnatureofthecategory.WhenIwriteaboutdiscourseonreligion,categoryofreligionorstudyareas(religionandpopularculture,religionandfilm),quotationmarksarenotneeded.

3 SeeBlack2005;Daas2011;Smith2011.4 Brode/Deyneka 2012; Gordon 1995; Jindra 2005; Kraemer/Cassidy/Schwartz 2003;McDowell

2007;Porter/McLaren1999.Whenfilmsattractdedicatedfollowerswhocreateactivitiesaroundthefilm,theytendtogetmoreattentionfromscholarsofreligionandpopularculture.Theyare seen as expressions of popular or lived religiosity outside the typical institutional contexts (Clark2007,13–15).ThelackofsuchdedicatedfollowersdistinguishesBondfilmsfromfilmssuch as StarWars and StarTrek,butitshouldbeemphasizedthatsuchexpressionsdonotmarkoutaboundaryofwhatmightberelevantobjectsofstudyinreligionandpopularculture.

120 | Teemu Taira www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 119–139

Theargumenthereisnotthat“religion”isaforgottenbutnecessaryorpriv-ilegedlensforunderstandingBondfilmscomparedtoreadingsfocusingon,forexample,geopolitics,nationalism,orgender.Furthermore,theargumentisnotthat Bond should be key material for studying religion and popular culture. The taskhereismuchmoremodest:itistoexplorewhatBondfilmslooklikewhen“religion”isusedasthelensforexaminingthem.Thus,thisarticleasks:DoesreadingBondfilms through“religion”bring to the fore anythingnew, inter-estingandrelevanttothinkingabouttheBondphenomenon,aswellastothestudy of religion and popular culture?5

Theanswertobothelementswillbeaffirmative:thereissomethingrelevant“religion”bringstostudyingBondandthereissomethingscholarsofreligionand popular culture might learn from the Bond phenomenon. This article ex-plores“religion”inBondfilmsindetailandarguesthatifthereisanythingthattiesportrayalsof“religion” inBondfilms together, it iswhatStuartHallhascalledthediscourseof“theWestandtheRest”.6“TheWest”isprimarilyahis-toricalandconceptual,ratherthanageographicalconstruct,althoughitsgeo-graphical anchors are in Europe (but not really in Eastern Europe) and in North America.“TheWest”referstoanimaginedmodernsocietythatisdeveloped,industrialized,urbanized, capitalist and, Iwouldadd,predominantly secular.7 Discourse refers here to a particular way of representing and organizing knowl-edgeoftheWest,theRestandtheirrelationsthroughaninterlinkedgroupofstatements. This discourse operates by dividing the world into two separate blocksandrepresentingtheotherasinferiorinallrespects.It“becameaverycommonandinfluentialdiscourse,helpingtoshapepublicperceptionsandat-titudesdowntothepresent”.8Inotherwords,theideaof“theWest”hashadrealeffectsasithasproducedandorganizedknowledgeandpowerrelations.Whileitisinterestingtoexplorethevarietyofrepresentationsof“religion”inBondfilmsandtocommentonthemindetail,theanalysispresentedheresug-

5 Religionandpopularcultureaswellasreligionandfilmarebroadandmultifacetedareasofresearch.IthereforecannotclaimthatasinglestudyofBondfilmswouldbeequallyrelevantforallpossibleapproachesinthefield.Inreligionandfilm,thefieldisoftendividedintotwotypes,religiousfilmandfilmasreligion(Plate2005,3099–3101).AlthoughBondfilmscontain“religious” images, representations and themes, I cannot think of anyone approachingthemas“religiousfilms”(Grace2009)(orfilmswhereyoufind“God”[DetweilerandTaylor2004]).Further,thisarticledoesnotdealwith“filmasreligion”approaches(Lyden2003). Ifanything,Iwouldliketochallengetherelevanceofsuchtypology.Anothertypologydividesthe approaches into to theological,mythological and ideological (Martin 1995). This articledoes not follow approaches in which selected theological ideas are explored and sometimes developed (Johnston 2000; Marsh 2004); however, the relations between films and widersocialdiscoursesareexplored,meaningthatthisstudyhassomeaffinitywithmythologicalandparticularly ideological approaches.

6 Hall1992.7 Hall1992,277.8 Hall1992,279.


gests that the portrayals come together to support and reproduce the existing discourseof“theWestandtheRest”.Thisarticleproceedsbydescribingandjustifyingthedataandclarifyinghow

“religion”isoperationalizedforthepurposesofthisstudy.Afterthat,fourreli-gion-relatedthemesinBondfilmswillbeanalysedindetail.Thesethemeshigh-lighthowrepresentationsof“religion”playanintegralpartinthediscourseof“theWestandtheRest”.Finally,theconcludingsectiontiesthefourthemestogetherandreflectsonwhyreadingBondthrough“religion”mightmatterforboth Bond studies and studies concerning religion and popular culture.

DATA:25BONDFILMS

ThisarticleanalysesJamesBondfilms,nottheJamesBondnovels,althoughtheoriginofthefigureisinthenovels.Thereareseveralreasonsforthisfocus.First,thefilmshavebeenmorepopular.ThereareplentyofpeoplewhohaveseenmanyBondfilmsbuthavenotreadasingleBondbook,andthefilmseriesasawholehasbeenmoreprofitablethananycomparableseries.9Infact,thebooksstartedtosellwellonlyafterthereleaseoffilms,andmanyofushavereadthebooksonlyafterwatchingthefilms.10Popularityisanimportantcriterionhere,becauseinordertobecomepopular,fictionalformshavetorelatetoandcon-nectwithpopularexperience,andwhiletheBondphenomenonis“complexlyambiguous”,11therearecertainaspectspertainingtothetypicalplotstructure,valuesandideologiesthatmakeBond’spopularityunderstandable.Portrayalsof“religion”areamongthese.Secondly, although thefirst threeBondfilms“all bear a closeenough re-

semblancetotheirliteraryoriginals”,12 OnHerMajesty’sSecretService (Peter R.Hunt,GB1969) being the closestof all Bondfilms to theoriginal novel,13 themajorityofBondmovies“abandonanyfidelitytoFleming’soriginals,opt-ing instead for screen storieswhichusedonly Fleming’s titles and characternames”.14Oneofthekeydifferencesisthat“thefilmsweredeliberatelyde-po-liticisedanddetached from theColdWarbackgroundof thenovels”,15 or at least they shifted more towards the climate of détente.16Inaddition,“Bondi-an”becamethetermusedbytheproductionteamtomean“thespiritofJames

9 Black2005,xi.10 Bennett/Woollacott1987,26–27;31.11 Bennett/Woollacott1987,4.12 Chapman2007,49.13 Chapman2007,113.14 Chapman2007,124.15 Chapman2007,60.16 Bennett/Woollacott1987,33.


Bond”andaseparatefilmgenre,andthenovelswereseenasonlyoneofthesourcesforthefilms.17

Thirdly,thefilms,butnotthenovels,offerquiteauniquetimeframeforstud-yingapopularphenomenon.ThefirstBondfilmwas released in 1962. SincethenBondfilmshavebeenproducedataregularpace,thelongestbreakbe-tween releases being the six years between LicencetoKill(JohnGlen,GB/US1989)andGoldenEye (MartinCampbell,GB/US1995).Themostrecent,Spectre (SamMendes,GB/US2015),makesforatotalnumberof25films,ifNeverSayNeverAgain(IrvinKershner,GB/US1983),an“unofficial”BondfilmbecauseitwasnotproducedbyEONProductions, iscounted.Theseriesoffilmscoversalmost55years,fromtheColdWartothepresentday.IwatchedalltheBondfilms,includingNeverSayNeverAgain,aremakeof

Thunderball (TerenceYoung,GB1965) that saw the return of Sean Connery as Bond. I also watched the spy comedy CasinoRoyale(KenHughes,GB/US1967), starringDavidNiven asBond,but as it is sodifferent from the rest, Idecidednottoincludeithere.Imadenotesoneveryfilmwhenevertherewassomething that related to “religion”. Then I grouped the notes into variousclassesandthemestoseewhetheranypatternswouldemerge–asiscommonin qualitative and ethnographic content analysis of media materials.18 This initial phase in organizing the material is followed by detailed discursive analysis of the patterns and the representations they include.19 The analysis here gives an overviewofselectedtypicalpatternsrelatedto“religion”inBondfilmsand,onthatbasis,proceedstoexaminethemoretheoreticallydrivenquestionabouttherelationbetween“religion”inBondfilmsandthewidersocialcontext.

BONDAND“RELIGION”

Oneofthefirstproblemstoresolveisthequestionofwhatcountsasarefer-enceto“religion”.Solelyfortheheuristicpurposesofthisstudy,IutilizeBen-sonSaler’s suggestionthat“religion”canbeconceivedonthebasisofWitt-gensteinian“familyresemblance”,combinedwiththeprototypetheory,whenused as a concept to select relevant data for a study.20 This means that there is noessenceof“religion”,butourprototypeofthecategoryprovidesastartingpoint for deciding how close or far particular examples are from it. The proto-typeof“religion”wehaveisbasedonJudeo-Christianheritage,but“religion”isnotconfinedtoanysingle,commonlysharedcriterion.Whenthematerialis

17 Bennett/Woollacott1987,8;174;179.18 Altheide/Schneider2013,23–39;Bryman2004,392–393.19 Taira2013a;seealsoHall1992.20 Saler2000.


relativelyclosetotheprototype,asinthecaseofmythsandritualsthatincludereferencestosupernaturalforces,itislikelytobeincluded;whenthematerialis farenoughfromtheprototype,suchasnationalism, it ismore likely tobeleftout.Thebenefitofthisapproachisthatitguidestheselectionbutleavesituptoscholarlyjudgementtodecidewhereexactlythelineofrelevanceliesforthepurposesoftheanalysis.Asaresult,thematerialthatgetsselectedfordetailedanalysisisveryclosetowhatusuallygetscalled“religion”inacademiccontexts,althoughitmaybeabitwider–Salerlists15typicalfeatures–thantheeveryday(predominantlyWestern)understandingofwhatcountsas“reli-gion”.21Forinstance,thethemeshighlightedinthisarticleutilizingSaler’sideasareoftenaboutritualpractices,worship,buildings,“religious”languageortra-ditionsreferringtosupernaturalagentsandpowers,butthisapproachallowsthe inclusion of mythical narratives or characters that can also be recognized as beingclosetotheprototypeof“religion”.Withthisstartingpointthatguidestheviewingofthefilms,wecanexam-

inehow“religion”ispartoftheproductionofmeaning,therebytappingintowider(particularly,butnotexclusively,British)discoursesofwhatitmeanstobemodern.Bondfilmsandtheirrepresentationsareseenasarticulatedwithinthe wider modern discourse of religion and within what Stuart Hall calls the discourseof“theWestandtheRest”. Itmaywellbethattheways inwhichfilmscirculatestereotypesand,insomecases,playwiththemareatleastpartlyintentional.However,particularlywhen“religion”and“religious”imageryarenotcentraltoplotsorpartofthemostimportantcharactersinBondfilms,itis likely that the wider cultural discourses are a source of meaning making in a not-so-well-reflectedform.Although“religion”israrelycentraltoBondfilms,therearesomanyreferencesto“religion”thatthisarticlecannotprovideade-tailedanalysisofallofthem.Rather,Ihaveselectedthemesthathighlightmostclearlyhow“religion”relatestowhatitmeanstobemodernintheimageryofBondfilms.

21 Saler2008,222. Insomeofmystudies Ihaveusedanapproachthatanalysesthediscourseon “religion” rather than seeks to define it. This approach focuses on how various partiesnegotiatewhatcountsas“religion”andhowsocietiesingeneralandvariousinstitutionsandgroupsinparticularorganizethemselvesthroughsuchdebates(e.g.,Taira2013a;2013b;2016).Inthisapproach,“religion”isnotdefinedbecausetheaimistostudyhowothersdefineanduse it. Sometimes this has been seen to support views that suggest dropping the category of religionaltogether fromour analytical vocabulary, but I amnot suggesting that scholarsshouldneveruse“religion”forheuristicpurposesintheirresearchiftheyfindituseful.Onthecontrary,Ihaveused“religion”analyticallyforheuristicpurposespreviously(seeKnott/Poole/Taira2013),butIwouldarguethatthereisaneedforgreaterreflexivityinusingthecategoryofreligion.


MEGALOMANIAC VILLAINS IN A COSMIC DRAMA

Villainsareagoodplace tostart,partlybecausethey receiveagreatdealofattention in Bond scholarship and fandom in general and partly because they aredefinedaswhat threatens theworld thatBonddefends. The villains aretypically,dependingonthepointofview,God-likeorSatanicfigureswhoplayapartinamythical,cosmicbattlebetweengoodandevil.22

WhenDr.No, thevillain in thefirstBondfilm(Dr.No,TerenceYoung,GB1962),talksabouthisplan,Bondcommentsthathisdreamofworlddominationis the“sameold”, that asylumsare full of suchpeoplewhodreamofbeingNapoleonorGod.Likewise,inTomorrowNeverDies(RogerSpottiswoode,GB1997)themediamogulElliotCarverclaimsthathe“willreachaninfluencebig-gerthananyhumanonthisplanet,saveGodhimself”,afterwhichBondcom-ments that Carver is totally crazy. These are examples of a typical pattern in the Bond world: people who pretend to be God-like in changing the status quo and bringing about the order s/he has designed can only be irrational. They are playersinacosmicdramainwhichtherational,modernworld(“theWest”)isunder threat.

Although there are references to cosmic drama typical of myths in several films, includingDr. No and TomorrowNeverDies,many villains havemoremundanegoals:moneyandpower.However,therearetwovillainswhoseaimsare not reducible to material self-interest. While they would get all the riches imaginableiftheysucceededintheirplans,theirmotivationisdifferent,astheyplan to destroy the known civilization and start a new one. These are Hugo Drax in Moonraker(LewisGilbert,GB/FR/US1979)andKarlStromberg inTheSpyWhoLovedMe(LewisGilbert,GB1977).TheaimofDraxis“tocreateamasterraceinspacebasedonhisspacestation

andtodestroytherestofthespeciesbyfiringnervegasbackattheearth”.23 In thewordsofDrax,thefuturewillsee“arebirth,anewworld”with“anewsuperrace,araceofperfectphysicalspecimens”.Themythicaldimensionofthepro-jectismadeobvious,asthereisanexplicitreferencetoNoah’sArkwhenBondrealizesthatthereareselectedcoupleschosenforthespaceship.Furthermore,Drax compares the physically perfect couples chosen for the spaceship to gods whosedescendantswillreturntoearthaftertheworld’spopulationhasbeenwipedout.InthenovelBonddescribesDraxas“almighty–themaninthepad-dedcellwhoisGod”,andinthesamecontextheuseswordsandexpressionssuchas“paranoia”,“delusionofgrandeur”and“maniac”inreferencetoDrax.24

22 Forinstance,MaxZorin,thevillaininAViewtoaKill(JohnGlen,GB1985),hasbeenlabelledaSatanicfigure(Black2005,172–173).

23 Black2005,139.24 Fleming2012,104.


In TheSpyWhoLovedMethevillainisKarlStromberg,whoseoceanresearchlaboratory,whichrisesfrombeneaththeseaonspider-likelegs,iscalledAtlan-tis.“Atlantis”referstoamythical,pre-historicsubmergedisland.Itisanallego-ryforthehubrisofnationsinPlato’sworksand,inlaterretellings,theinhab-itantsofAtlantissurvivetofoundnewcivilizations. Infact,AtlantishasbeenaconstantutopianresourceforthemythicalimaginationinEuropeanhistory,referring to an ideal lost world and also to a forthcoming world (including the Americas and other unknown areas) where desires and fantasies are to be ful-filled.25AlthoughthemythofAtlantishasnotbeenpartofanyestablished“reli-gious”cosmographyasEllisargues,26 it has certainly been a myth that has been utilizedinmany“religious”formations.Forinstance,theTheosophists,HelenaPetrovaBlavatsky inparticular,consideredAtlanteansasculturalheroeswhoprecededBlavatsky’sownAryanrace,27andoneofthegreatNewAgefigures,EdgarCayce,suggestedthatAtlantiswasthecentreofhumancivilizationandthatoneofthefivekeyraces–theredrace–wasdevelopedthere.28

TonamethetankerAtlantisisnotsimplyasuperficialreferencetoaddasenseofsignificance;themythofAtlantisfitsperfectlywiththevillain’splantostarta new civilization by making doomsday happen to the human race. Stromberg hijacksbothBritishandRussianballisticmissilesubmarinesandplanstotriggermutual nuclear annihilation between the superpowers. The reason for this is that the villain considers modern civilization corrupt and decadent. City-like Atlantis hasthecapacitytosupportlifeaboveandbelowwater,andit ismeanttobethecradleofanewcivilization,indifferenttohumanidiosyncrasiesofthecon-temporarysocialorder.ThemythicalandcosmicnatureofStromberg’smissionisemphasizedwhenhecallsnuclearweapons“instrumentsofArmageddon”,abiblicalreferencetothelocationofthefinalbattlebetweengoodandevil.

The apocalyptic theme that downplays the role of ordinary humans on earth isheightenedbyrepeatedlyshowinghowhumanbeingsare“dwarfedbythephysicalenvironmentaroundthem”.29 This is evident in shooting locations such asthePyramids,theTempleofKarnakandtheValleyofKings.SuchlocationsalsoemphasizehowcivilizationmovesfromAncientEgypt’scrumblingedificesto the metallic future of Atlantis.30

25 SpraguedeCamp1970.26 Ellis1999,5.27 Ellis1999,58.28 Hanegraaff1998,309–312.Therearemore references to (mainlyGreek)mythology inBond

films.Forinstance,theGreekwomanMelina,whoseparentshavebeenkilled,inForYourEyesOnly(JohnGlen,GB/US1981) iscomparedwithElektra:“Greekwomen, likeElektra,alwaysavengetheirlovedones”(Chapman2007,177).Onlysomeofthem,suchasthereferencetoAtlantis,arerelevanttomystudy.

29 Chapman2007,153.30 Chapman2007,153.


Although it hasbeen suggested that“thevillain is usuallymotivatedbyacompoundofavariceandautopianaltruism”,31mostBondvillainsdonotfitthis description. For instance, thepurposeof SPECTRE– themainenemyofBondthroughouttheseries–hasalwaysbeenextortionandblackmail.32IfinditrelevantformyreadingthatDraxandStrombergarenotmembersofSPECTRE;they are megalomaniac players in a cosmic drama trying to create a new civili-zation,notjustcriminalsattemptingtogetmoremoney.TherighttousetheSPECTRE acronym was legally disputed.33 This complication may explain why somevillainsdonotbelongtoSPECTRE,and it showshowmeaningscanbeproduced rather accidentally.DraxandStrombergqualifyasmythical,near-godcharacterswhoareabout

to bring something new into existence.34 Their activities are supposed to be the mythicoriginofthenewcivilization,butintheendBondthwartsthem.35 In that sense,theiractivitiesarelocatedin“thefabledtimeofthe‘beginnings’”.36 Fur-ther,whatistypicalofmythsisthattheyareconsideredseparatefromlogos. The West has imagined itself as belonging to logos,ratherthanmythos.Myths,likeAtlantis, refer to“theRest”. It isnot that“theWest” is reallydevoidofmyths,butthatmythsarenotpartofitsself-conceptualization;theybelongtoothers.Inthissense,Bondistheguardianofanempirewhotriestoensurethatthemythsofothers–andtheaimsofmythicalvillains–willnottakeplace.

This reading gets further support when the ethnicities and nationalities of themainvillainsofthefilmsareexplored.MostofthemarenotBritishorAmer-ican,althoughmanyareEuropean.Notallvillainsoriginateoutside“theWest”ingeographical terms,but the rarityofpurelyBritish (orevenAmerican)vil-lainsisnotable.FranciscoScaramangaisCuban/British,ElektraKingisEnglish,although the most villainesque character in TheWorldisNotEnough (Michael Apted,GB1999)istheRussianRenard.BradWhitaker–oneofthetwomainvillains in TheLivingDaylights(JohnGlen,GB1987)– isAmerican,andAuric

31 Bennett/Woollacott1987,289.32 Chapman2007,156,191.33 Bennett/Woollacott1987,192.34 Thenarrowacademicdefinitionofmythisthatitisacreationstory,asacredstoryoforigins

withgods,semidivinebeingsorcultureheroesaskeyactors(Eliade1968,5–6;1987,95).Mythdoesnothavetobedefinedso(Segal2004,5),butevenwiththatdefinitionsomeBondvillainscan be called mythical.

35 ByfocusingonselectedvillainsIdemonstratetheconstructionofdifferencebetweenacertainkind of West and a certain kind of Rest. It does not rule out the possibility of seeing Bond as a mythicalcharacteraswell.Forexample,hemightqualifyasanexampleofoneoftheJungianarchetypes,puer aeternus–theeternalchildinpsychologyandchild-godinGreekmythology–whofailstosecureapartnership(Bond’srelationshipsaredoomedtofail)orajob(Bond’sjobstatusisoftenunderthreat).AclassicexaminationofsuchafigureisvonFranz(2000).This,however,isnotaveryrelevantrouteformyanalysis.

36 Eliade1968,5.


Goldfinger,fromGoldfinger(GuyHamilton,GB1964),hasBritishcitizenship,butheisplayedbyaGermanactorandinthenovelheisLatvian.ElliotCarver,from TomorrowNeverDies,hasanEnglishnameandheisplayedbyaBritishactor,buthe is fromHongKongandhe isalso the illegitimatesonofaGer-man woman. Other villains are less related to Britain and the United States. The nationalities and ethnicities of the remaining principal villains are other than British or North American.37KingsleyAmisnotedinthe1960sthat“throughoutBond’sadventures,noEnglishmandoesanythingbad”.38 Some commentators havealsonotedthatmanyvillainsarephysicallydisfiguredinadditiontohavingnamesandethnicitiesthatlargelydivergefrom“theWest”,andfromBritaininparticular,suggestingthatacertainracismisatplayinBondfilms.39

Insum,theexaminationofvillainssuggeststhat“religion”intheBondworldispartofhowthedifferencebetweenrational(Anglo-American)modernityandthat which lies beyond modernity is constructed. This is further evidenced in the examinationofthelocationof“religion”inBondfilms,towhichthisanalysisturns next.

IMPERIALISTATTITUDETOTHEEXOTIC

Aconsciousmarketingstrategy forBondfilms,deployed intoorder to reachaninternationalaudience,hasbeentouselocations(almost)throughouttheworld,bothbyshootingintouristattractionsandbyincludingexoticceremo-nies and events.40Forinstance,whenBondisinTurkey,theBlueMosqueandHagiaSophiaareseenonthescreen,andfor IndiatheTajMahalappears,al-thoughithasnoroleintheplot.Inmanyfilms,ritualsandcelebrationsarepartofthestory,suchastheJunkanooparade(Thunderball),theSumowrestlingritual (YouOnlyLiveTwice,LewisGilbert,GB/JP1967),bullfighting(OnHerMajesty’sSecretService) and the Day of the Dead (Spectre).Inmanyways“religion”isanunhelpfulcategory.Forinstance,Bondchases

avillaininMexicoontheDayoftheDead,butthefilmdoesnotdealwiththeeventitself,whichentailshonouringthedeceased,creatingaltarsforthemandvisiting their graves. It is a syncreticpagan-Catholic celebration,butnoneof

37 Le Chiffre (Albanian, Jewish background), Rosa Kleb (Russian), Dr. No (Chinese-German),ErnestoStavroBlofeld(Slav),HugoDrax(German,althoughstrongconnectionstoFranceinthefilm),KarlStromberg(Swedishinthenovel),AlecTrevelyan(Russo-Austriandescent),DominicGreene (French), Raoul Silva (presumably Hispanic), Gustav Graves / Tan-SunMoon (NorthKorean),FranzSanchez (Mexican),KamalKhan (Afghan),Dr.Kananga /Mr.Big (Caribbean,fictiveSanMonique),EmilioLargo(Italian),ArisKristatos(Greek)andMaxZorin(German).

38 Amis1965,86.39 Black2005,19.Onthebasisofphysicallydisfiguredvillains,itcouldbearguedthatdisabilityis

partof“theRest”,differentiatedfromthenearlyperfectphysiqueofBondhimself.40 Bennett/Woollacott1987,206–207.


thatismadeexplicittotheviewer.Itisratherjustanotherexampleofexoticeventstakingplaceintheworld,usuallyoutside“theWest”.“Religion” ismoreexplicit, however, inmanyother shots.What is typical

forBondfilmsisthat“religion”ismoreprominentwhentheeventsinthefilmtake place outside “theWest”. There are plenty of passing (predominantlynon-Christian)“religious”references inthefilms innon-Western locations. InBeirut,abellydancerhasagoldenbullet inherbellybuttonasacharm(TheManwiththeGoldenGun,GuyHamilton,GB1974). InBangkok,agroupofBuddhist monks walk in the background in a village where Bond chases Scara-manga,andthereisastatueofBuddhainatemple(TheManwiththeGoldenGun). Islamic minarets and calls to prayer are visible and audible on many occa-sions,inEgypt,TurkeyandMorocco,particularlyinestablishingshotsorwhenone shot changes into another (TheSpyWhoLovedMe,FromRussiawithLove [TerenceYoung,GB1963],TheWorldisNotEnough,Skyfall[SamMendes,GB/US2012]andTheLivingDaylights).InAzerbaijan,anOrthodoxpriesttakespartinademonstrationagainsttheconstructionofanoilpipeline,andhere-ceives guarantees that the church building will not be demolished because of the pipeline (TheWorld isNotEnough). In YouonlyLiveTwice, toprotecthis cover Bond even goes through a Shinto wedding ceremony in which the marriedcoupledrinksake.Soonafterweseeaprocessionwhich,wearetold,ispartofthefuneraltradition.ThesamefilmcontainslongshotsinwhichShintotemples can be seen.

Michael Denning has argued that imperialist and racist ideologies in the Bond phenomenon are constructed through a narrative code of tourism.41 He does not dealwith“religion”,butitplaysaroleinthis.Namely,itisnotsimplythat“reli-gion”happenstobemoreprominentoutside“theWest”;“religion”istheretoconstitutethequalitativedifferencebetween“theWestandtheRest”.Forthemostpart,“religion”issomethingthat“theWest”isnot,althoughthereareexceptionstothiswhen“religion”isseenascompatiblewiththe(presumably)rational“West”,aswillbeshownlater.Forinstance,theveryfirstBondmovie,Dr.No, associates “religion”with irrational black superstition. TheboatmanQuarrelhesitateswhenBondwants tobetakentoCrabKeyandcomments,becauseofthedragon,thatoneshouldnottestprovidence,towhichFelixLeit-erresponds:“nativesuperstition”.WhenBondrealizesthat“thedragon”isatankwithaflamethrower,hesays:“Youcanforgetthespooks,Quarrel”.JamesChapmansuggeststhatthefilmisexplicitlyracistandcolonialistasitaimstore-affirmwhiteandBritishsuperiorityinthetimeofadecliningempire.42 This agen-daisepitomizedbythefilm’scharacters,includingQuarrel.Ifso,thenQuarrel’s

41 Denning2015,102.42 Chapman2007,62.


“religiosity” ispartof theproductionof suchdiscourse, inwhichwhiteness,rationalityand“theWest”arearticulatedasdifferentfromtheblacksupersti-tionof“theRest”.BlacksuperstitionisevenmoreprominentinLiveandLetDie (GuyHamilton,GB1973),afilmIwilldealwithlaterinthisarticle.Despitetheseexamples,whatistypicalforBondfilmsisthat“religion”isnothighlighted:thefilmsmostlyavoidrepeatingandutilizingexplicitnegativestereotypesofHin-duism,Buddhism,Sikhism,Islamandindigenousreligions,buttheydonotavoidhaving“imperialattitudestotheexotic”.43

An imperial attitude to the exotic is perhaps most prominent in Octopussy (JohnGlen,GB1983). Itprovidesa tourist’s viewof India,withcolourfulba-zaars and luxurious hotels but no indication of the poverty or social disharmo-ny,ofethnicor“religious”conflicts.Thesamegaze isappliedfor“religion”.InUdaipur,whereOctopussy’spalace is located,onecanseeHindu templesinthebackground,Hinduprocessions,peoplewalkingonhotcoals,holymen(saddhus)sittingonspikedmats,holycowswalking inthestreetandpeopleswallowing swords. This is the Indian “religious” heritage Bond films offer,something that Bond is amused by but not attracted to. Octopussy is also the onlyBondfilmwithasignificantSikhcharacter:Gobinda,ahenchmanofoneofthemainvillains,KamalKhan.Gobindaisaquiet,strongandtallmanwithfierceeyes,adarkbeardandaturban.HisSikhidentityisnotmentionedinthefilm,but the turban and his character contribute to the overall othering and exoti-cismof“religion”andIndia,thusplacingthemasmarkedlydifferentfrom“theWest”.Thefilmutilizesat leastonemorestereotypeabout India:OctopussytellsBondthatshehasrevivedtheoldoctopuscult–asortofby-productofhermainbusiness,which is thesmugglingofdiamonds–andtheadherents,herloyalfemalewarriors,arewomenthroughoutSouthEastAsiawhoarelookingfor a guru or spiritual discipline. This is a modern version of the orientalist ste-reotypeofdeeply“religious”India,“themysticeast”,wherealienatedpeoplecanfindspiritualpeace.44

Whilepartofthelandscapeinmanylocations,IslamdoesnotplayabigroleinBondfilms,althoughtwoexamplesareworthmentioning.InNeverSayNev-erAgain,theSPECTREoperationiscalled“TheTearsofAllah”.Afterthevillain,Largo,givesanecklacewiththesamenameastheoperationtohisgirlfriend,he explains that the name refers to the myth in which the Prophet Muhammad cried so much that an oasis was formed. It also refers to the location where thefinalfightbetweenBond’steamandLargo’smentakesplace. InTheLiv-ingDaylights,BondteamsupinAfghanistanwithmujaheddinandtheirleader,KamranShah,whoturnsouttohavebeeneducatedatOxford.Whenwefirst

43 Black2005,205.44 King1999.


seeShah,he isbeingheld inaRussianprison.He isunshavenandhishair isuntrimmed,andwhenheclaimsthathehasstolennothing,thejailerresponds:“YoucantellAllah.Whenyouseehim.”AtthispointShahisdepictedasarathermentallyunstableMuslim,butwhenheescapesfromtheprisonandteamsupwithBond,hechangesintoacivilized(Muslim)leaderoftheAfghanresistancemovement.WhenBondvisitsShah’svillage,thereareveiledwomen.BecauseShah’speoplefightalongsideBond,thefilmtakesthesideoftheAfghanresist-anceagainsttheRedArmy,butatthesametimethefilmpresentsAfghansasa“mountedhorde”whofightwithhorsesagainsttheRussians,althoughinreal-itytheCIAwasdistributingmissilestothefightersatthattime.45Furthermore,byportrayingAfghanMuslimfightersdealingdrugs, thefilmoffersamorallyambivalent image,but itdoesnotportrayragingthe Islamicfundamentalistsso common in representations of Islam in Western popular culture. More than anythingelse,Islamisrepresentedasexotic.AlthoughmanyBondfilmshavefollowed,andsometimesanticipated,polit-

icalconflicts,Islamhasnotbeeninfocussince9/11.Manyotherglobalpoliticaltrendshavebeenreferredto,asinthecaseofNorthKoreainDieAnotherDay (LeeTamahori,GB/US2002)–NorthKoreawasdefinedasaroguestateandpartofthe“axisofevil”byGeorgeW.Bush.Sowhileterroristnetworkshavebeenpartoftheplotofseveralfilms,Islamicterrorismhasnot.In sum, for themost part, “religion” in Bond films belongs to the exotic

“Rest” andnot to themodern, rational “West”. “Religion” is not usually anovertlynegativeissuebuthappensnottobepartof“our”world.Thisstrength-enstheplausibilityofracistandimperialistinterpretationsofBondfilms,par-tiallythoseconstructedthrough“religion”,butmoresignificantly,thispatternhighlightswhat“theWest”,initsownimagination,isnot.

VOODOO AND TAROT

LiveandLetDieistheonlyBondfilminwhich“religion”playsamorecentralrole.TheplotrevolvesaroundheroinfarmingandsellingcontrolledbyDr.Kananga,thepresidentofthefictiveCaribbeanstateofSanMoniqueandknownasMr.BiginNewYork.Bond’searlyvisittoHarlemgivesatasterofwhatistocome.BondgoestoavoodooshoprunbyMr.Big’sgang.Ontheshelfareskullsonsale“for rituals”andBondbuysa fake snake, ahint that snakeswill havearoletoplayinthefilm.ThesignsoftheoccultintheshopsinHarlemmarkthedifferencebetweenrationalwhitecivilizationandHarlem’sblacksuperstition,although the geographical location is in the United States.46

45 Black2005,151;Chapman2007,200.46 SeeBlack2005,13.


InSanMonique,wheretheheroinisfarmed,thosewhopractisevoodooareblack.Voodooisdepictedinscenesofritualsacrifice,ledbyMr.Big’svoodoopriest Baron Samedi. The villains use voodoo to ensure that people do not go intothepoppyfields.Thusvoodooissimplyatoolofmanipulation.Mr.Biggetshelpfromavirgintarotcardreader,Solitaire,47 who is able to see

future events in the cards and who is said to have the power of the Obeah.48 The poweroftarotcardsandSolitaire’sclairvoyanceareunderminedwhenBondensuresthepackiscomposedof“TheLovers”cardsonly,thusdeceivingSoli-taireintohavingsexwithhim.Asaconsequenceoflosinghervirginity,Solitaireloses her supernatural powers and becomes useless to Mr. Big. This marks her positionalchangefrom“religious”villaintopartofWesternrationality.Inotherwords,BondstripsSolitaireofallthatisnotappropriatefor“theWest”andasa result she is able to be on his side. While I am not interested in whether this isBond’sintent,49theeventfitsverywellwithmygeneralargumentabouttherelevanceof (particularlynon-Christian)“religion” in constructingwhatdoesnotbelongto“theWest”.WhenSolitairehasbecomeuselesstohim,Mr.Bigleaveshertobesacrificed

in a voodoo ritual. Bond saves her at the last minute and throws the voodoo priestBaronSamediintoacoffinfullofpoisonoussnakes.Manyofthosewhoareunder the influenceofMr.Bigarevoodoobelievers,whereasBond, rep-resentativeof theWest, isnot.This setting supports the racistand imperial-ist interpretations we have noted in which the other is seen as something that threatensusandthereforeneedstobecontrolled.AsJeremyBlackargues,thefilm“linkedblackpowerinthecitieswithcrimeandimpliedthatafailuretocon-trol both black neighbourhoods and small Caribbean islands could undermine America.DrKanangaisaharshdepictionofCaribbeanindependence.”50

Thefinalsceneofthefilmisarguablytheonlysupernaturalmomentinthewhole Bond series. Bond and Solitaire are on a train and a laughing Samedi is perchedonthefrontofthetrain.YetbythestandardsoftheBondworld,Sa-medishouldbedead.This,however,hasnobearingontheplot.51 For the most

47 Solitaire is without doubt the main religion-related female figure in the Bond film series.Octopussy’swomenarelivinginaspiritualretreatandthecharacterplayedbyHaleBerryinDieAnotherDayisnamedJinx,butthesereferencesplayaminorroleintheplot.Thisraisesthequestionofwhywomendonothaveamoreprominentrepresentationamong“theRest”.Theanswercouldbethatwomenaregenerallynotconceptualizedasthreatening inBondfilms,especiallyinearlyones,and“theRest”shouldbethreateningtoacertainextenttomarkitsdifferencefrom“theWest”.

48 “Obeah” refers to a system of sorcery in theWest Indies and the Caribbean. The term ismentionedinthefilmbutnotexplained.

49 SeeDaas2011,165.50 Black2005,134.51 Chapman2007,138–141.


part Bond films have sequences and plots that are implausible, but in themeverythingtakesplaceinthenaturalworld.InadditiontotheSamediepisode,perhaps the closest moment to a break with realism appears when Bond is able to feign a cardiac arrest in DieAnotherDay–somethingthatisleftunexplainedinthefilm.Incomparisonwithrelativelysimilaradventurefilmssuchasthe In-dianaJonesseries(StevenSpielberg,US1981–2008),Bondfilmstakeplaceina much more naturalized framework.52Voodoo,tarotandothersupernaturalsettings are reserved for the villains and/or superstitious non-moderns locat-edoutside“theWest”,thuscontributingtotheconstructionofthedifferencebetweenrational(predominantlywhite)modernsandnon-rational“religious”others.53 The exception to this rule is a certain kind of Christianity.

WRONGANDRIGHTKINDSOF“RELIGIOSITY”INTHEWEST:EVANGELICALISM AND CONFINED CHRISTIANITY

Ihavesuggestedthat“religion”ismuchmoreprominentinBondfilmswhenthe events take place outside “theWest”. Thus in Goldfinger, which takesplaceinEuropeandtheUnitedStates,“religion”isreducedtoBond’scommentmadeafterGoldfingerhasdiedthatthevillainisplayinghisgoldenharp.How-ever,“religion”isnotfullyabsentfromtheWest:itispresentinboth“wrong”and“right”ways.

In Licence to Kill “religion” is present in the United States, but in the“wrong”way.ThevillainsetsthepricesfordrugsthroughhisemployeeProfes-sorJoeButcher,whooperatesasatelevangelistpreacher.Whileseekingpledg-esontelevision,healsosetspricesfordrugs.Hispreaching is largelyafrontfortheillegaldrugbusiness.Theportrayaloffake“religiosity”isenhancedbyButcher’srunningtheOlympatecMeditationInstituteasacoverforthedrugtrade.Inaddition,inonesceneProfessorJoeshowshisownprivatemeditationchamber,constructedfromthesacredrocks,toawoman;itisclearlyaplaceofseduction.54Throughthesedepictions,thefilmframesevangelicalChristianityas hypocritical and laughable and strips it of all sincerity. This is the only substan-tialdescriptionofevangelicalisminthehistoryofBondfilms,and itsuggeststhatthereislittletoappreciateinthiskindof“religiosity”.Itisthewrongkindof Christianity as it emphasizes intense emotions and experiences (as opposed torationalreflection),requirespersonalconversion(asopposedtotaking“reli-

52 Black2005,177.53 Thereisalonghistoryofjuxtaposing“our”approvedlifestylewithvoodooinAmericancinema

(Weisenfeld2007).ThekeydifferenceisthattheelevatedsideofthebinaryusedtobeexplicitlyChristianity, rather than “our”modern and rational lifestyle (that can be Christian at leastimplicitly),butracialdifferenceappliestobothbinaries.

54 SeeBlack2005,155.


gion”aspartoftheculturalheritage)anddoesnotconfineitselftotheprivatesphere (but is visible in public life).Thereisalsoa“right”kindofChristianityportrayedinBondfilms.Itispres-

entinthebackgroundoftheWesternlifestyle,inthelandscapeandinritesofpassage. Inmanyfilmschurchbuildingscanbe seenandchurchbellsheard,bothinBritainandelsewhereinEurope,suchasinVenice,Italy(Moonraker) and in France (Thunderball),indicatingthatChristianityispartoftheordinarycultural landscape.Moreimportantly,ChristianritesofpassagearecommoninBondfilms.Fu-

nerals and church weddings are repeatedly depicted. Christian funerals are held in London (Skyfall),Scotland(TheWorldisNotEnough),Rome(Spectre) and France (Thunderball). A church wedding can be seen in LiveandLetDie, inwhich a boat chase that takes place in the United States involves one of the boats returning to the river across dry land where a wedding ceremony is taking place,addingacomicaspecttothechase.InForYourEyesOnly, Bond attends a wedding party in Greece where the viewer sees a Greek Orthodox chapel and BondmeetsQinaconfessionalbox.SoonaftertheopeningsceneinTheLivingDaylights,FelixLeiter’schurchweddingceremonytakesplace in theUnitedStates.

On the basis of these recurrent depictions I would argue that the proper placeof“religion”in“theWest”asportrayedinBondfilmsisexemplifiedbyCasinoRoyale(MartinCampbell,GB/US/CZ/DE2006),whereVesperLyndsaysthatbecauseofherfamily’sstrictCatholicbackground,shecannotshareasuitewithBond.Bondreplies:“Idohateitwhenreligioncomesbetweenus.”“Reli-gion”issubordinatetoBond’spreferencesandvalues,butitisnotviewedneg-atively.Ingeneral,whenChristianityisconfinedtoitsproperplace,subordinatetopubliclife–separatefrompolitics,thelawandscience–itisacceptedaspartof what it is to be modern. This is what Talal Asad regards as part of a strategy ofconfinementbysecularliberalsandthedefenceof“religion”byliberalChris-tians,bothemblematicofmodernity.55 Crossing the boundary between pub-licandprivate,asexemplifiedbytheevangelicalChristianityofProfessorJoeButcher,turnstherightkindofChristianityintothewrongkindofChristianity.SofarIhaveavoidedthequestionofthe“religiosity”ofJamesBond’schar-

acter.Therearereferencesinsomefilms.Forexample,whenBondgetsmarriedin OnHerMajesty’sSecretService,theceremonytakesplaceinachurch.Atthe beginning of ForYourEyesOnly,Bondvisitshiswife’sgraveinaChristiancemetery,whereapriestormonkmakesthesignofthecrossanddeliversin-formationabouttheforthcomingmission.InBond’sfakefuneralinYouOnlyLiveTwice,hereceivesamilitaryfuneralandspeechesincludeChristianrefer-

55 Asad1993,28.


encesto,forexample,theResurrection.ThissuggeststhatBondisat leastaculturalChristian–someonewhodoesnotrejectthetradition.ThereisfurtherevidencethatacertainkindofChristianityhasbeenpartofBond’supbringing.AtBond’s familyestate inScotland,Skyfall (also thenameof the2012film),thereisa“priesthole”fromthetimeoftheReformation,ahidingplacewithatunnel leading to the moors. M and Kincaide use it and head to the chapel. The tombstoneforBond’sfosterparentsstandsnexttothechapel.ThesedetailsdonottellusanythingsubstantialaboutBond’spersonalconvictions,aboutwhichthefilmssayverylittle.InSpectre,however,BondrespondstoDr.MadeleineSwann’squestionabouthisbecominganassassinbysayingthathehadtwooptions:thatorpriesthood.Thefilmcontainsnofurtherexplanation;whetherthis is a serious comment is perhaps deliberately left unclear.Finally,whilesomeauthorshavespeculatedaboutBond’s“religiosity”,no

consensus has been reached. Some label him a nonconformist Protestant;somestatethathehadaCalvinistupbringing;andsomesuggestthatBondismodelled after real-life Catholics.56 Frank Smith sees Bond as a carrier of Chris-tiancultureandmorality,butithasalsobeensuggestedthatareadingofBondnovels“revealsnoobviousreligiousbelief”.57 These speculations take us rela-tivelyfarfromthefilmsandarebestnotedbutnotgivengreatweight.SufficeittosaythatwhileBonddoesnotcommentonhis“religious”or“non-religious”standpoint inanyexplicitmanner,heiscontentwithChristiancultureanditsrites of passage as long as they are compatible with the (presumably) rational modernlifeof“theWest”.

WHY READING BOND FILMS THROUGH THE LENS OF “RELIGION”MATTERS

Thisarticleprovidesanoverviewofreligion-relatedissuesinBondfilmsbutwithsomedeliberateomissions. For instance, this analysis hasnot addressed theunintentionalormetaphorical“religious”languagethatexistsinBondfilmsasin mediated public discourse in general.58Rather,thediscussionhasprincipallyfocussedonakeypattern identified inBondfilms:portrayalsof“religion” inBondfilmsare strongly supportiveofwhathasbeen called thediscourseof“theWestandtheRest”.StuartHall’sconceptualizationofthisdiscoursedoesnotpaymuchattentionto“religion”,butIhavearguedherethatonthebasisofBondfilmsatleast,“religion”isanintegralpartofit.Forthemostpart,“re-ligion”isplacedonthesideof“theRest”,assomethingexoticand/orirrational

56 Chattaway2012.57 Contessa2010;Smith2011.58 For an analysis of metaphorical and unintentional “religious” language and “religious” ex-

pressionsinBritishmedia,seeKnott/Poole/Taira2013.


thatneedstobeovercomebytherationalWest,ormustbeputinitsproperplaceifitispartof“theWest”.Acceptable“religion”isfoundin“theWest”,portrayedasafamiliarpartoflife.Itiscontainedwithintheprivatesphere,tak-ing a supportive role in rites of passage (particularly marriages and funerals) but not interfering with the relatively secular public sphere of politics and the economy.Ifitdoesplayapublicrole,itisportrayednegatively,asinthecaseofevangelicalChristianity.ThispatternconnectsBondfilmstothehegemonicdiscourseabouttheproperplaceof“religion”inWesternmodernity.ReadingBondthroughthelensof“religion”addstoexistingBondstudies–

“religion”hasnotpreviouslybeenexaminedextensivelyinBondstudies–and,moreimportantly, itshowsthesignificantcontributionmadeby“religion”tothediscourseof“theWestandtheRest”thatisprominentinBondfilmsgen-erally.ReadingBondthrough“religion”doesnotreplaceotherreadings,butitofferssupportforsomeaspectshighlightedearlier.Forexample,MichaelDen-ningarguesthatBritishspythrillers,includingBond,providea“compensatorymythofthecrisisofimperialism”,59 and my analysis supports that interpretation inrecognizingthatportrayalsof“religion”inBondfilmsassociateexotic“reli-gion”with“theRest”,distinct fromtherational, imperialandmodernWest.Taking“religion”intoaccountdoesnotfundamentallyalterexistinginterpre-tationsofBond,butitdoesgivedueprominencetoanimportantdimensionofthe construction of the Bond world.

It is not only Bond studies that matter. The task was also to explore whether readingBondthrough“religion”mightcontributetothestudyofreligionandpopular culture more generally. When my students present their research ideas aboutreligionandpopularculture,oftenwiththeaimofexamining“religious”figures,narrativesandrepresentationsinaparticularfilmortelevisionseries,Iusuallyaskthe“Sowhat?”question:Whatdoweknowwhenweknowit?Isitamoregeneralexampleofsomething?Forme,oneofthereasonsforreadingBondthrough“religion”istosuggestthatpopularfilmsinwhich“religion”isnotadominantthememayofferinsightintohowwethinkabouttheaimsofreligion and popular culture studies in general and may challenge some typi-cal focusesof thefield. Theanalysis showshowportrayalsof “religion” cancontributetothemoregeneralfunctioningofpopularproducts;theymaintain,reproduce, circulate and rearticulatepowerful, oftenhegemonic culturaldis-courses.Bondfilmsdomanythings,oneofwhichistocontributetothepow-erfuldiscourseof“theWestandtheRest”,and“religion”isanintegralpartofthatdiscourse. Inotherwords,popular representationsof“religion”playanimportantroleinthemaintenanceoftheideaof“theWest”andwhatitistobe modern.

59 Denning2015,148.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Altheide,DavidL./Schneider,ChristopherJ.,2013,QualitativeMediaAnalysis,London:Sage.Amis,Kingsley,1965,TheJamesBondDossier,London:JonathanCape.Asad,Talal,1993,GenealogiesofReligion:DisciplineandReasonsofPowerinChristianityandIslam,

Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Bennett,Tony/Woollacott,Janet,1987,BondandBeyond:ThePoliticalCareerofaPopularHero,

London: Palgrave.Black,Jeremy,2005,ThePoliticsofJamesBond:FromFleming’sNovelstotheBigScreen,Lincoln:

Bison Books.Brode,Daniel/Deyneka,Leah(eds.),2012,Sex,Politics,andReligioninStarWars:AnAnthology,

Lanham,MD:ScarecrowPress.Bryman,Alan,2004,SocialResearchMethods,Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2nded.Chapman,James,2007,LicencetoThrill:ACulturalHistoryoftheJamesBondFilms,London:I.B.

Tauris,rev.ed.Chattaway,PeterT.,2012,IsJamesBondCatholic?Protestant?Neither?Both?Patheos,5November2012,

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/filmchat/2012/11/is-james-bond-catholic-protestant-neither- both.html [accessed8July2018].

Clark,LynnSchofield,2007,WhyStudyPopularCulture?Or,HowtoBuildaCaseforYourThesisinReligiousStudiesorTheologyDepartment,in:Lynch,Gordon(ed.),BetweenSacredandPro-fane:ResearchingReligionandPopularCulture,London:I.B.Tauris,5–21.

Contessa,2010,WasJamesBondReligious?TheJamesBondMemes:ExploringBondianIdeasandInflu-ences, http://jamesbondmemes.blogspot.fi/2010/11/was-james-bond-religious.html [accessed 8July2018].

Daas,MarthaMary,2011,IanFleming’sSolitaire:TheVoodooVirginDethroned,in:Weiner,RobertG./Whitfield,B.Lynn/Becker,Jack(eds.),JamesBondinWorldandPopularCulture:TheFilmsAreNotEnough,Newcastle:CambridgeScholarsPublishing,162–168.

Denning,Michael,2015,CoverStories:NarrativeandIdeologyinBritishSpyThrillers,London:Rou-tledge.

Detweiler,Craig/Taylor,Barry,2004,AMatrixofMeanings:FindingGodinPopCulture,GrandRap-ids: Baker Academic.

Eco,Umberto,1992,NarrativeStructuresinFleming,in:Irons,Glenwood(ed.),Gender,LanguageandMyth:EssaysonPopularNarrative,Toronto:UniversityofTorontoPress,157–182.

Eliade,Mircea,1968,MythandReality,NewYork:HarperTorchbooks.Eliade,Mircea,1987[1957],TheSacredandtheProfane:TheNatureofReligion,SanDiego:Harvest.Ellis,Richard,1999,ImaginingAtlantis,NewYork:VintageBooks.Fleming,Ian,2012[1955],Moonraker,London:VintageBooks.Gordon,Andrew,1995,StarWars:AMythofOurTime,in:Martin,JoelW./OstwaltJr.,ConradE.

(eds.),ScreeningtheSacred:Religion,MythandIdeologyinPopularAmericanFilm,Boulder:WestviewPress,73–83.

Grace,Pamela,2009,TheReligiousFilm:ChristianityandtheHagiopic,Oxford:Wiley-Blackwell.Hall,Stuart,1992,TheWestandtheRest:DiscourseandPower,in:Hall,Stuart/Gieben,Bram(eds.),

FormationsofModernity,Cambridge:PolityPress/OpenUniversity,275–331.Hanegraaff,WouterJ.,1998,NewAgeReligionandWesternCulture:EsotericismintheMirrorof

SecularThought,Albany:StateUniversityofNewYorkPress.Harris,David,1996,ASocietyofSigns?London:Routledge.Jindra,Michael, 2005, It’s about Faith in Our Future: Star Trek Fandom as Cultural Religion, in:

Forbes,BruceDavid/Mahan,JeffreyH.(eds.),ReligionandPopularCultureinAmerica,Berke-ley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,159–173,rev.ed.

Johnston,RobertK.,2000,ReelSpirituality:TheologyandFilm inDialogue,GrandRapids:BakerAcademic.


King,Richard, 1999,OrientalismandReligion:Postcolonial Theory, India and“TheMysticEast”,London: Routledge.

Knott,Kim/Poole,Elizabeth/Taira,Teemu,2013,MediaPortrayalsofReligionandtheSecularSa-cred:RepresentationandChange,Farnham:Ashgate.

Kraemer,Ross/Cassidy,William/Schwartz,SusanL.,2003,ReligionsofStarTrek,Boulder:West-view Press.

Lyden,JohnC.,2003,FilmasReligion:Myths,MoralsandReligion,NewYork:NewYorkUniversityPress.

Marsh,Clive,2004,CinemaandSentiment:Film’sChallengetoTheology,MiltonKeynes:Paternoster.Martin,JoelW.,1995,Introduction:SeeingtheSacredontheScreen,in:Martin,JoelW./E.Ostwalt

Jr.,Conrad(eds.),ScreeningtheSacred:Religion,MythandIdeologyinAmericanPopularFilm,Boulder:WestviewPress,1–12.

McDowell,JohnC.,2007,TheGospelaccordingtoStarWars:Faith,Hope,andtheForce,Louisville:Westminster John Knox Press.

Plate,S.Brent,2005,FilmandReligion,in:Jones,Lindsay(ed.),EncyclopediaofReligion,NewYork:Thomson&Gale,3097–3103.

Porter,JenniferE./McLaren,DarceeL.(eds.),1999,StarTrekandSacredGround:ExplorationsofStarTrek,ReligionandAmericanCulture,Albany:StateUniversityofNewYork.

Saler,Benson,2000,ConceptualizingReligion:Immanent,Anthropologists,TranscendentNativesandUnboundCategories,NewYork:BerghahnBooks.

Saler,Benson,2008,ConceptualizingReligion:SomeRecentReflections,Religion38,3,219–225.Segal,RobertA.,2004,Myth,Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.Smith,FrankJ.,2011,ChristianCulture,MoralityandJamesBond,in:Weiner,RobertG./Whitfield,

B. Lynn / Becker, Jack (eds.), JamesBond inWorld andPopular Culture: The FilmsAreNotEnough,Newcastle:CambridgeScholarsPublishing,468–488.

SpraguedeCamp,Lyon,1970,LostContinents:TheAtlantisThemeinHistory,ScienceandLitera-ture,NewYork:Dover.

Strinati,Dominic,1995,AnIntroductiontoTheoriesofPopularCulture,London:Routledge.Taira,Teemu,2013a,MakingSpaceforDiscursiveStudyinReligiousStudies,Religion 43,1,26–45.Taira,Teemu,2013b,TheCategoryof“InventedReligion”:ANewOpportunity forStudyingDis-

courseson“Religion”,CultureandReligion 14,4,477–493.Taira,Teemu,2016,Discourseon“Religion”inOrganizingSocialPractices:TheoreticalandPractical

Considerations,in:Wijsen,Frans/vonStuckrad,Kocku(eds.),MakingReligion:TheoryandPrac-ticeintheDiscursiveStudyofReligion,Leiden:Brill,125–146.

Turner,Graeme,2003,BritishCulturalStudies,London:Routledge,3rded.vonFranz,Marie-Louise,2000,TheProblemofthePuerAeternus,Toronto:InnerCityBooks.Weisenfeld, Judith, 2007,HollywoodBe ThyName:AfricanAmericanReligion inAmerican Film,

1929–1949,Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress.

FILMOGRAPHY OF ALL BOND FILMS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDERDr.No(TerenceYoung,GB1962).FromRussiawithLove(TerenceYoung,GB1963).Goldfinger(GuyHamilton,GB1964).Thunderball (TerenceYoung,GB1965).YouOnlyLiveTwice(LewisGilbert,GB/JP1967).CasinoRoyale(KenHughes,GB/US1967).OnHerMajesty’sSecretService(PeterR.Hunt,GB1969).DiamondsAreForever(GuyHamilton,GB1971).LiveandLetDie(GuyHamilton,GB1973).TheManwithaGoldenGun(GuyHamilton,GB/TH1974).


TheSpyWhoLovedMe(LewisGilbert,GB1977).Moonraker(LewisGilbert,GB/FR/US1979).ForYourEyesOnly(JohnGlen,GB/US1981).Octopussy(JohnGlen,GB1983).NeverSayNeverAgain(IrvinKershner,GB/US1983).AViewtoaKill(JohnGlen,GB1985).TheLivingDaylights(JohnGlen,GB1987).LicencetoKill(JohnGlen,GB/US1989).GoldenEye (MartinCampbell,GB/US1995).TomorrowNeverDies(RogerSpottiswoode,GB1997).TheWorldisNotEnough(MichaelApted,GB1999).DieAnotherDay(LeeTamahori,GB/US2002).CasinoRoyale(MartinCampbell,GB/US/CZ/DE2006).QuantumofSolace(MarcForster,GB/US2008).Skyfall(SamMendes,GB/US2012).Spectre(SamMendes,GB/US2015).

FURTHER FILMSIndianaJones(StevenSpielberg,US1981–2008).StarTrek(GeneRoddenberry,US1966–69).Star Wars (George Lukas, US 1977–2005; J.J. Abrams, US 2015; Rian Johnson, US 2017; J.J.

Abrams,US2019).


David S. Dalton

On (Dang) Quesadillas and NachosMexican Identity and a Mormon Imaginary in the Films of Jared Hess

ABSTRACTMormondirectorJaredHesshasproducedseveralfilms,butnonehaveachievedthepopularity of NapoleonDynamite (US2004) and NachoLibre (US2006).Thesemoviesshareseveralsimilarities:aninterestincharacterswhodonotfitthesocietalmold,low-browhumor,and–cruciallyforthecurrentstudy–afascinationwithcharactersofMex-icanandLatinAmericandescent.Hess’srepresentationofMexicanandLatinAmericanpeopleisdifficulttoplacewithincurrentUSdiscoursesonraceandethnicitybecauseitupholds racialist divisions within humanity even as it decries racist acts against societal Others.AsHessaffirmsthehumanityoftheUS’ssouthernneighbors,forexample,hedenouncesxenophobicandanti-immigrantpointsofview.Atthesametime,however,hesignalshisMexicancharactersasirreconcilablydifferentfrom–andperhapssimplerthan–theirNorthAmericancounterparts.Inthisarticle,IarguethatHess’sambiguousrepresentationofMexicanpeoplesandculturesreflectsatypeof“benevolentracism”thatiscommonwithinwhite,NorthAmericanMormoncommunitieswhoparadoxicallyview people of Mexican descent both as Others and as the physical and spiritual heirs of the peoples of the Book of Mormon.

KEYWORDSBookofMormon,Immigration,Lamanite,NachoLibre,NapoleonDynamite,Mormonstudies,RaceandReligion

BIOGRAPHYDavid S. Dalton is Assistant Professor of Spanish at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He is the author of Mestizo Modernity: Race, Technology, and the Body in Pos-trevolutionary Mexico (2018)andcoeditorofThe Transatlantic Undead: Zombies in His-panic and Luso-Brazilian Literatures and Cultures,aspecialissueinAlambique: Revista de Cinecia Ficción y Fantasía.

DOI: 10.25364/05.05:2019.2.8

On (Dang) Quesadillas and Nachos | 141www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 141–165

Oneofthemostmemorable linesof theMormondirectorJaredHess’s2004smash-hit comedy NapoleonDynamite (US2004) occurs as the titular charac-ter’sgrandmotherleavestogofourwheelingintheIdahosanddunes.WhenNapoleon(JonHeder)asksherwhatheshouldeatwhilesheisgone,shere-plies,“makeyourselfadangquesadilla!”Thecomedicaspectofthisstatementisdifficult tocommunicate throughwritingbecauseHesshighlightsan ironicpronunciation – the grandmother pronounces the ll as one would in English rather than Spanish – that evinces her total ignorance of even the simplestforms of Mexican pronunciation and cuisine. This is one of many scenes within thefilmwherewhite,implicitlyMormon,charactersengagewithMexicancul-tureinignorantand/oroffensiveways.ManyofHess’srepresentationsoftherelationship between rural (white) Americans and Mexican immigrants could bereadaspaternalistic.Atthesametime,thedirectordepictstheimmigrantsofPreston,Idahoinagenerallypositivelight.Acrosshiscinema,Hesshasrep-resentedtheMexicanOtherinambiguouswaysthataffirmthehumanityoftheUnitedStates’ southernneighborswhile at the same time signaling themasirreconcilablydifferent from–andperhaps simpler than– theirNorthAmer-ican counterparts.1 This holds especially true in NapoleonDynamite and Na-choLibre (US2006),histwomostcommerciallysuccessfulfilms.TheMexicanprotagonistsofbothmovieswintheaudience’saffectioninpartbyplayingtostereotypesthatrigidlyseparatethemfromUScultureatlarge.Mexico’sover-sizedroleinHess’saestheticisobviouseventothecasualviewer;however,fewcriticshaveattemptedtoreconcilethedirector’scombinationofpaternalismandsolidaritywithpeoplefromsouthoftheUSborder.Inthisarticle,IarguethatHess’sambiguousrepresentationofMexicanpeoplesandculturesreflectsa typeof“benevolent racism” that is commonwithinwhiteNorthAmericanMormon communities that paradoxically view people of Mexican descent both as Others and as the physical and spiritual heirs of the peoples of the Book of Mormon.NoneofthecurrentscholarshiphassituatedHess’srepresentationsofMex-

ican people within the context of his faith. While there are many reasons for this, itmostlyreflectsthedifficultycriticsfacewhenascribingelementsofdi-rectors’ films to their faiths,particularlywhen thedirectorsdonotexplicitlymaketheconnectionsthemselves.Nevertheless,thereareseveralreasonswhythisapproach feels justifiedand fruitfulwhenviewingbothNapoleonDyna-miteandNachoLibre.Firstly,HessstudiedfilmatBrighamYoungUniversity(BYU),whichisownedandoperatedbytheChurchofJesusChristofLatter-daySaints(LDSChurch),thelargestMormondenominationintheworld.Muchof

1 In this article I use the term North American to refer to people and cultures from the US and Canada.

142 | David S. Dalton www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 141–165

NapoleonDynamite’scast studiedwithHess; indeed, thefilmgrewoutofashortproduction,Peluca(JaredHess, US 2003),thatHessdirectedforaclassatBYU.Whatismore,HesssaidduringpublicitytoursforNapoleonDynamite thathisexperienceasanLDSmissionary–whichheservedinbothChicagoandVenezuela2–influencedmanyaspectsofhisfirstfeaturefilm.3Morerecently,hehasdiscussedtheimportanceofreligioninhisfilmsingeneralwiththereleaseof DonVerdean(JaredHess, US 2018).4Indeed,criticsandfansalikehavenotedthespecialattentionhegivestoreligionthroughouthisfilmography.Viewedinthiscontext,itwouldmakesensethathisunderstandingofMormontheol-ogywouldinfluencehisdepictionsofMexicanandMexican-Americancharac-ters. This holds especially true when we consider the fact that he served part of hismissioninVenezuela.AsRebecavanUitertargues,missionarieswhoserveabroad“are exposed todifferent cultures and traditions. They return to theUnitedStateswithabroadenedperspective, andasa result, aremoreopento accepting immigrants and strangers within their communities.”5 There is agreatdealoftruthtoherstatement;atthesametime,thereismuchtobemade about the fact that many Mormon missionaries develop a paternalistic relationship with the people in the countries where they serve. This can lead to essentialist racialist beliefs that become especially poignant in the case of Latin Americaowingtotheregion’stiestotheBookofMormon.LatinAmerica–particularlyMesoamericaandtheAndeanRegion–holdsa

special,mythicpositionwithinofficialandpopularMormontheology.Thisinfat-uationisespeciallyobviouswiththeChurchofJesusChristofLatter-daySaints,the branch of Mormonism to which Hess belongs.6LatinAmerica’sprivilegedpositionwithinthereligionisdirectlytiedtopopularandofficialreadingsoftheBook of Mormon that hold that present-day Native Americans descend at least partiallyfromtheLamanites,agroupofpeoplewhocametotheAmericasfromJerusalem immediately prior to the Babylonian conquest. According to the Book ofMormon,theLamaniteswerea“degenerate”peoplewhoabandonedGodandbecameascourgetothemorerighteousNephites;however,afternearlyonethousandyears,theNephitesturnedagainsttheLordandtheLamanitesdestroyedthem.DespitetheLamanites’wickedness,theBookofMormonas-serts–orprophesies–thatGodhasplanstoredeemthischoicenation.TheBookofMormon,forexample,tellsofthearrivalofEuropeanstotheAmericas,

2 ForanallusiontohowHess’smissionaryexperience inVenezuelahasshapedhiscareer,seeMeans2006.ForadiscussionofhowhismissioninChicagocontributedtoNapoleonDynamite,see Napoleon Dynamite Director2004.

3 Napoleon Dynamite Director2004.4 SeeToone2015.5 SeevanUitert2007,301–302.6 In this article I use the terms Mormon and LDS interchangeably.


anditviewsthesubsequentcolonizationofthecontinentbywhite“Gentiles”as a necessary event that allowed for the restoration of the gospel.7 Indeed,Mormon theology holds that while devastating to the original inhabitants of the continent,Europeancolonialprojectswerenecessaryfortheeventualredemp-tion of the Lamanites. The Book of Mormon itself states that the Gentiles will bring the gospel back to the Lamanites (read: Native Americans) prior to the Second Coming through missionary work.8

Fromthenineteenthuntil themid-twentiethcenturies,Mormonsascribedthe Lamanite prophecies most directly to First Nations peoples of the United States.Evenduringtheseearlyyears,however,mostMormonsbelievedthatall of the original inhabitants of North and South America descended from this Book of Mormon race.9BruceR.McConkey,anapostleoftheChurch,canon-izedthisviewin1981whenhewroteanintroductiontothebookthatstatedthattheLamanites“aretheprincipalancestorsoftheAmericanIndians”.10 Dur-ingmuchofthetwentiethcentury,ChurchattemptstobuilduptheLamanitesdealt primarily with engaging Amerindian populations in the United States. One especiallyclearexampleofthiswastheLamanitePlacementProgram(1954–1996),wheretheChurch identifiedwell-to-do(almostexclusivelywhite)fam-iliesaspossiblefosterparentsforbaptizedAmerindians–mostlyNavajo–sothatthesecouldattendmajority-whiteUSpublicschools.11 The principal goal of the initiative was to train Lamanite children to eventually become church lead-ers.Thecontroversialprogramwasmostactiveduring the1960sand1970s,

7 AlthoughJosephSmithpublishedtheBookofMormonin1830,adherentstothefaithbelieveitwaswrittenbytheoriginalinhabitantsoftheAmericas.AccordingtoChurchdoctrines,Smithservedas a translatorof this long-lostwork.As such,prophecies surrounding thearrivalofColumbustotheAmericasare,accordingtobelievers,ancientpropheciesthattrulycametopassmillennialater.See1Nephi13inTheBookofMormon2013.

8 In theBookofMormon, theprophetNephi states,“thenshall the fullnessof thegospeloftheMessiahcomeuntotheGentiles,andfromtheGentilesuntotheremnantofourseed[theLamanites,orindigenouspeoplesoftheAmericas]”.See1Nephi15:13–16.SeealsoD.Smith2003,32.

9 John-CharlesDuffydiscussestwoprincipalapproachestoLamaniteidentityintheLDSChurch:Hemispheric Lamanite Identity,which suggests that everyone of indigenous descent in theAmericasandPolynesiaisaliteraldescendantoftheLamanites,andLimitedLamaniteIdentity,which holds that the Lamanites belonged to a small group that was ultimately completely engulfed by neighboring civilizations. The way that individual members interpret Lamanite identitygenerallyreflectsthestakesthatLamaniteidentityhas(ordoesnothave)intheirownpersonalandspiritualrelationshipwiththeChurch.Duffy’sentirearticleprovidesanexcellentanalysisof thefluidityofLamanite identity inLDSteachingsover theyears.SeeDuffy2008, 121–122.

10 SeeMcConkey1990.In2006,afterDNAevidenceplacedthisassertioninquestion,theChurchsoftened its stance and amended this foreword to theBook ofMormon, claiming that theLamanites“areamongtheancestorsoftheAmericanIndians”.

11 Foranin-depthdiscussionoftheLDSIndianStudentPlacementProgram,seeGarrett2016;seealsoBrandonMorgan2009,191–217.


but it eventually fell apart after facing severe political and legal pressure.12 One contributingfactortotheChurch’sweakenedfocusonNativeAmericanpopu-lationsintheUnitedStateswasthatLDSmissionariesbegantohavesignificantsuccesswhileproselytinginLatinAmericaduringthe1970s.13 Because church membersandleadersunderstoodthisregionalsotobeLamaniteinorigin,LDSpeople began to proactively ascribe the Lamanite prophecies to Latin America.14

Theproblematicconflationofcertainregionsoftheworldwithindigeneity(andbyextension,withLamaniteidentity)ironicallyracializesallpeoplefromthesecountriesasindigenousregardlessofanindividual’sactualancestry.LDSpeople tend to conceive Latin America through US paradigms of race such as the“onedroppolicy”,whereasingledropofindigenousbloodmakesaper-son–oranentirenation–Lamanite.15SpencerW.Kimball,whoservedasanapostle and, later, prophetof theChurch from1943 to1985, contributed tothis understanding through racialist assertions that people of (even partial) indigenous descent carried the blood of the heroes of the Book of Mormon in their veins.16 Indeed, John-CharlesDuffynotes thatKimball spearheadedaconcertedeffortbytheChurchtoinstilla“HemisphericLamaniteIdentity”thatwouldunitepeopleofindigenousdescentthroughouttheUnitedStates,LatinAmerica,andtheSouthPacific.17Theseprojectswerelargelysuccessful,espe-cially with those people for whom Lamanite identity provided spiritual strength and inspiration. The Church was largely able to foster a sense of community betweenpeoplefromdifferentcountriesandculturesbasedontheappealofHemispheric Lamanite Identity.AsaresultofKimball’sefforts,mostMormonsdonotequateLatinAmerican

countrieswithindigeneitytodemeanthem.Rather,theChurch’semphasisonHemisphericLamaniteidentityhasledmany–ifnotmost–Mesoamericanand

12 The principal critique of the Lamanite Placement Program was that, at its core, it wasassimilationist. SeeDuffy 2008, 140; J.B. Allen 1998, 85; Garrett 2016, 180–182. Beyond thepolitical challenges, Garrett notes that there were also controversies and disagreementsbetween the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; see Garrett 2016,204–234.What ismore,at least four studentshavesued thechurchmore recentlybecausethey claim that they were sexually abused while staying with white foster families and that the Churchdidnotdoenoughtoprotectthem.SeeFowler2016.

13 Grover2005, 85–88.14 Inrecentyears,influentialMormonslikeBruceH.PorterandRodL.Meldrumhavearguedthat

thetermLamanitesreferssolelytotheAmerindianpeoplesthatpopulatedtheUSheartland;seePorter/Meldrum2009.Nevertheless,theirsremainsaminorityviewwhoseverytitle“The‘Heartland’Model”tendstoemphasizenationalistictendenciesintheNorthAmericanChurchwhileignoringmuchofthedoctrineitself.Indeed,MatthewRoperprovidesastingingrebukeoftheirbookinRoper2010.

15 Foradiscussionofthelegalramificationsofthe“onedroppolicy”,seeHickman1997,1161–1265.

16 Kimball1959,57–58.17 Duffy2008,143–144.


Andean Mormons to wear their Lamanite heritage as a badge of honor.18 At the sametime,theintroductionoftheBookofMormondistinguishestheroleoftheGentilesfromthatoftheLamanites(andtheJews,forthatmatter).Becauseofthis,whiteUSMormonstendtoviewtheirLatinAmericancounterpartsasbothbrothers/sisters and Others.19TheycertainlyviewLatinAmericans–andindeed,anyonedescendedevenpartiallyfromAmerindianlines–asacovenantpeoplewhowillplayaspecialrolepriortotheSecondComing.However,LDSdoctrinesalso hold that people from these countries must receive tutelage from the Gen-tilesuntiltheybecomeself-sufficientinthegospel.20 This imaginary understand-ably results in an essentialist approach to the citizens of countries such as Mex-ico. Many white North American Mormons view people of Mexican descent as individualswhoseclosenesstotheSpiritallowsthemtohavegreat,childlikefaith.Kimballexpressedthisviewbestwhenhestated,“theIndianshavefaith–arathersimple,pure,andunadulteratedfaith”.Thesubtextofthisassertionisthat Lamanites have a deeper faith than do their white North American coun-terparts.21Atthesametime,however,heassertedtwotimesinthatsametalkthattheLamanites’righteousnesswasmakingthem“whiteanddelightsome”.Assuch,whileLamanitesmayhavegreaterfaith,theymustultimatelybecomelike their (white) brothers and sisters to reach their full potential.22

VOTING FOR PEDRO AND THE LAMANITE BIRTHRIGHT

NapoleonDynamite reflectsthis(NorthAmerican,white)Mormonimaginaryin its treatment of Mexicans and Chicanos by asserting a special role for both in the rural Mormon communities of the West and in the United States at large.

18 Forexample,theMexicanauthor,historian,andMormonecclesiasticalleaderAgrícolLozanoHerrera fused Mexican nationalism with the Lamanite prophecies in his book Historia del mormonismo en México (LozanoHerrera1984),whicharguesthatthepeopleofMexicohaveaspecialroleinGod’skingdombecausetheyaremembersoftheHouseofIsrael.

19 Duffy2008,141–143.20 Just as the Church used the Lamanite Placement Program to prepare future leaders for Native

AmericansintheUnitedStates,itinstalledElBenerméritodelasAméricas,aChurch-sponsoredhighschool,inMexicowithasimilarmission.Arecentnewspaperarticlehighlightedthefactthat 25% of Mexico’s stake presidents – lay leaders charged with leading clusters of localcongregationsconsistingofapproximately5,000individuals–werealumnioftheinstitution.GiventhatonlyatinyfractionofMormonsactuallyattendedthatschool,itbecomesclearthatChurch leadership viewed this preparation of Lamanites as important in calling leaders within theChurch.SeeBarbaraMorgan2013.

21 Kimball1960.22 Kimball was referencing 2 Nephi 30:6, a scripture in the Book ofMormon that states that

LamaniteswhoaccepttheBookofMormonteachingswillbecome“whiteanddelightsome.”SeetheBookofMormon1830,117.Inmorerecentpublications,theChurchhaschangedthelanguage to “pure and delightsome” with the explanation that this verbiagemore closelyreflectstheoriginalmeaningofthetranslatedtext.


CharactersofMexicandescentarekindandwholesome,buttheyalsocomeoffas simplistic and unintelligent. The director asserts a type of Anglo normativity throughhiscomicalrepresentationsofMexicans,yethealsounderminesout-spoken proponents of border security by emphasizing that his foreign charac-ters pose no threat to US culture or way of life. Numerous critics have discussed how NapoleonDynamite’s stylemakes itdifficult toplacebothaestheticallyandideologically;indeed,themovie’sbizarreaestheticsandpoliticaldiscoursehavecausedevencomputeralgorithmstostruggletodetermineviewers’en-tertainmentpreferencesbasedontheirreactiontothefilm.23Hess’ssurprisingsuccessat theboxoffice,wherehe leverageda$400,000productionbudgetintoa$46millionprofit,has ledmanyscholars todiscuss thefilm’sbusinessmodel.24Inthesecases,NapoleonDynamite becomes the posterchild for inde-pendent directors who dream of one day making it big in Hollywood. Perhaps owingto itsalmostcomplete lackofplot, fewcriticshaveattemptedtofindideologicalconsistencywithinthefilm.However,NapoleonDynamite’stiestoMormonculture–particularlyas itrelatestothe“Lamanite”peoples– lieatthe heart of its appeal. Any critic who wishes to discuss how the movie diverg-es from Hollywood must take this religious backdrop into consideration. This MormoninfluenceisespeciallyvisiblewithPedro’sarc,whichbothprovidesanew look at Mexican and Chicano identity in the United States and serves as an allegory for the ultimate union between white North American Mormons and the descendants of the peoples of the Book of Mormon.Hess uses hismain protagonists’ friendship to emphasize the relationship

betweenMormon“Gentiles”andMexican“Lamanites”.Interestingly,scholarslike Bill Jenkins assert that Pedro is the only explicitly religious character (Catho-lic)inthefilm;25indeed,JenkinsclaimsthatwhileHess’sMormonism“mayac-countforthelackofprofanityandexplicitteenagesexualityinthemovie,Napo-leon Dynamite evincesnopropagandisticintention”.26 The movie may not strive toconvertitsaudience,27butbothNapoleonandhisbrother,Kip(AaronRuell),giveoffcluesthroughoutthefilmthatperformativelysignalthemasMormon.Hessneverexplicitlymentionshischaracters’religion,afactthatleavestheLDSelement invisible to uninitiated viewers. Eric Samuelson refers to the movie as a

23 Golbandi/Koren/Lempel 2011. See also Mackey/Weiss/Jordan 2010, 713; 717–718; Read/Robertson2009,3–5.

24 Young/Gong/VanderStede2008,30.25 Jenkins2005,2.26 Jenkins2005,4.27 NicolaasMink reports thatmany residentsofPreston, Idaho,wereuncomfortablewith the

film’srepresentationoftheirlives,where,“ratherthanviewinghardworkoravibrantreligiousculture, Americans witnessed a comedy about a frontier community sitting a few decadesback in the Turnerian evolutionary social progression that was struggling to come to grips with modernity”.SeeMink2008,156.


Mormon“cross-over”becauseitcombinesanLDScast,crew,andfamily-friend-linesswithan“indie”feel.28

The aforementioned fusion of styles played a pivotal role in NapoleonDy-namite’sfinancialsuccess inexpandingitsaudiencebeyondthatofthemoreexplicitlyMormonfilms that cameout around the same time.29However, asNicolaasMinknotes,thisexpansionofthefilm’saudiencecreatedadegreeofdoublesignificationthatcausedthefilmtoresonatedifferentlyoutsideIdahoand the Mormon Belt than it did within.30Napoleon’ssingularvocabulary,forexample,includeshisoveruseofwordslike“gosh”,“dang”,“flip”,and“freak-ing”.Hisspeechservesasoneofthedistinctiveelementsofthefilmbysettingthe protagonist apart from characters of more typical Hollywood productions. Farfromrepresentingamerecharacterquirk,Napoleon’sobvioussubstitutionof vulgar terms with ridiculous expletives also codes him as a practicing Mor-mon.Thetitularcharacterperformshisreligionthroughmorethanjustspeech;at one point he wears a Ricks College (now BYU Idaho) shirt. One of the most interestingindicatorsofNapoleon’sreligioncentersonanoldfarmerwhoap-pearsonlytwotimesinthefilm.Duringthisman’sfirstappearance,Hessshowshim approach a cow with a shotgun. He then cuts to a school bus that Napo-leonboards.At thismomentagunshotfires,andseveralchildrenscream. Inthepost-creditssection,thissamemanofficiatesatthemarriageofKipandhissweetheart,LaFawnduh.Totheuninitiatedviewer,thefarmer’sroleatthewed-dingseemslikeahilariousgag,andperhapsacommentaryonsmall-townAmer-ica.Mormonviewers,however,immediatelyrecognizethattheshotgun-totingfarmerisalsoKip’sbishop.31

IamultimatelylessinterestedinprovingNapoleon’sMormonismthanIamin discussing how his faith colors his relationship with Pedro. Mink categorizes NapoleonDynamite asa schoolfilmandcoming-of-agemovie,buthenotesthattheaforementionedcharacters“failtofitintothetypicalgenericteenagecategoriesconstructedbyscholarsincinemastudies”.32 Numerous critics have observed that one of the aspects that separates Napoleon Dynamite from otherschoolfilms is thefact thatthefilm’sprotagonists–particularlyNapo-leon–deviatefromconventionalarticulationsofgender.33 I wish to add to the conversation by pointing out that both Napoleon and Pedro play important allegorical roles within a racialized cosmology where white Mormon Gentiles

28 Samuelson2007,226.29 TwoparticularlynoteworthyfilmsthatcameoutintheyearspriortothereleaseofNapoleon

Dynamite are TheSinglesWard (KurtHale,US 2002) andTheR.M.(KurtHale,US2003).30 Mink2008,164.31 Mink2008,166.32 Mink2008,157–158.33 Russo2006,7–11;Buchbinder2008,237;Quail2011,466–467.


must teach (Mexican) Lamanites the gospel. Mink argues that Hess included a Mexicancharactertohighlightthemigrantcommunity’salmostinvisiblecontri-butions to Preston and other rural towns in Idaho and throughout the western United States.34 He provides an excellent discussion about the discrimination andmarginalitythatmigrantworkershavehistoricallyfacedinPreston,butheignorestheimplicitLamaniteidentitythatthetown’sLDSmajorityascribestomigrantcommunities.Perhapsbyaccident,then,Minkhighlightsthefactthatdespite–orperhapsasaresultof–doctrinallysignalingAmerindiansandLatinAmericansasachosenpeopleseparatefromwhiteGentiles,Lamaniteidentityalso extends an irreparable Otherness to people from these communities.

As Hess emphasizes the contributions of Mexican people like Pedro to Pres-tonandsimilarcommunities,heremindshisLDSviewersoftheLamanites’spe-cialroleinbuildingaNewJerusalem–whichthefaith’sfounder,JosephSmith,prophesiedwouldbebuilt inJacksonCounty,Missouri–prior totheSecondComing.35 As the film shows, many North AmericanMormons have ignoredcertain aspects of the Lamanite prophecies as they have minimized the con-tributions of Mexican and Chicano actors in their communities. Hess critiques this (white) Mormon ambivalence to immigrant communities through Napole-onandPedro’sfriendship,whichrepresentsthecommunionofLamanitesandGentiles in the Promised Land. My reading calls for a reevaluation of Joseph M.Spencer’sassertionthatNapoleonDynamite has“notawordtosayaboutscripture”.36Whilethefilmneverexplicitlymentionsanysacredtexts, itdefi-nitelyoperateswithin an LDS imaginarybasedon scripture. Indeed,Hess al-ludes to the teachings of Mormon scripture to critique the racist elements of small-townMormoncommunities.NapoleonallegoricallypreachesPedro“thegospel”byshowinghimhowtonavigateasmall-townUShighschool.ThepairmeetsshortlyafterPedroarrives inthecountry.Themigrantgoestoschool,wherehisnewprincipal–whoseemstotakenointerestinhisforeignstudent–constantlyhumiliateshim.NapoleonintervenesonPedro’sbehalf,andtheprin-cipalaskshimtoshowPedrotohislocker.ItdoesnottakelongforNapoleon’spupiltobecomethemaster,afactthatbecomesespeciallyclearwhenPedroannounces that he will run for student body president.37 Napoleon has never taken such a step despite years of experience at the institution. This inversion ofmasterandpupil resonatesespeciallywellwithMormondoctrines,whichhold that the Lamanites will one day assume the principal role in building the Kingdom,aftertheGentileshavesharedthegospelwiththem.

34 Mink2008,163.35 See3Nephi21:23inTheBookofMormon2013.36 Spencer2012, 171.37 Severalactivistshavecitedthisaspectofthefilmwhenadvocatingforamoreliberalborder

policy.Forexample,seeHoyt2009,21–24.


GiventhatmostMormons–includingtheleadershipoftheLDSChurch–un-derstand the Lamanite prophecies to apply particularly to people of Latin Amer-icandescent, itbecomes literally impossible for theSecondComing tooccurwithout immigrationtotheUnitedStates.Certainly,notallUSMormons–oreven most – favor undocumented immigration or immigrants;38 neverthe-less, theLDS leadership(andmanymembers) favora liberalizedapproachtoUS-Mexican border policies that will keep families together and allow people to workinthecountryiftheyarenotcommittingmajorcrimes.39 NapoleonDyna-mite clearly communicates a pro-immigrant discourse even as it signals Mexican peopleasOther.Thefilmneverovertlyclamorsfor immigrantrights,but it isimportant to note that there is no reference to La Migra (immigration enforce-ment),nordoesanyonequestionPedro’s right tobe in the town.NapoleonDynamite’sambiguousrepresentationofimmigrantsandimmigrationmakesitdifficulttoplaceinrelationtootherexamplesofpopularculture.SomeofHess’sillegibility to a broader US audience almost certainly results from a complex ra-cial determinism that he has inherited from his faith in which Mexicans are on the one hand foreign Others and on the other hand a chosen people destined to(re)populateNorthAmerica.Hess’seccentricrepresentationofMexicanandMexican-Americanculturemakes itdifficult tocategorizehisworkasasocialjusticefilm,buthisuseofacharismaticimmigrantforamajorprotagonistplaceshimatoddswithfilmsfocusedonnationalsecurityand/orsecuringtheborder.Themovie reverberateswith a rarely taught, though canonical, aspect of

MormondoctrinethatholdsthattheLamaniteswill“return”tothelandoftheGentiles (read: the United States) after the Gentiles have drifted away from the faith. One of the most interesting events of the Book of Mormon details the ar-rivalofChristtotheAmericasfollowinghiscrucifixionandresurrection.Atonepoint,Jesushimselfprophecises,

Itshallcometopassthatwhosoeverwillnotbelieve inmywords,whoamJesusChrist,whichtheFathershallcausehimtobringforthuntotheGentiles,andshallgiveuntohimpower thatheshallbring themforthunto theGentiles, (it shallbedoneevenasMosessaid)theyshallbecutofffromamongmypeoplewhoareof

38 Indeed,Arizona’s infamousHB1070was championedby theMormonstate senatorRussellPearce.Whatismore,The Salt Lake Tribune reportedthat“alittlelessthanhalfofMormonsinthestateagreewiththeUtahCompact,despitethechurchleaders’supportofthedocumentthatseekstokeeplocalpolicefromenforcingfederalimmigrationlaws”.SeeMontero2011.

39 TheChurch’smostrecentpublicdeclarationaboutimmigrationfocusedprimarilyonkeepingfamiliestogether;however,italsorecognizedtherightofsovereignstatesto“enforce[their]lawsandsecure[their]borders”.SeeImmigration2011.TheChurch’srelaxedpolicytowardillegal immigration is especially visible with regard to policies surrounding membership. The Church will not allow investigators to be baptized if they are currently breaking the law or servingaprisonorprobationsentence.Thatsaid,undocumentedimmigrantscanbebaptizeddespitebeinginthecountryillegally.SeevanUitert2007,309.


thecovenant.AndmypeoplewhoarearemnantofJacob[theLamanites]shallbeamongtheGentiles,yea,inthemidstofthemasalionamongthebeastsofthefor-est,asayounglionamongtheflocksofsheep,who,ifhegothroughbothtreadethdownandtearethinpieces,andnonecandeliver.40

The LDSChurchdoesnothave anofficial interpretationof this passage,butmanyoftheChurch’sGeneralAuthoritiesandlaymembers–particularlyinLatinAmerica–believethatitreferstoMexican,CentralAmerican,andperhapsevenAndean immigration to the United States that will occur prior to the Second Coming.41 This interpretation provides a useful angle from which to view Pedro in NapoleonDynamite;heisaforeignOther,buthispresenceinPreston,Idaho,isalsoGod’swill.LocalresidentslikeNapoleonteachhimhowtooperateinthisnewland,butintheendPedro’sbirthrightistoattainapositionofprominenceinthetown.Hefulfillshispotentialbywinningthestudentbodyelectionandnormalizing his place in the community at large.GiventhatoneoftheprerequisitesfortheLamanite“reconquest”ofNorth

AmericaisGentileapostasy,itisnotsurprisingthatHessshowsastudentbodyadministrationthathaslosttouchwithitsroots.Thefavoredcandidate,Sum-mer(HaylieDuff),isapopularcheerleaderwhoseboyfriend,Don(TrevorSnarr),bulliesstudentslikeNapoleon.InassociatingwithDon,Summerhasadoptedaself-centeredworldviewanddistancedherselffromherpeers.Insodoing,shehas created the framework from which a new order may emerge. William C. SewellviewsNapoleon,Pedro,andindeedmostofthestudentbodyas“devi-ant”becausepopularstudentsandevenadministratorshavenormalizedtheposition of people like Summer and Don.42Pedro’swinningcoalitionconsistsofnumerousquirkyor,inthewordsofHopeW.LevinandStevenSchlozman,“pe-culiar”people.43 The discourse of peculiarity takes on a deeper meaning when appliedtoLDScircles,wherethetermsignifiesbothapeople’sdifferentiationfromthe“world”andtheirgreatworth.44Pedro’svictorynormalizespeculiari-ty,asthestudentbodyelectssomeonewho,likethem,doesnotfitagenerallyunderstoodrubricofnormal.Beyondservingasa“revengeofthenerds”tale,Pedro’svictoryalsovalidatesaMexicanpresenceinPreston,Idaho.Certainly,

40 See3Nephi21:11–12inTheBookofMormon2013.41 AccordingtovanUitert2007,theChurchhasnevermadeanyofficialstatementsinfavorof(or

against) illegal immigration,butshenotesthat“acompassionatestancetoward immigrantsmaybeextrapolatedfromvariousstatementsmadebyChurchleaders”(306).ShealsonotesthatLDSdoctrinesalludetothe“specialrole”thattheLamaniteswillplaypriortotheSecondComingaskeytounderstandingtheChurch’sinstitutionalapproachto–andpermissivenesstoward–immigration(305).

42 Sewell2008,12–13.43 Levin/Schlozman2006,431–433.44 Mormonsbuildon the termpeculiarasused in theOldTestament to refer toa“covenant”

people.SeeW.E.Smith1992.


Pedroremainsculturallydifferentfromhispeers,butheisalsoverymuchwel-cometostay.ThestoryofPedro’svictoryreverberateswiththeMormonideathattheLamanites–aidedbyworthyGentiles–willestablishaNewJerusalemin the United States while leaving unworthy Mormon Gentiles (allegorically cod-ed as Don and Summer) behind.45

Throughout the campaign, Napoleon and Pedro emphasize the racialized“skills”thatPedrobringstothetable.Afterwitnessingastudentgetbullied,Napoleonapproachesthevictimandsays,“Pedrooffersyouhisprotection.”Hess cuts toanother scene,where the samebullyattempts to steal the stu-dent’sbicycle.Pedro’scousins–who look likestereotypicalLatinogangstersfromHollywoodfilms– showup inahydraulic lowriderwith loudmusicandlookatthebully.Theyshaketheirheadsdisapprovinglyandthebullyflees.Hesscertainlyfilmedtheaforementionedsceneforcomediceffect;nevertheless,inassertinganalliancebetweenthebulliedstudentandthese“dangerous”Mex-icanimmigrants,Hessdeconstructstheideathatwhitesofallstripesmustjoinforcesagainstthreateningpeopleofcolor.Instead,hesuggeststhatoppressedwhites andpeopleof color should focuson their common interests.Pedro’scousinsappeardangeroustowhitecharacters–andperhapsevenaudiences–throughoutthefilm,butHessemphasizestheirkindness.Thesecharactersnev-erspeakEnglish,but theyconstantlyhelppeoplewhetherornot theyknowthem.Inonescene,Napoleonisforcedtowalktohispromdate’shomeafterhisunclerefusestogivehimaride.Luckily,Pedro’scousinsfindhimandoffertotakehimandhisdatetothedance.Hess’sshotsinthissequenceonceagainpro-duceacomediceffect,astheysubvertcommonfilmictropesthatequateLatinoyouthswithcriminality.Viewedallegorically,thisepisodehasHessremindfaith-fulGentilesandLamanitestoworktogetherinbuildingthe“Kingdom”.

Napoleon has to help Pedro navigate a new culture also so that he can avoid committingmajorfauxpas.Atonepoint,forexample,PedromakesapiñataofSummerthathissupportersbeatwithastick.Afterwards,Hesscutstotheprincipal’soffice,wheretheschool’stopadministratorsays,“Idon’tknowhowtheydo thingsdown in Juarez,buthere in Idahowehavea little somethingcalledpride.”Abitflustered,PedrotellsNapoleon,“wedothatinMexicoallthetime!”Pedro’sinnocence–oratleasthislackoffamiliaritywiththestudentelectionprocess – remains clear throughout thefilm.GivenNapoleon’sowneccentricities,whichhaveledmanycriticstosuggesthemayhaveAsperger’ssyndrome,46 it is surprising that he would be the one to show Pedro how to properlyactintheUnitedStates.Nevertheless,hisdesiretohelphisfriendde-spite his own social challenges reverberates within the racialized imaginary that

45 Mink2008,158.46 Levin/Schlozman2006,430.


thefilmpromotes.Togethertheduoismuchstrongerthanitwouldbeifeachcharacter were left to his own devices.Theduowinsthesupportofthemajorityofthestudentsbyemphasizinga

sharedmarginality,afactthatHessemphasizeswhenSummerandPedrosquareoffinapresidentialdebateofsorts.Summerdoesadancewiththecheerlead-ingsquad,whilePedrosimply says,“If youvote forme,all yourdreamswillcometrue.”Hewalksdejectedlyoffthestage,andthenNapoleoncomestohisaidbydancingtoLaFawnduh’sbrother’sauditiontapes.Easilyoneofthemostmemorable scenes fromthemovie, itfinishesas students jump to their feetand cheer. Richard J. Allen questions the reigning interpretation that holds that Napoleon’sdancewinsPedro supporters,buthealsoargues that this sceneemphasizesthat“themajorityof[Napoleon’s]classmates…aremoreintunewithhiseccentricitythanthebulliesandmeangirlswhotaunthim”.47 As Pedro positionshimselfasanEverymanforthestudentbody,heassureshisvictoryand undermines the position not only of Summer but also of the racist principal. Hess emphasizes the allegorical union between the Gentile and the Lamanite by crosscuttingbetweenthefilm’sseveralprotagonists,showingthemreconciletheproblemstheywerefacingthroughoutthefilm.WhenhedepictsPedro’selectionparty,heshowsadiversegroupofpeople,allofwhomcelebratethismajorachievement.Thereligiousdiscourseinthisfilmremainshiddenfromthecasualviewer,buttherelationshipbetweenNapoleonandPedroholdsdeepsignificancewithinMormonthought.

FAITH,CELIBACY,ANDCHILDLIKEADULTSINNACHO LIBRE

Hess emphasizes the religious element of his representations of Mexican peo-ple and cultures more explicitly in NachoLibre than in NapoleonDynamite,buttheMormonbackdropislessobvious.ThefilmstarsIgnacio(aka“Nacho”)(JackBlack),whoisthechildofaMexicanCatholicandaEuropeanmissionary.Aftergrowingupinamonasteryfollowinghisparents’deaths,hechoosestobecomeafriaranddedicatehislifetotheLord.Hess’sironictakeonCatholi-cismingeneral–andMexicanpracticesofthereligioninparticular–acquiresa deeper meaning as we consider his own Mormon upbringing. NachoLibre builds on a common imaginary within Mormon thought in which God has ap-parently blessed the people of Mexico with an especially acute ability to feel the Spirit.48While laudable, thisquality at times leads them tomakechildish

47 R.J.Allen2013,9–22.48 Most academic discussions of Mormonism in Mexico center on the North American immigrants

who arrived in the northern state of Chihuahua after the United States passed anti-polygamy laws.SeeJanzen2018.Nevertheless,themajorityofMormonsinMexicoareethnicMexicanswho have converted to the faith as a result of aggressive proselytization.


mistakes when practicing their faith. This imaginary helps Mormons to explain why people from Mexico (and throughout Latin America) are more likely than those from other countries to listen to Mormon missionaries. This ability to feel theSpiritleadstocaricaturesthatdepictMexicans–andpeoplepurportedlyofLamanitedescentgenerally– inasimplistic light.Withinthisview,Lamanitesmayhaveapredispositiontoacceptthegospel,buttheyalsooftenstrugglewith superstition.49Throughoutthefilm,Nacho, theorphans, theclergy,andeventheatheist,Steven,exhibitasimpleborderline-superstitiousfaithintheircosmologiesof choice.Asa result,NachoLibre pokes fun at what it frames as sincere yet simplistic Mexican belief systems while viewing the practitioners themselves as generally good.Despiteworkingattheorphanage,Nachoneverearnstherespectoftheoth-

erfriars,allofwhomridiculehim.Hetakessolaceinthefactthatthechildrenlovehim,buthestillfeelsostracized.Hebeginstopursueaclandestinecareeras a masked luchador (wrestler) who participates in local lucha libre (profes-sional wrestling) events in order to secure more funds for himself and the or-phans. When a new nun named Encarnación (Ana de la Reguera) moves to the orphanage,Nacho immediately falls in lovewithher.However, theirchastityvowsinterferewithanybuddingromance.Nachobeginstoquestionhisfaith,particularly a supposed clause that holds lucha libre to be sinful. He befriends the atheist Steven (aka Esqueleto) (Héctor Jiménez), and together the duostartstofightindependentbattlesontheweekends.Theylackanyskillintheirtrade,but theysoon learn that theycanmakegoodmoneyevenwhen theylosebecausetheaudiencesenjoytheirperformances.Attheendofthemovie,NachoearnstheopportunitytofightRamses,awrestlerwhosegoldenmaskisacombinationofthoseofElSantoandBlueDemon,thetwomostpopularluch-adores –orprofessionalwrestlers–inMexicanhistory.Nachoreceivesdivineintervention that helps him defeat Ramses and win enough money to buy a bus for the orphans.Thefilmbuildsonseveralgenres,butitsmostobviousinfluenceistheMex-

ploitation cinema of the mid-twentieth century.50 Heather Levi places NachoLibrewithinanemergingtraditionofUSfilmandtelevisionthatappropriatesMexican wrestling also known as lucha libre into the US context.51 While such

49 Inhistalk“TheDayoftheLamanites,”givenduringtheOctober1960LDSGeneralConference,SpencerW.KimballvalidatedsuchviewswhenhestatedthatinarecentvisittotheLamanites,hehad“foundevidenceofwaningsuperstitionandgrowingfaithinthegospel”.EvenashedistancesthesenewmembersoftheChurchfromtheir“superstitious”forebears,KimballalsoestablishessuperstitionasapersistentelementofLamanitesubjectivity.

50 Carlos Losilla notes certain similarities between Nacho Libre and the Spaghetti Western because itisaforeign(US)imitationofaMexicanstyleofcinema.SeeLosilla2007,122.Foranin-depthdiscussionofMexploitation,seeGreene2005.

51 Levi2008,222.


filmsgivethesportgreatervisibility,shelamentsthat“rippedfromitshistori-calandsocialcontext,theserepresentationsofluchalibretendtoemphasizeits‘wacky’qualities”.52IlánStavans,however,providesadifferentperspectivewhen he states that the film’s “apparent bad taste in popularMexican arti-facts”imbuesitwith“subversivepower”.53 Both critics make crucial observa-tions,andIextendtheirworkbyshowinghowHess’skitschyrepresentationsof Mexican culture reflect North American Mormon imaginaries. While themoviedealsheavilywithnotionsofreligionandfaithinMexico,anyreferencesto Mormonism remain hidden in the negative space. Nacho is a devout Catho-lic,yethemustrepresshisdreamsbecauseofreligiousinhibitionsthatwouldnotexistwereheMormon(orProtestant).Thefilmnevercomesacrossasan-ti-religious even as it criticizes certain aspects of Catholicism.54Indeed,Nacho’sspiritual struggles come from two principal sources that would be nonissues wereheLDS.First,hewishestopursuearomanticrelationshipwiththenunEncarnación,buthecannotbecauseofhis(andher)chastityvows.Secondly,he wishes to be a luchador,butEncarnaciónandotherreligiousleadersclaimthat the wrestling lifestyle is sinful because it creates false idols who seek only the glory of the world.Given thatHessbaseshisfilm looselyon the storyof FrayTormenta [The

StormingFriar],aCatholicpriestwhomoonlightedasamaskedwrestlerfor23years,thehistoricalveracityofthetensionbetweenlucha libre and the Catholic Church in Mexico is certainly suspect.55Nevertheless,thetensionbetweenNa-cho’sloveofthesportandhisaffiliationwithachurchthatviewsitasimmoralsitsattheheartofHess’sstory.56Inoneiconicscene,Chancho–anoverweightorphanwhoservesasacharacterfoilofsortsforthefilm’sprotagonist–walksin on Nacho while he dresses in his bedroom for an upcoming match. In an at-tempttocoveruphissecretlife,Nachosays“Chancho,whenyouareaman,sometimesyouwearstretchypants inyourroom. It’s for fun.”DonaldMossinterpretsNacho’suseofstretchypantsasa“flirt[ation]withthemarkerofaonce-repudiatedfemininity”.57 The critic correctly notes that the less-than-ath-

52 Levi2008,222.53 Stavans2013,111–112.54 The US Conference of Catholic Bishops came out strongly against the film owing to its

blasphemousandsupposedlyanti-clericalnature.SeeMcDannell2008,29.55 Interestingly,FrayTormentawas forced intoearly retirementafterhis true identitybecame

known.ThiswasnotbecausetheChurchopposedhiswrestling,butbecauseotherwrestlersdidnotwanttohurttheirownpopularitybyfightingapriest.SeeBarberena2009,159.

56 ItispossiblethatHessconflatedstatistpostureswiththoseoftheChurchinmakingthisfilm.UnliketheChurch,whichtookagenerally laissez-faireapproachto lucha libre, stateofficialslabeled it as immoral and even took the extraordinary step of banning it from television because theyfearedthatitwouldcontaminatethemasses.SeeLevi2008,181;Dalton2018,147–149.

57 Moss2012,2.


leticJackBlackunderminesmanyidealsofmasculinitythroughoutthefilm.Nev-ertheless,Moss’slackoffamiliaritywithMexicanprofessionalwrestling(andthecostumes that these luchadores wear)leadshimtooverstatethesignificanceofNacho’sstretchypantsinunderminingconstructsofmasculinity.Indeed,ElSanto,BlueDemon,andMilMáscarasarticulatedanidealizedhyper-masculinityon the Mexican silver screen while wearing stretchy pants of their own.58 Far fromshowingNachodeviatefromtraditionalarticulationsofmasculinity,thisscene shows that the friar has decided to enter into a hyper-masculine world of violence that is supposedly unbecoming of his ecclesiastical position. When ChanchopromisestokeepNacho’ssecret,heisreferringtothefactthathewillnevertellanyoneelsethattheorphanage’scookmoonlightsasaprofessionalwrestlerbecausesucharevelationwoulddestroyNacho’scareerasafriar.Whileworkingattheorphanage,Nachohastomaintaintheillusionthathe

opposes lucha libre. Inonescene,forexample,hebreaksupawrestlingmatchbetween Chancho and another orphan. He hypocritically tells the children that theyshouldstopwrestling“becauseitisintheBiblenottowrestleyourneigh-bor”.WhenChanchoasksNachoifhehaseverwrestled,thefriarrepliesthathehasnot;ChanchoshowshisloyaltywhenhedecidesnottopubliclycallNa-cho out on this lie. Nacho proceeds to tell the children of the wonders of life for those who do not wrestle. This scene is especially interesting because it in-terweavesNacho’sdesiretowrestlewithhisloveforEncarnación;assuch,itshowshowthetwogreatstumblingblocksofhisfaithconverge.Inthenun’spresencehetellsthechildrenthatbecausehedoesnotwrestle,“Igettolay[sic] inabedbymyselfallofmy life. It’s fantastic!”HesscrosscutsbetweenNachoandEncarnaciónduringthismonologue;Encarnación’sphysicalreactionshowsmildsurprise,butshesaysnothing.Nachosharesaflirtatioussmilewithher after the children decide that they will not wrestle in the monastery.Hess’sMormonisminfluenceshowheapproachesNacho’sinfatuationwith

Encarnación. The LDS Church posits heterosexual marriage as a saving ordi-nance that people must undertake if they wish to achieve the highest degree of exaltation in the afterlife.59 Beyond playing a pivotal role in Mormon theol-ogy,marriage isprerequisite formostpositionsof leadershipwithin theLDShierarchy.Nacho’sdesire forEncarnación reflectsaquintessentiallyMormonidealinwhichpersonal–andevenecclesiastical–growthdependsonmarriage.HisdesireforEncarnaciónmaysubvertCatholicteachings,butitdoesnotun-dermine his ability to be a religious leader from an LDS perspective. This Mor-mon approach to marriage and sexuality lies in the background of many of the scenes inwhichNachoattempts towoohismuse. Inonecase,Nacho takes

58 Dalton2018,154;Rubenstein2002,577.59 TheDoctrineandCovenants2013,131:2.


Encarnaciónoutatnight,supposedlysothattheycan“preachthegospel”–itself an act more commonly associated with Mormonism than (contemporary) Catholicism–tosome“bums”hefoundonthestreet.Inawinkatthefixedna-ture of lucha libre matches,60 Nacho has actually asked Steven to bring a threat-ening,thoughfake,mobsothathecanappeartobravelyprotectEncarnaciónandthuswinherlove.Nacho,ostensiblyinanattempttofindthementheywillteach,movesaheadandleansonacornerbuilding.Inreality,hewantsanex-cusetomodelforher.HeawkwardlypointshisbuttinEncarnación’sdirection,andwhenshetellshimthathisclotheslookexpensive,hereplies,“underneaththeclothesyoufindtheman”.Hetriestosavefacewhenherealizeswhathehassaidbycontinuingnonsensically:“underneaththemanyoufindthe…nu-cleus”.Shortlyafterwards,NachoerroneouslyidentifiestwomenasthepeoplethatStevenhasagreedtobring.Hepicksafightwiththem,buttheybeathimto the ground. This scene produced comedy gold for both Jack Black and Jared Hess,butbeyondgettingalaughfromtheaudience, italsoexplicitlytiesNa-cho’sfrustrationsandmarginalizationtohisreligion.Hisvowsofcelibacyhavecreatedwhatthefilmframesasanunreasonablehurdleforfindingtruelove.Becauseheisafriar,mostofthewomenthathemeetsarenunswhohave

alsomadevowsofcelibacy.Thus,hisreligiouscircumstanceshavecreatedanenvironmentofsexualfrustration,buttheyhavealsomadeitsoheonlyinter-acts with women who will not appreciate his advances. Nacho eventually re-alizesthatheshouldnotputEncarnacióninuncomfortablesituations,buthisinfatuationcontinues.Duringoneofthemostpopularscenesinthefilm,Nachospontaneously breaks into song about his love for Encarnación while in the lock-er room awaiting his match with Ramses. One verse is especially interesting: “Tokissyourmouth/I’dbreakmyvow/no,no,no/no,no,noway,José/unlessyouwantto/thenwe’dbreakourvowstogether.”Nachohasdecidedthathewould leavehis life intheministrytopursuearelationshipwithEncarnación;however,hewillalsorespectherowncommitmenttohervows.Henowhopesto win her love and convince her to abandon life in the convent for the chance tomarry–andpresumablyraiseafamily–withhim.Atnopointdoesthedirec-tor explicitly denounce Catholic teachings regarding celibacy and religious lead-ership,buthissatiricalapproachreverberateswithinMormonthought.Muchofthefilm’ssuccessamongMormonsreflectsthefactthatNacho’s(thwarted)love life resonated with LDS viewers who believe that this particular problem could not occur within their own religious tradition.61

60 Levi2008,xvi.61 Much of Hess’s successwithMormon audiences comes from the fact that the community

upholds his work as some of the best ever produced by someone of their ilk. In the days leading up to NachoLibre’srelease,forexample,the localUtahradiostationKSLpublishedastoryabout NachoLibre’sBYUandMormonties.SeeHighExpectations2006.Overadecadeafter


ThefilmdoesnotsetouttorejectCatholicismoutright.Despiteprominentvoicestothecontrary,mostMormonsviewCatholicismasapositive“prepara-torygospel”that(re)introducedChristianityintheAmericas.62Certainly,afolkCatholicism based more on tradition than on readings of the Bible probably lies attheheartofwhatMormonstendtorefertoasa“simplistic”Lamanitefaith.It isproblematic tocallNachoaLamanite; JackBlack ishardlyNativeAmeri-can,andwhilehischaracterlivesintheespeciallyindigenousMexicanstateofOaxaca,Nachohimselfisprobablycriollo (creole) or possibly mestizo (or mixed race).AlejandroHermosillaSánchezarguesthatNacho Libre is symptomatic of aUScinematictraditionthatcaricatures–ratherthancomprehends–mestizo identity.63HermosillaSánchezcorrectlyidentifiesthefactthatNacho’scharac-ter largely diverges from Mexican understandings of mestizaje,buthedoesnotmentionhowHess’sreligiousreferentleadshimtopresentthetitularcharacteras Lamanite regardless of the degree of indigenous blood he may (or may not) have. The fact that Nacho lives in an indigenous space marks him as Laman-ite regardless of his genetic ancestry. In stark contrast to Mexican racial dis-courses that posit mestizaje asastrategyfor“de-Indianizing”apopulationwithgenetictiestoindigeneity,64 notions of Hemispheric Lamanite Identity tend to emphasize the fact that racially hybrid individuals maintain an Amerindian (and thus Lamanite) essence. Whether or not Nacho can truly claim ties to Lamanite progenitors,hecertainlyhasreceivedhisspiritualupbringinginaCatholicor-phanageinahighlyindigenousstate.Asaresult,hehasacquiredthe“childlike”faiththatMormonleaderslikeKimballsawintheChurch’sLamanitemembers.Assuch,Nachomusteventuallytemperthisfaithwithgreaterknowledgeand(spiritual) maturity.Hess highlights Nacho’s immature faith through his relationship with his

teammate,Steven.Atonepoint,NachoadvisesStevento“praytotheLordforstrength”ashepreparesforhisfirstfight.Stevenreplies,“Idon’tbelieveinGod;

thefilm’s release,BYU Magazine continuestopublishstoriesonHessandhisproductions,apracticethatcertainlykeepsfilmslikeNachoLibre inMormons’collectivememory.SeeRogers2018a;Rogers2018b.

62 Bruce R. McConkey popularized the notion that the Catholic Church was the Great and Abominable Church mentioned in the Book of Mormon with the publication of the Mormon Doctrine in1958.Herehestatedthat“it isalso intheBookofMormontowhichweturnforthe plainest description of the Catholic Church as the great and abominable church”. SeeMcConkey1958,130.However, theFirstPresidencyof theChurchdemandedthatheamendhisassertion.Inthesecondedition,hewalkedbacktheclaimtoadegree,assertinginsteadthat“thetitleschurchofthedevilandgreatandabominablechurchareusedtoidentifyallchurchesororganizationsofwhatevernature–whetherpolitical,philosophical,educational,economicsocial,fraternal,civic,orreligious–whicharedesignedtotakemenonacoursethatleadsawayfromGodandhislawsandthusfromsalvationintheKingdomofGod.”SeeMcConkey1966,100.

63 HermosillaSánchez2015,17.64 BonfilBatalla1987,41–42.


Ibelieve inscience.”Ina laterscene,thedirectorcrosscutsbetweenSteven,whoeatsvegetables,andNacho,whoflushesatoiletandstandsinthedoor-way between the locker room and the bathroom. He asks Steven why he never chosetobebaptized,andhispartnerexpressesoutrageatbeing“judged”forapersonal decision. This conversation is especially noteworthy because Catholic babiesdonothaveasayinwhethertheywillbebaptized.Rather,Hess’sfocusonSteven’sabilitytochoosereverberateswithinaMormonparadigmwherepeople must be at least eight years old to be baptized. Catholicism serves as amask thatmakes thediscussion legible tonon-LDS viewers, but the sceneis,atitscore,oneofMormonteachingsandpractices.Indeed,HesspresentsNacho as a Lamanite whose eagerness and childlike faith lead him to commit proceduralerrors inhisefforts tobuildup theChurch.Theaspiring luchador fillsabowlwithwateranddunksSteven’sfaceinitbeforesaying“felicidades”(congratulations)andinformingSteventhathehasbeenbaptized.Nacho’sjus-tificationthattheduocanonlywinthatnight’smatchifbothmenarebaptizedevinces a serious lack of understanding of basic doctrines of baptism. Nacho sees no problem with the validity of this sacrament despite the fact that he neverreceivedSteven’sconsent.Nacho’senthusiasmcauseshimtoignoretheChurch’s–bothLDSandCatholic–establishedmodesofdecorum,ashehasapparently baptized a man against his will.

Steven also exhibits an immature faith in a discourse that he does not fully understand.Healmostcertainlyusestheterm“science”asaeuphemismforDarwinianevolutiontheory.Hisrejectionofreligion,then,comesfromhisac-ceptanceofadifferentversionoftheCreationfromthattaughtinaliteralren-ditionoftheBible.Steven’sassertionmischaracterizesthenatureofscientificdiscourse by trying to make it commensurate with religious knowledge. Science isnot–norshoulditbeunderstoodas–anideologicalcounterweighttoreli-gion. Where the former attempts to provide clear-cut answers about the nature of theworld, life, and theafterlife through inductivemeans, the latter is, atitscore,asystemofknowledgebasedonfalsification.65 Many people trust the findingsofscientificinquiryovertheteachingsofareligioustext,butthisdoesnotconstitutefaithinscience.Rather,itreflectsadeepertrustintheobserva-tionalrigorofscientificinquiry.Scientistsrarelydescribetheirfindingsastruth;instead, they frame scientific knowledge as themost correct representationcurrently available about a given reality. Rather than refer to existential or cos-mologicaltruths,scienceexistsasaprocessforacquiringandorganizingknowl-edge.Inassertingabeliefin“science”,Stevenironicallyalludestothefactthatheprobablyknowsverylittleaboutscientificdiscourseingeneral.Assuch,Ste-ven accepts Darwinism on the basis of faith rather than in-depth understanding.

65 Kuhn,1996,10–11.


This purported faith in science is especially interesting when viewed through a Mormon or Catholic lens because neither church views the Darwinist notion of human evolution as blasphemous.66 Lay members from both faiths often hold outspokenviewsagainstDarwinismandhumanevolution,butthispossibilityfor the origin of humanity does not pose a doctrinal threat in either case.Hess shows that these characters’ eccentric faith borders on superstition

when,aftersufferingaparticularlycrushingdefeat,SteventellsNachothathecanbecomeabetterwrestlerifheconsumeseagleeggs.Steven’scertaintythatthese eggs will imbue his friend with strength makes it clear that while he may profess a belief in science, he espouses certainmysticalworldviews aswell.The following scene ironicallyparodies the tropesof theCampbellianhero’squestasNachotravelsbyboattoacliffhangingovertheocean.67 Hess captures thecharacterswithahigh-anglelongshotthatemphasizestheirinsignificance,while supposedlymystical, vaguely Native American instruments play in thebackground. Hess undermines the indigenous element to the scene when the shamanturnsouttobeawhite,Europeanconman.68 The director shifts to a soundtrack of holy Catholic music as Nacho scales the rock wall. After consum-ingtheyolk,Nachoattemptstodiveoffthecliff;however,hebothfartsandbel-lyflops.Onceagain,Hessunderminesfamiliartropesofcinemaandmythologytoemphasizethetitularcharacter’sflawedfaith.Afterlosingyetagain,NachorealizeshewastrickedandangrilytellsSteven,“theeggswerea lie”.Hede-cidesthatheshouldnotcontinuefightingbecausehisplaceiswiththeorphansatthemonastery.ThisscenebothshowsNacho’sgrowingmaturity–hereal-izesthathehasdutiesthathemustattendto–andsetsupthecircumstancesunderwhichhecanfinallyfight“fortheLord”.HesspositsNacho’sfaithandhisresultingclosenesswithdeityaskeycon-

tributors tohisultimatedecisiontocontinuefighting. Ina last-ditchattempttosavehiswrestlingcareer,heangrilyreproachesGodforcreatinghimwithadesiretowrestledespitethefactthatheisnogood.Shortlythereafter,hesug-gests that he will abandon his dreams unless God sends him a sign showing that “youblessmymissionandwantmetobeawrestlingservantofyou”.Hessem-ploysdeceptivefilmstrategieshere,particularlylow-angleclose-upsthatframeNachoagainsttheceilingmural;however,helatercutstoasideshotwherewe

66 In2002,LDSprophetGordonB.Hinckleystatedthat“whatthechurchrequiresisonlybelief‘thatAdamwasthefirstmanofwhatwewouldcallthehumanrace.’Scientistscanspeculateontherest.”SeeJarvik2006.TheCatholicChurchhasrecognizednointrinsictensionbetweenevolutionandChurchdoctrinessincethereformsofPopePiusXII.SeePiusXII 1950,1:36.

67 Campbellidentifiedabasic,mythicstructuretoherotalesinwhich“aheroventuresforthfromthe world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure withthepowertobestowboonsonhisfellowman.”SeeCampbell1973,30;Jung1964.

68 Criollo/Nava/Aviña2011, 241.


realizethatNacho’srobehascaughtonfire.Theaudienceneverknowswheth-erthecandlesfellonNachowithGod’saidoriftheprotagonist’sincompetencehas created yet another comical scene. These plausible interpretations are not mutuallyexclusive,anditultimatelydoesnotmatterwhichiscorrect.Nacho’srobeburnsoffandrevealsthe lucha libre costume he wears underneath. The monksexpelhimfromthemonastery,andNachoturnstowrestlingoutofne-cessity.Heinterpretshisbanishmentasaformofpunishment,andheclaimsthat he will atone for his sins by beating Ramses in the ring and using the pro-ceedstobuytheorphansabus.Despiteitssimplisticflaws,Nacho’sfaithhelpshimtobeaselflessindividualwhoworkstirelesslyintheserviceofothers.Nacho’sbelief,coupledwithhislovefortheorphans(andEncarnación),ulti-

matelymakeshimintothechampionhealwayswishedtobecome.HisfightwithRamses goes very badly until the children arrive along with his beloved nun. As CarlosCesarDomingosdoAmaralnotes,Nachofindssuccessashefightsforacause greater than himself.69Inanespeciallybizarremoment,heapparentlycon-jureseaglepowersthatallowhimtojump50feetintothestandstotackleaflee-ingRamses.ThefilmneverfullyexplainsNacho’sleap,butitispossiblethatthesuperstition that led Nacho to consume the eagle eggs may not have been un-foundedafterall.Attheveryleast,Nachohasbecomeachampionthroughdivine(andmystical)intervention.ThissceneelucidatesHess’stakeonMexicanspiritual-ityperhapsmorethananyotherpartofthefilm.Nacho’schildlikefaithhashelpedhimtobekindandcaring,twotraitsthatthefilm–andMormontheology–viewinapositivelight.Hisfaithbecomesapowerfulforcewhenhechoosestofightforanappropriatecause.Nacho’sreligionhashelpedhimorganizeandbetterlev-eragehisfaith,butHessemphasizesthatCatholicismdoesnotofferhimthebestpathbecauseitwillforcehimtoabidebyhisvowofcelibacy.Asthefilmends,Na-choandEncarnaciónshareseveralsidelongglances,andthetitularcharacternodshisheadinsatisfaction.Clearlyhebelievesthatshewill,perhaps,decidetobreakhervowsaswell.Nacho’sfaithappearsasagreatredeemingquality,evenashisCatholicism seems to impede his continued personal and spiritual development. Ashecutstothecredits,HessimplicitlypositsMormonismasabetterspiritualpath both for Nacho and for Mexican Lamanites in general. If Nacho and Encar-naciónwereLDS, theycouldmarrywithnoproblem.Hess’scritique lies in thebackground,visibleonlytothosefamiliarwithMormondoctrinesandtheology.

Inconclusion,amajordrawforbothNachoLibre and NapoleonDynamite is JaredHess’suniquecharacterizationofMexicancharactersandcultures.Thedirector’sproblematicrepresentationsofMexicanandMexican-Americaniden-tityreflecthissubjectpositionasanLDSfilmmaker.Asthisstudyhasshown,

69 DomingosdoAmaral2016.


Latin American countries – particularly those with large indigenous popula-tions–holdaspecialplacewithinMormonthoughtowingto thebelief thatthe inhabitants of these countries descend from the peoples of the Book of Mormon.MostMormonsviewLamaniteidentityasanhonor,butwhiteNorthAmerican adherents of the faith also signal the descendants of the Book of Mor-monasOther.Thisquintessentially(white,NorthAmerican)MormonapproachtoMexicanandMexican-Americanidentity liesattheheartofHess’scinema.CharacterslikePedroandNachocertainlyaffirmthehumanityofMexicansub-jectstoagreaterdegreethandotheircounterparts inHollywood.Neverthe-less, these films’ comedic representations of Mexican peoples and culturescreate a clear division between North American and Mexican cultures. The fact thatHess’scinemahighlightsculturalandlinguisticdistinctionsbetweenwhiteAmerica and Mexico does not make him unique. What distinguishes his work isthewaythathesoeffectivelypositswhite(particularlyMormon)andMexi-cansubjectsasbothbrothers/sistersandOthers.Thisinterracialandinterethnicunion,predicatedasitisondivision,bothhighlightshisreligiousreferentandcreates fertile ground for excellent comedy.

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Napoleon Dynamite DirectorInspiredbyHisOwnMama’sLlamas:JaredHess’YoungLifeAlmostas StrangeasThatofHisFlick’sHero,2004,MTVNews,14June2004,http://www.mtv.com/news/1488386/ napoleon-dynamite-director-inspired-by-his-own-mamas-llamas/[accessed8February2019].

PiusXII,1950,HumaniGeneris,1:36,http://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/ hf_p-xii_enc_12081950_humani-generis.html[accessed11August2018].

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(ed.),LatinosandNarrativeMedia,NewYork:PalgraveMacMillan,111–116.TheBookofMormon,1830,Palmyra:E.B.Grandin.TheBookofMormon,2013,https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/title-page?

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Russell C. Powell

Narrative and Experiment, Religion and Politics in Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life

ABSTRACTWhileTerrenceMalick’s2011filmTheTreeofLife is ordinarily analyzed in light of its Christian—andimplicitlyAugustinian—theologicalrationale,Iargueherefortheimpor-tance of analyzing TheTreeofLife for its connection to the Emersonian artistic herit-age.Insodoing,Ielucidatethefilm’suniquepoliticalvision,avisionthatemphasizesexperimentalismandisalliedwithAmericanavant-gardecinema.Thatvision,further-more,carrieswithitanawarenessofthedifferencesandhistoricalconflictsbetweentheAugustinianandEmersoniantraditionsinAmericanpolitics,aswellasinsightsintothesetwopoliticalstrains’prospectsforrapprochement,particularlyinregardtohowavowed religionists and secularists might cooperate on contemporary environmental concerns

KEYWORDSTerrenceMalick,TheTreeofLife,Religion,Politics,AugustinianTheology,RalphWaldoEmerson,Emersonianism

BIOGRAPHYRussell C. Powell is Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at theCollegeoftheHolyCrossinWorcester,Massachusetts.Herecentlyearnedhisdoc-toratefromPrincetonTheologicalSeminary.Hiswriting,research,andteachingfocusonmodern American religious thought and environmental studies. Powell is currently work-ingonamonographthatreassessesthereligion,ethics,andpoliticsofJohnMuir,therenowned nineteenth-century American conservationist and founder of the Sierra Club.

INTRODUCTION

Whereas many heretofore have considered the import and implications of the ChristiantheologicalresonancesofTerrenceMalick’sTheTreeofLife(US2011),Iwant to consider the political vision ofMalick’s film.1 Malick, Iwill demon-

1 See,e.g.,Leary2011,Leithard2013,Barnett/Elliston2016,Handley2016,andLarsen2017.

DOI: 10.25364/05.05:2019.2.9

Narrative and Experiment, Religion and Politics in The Tree of Life | 167www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 167–185

strate,leveragesthetensionbetweentwostrandsofAmericanreligio-politicalthought to illuminate a politics not typically associated with traditional Christian theology. The two strands to which I am referring are Augustinianism and Emer-sonianism. By eschewing narrative in favor of an experimental approach to his filmmaking–anapproachgroundedintheAmericanavant-gardecinematictra-dition–MalickenvisagesaradicalpoliticsmuchasRalphWaldoEmersondoesin his best-known essays. Yet Malick does this while still centering TheTreeofLifeontraditionalChristiantheologicalinquiries.Theresult,Iargue,isacinemaof religio-political possibility that contains meaningful insights for contempo-raryAmericanenvironmentalpolitics,whichuptonowhasstruggledtobringreligionistsandseculariststogetheronsharedprojectsandgoals.

AUGUSTINE,EMERSON,POLITICS

For all the theological attention TheTreeofLifehasreceivedsinceitsrelease,thefilm’spolitics has received rather short shrift. This is attributable to twomainreasons.ThefirstisrelatedtowhatMarkLewisTaylorhascalledtheolo-gy’snormative“imperio-colonialsense”,bywhichhemeansthewaystheology(insofar as it is taken up in academic discourse) is assessed without considera-tionofitsextradisursiveeffects–thatis,itscognizanceofpowerarrangementsin society.2 The discursive focus of professional theology is doctrinal. Analyses oftopicslikethenatureofGod,creation,sin,theHolySpirit,thechurch,andeschatologyservetostructureorthodoxbelief.Theologians’interestsintran-scendentalknowledge,Taylorargues,tendtoswamptheirconcernswithintheimminent,politicalframe.ThesecondisthehabitofinterpretingMalick’sfilmsthroughthelensof,asHannahPattersonhascalledit,an“Edenicyearningtorecapturealostwholeness”,whichmeansMalickisoftenassumedtobemoreinterested inretrospectivereflectionthaninconsideringpresent-daypoliticalpossibilities.3

Beginning with TheTreeofLife,allofMalick’srecentfilms–exceptTheVoy-ageofTime(US2015),atwo-partdocumentaryexaminingthebirthanddeathoftheknownuniverse–havebeensetinthepresentday.SowhilevisionsofnostalgicrecoverymaystillbereadinMalick’sworksince2011,perceivedcon-ceptions of a romanticized past inMalick’s films are not the hindrance theyonce were. That the political vision of TheTreeofLife has not elicited more attentionfromtheologiansismoredifficulttofathom,however,foritisnotsoeasy to separate the political from the theological. To put this point in terms ofaphrasemadepopularbysecond-wavefeminism,itisnotjustthepersonal

2 Taylor2011,53.3 Patterson2007,15.

168 | Russell C. Powell www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 167–185

thatispolitical,butthetheological is inherently political too. The fact that the theologicalsignificanceofTheTreeofLife seems to have overwhelmed theolo-gians’awarenessofitspoliticalresonanceservestobolsterTaylor’scriticismofprofessionaltheology’sinattentivenesstoextradiscursiveinterpretivefactors.

Interpreting TheTreeofLife in relation to two cornerstone traditions in the historyoftheAmericandebateoverreligion,ethics,andpoliticalcommunity–Augustinianism and Emersonianism – can give a start to acknowledging thefilm’spoliticalvision. JeffreyStout, inhisbookDemocracy and Tradition,pro-vides a helpful conceptual framework for understanding these traditions and thestickingpointsoftheirdisagreement.Thefirststrand,Augustinianism,“isthat of orthodox Christianity from the Puritanism of Plymouth Rock to the de-nominational soupofourownday”,Stout says.4 This strand emphasizes the efficacyofinstitutionalauthoritytochastenhumannature,which,Augustiniansbelieve,hasbeenvitiatedbytheeffectsoforiginalsin.Thesecondstrand,Em-ersonianism,takesmostseriouslythequestionofcharacterasapre-requisitefor considering the conditions and arrangements of society. In the history of Americanpolitics,saysStout,thesetwostrandshavebuttedheadsmoreoftenthan not:

[Emerson]andhisfollowershavebeenengagedinatugofwarwithorthodoxChris-tiansoverthefutureofAmericanpiety.Christians,evermindfulofAugustine’sgreatwork,The City of God,haveneverbeenreluctanttocondemntheEmersoniansforunderestimatingthehumanspirit’sneedforunsettledinstitutionalandcommunalforms,includingastructureofchurchauthoritytoreininspiritualexcess.TheEmer-sonians,fortheirpart,wouldratherquitthechurchthangrantthatsomeholderofchurchofficeorevenademocraticallyorganizedcongregationhastheauthoritytoadministerthedistinctionsbetweensavedanddamned,saintandsinner,trueandfalseprophet,scriptureandapocrypha.Aboveall,theyhavebeenpersuadedfromthe beginning that the idea of original sin is blight on the human spirit. Orthodox Christianssenseinallthistheerrorsofancientheresies–MontanistandPelagian,tobeprecise–andhavenevertiredofprophesyingagainstthem.5

TheconflictbetweenAugustiniansandEmersoniansmapswellonto the tra-ditionaldividethatpersistsbetweensecularenvironmentalistsandChristians,namely evangelicals. Ideological tensions have long frustrated Christian and secular groups’ collaboration on ecological concerns. Evangelical Christians,forone,worrythatenvironmentalistpoliticssupplanttheocentricvalues.Theirconcern is with idolatry to the extent that environmentalists can be interpreted asreframingdevotiontoGodasdevotiontotheearth.The inclinationto,as

4 Stout2004,19.5 Stout2004,20.


Augustine says in his Confessions,“abandonthehigherandsupremegoods…thatis…God,[God’s]truth,and[God’s]law”inpursuitofinferiorgoods,whichnodoubthave theirdelightsbut“arenotcomparable to…God”, isamarkofhumans’sinfulnature.6Bettertocheckone’scommitmenttoearthlygoodsagainstamorethoroughgoingcommitmenttoGod,thesummum bonum. Envi-ronmentalistshavetheoppositeconcern.EnvironmentalistsworryChristians’faithcommitmentsdistractfromaddressingtoday’smostpressingecologicalproblems.Whenonegoodisenshrinedaboveall,othergoodsworthyofmoralconsiderationinevitablygetcurtailed–orsosecularenvironmentalistthinkingtends to go.

All this plays out in the distrust we see between environmentalists and evan-gelicalstoday.ManyChristianshavecometoregardenvironmentalists’politicaleffortson issues like climatechangewith suspicion, somegoing so far as toadoptalineofargumentfamouslyarticulatedbythenovelistMichaelCrichton,who, in2003,criticizedenvironmentalismasakindofnewreligion.7 Environ-mentalists,though,whoarecognizantofhowChristians’politicalinfluencehasbeenco-optedbyfree-marketneo-liberalideologuesreciprocateevangelicals’distrust by remaining cautious about engaging too much with evangelical or-ganizations.Recent instances likeevangelicals’coordinatedresistancetotheU.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency’sattemptstoregulatecoalmininginAp-palachiaonlyservetoreinforceenvironmentalists’circumspection.8

NARRATIVE AND VISIONARY FILMMAKING

Where does TheTreeofLifefitinallofthis?MyargumentisthatwhilethebasiccontentofMalick’sfilmisAugustinian,TheTreeofLife is thoroughly Emersoni-an in form. I will demonstrate this by considering the role narrative plays in TheTreeofLife – inhowMalick’spropensitytodispensewithtraditionalnarrativeforminfavorofamoreexperimentalapproachtohisfilmmakingrevealsarad-ical vision of politics more aligned with American avant-garde cinema than with Christian orthodoxy. This is not to say that TheTreeofLife’spoliticsisdivorcedfromitstheology,justthatthefilm’spoliticshasasmuchtodowithitscinemat-ic construction as with its theological interests. Notmany non-documentary films from the last ten years deal as explicit-

lywiththethemeofhumanity’srelationshipwithnatureasdoesTheTreeofLife.ThisthemeisstandardfareforMalick’slargeroeuvre,butTheTreeofLife marksadistinctiveturninMalick’swillingnesstoexploretheparticularChristian

6 Augustine1998,30.7 SeeNelson2012.8 See,e.g.,Weaver2014.


frameworks which bolster his philosophical inquiries.9Forinstance,TheTreeofLifeopenswithanepigraphfromtheBookofJob(“WherewereyouwhenIlaidthefoundationsoftheearth?…WhenthemorningstarssangtogetherandallthesonsofGodshoutedforjoy?”[Job38:4,7]).MalickalsoutilizesChristianconceptualconventionslike“nature”and“grace”toframetherelationaldy-namicsbetweencharactersandthefilm’soverallstructuralorganization.Andfinally,TheTreeofLife is chock full of allusions to traditional Christian theolog-icaltropes(e.g.,thefilmconcludeswitharousingrenditionofcorporealresur-rection,settothescoreofHectorBerlioz’s1837RequiemMass;seefigs.1a–b).Given the frequencyofsuch referential touchpoints, it isnotsurprising thatmost theological interpretations of TheTreeofLife are patently Augustinian.

9 Films like Badlands(US1973),DaysofHeaven(US1978),TheThinRedLine(US1998),andTheNewWorld(US2005)eachdealwithhuman-naturerelationalitywithoutovertreferenceto Christian theological concepts. In these films,Malick is especially interested in thewayshumanmalfeasancesarereflectedinhumans’connectiontonature.InBadlands,forinstance,thefilm’stwomaincharacters,KitandHolly,recovertoanEdenoftheirmakinginthewoodsofSouthDakotabutareforcedto leave itbehindwhenmarshalscomelookingforKit,whomurderedHolly’sfatherinafitofpassion.Inanotherexample,TheThinRedLine,afilmaboutthepivotalbattleofGuadalcanalduringtheSecondWorldWar,examinestheviolenceinherenttothenaturalworldasitisreflectedinhumanconflict.

Figs. 1a–b: The dead emerge from their resting places in The

Tree of Life’s finale (Terrence Malick, US 2011), 02:05:02;

02:05:16.


Often emphasized in these interpretations is the condition of alienation in whichhumansabideasaresultoftheirmisguidedloves–asureindicationofagiveninterpretation’sAugustinianslant.Whetheritisduetoone’sfailingtotreatGodasthehighestgoodorotherwisesomeperversionofthewill,TheTreeofLifetreatsexperiencesofisolationandestrangement–theconsequencesofhumansin–asdramaticfodder.Nowhereisthismoreevidentthaninthefilm’sdepictionofJack,theeldestsonoftheO’Brienfamily,whoisthefilm’smaincharacter.Yetforallthis,thereissomethingdecidedlyun-Augustinian about TheTree

ofLife’scinematiccomplexion.Itakethis“something”–whichIidentifywiththeEmersonianartisticheritage–tobewhatmakesthepoliticsofMalick’sfilmso interesting. Consider the role (or lack of a role) narrative plays in TheTreeofLife.ThefilmplaysoutlikeaseriesofrecountingsfromJack’sformativeyears,tacking back and forth from the present to the past. On the anniversary of his brotherR.L.’sdeath,Jack,playedbySeanPennanddepictedinadulthoodasanarchitectworkinginHouston,thinksbackonhistimegrowingupinmid-cen-turysuburbanTexas(wherethe lion’sshareof thefilm isset).Asegmentofthefilm isalsodevoted to imaging thebirthandchronologicaldevelopmentof the cosmos.Malick juxtaposes theprogressof thephysical universewiththeprogressof theO’Brien’s familialuniverse,whereadolescentmaturationand the dynamics of a marriage under duress are as complex as the dawn and emergenceofallexistence(figs.2a–b).Asidefromthebasicprogressoftime,however,TheTreeofLife is much less reliant on traditional narrative logic than Malick’sotherfilms.

Unlike DaysofHeaven (US1978),TheNewWorld (US2005),TotheWonder (US2012),andSongtoSong (US2017),thereisnolovetriangleimpellingTheTreeofLife’splotforward.TheTreeofLife instead is far more attuned to quo-tidian experience than to narrative convention. And while the mystery imbuing theeveryday–whatStanleyCavelltermed“theuncanninessoftheordinary”–undoubtedlyhasaplaceinallofMalick’sfilmography(mostwillattributethistohisHeideggerianphilosophicalbent),nowhereisMalickasattentivetothephenomena of common experience as in TheTreeofLife.10

Eschewingtraditionalnarrativeashedoes,Malickassumestheprimacyofthevisual.TheresultissimilartowhatthefilmscholarWilliamWeescallsa“cine-maofexemplarity”,oracinemathatinvolvesthefilmmakerofferingtheirworkasanexampleofhowonemightbegintosee,andultimatelythink,foroneselfin novel ways.11Narrativefilmmakingand,moregenerally,representationalfilmrequire conventions and norms of movement such as chronological relations

10 Cavell1988,153–181.11 Wees1992,80.


between images.Narrative-basedfilms,then, legitimateanecessaryorderofcausality.Politicallyspeaking,theyoftenworkwithintherealmofestablishedforms,reinforcingtheperceivednecessityofcertainsocialarrangementsandinstitutions.YetthepoliticalupshotofMalick’svisionarycinema is thedenial ofsuchanecessaryorder.Anyobject,event,orfeelingisrathertheoccasionforasurprising,undeterminedeffect.Sometimesthateffectistochallengethesocialorderandthepoliticalnormsthatgroundit.Sometimesthateffectistothrowsociety’spresentarrangementsintodoubt,andevenintocrisis.Fortheviewer of the kind of cinema of exemplarity I am identifying with TheTreeofLife,any reaction toMalick’sfilmcanbecometheoccasion foranyoutcomeatall.Anyinstantmaybecomeforthevieweranoccasionfortransformation,whetherthatbepersonal,social,orboth.12

It is a fundamental quality of the Augustinian tradition to be bound up by narrative logicandstructuring,afactwhichhasbeennotedbymyriadschol-arsofreligionandculture.PaulRicoeur,forinstance,arguedAugustine,inhis

12 Iborrowthelanguageof“occasionalism”fromTyrusMiller(Miller2005),whoseanalysisofthecinema of Stan Brakhage and romantic politics is of a similar mind to my analysis of Malick here. MyhighlightingtheEmersonianvisionasundergirdingMalick’sTheTreeofLifecouldjustaswellservetohighlightthatwhichundergirdsBrakhage’sfilms.

Fig. 2a–b: The Tree of Life juxtaposes the birth and progress of the physical

universe with the more modest (but no less complicated)

universe of the O’Brien family (Terrence Malick, US 2011),

00:23:03; 01:20:56.


Confessions,engagedin“emplotment”,orthesynthesisofheterogeneousandseeminglydiscordantelements,incidents,andeventsintoaconcordantunity.13 Augustine’s transformation frompagan sinner toChristian convert coincideswiththeoperationtogatherthedisparatefactorsofhislifeintoatotality–astory,inotherwords.ThestoryAugustinetells,Ricoeursays,presentstimeascharacterizedbyintegration,culmination,andclosure:integrationbecause,asIhavejustnoted,narrativeblendselementsandeventswhoseconnectionmayseemaccidentalorarbitraryintoaunifiedwhole;culminationbecausetime,attheconclusionofagivennarrative,isrevealedtopossessmeaningandultimacyinretrospect;andclosureinthattimeisunderstoodtohavepassedandflowedaway,havingleftanindeliblemarkonthepresent.Thepoliticsofthenarratedstoryservetoeitherjustifythewaythingsareorpointtowardsomeconcretedirection the future should take as a result of things having happened the way theyhave.ForAugustine,moreoftenthannotthediscordanceofthepastne-cessitates the concordance that institutions like government and the church bringtobearonhumanhistory.Asstaplesofsocialorganization,theseinstitu-tionsmitigatethemostconsequentialeffectsofhumansin,sothuspromoteunity now and in the future.

The Emersonian tradition I have been contrasting with that of Augustinian-ismtakesadifferentapproachtoconstructingmeaning,at least inasmuchastheEmersonianartisticheritageistakenupinAmericanfilmmaking.Narrativeisanexclusionarydevice–“plots”,asDonDeLillohassaid,“reducetheworld”.14 To emplot a story is to construct an intelligible whole from the innumerable fac-etsofhistory,highlightingcertainelements,incidents,andeventsanddiminish-ingthesignificanceofwhateverelse.Mostfilms,andnearlyallfilmsproducedbyHollywoodsincethemiddleofthelastcentury,operateinthisfashion,em-ploying narrative to make and structure meaning. It is not that Emersonianism jettisonsnarrativeentirely,justthatitemplotsstoryinadifferentway.ForEm-erson,timeisnotthestageuponwhichstoryisconfiguredfromchronologicalsuccession but is rather a series of incidents with no discernible organization. As such,timeisopenandindefinite.Time,astheavowedEmersonianHenryDavidThoreau put it in Walden, “isbutthestreamIgoa-fishingin”.15

Withthisalternativeconceptionoftime,theEmersoniantradition ismuchless concerned with constructing linear narratives so as to identify meaning in historythanwithplumbingthepossibilitiesinherentinthepresent.“WiththepastIhavenothingtodo;norwiththefuture”,Emersonwroteinhisjournal–“I

13 Ricoeur1990.14 DeLillo2001.15 Thoreau2008,70.


livenow.”16 In his best-known essays Emerson imbued his prose with invitations andprovocationstohisreaderstofulfilltheiruntappedpotential,tofollowtheirgenius wherever it may lead. What matters most is being oneself and seeing the worldasonlyyoumight,institutionsortraditionsbedamned.“WhathaveItodowiththesacrednessoftraditions,ifIlivewhollyfromwithin?”Emersonasksin“Self-Reliance”.Hegoeson,“Myfriendsuggested,–‘Buttheseimpulsesmaybefrombelow,notfromabove.’Ireplied,‘Theydonotseemtometobesuch;butifIamtheDevil’schild,IwilllivethenfromtheDevil.’Nolawcanbesacredtomebutthatofmynature.”17Historyisaffirmednotinhindsight,butinthewaysitisembodiedinhumanity’spotentialtoday.P.AdamsSitneyidentifiesAmericanavant-gardefilmmakingwithEmerson-

ianism in the ways it employs cinema as an instrument of self-discovery.18 This connects with Wees’s concept of cinematic exemplarity mentioned earlier.AmericanfilmmakerslikeStanBrakhage,JonasMekas,MarieMenken,andSuFriedrich,Sitneyshows,workininterrelatedmodesofcameramovement,su-perimposition,associativeediting,andthedisjunctionsoflanguageandimageto link the exhilarations of their cinematic inventions to the eccentricities of their personality and experience. Like Augustine in his Confessions, themostvisionaryAmericanavant-gardefilmmakers center their arton theirpersonallivesandtheprojecttoelucidatetheunconscious.YetunlikeAugustine–andthisiswhatalliesthesefilmmakerswithEmerson,toSitney’smind–visionaryavant-gardefilmmakersconsiderthemeasureofaworkofartnotitscapacitytoemplotnarrative,butthedegreetowhichitcansurpriseandtherebyexhila-rateitsmaker.“Theonethingwhichweseekwithinsatiabledesire”,Emersonwritesattheconclusionofhisessay“Circles”,“istoforgetourselves,tobesur-prisedoutofourpropriety,toloseoursempiternalmemory,andtodosome-thingwithoutknowinghoworwhy.”19IntheaddressEmersondeliveredin1837tothegraduatingclassatHarvardDivinitySchool,heidentifiedthiscapacityfortransformative experience and self-possession as the very means of incarnating Godintheworld.Inthisway,thecreativeexhilarationinheringinavant-gardefilmpossessesEmerson’scalltoenfleshdivinityinthehereandnow.

PERFECTEXHILARATIONASPOLITICALVISION

WhatmakesMalick’sTheTreeofLife interesting as far as its politics are con-cerned is that it draws from both the Emersonian and Augustinian traditions in order to address questions like: What is the appropriate relationship between

16 Emerson1912,255.17 Emerson1983,262.18 Sitney2008.19 Emerson1983,414.


humansandnature,andwhatvisionofpoliticsshouldorderthatrelationship?Ihave already noted that a kind of Augustinian soul-searching compels much of thefilm’sprogress.Acombinationofhumans’disorderedlovesandthealien-ation which results therefrom has led to our fractured relationships with each other and with nature. This is imaged in the strained interpersonal dynamics be-tweencharacterslikeJackandhisfather,Mr.O’Brien(playedbyBradPitt).Sim-ilarly,thebuiltenvironmentofdowntownHouston,withitsimpersonalsymme-try,dramatizesJack’soverallsenseofestrangement(seefigs.3a–b).Asbothachild and a grown man Jack is a stranger in a strange land. All this grounds TheTreeofLife’sAugustiniantheologicalrationale.

But the means whereby Malick suggests individuals might overcome their alienation are expressly Emersonian. Malick reveals American avant-garde cine-ma’sinfluenceonhiswork–andsimilarly,theEmersonianismthatgroundstheAmericanavant-gardetradition–byinstantiatingthesortofpoliticsofexem-plarity I have been pointing up. The autobiographical nature of TheTreeofLife (Malick,likeJack,grewupinsmall-townTexasinthemiddleofthetwentiethcentury,andhetoolosthisyoungerbrotherwhenhewasayoungman),pairedwithMalick’shabitofshootingwithoutascript,usingonlyaSteadicamtofol-lowhisactorstocatchthetruthoftheirconditionandcircumstances,indicate

Figs. 3a–b: Father-son relational dynamics and the built environment of downtown Houston serve to invoke a sense of modern alienation in The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, US 2011), 01:43:54; 00:15:34.


Figs. 4a–d: The Tree of Life is dotted with numerous means of physical ascent, suggesting

spiritual progress and self-transformation (Terrence

Malick, US 2011), 02:05:11; 00:41:13; 00:15:24; 02:04:55.


a similar deployment of cinema as a tool for introspective discovery. The sur-prise and exhilaration Jack undergoes when realizing the potential for his rec-onciliation with the world at TheTreeofLife’sconclusionaresuggestiveofthesurprise and exhilaration we can only imagine Malick has felt in his realization that the conditions of overcoming his own alienation abide in the possibility of seeingthingsinanewlight.Themanymodesofascentportrayedinthefilm(ladders,stairs,elevators,etc.)presumetheinfinitepossibilityofself-reckoningandtransformation(figs.4a–d).Nevertheless, it istemptingto interpret intheresurrection imageryatThe

TreeofLife’sdenouementafull-throatedavowalofAugustiniansalvationhis-tory’sultimatetrajectory.ThisimagerycallstomindthevisionofanewheavenandearthadvancedinthebookofRevelation,whereinsufferingyieldstosol-ace,wrongsarerighted,anddeathisannulled(21:1–8;seefigs.5a–d).Accord-ingtoRevelation,earthlycircumstances,nomatterhowindissolubletheymayseem,possessnorealfinality.OnlyGod’sdeliveranceintheagetocomewillsatisfythedemandsforaper-

fect justice. Itwasowingtothe imperfectionwithwhich justice isrealized inworldlypolitics,infact,thatAugustinefeltdeeplyambivalenttowardtemporalprojectsaimedatestablishinganidealsociety.Christians,hebelieved,neednotchance too much on accomplishing what only God can bring about at the escha-ton.Augustine’saffirmationofprovidenceanddivineorderworkstocounter-actthesuspicionthatforceslikecontingency,luck,andblindfate,whichinhabitprojects to realizea true justiceonearth,willhave thefinal say.20Fromthis,William Connolly concludes that political Augustinianism is governed by its need to defend the vision of an intrinsic moral order.21 This vision of a mysterious butneverthelessorganizeduniverse,alwaysbeingshepherdedtoitsultimatefruition,demandsthatallformsofdeviance,queerness,ortheunexpectedbecurbed,lesttheorderofthingsbeupsetandthrownintodisarray.Yetdeviance,strangeness,evenabsurdity–allthesethingsEmersonianism

embracesaspotentialresultsofexhilaratingexperience.HenceEmerson’sownabsurdexperienceofbecominga transparent, all-seeingeyeballwhile, ashesays in Nature,“[c]rossingabareNewEnglandcommon, insnowpuddles,attwilight, under a clouded sky”.22 And hence Emersonians like Walt Whitman promotedEmerson’smethodofprivilegingmomentsofcreativeexhilaration.Whitman,liketheavant-gardefilmmakersSitneytreats,believedanyvariationof the shared world is possible if glimpsed with the insight borne of ecstatic fan-cy.Whatthisentailsisaradicalrejectionoftheconventionsoftime,tradition,

20 SeeBook19inAugustine2003.ForastandardinterpretationofBook19oftheCity of God,seeO’Donovan2003.

21 Connolly2002.22 Emerson1983,10.


Fig. 5a–d: The pain of old age is removed, families are re-united, and reality’s veneer is stripped away in the apo-

calypse depicted at The Tree of Life’s conclusion (Terrence Malick, US 2011), 02:08:52;

02:08:53; 02:08:44; 02:09:48.


andhistory.Anyinstant,accordingtoEmersonandhisprogeny,cantransformthe perceiver so as to help them see beyond established patterns of custom andhabit.Exhilarationmakesthefamiliarstrange,instillingintheseeravisionofanewheavenandearth;heavenindeedhasbeenrealizedintheseer’seyes.Furthermore,allsenseofone’salienationfromtheworldisremovedatthemo-mentofunitiveepiphany.Emersonhimselfatteststothis,notinginNature how hesensedan“occultrelation”begintoabidebetweenhimandotherbeings,sopowerfulwashisownexperienceofecstatic reverie.“Iamnotaloneandunacknowledged”,Emersonwrites.Thetrees,thegrass,andallotherlifeformsconstitutiveofthebiome“nodtome,andItothem”.23

Seeninthislight,TheTreeofLife’sconclusioncancometoseemmorelikethesortofecstaticrevelationEmersonfirstpromulgatedinNature than an at-testationtothetruthofChristianeschatologicalorthodoxy.Thefilm’sendingwithJackamblingamongthegroundsaroundhisofficebuilding,asifinadaze,onlybolstersthepoint–hemightaswellbecrossingabareNewEnglandcom-mon.Jack’sepiphanicrealizationhasopenedhiseyes.Theveryconditionsofhisunionwiththeworld,and,moreover,hisandtheworld’sresultingtransfor-

23 Emerson1983,11.

Fig. 6–b: Outside, Jack delights in the renewal of his vision (Terrence Malick, US 2011), 02:12:05; 02:12:12.


mation,persist inthepossibilityofhisfinallyseeing ontological oneness. The occasionforthissortofsightisalwaysavailable,waitingtobeactualized,andwhenitis,suchexperiencesgiverisetointensesensationsofrapture.NotonlyisthisthefirsttimeweseeJackappeartoexpressafeelingresemblingsome-thinglikejoyinthefilm,butatthemomentofhiseuphoria,Jackalsoisoutside.Nolongerishecloisteredinthebuiltenvironment,whichuntilthenhadbeensymbolicofhisestrangementfromtheworld(figs.6a–b).

Such experiences of exhilaration are politically disruptive since they stake nothingoncausalconsequence,andthereforenothingontraditionalandhis-torical narrative-based methods of meaning-making. The individual and their ac-cesstoecstaticrevelationistheprimelocusofconcern,notsocialinstitutionswhich often function to curb individualism to secure more favorable prospects for social order. There is good reason governments feel hostile toward charis-maticvisionaries,whichisthesamereasontheestablishedchurchhashistori-callydistrustedmysticswholingeronthemarginsofthefaith–toreceiveexhil-aratinginsightistoreceiveanunsettlingpower,strongenoughtosurpriseusoutofourproprietyandtraditionalcommitments.Thisforce,ifleftunchecked,is strong enough even to upset institutionalized conventions whose ways have become so culturally engrained that the chances of their ever changing almost requiretheradicalinbreakingoftranshistoricalpoliticalvision.Forthisreason,GeorgeKatebidentifiesinEmerson’spoliticsakindofanarchist“wildness”.24 Itisnotjustthatapoliticsofecstaticvisionfailstoconformtothenormsandhabitsofpublicreason,butthatsuchapoliticsoftenwillcallthefoundationsofpublic order themselves into question.

CONCLUSION

Thoughsociety’smostpowerful institutionsandoverallorganizationmayap-pearimmutable,suchappearancesarenotindicativeofsociety’s–andnolesstheworld’s– truenature.This isConnolly’sargument inhisbookThe Fragili-ty of Things.25Myriadself-organizingecologiesconstituteourworld,includinggeological, biological, and climate systems, aswell as cultural and economicsystems with multiform relations and complex entanglements. Because these manysystemsharbortheirowncreativecapacities–fromtectonicshiftsontheearth’ssurfacetotheso-called“logic”ofthemarket–which,inturn,ramifyinthelargerecosystemsinwhichtheyparticipate,theworld,Connollyconcludes,isdoubtlessafragileplace,easilyspunroundbytheslightestchangeinhumanandnonhumanfields.

24 Kateb2006,245–271.25 Connolly2013.


Anawarenessoftheworld’sfragilityundergirdsEmerson’sthinkingontheoutsized role individuals of visionary genius play in social transformations. “Therearenofixturesinnature”,Emersonwritesintheessay“Circles”.“Theuniverseisfluidandvolatile.Permanenceisbutawordofdegrees.”26 This be-ingthecase,revelationderivedfromexhilarating,ecstaticexperience,Emersoncontends,shouldsetthecourseofhistory,nottraditionsofthepastnorthedic-tates of institutional authority. To receive revelation is to receive a kind of divine power,muchasChristdidmillenniaago.ForitwasChrist,Emersonwrites,whofully realized “thatGod incarnates himself inman, and evermore goes forthanewtotakepossessionofhisworld”.27 The implication is that those who pro-fess a belief in Christ should do the same. Historically Augustinians have found anidealikethiscontemptuous,fearingthechaosthatwouldresultfromasoci-ety composed of individuals believing themselves capable of all that Christ was andaccomplished.Conversely,EmersoniansrespondbychargingChristiansofacting,inEmerson’swords,“asifGodweredead”.28

Augustinians and Emersonians will both assent to the idea that God still deigns to revealGodself to humanbeings, despite their disagreementsoverhow the politics of that revelation should be chastened by the church or civil authority. That Malick so integrates an Emersonian cinematic experimentalism into a traditional Christian framework for theological inquiry is what makes TheTreeofLifesopoliticallyremarkable.Forafilmsoattunedtothefundamen-talquestionsofChristiantheology–What isthecharacterofGod,aswellasofthenaturalworld?Andwhatisthenatureofhumans’relationshiptoboth?Whencearesufferinganddeathderived?Willtheybeovercomeinthislifeorthenext?–Malickisnotsatisfiedtogivehisaudiencemanyanswers.Jack,atthe culmination of his euphoric vision during TheTreeofLife’sfinale,maybesaid to have come upon a few answers himself, but our own perception ofJack’sexhilarationonlybolsterswhatItaketobetheheartofMalick’sratherEmersonianpoint– that it is theaudience’s task,not thefilmmaker’s, to seetheir way through the process of overcoming their alienation from the world. LikeEmerson,themostMalickiswillingtodoisdetailthewaysinwhichhehasconceivedofaperfectexhilarationwroughtbyrevelatoryinsight.Itisuptous,however,toseekoutwhateveritisweeventuallymightfindthroughwhatevermeansrevelation(anditsattendantexhilaration)findsus.

Perhaps in the end visions like that which Malick portrays Jack undergoing at TheTreeofLife’sconclusionwill leadindividualsawayfromthechurch,aswasthecaseforEmersoninthelate1830s,afterheexperiencedhisownexhil-

26 Emerson1983,403.27 Emerson1983,80.28 Emerson1983,83.


aratingvision.“Wheneveramind…receivesadivinewisdom”,Emersonwroteat thispoint inhis life,“oldthingspassaway,–means, teachers, texts, tem-plesfall;itlivesnow,andabsorbspastandfutureintothepresenthour.”29 Yet such experiences of revelation need not always lead one away from established formsofreligiousauthority.Theyalsocan justaseasilyservetoaffirmone’scommitmenttoinstitutionalestablishments,albeitwitharenewedsenseofaninstitution’splaceandfunctionintheworld.SomethinglikethisoccurredwhenJohn of Patmos received the vision that eventually became the book of Reve-lation,atextthathasgonefarinbuttressingthechurch’sworldlysignificance.Theprospectiveendsofrevelatoryvision,then,arenottobeprioritizedinex-periences wherein exhilarating insight is acquired. Such ends are never prede-termined;werarelyareabletotellexactlywhererevelationwilllead.Instead,the simple willingness to remain open and available to ecstatic vision wherever itmightfindus–beitonaNewEnglandcommon,aremoteAegeanisland,orinaHoustonbusinesspark–shouldbeprizedaboveall.This,Isubmit,isthebasicreligio-political vision Malick casts with TheTreeofLife.

Inherent in this vision is also the prospect of religious-secular rapproche-ment.AugustiniansandEmersoniansstandtobenefitfromcollaboratingovertheirsharedappreciationofthenaturalworldasasiteofpotentialrevelation,and thus as a locus of extraordinary value that is worthy of protection. This lendsanewsignificancetoTheTreeofLife’sfinalimage–abridgeconnectingtwodiscreetlandmassesacrossawidebodyofwater(fig.7).Whilemuchwillcontinue to separate Augustinians from Emersonians on the nature of their po-liticalcommitments,toviewTheTreeofLife is nevertheless to acknowledge a visionofradicalpossibility,notjustofreconciliationbutofpoliticalpromiseand,ultimately,ofhope.Animportantfacetofthishopeisthatindividuals,whatevertheirpolitics,mightberestoredtoameaningfulrelationshipwiththeearth,andexperiencingthis,mightalsofinallycometogethertoprotectit.

29 Emerson1983,270.

Fig. 7: The bridge in The Tree of Life’s final shot (Terrence Malick, US 2011), 02:12:26.


BIBLIOGRAPHYAugustine,1998,Confessions,trans.HenryChadwick,NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress.Augustine,2003,CityofGod,trans.HenryBettenson,NewYork:Penguin.Barnett,ChristopherB./Elliston,ClarkJ.(eds.),2016,TheologyandtheFilmsofTerrenceMalick,

London: Routledge.Cavell,Stanley,1988,InQuestoftheOrdinary:LinesofSkepticismandRomanticism,Chicago:Uni-

versity of Chicago Press.Connolly,William,2002,TheAugustinianImperative:AReflectiononthePoliticsofMorality,Lan-

ham,MD:Rowman&Littlefield,2nded.Connolly,William,2013,TheFragilityofThings:Self-OrganizingProcesses,NeoliberalFantasies,and

DemocraticActivism,Durham,NC:DukeUniversityPress.DeLillo,Don,2001,IntheRuinsoftheFuture,TheGuardian,21December2001,https://www.the-

guardian.com/books/2001/dec/22/fiction.dondelillo[accessed21October2018].Emerson,RalphWaldo,1912,JournalsofRalphWaldoEmerson,ed.EdwardWaldoEmersonand

WaldoEmersonForbes,vol.5,Boston:HoughtonMifflin.Emerson,RalphWaldo,1983,Essays&Lectures,ed.JoelPorte,NewYork:LibraryofAmerica.Handley,GeorgeB.,2016,Faith,Sacrifice,andtheEarth’sGlory inTerrenceMalick’sTheTreeof

Life,in:Bradantan,Costica/Ungureanu,Camil(eds.),CinemaandSacrifice,London:Routledge.Kateb,George,2006,PatriotismandOtherMistakes,NewHaven,CT:YaleUniversityPress.Larsen,Josh,2017,MoviesArePrayers:HowFilmsVoiceOurDeepestLongings,DownersGrove,

IL: IVP Books.Leary,M.,2011,TreeofLifeasBiblicalTheology,TheOtherJournal,3September2011,https://

theotherjournal.com/2011/09/03/tree-of-life-as-biblical-theology/[accessed23October2018].Leithart,PeterJ.,2013,ShiningGlory:TheologicalReflectionsonTerrenceMalick’sTheTreeofLife,

Eugene,OR:CascadeBooks.Miller,Tyrus,2005,Brakhage’sOccasions:Figure,Subjectivity,andAvant-GardePolitics,in:James,

DavidE.(ed.),StanBrakhage:Filmmaker,Philadelphia:TempleUniversityPress,174–95.Nelson,RobertH.,2012,Environmentalism:TheNewReligionFreelyTaughtinSchools,Forbes,27

March 2012, https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/03/27/environmentalism-the-new-re-ligion-freely-taught-in-schools/#130dbedc6659[accessed25October2018].

O’Donovan,Oliver,2003,ThePoliticalThoughtofCity of God19,in:O’Donovan,Oliver/LockwoodO’Donovan,Joan(eds.),BondsofImperfection:ChristianPolitics,PastandPresent,GrandRap-ids,MI:Eerdmans,48–72.

Patterson,Hannah,2007,Introduction:PoeticVisionsofAmerica,in:Patterson,Hannah(ed.),TheCinemaofTerrenceMalick:PoeticVisionsofAmerica,NewYork:ColumbiaUniversityPress,1–12.

Ricoeur, Paul, 1990, Time andNarrative, 3 vols., trans. KathleenMcLaughlin, David Pellaur, andKathleenBlamey,Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress.

Sitney,P.Adams,2008,EyesUpsideDown:VisionaryFilmmakersandtheHeritageofEmerson,NewYork: Oxford University Press.

Stout,Jeffrey,2004,DemocracyandTradition,Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress.Taylor,MarkLewis,2011,TheTheologicalandthePolitical:OntheWeightoftheWorld,Minneap-

olis,MN:FortressPress.Thoreau,HenryDavid,2008,Walden,CivilDisobedience,andOtherWritings,ed.WilliamRossi,New

York: W. W. Norton.Weaver, Aaron, 2014, The EPA and Evangelical (Anti)Environmentalism, Religion Dispatches, 15

August2014,http://religiondispatches.org/the-epa-and-evangelical-antienvironmentalism/[ac-cessed25October2018].

Wees,WilliamC.,1992,LightMovinginTime:StudiesintheVisualAestheticsofAvant-GardeFilm,Berkeley: University of California Press.


FILMOGRAPHYBadlands(TerrenceMalick,US1973).Daysof Heaven(TerrenceMalick,US1978).SongtoSong(TerrenceMalick,US2017).TheNewWorld(TerrenceMalick,US2005).TheThinRedLine(TerrenceMalick,US1998).TheTreeofLife(TerrenceMalick,US2011).TheVoyageofTime(TerrenceMalick,US2015).TotheWonder(TerrenceMalick,US2012).


Media Reviews

Adam Bajan

Book Review Marcus Moberg: Church, Market, and Media A Discursive Approach to Institutional Religious ChangeLondon:Bloomsbury,2017,202pp.,ISBN978-1-4742-8057-0

Inaneraofapatheticsecularism,MarcusMobergoffersupafinelytuneddis-cursive analysis ofmainline Protestant efforts to increase relevance throughmarketization that is as original as it is thought provoking. As a socio-cultural practice,marketization involves a combination of free-market ideas and thecontinuous development of new media technologies to communicate these ideas(6).Accordingly,Moberg’sprincipalthesisisthattheseideasanddevelop-mentshaveinfiltratedreligiousorganizations,wheretheyquicklybecomepartofdiscursivestructureswithintheseorganizationsandarereflectedinofficialchurch communication. It is these discursive structures which Moberg focuses on in his engaging and lively analysis.Followingadetailedintroductiontothestudyofreligion,markets,andmedia

inthefirstchapter,Mobergaptlynotesthatpreviousstudiesinthisfieldhavelargelyfocusedontheeffectsofmediatizationonreligiousgroupswhileignor-inghowtheseeffectsmaybe rooted in free-market ideasandneoliberalcul-ture,thusgivingthebookitsraison d’être.Thebook’ssecondandthirdchaptersprovide a detailed review of canonical literature on critical discourse analysis and the various theoretical approaches used in the study of religion and media. Whiletheseearlychaptersarebynomeansuninteresting,theyarequitetypicalof contemporary scholarship focusing on the intersection of religion and media. However, thebook’s fourthandfifthchaptersaregivenoverentirely toa

verydetailedanalysisofofficialchurchdocumentsatsevenmainlineProtestantchurches infivecountries.Theseare, inorderofappearance: thePresbyteri-anChurch(USA),UnitedMethodistChurch,theEvangelicalLutheranChurchinAmerica,theChurchofEngland,andthenationalchurchesofDenmark,Sweden,andFinland.Specifically,Moberg’sanalysisinvolvesacriticaldiscourseanalysis(CDA)of79publiclyavailabledocumentsfromthesechurchesincludinganad-ditionalreadingofafurther47documents,33ofwhichareusedinthisvolume.

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Throughouthisanalysis,Mobergarguesforthe influenceofmarketizationonreligiousorganizations,notingthattheseinfluencesbecomereifiedin“thepromotionandcirculationofcertainclustersof[religious]discourses”thataredeeplyrootedinneoliberalism(48).ThisistosaythataCDAofpubliclyavailablechurchdocumentsrevealsthepresenceofneoliberalideologies,specificallyinthe rationale for the adoption of new public management (NPM) techniques as instrumentsoforganizationalchange. Itmustbeemphasized,however, thatwhileculturalcontextisafactorinMoberg’sanalysis(namelyinhowculturaldifferenceshaveaffectedthehistoricaldevelopmentofreligiosityinthestudy’schosencountries),thisisnotthefocusofthebook.Instead,MobergchoosestofocusontheneoliberalunderpinningsofNPM

techniques and how these techniques impact the communication strategies of mainline churches where they are used to increase public visibility and there-foremarket share.AsMobergdefines them,NPMtechniquesare“premisedontheideathatthepublicsectorwillbenefitfromadoptingtheorganizationalcultures,routines,andpracticesoftheprivatesector”(49).ThesignificanceofthistoMoberg’sstudyisthatchurchesarenoexceptiontothisidea.Indeed,Moberg is quick to point out that the sharp decline in social and cultural impor-tanceandinfluenceofmainlineProtestantchurchessincethe1960shasbeenmetinrecentyearsbyneoliberaleffortstomaintainsocialrelevanceviaNPM;which is to say that these churches desire to increase their public visibility and therefore their market share.

Exactly how this occurs is an aspect of the book that Moberg fails to fully address,however.Forexample,whileheisquicktopointoutthatmarketiza-tionservesasan“agent”ofinstitutionalreligiouschange,hecandidlyadmitsthatitdoesnotactuallyexerciseanyagencyinandofitself(54).Asheseesit,thedisplayofmarketizationdiscoursesbyreligiousorganizationssignifiestheinfluenceof larger forcesof neoliberalism for the simple reason that churchdocuments display a deliberate, self-reflective understanding of the need toadoptstrategieswhichareimplicitlyneoliberal.Essentiallythen,Mobergpullsasleightofhandinthatheimplicitlyarguesthatneoliberalforces,dressedupasNPMpractices,havecreptintoreligiousspheresofinfluencebutthattheseforcesandpracticesarebynomeansadirectinfluenceandassuchshouldnotbeviewedfromareductionist,deterministicstandpointproducingagencyorcausality.Suchadeficiencypresentsaproblem.Ononehand,Mobergoffersupanex-

planationofhowmainlineProtestantchurchessufferingfromdecliningsocialrelevance hope to regain some of this relevance by the adoption of neoliberal ideologiesandNPMpractices,yetontheother,hisanalysisdoesnot initiallyaccountforwheretheimpetusforthischangestemsfrom.Moberg,however,believes he has found his way out of the trap of causality by invoking mediatiza-

190 | Adam Bajan www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 189–192

tiontheory.Broadlyspeaking,mediatizationdescribesaprocessinwhich“theinfluenceofmedia[…]hasgraduallyexpandedwithinvirtuallyeverydomainofsocietyandcultureandpublicandprivateeverydaylife”(58).Notably,mediati-zationisitselfadualprocessinwhichmedia“havesimultaneouslyalsoattainedthepositionofsocialinstitutionsintheirownright”(58).ThesignificanceofthisinregardtoMoberg’sstudyisthatheeffectivelyar-

gues that the marketization discourses within mainline Protestant institutions are themselves discursive elements of neoliberalism which Moberg links to pro-cessesofmediatization.CitingDavidHarvey,Mobergarguesthattheneoliberalpushtowardmaximizationofefficiencyinsocietyrequiresthedevelopmentofincreasinglyefficientinformationandcommunicationtechnologies(ICTs)nec-essaryforthe“accumulation,transfer,storage,anddisseminationofevermoremassiveloadsof information”(58).Withinthisneoliberalworldview,theme-diatizationofsocietyis inevitable,owingtothewidespreadpresenceofICTs,which are necessary for the rapid development of neoliberalism to occur.AsMobergargues,mediatizationissaidtooccuraseitheradirectoranindi-

rectprocess;theformeroccurringwhenun-mediatedactivitybecomesmediat-edandthelatter,whenanactivity,organization,orcontextbecomesgraduallyinfluencedbymediaovertime(58).ThesignificanceofthistoMoberg’sstudyisthatindirectmediatizationisseenasbeingintertwinedwithso-called“medialogics”ormetaphoricalframesofreferenceunderpinningthesubjugationandsubsumption of un-mediated activities by media. ForMoberg,thegradualadoptionofnewmediaandNPMtechniquesbyre-

ligiousorganizationsqualifiesasanindirectformofmediatization,onewhichsidesteps the recurring issue of causality by invoking media logics not as caus-al determinants but rather as one of many socio-cultural pressures inducing change.Admittedly,mediatizationtheoryismuchdebatedbyscholarswhoseethetheoryasconvenientalbeitdifficulttodemonstrateempirically.YetMobergmorethandoesthetheoryjusticeinhisuseofittoframethestudyathand.Mobergaccomplishesthisbybringingauniqueperspectivetomediatization,

onethatisperhapsnotsoobviousatfirstglance.CitingHeidiCampbell,Mobergargues that the culture of the internet and ICTs has led to the appearance of so-called“religiousdigitalcreatives”,orRDCs.AsMobergnotes,itisRDCswhohave the necessary skills and expertise to lend their services to religious organ-izations,helpingtheseorganizationstodeveloptheirstructuresandadapttothe“newtechnologicalrealities”ofcontemporarydigitallymediatedlifeandinso doing bridge the knowledge gap between neoliberal NPM techniques and religioustradition(69).Moberg’s implication of RDCs as a driving force for discursive religious

change which itself is representative of religious structural change via neolib-eralism and marketization is a valiant attempt to resolve the issue of causality

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inmediatization.However, it isnot clearwhetherhe isentirely successful indoing so. This is because although RDCs provide a potent source of legitimation forpressuringreligiousorganizationstoadaptorperish,theforceoftheirin-fluenceremainsempiricallyvague,evenifitsendresultisvisibleinthepubliclyavailable church documents that Moberg analyzed in his study.Taken together then, Moberg’s highly original combination of neoliberal-

ism,mediatization,andNPMdiscourseaptlydemonstratesthatwhiletheymayhavearrived lateat thegame,mainlineProtestant churchesare certainlynostrangers to changing with the times. As Moberg notes in the conclusion of his book,“practicalchangesintheorganizationalstructure,communicationprac-tices,andmodusoperandiofsocial institutionsandorganizationstendtobeprecededbychangesindiscursivepractices”(153).Mobergdemonstratesthiswith wit and zeal and his book serves as a much-needed and engaging contribu-tiontothestudyofreligion,media,andsociety.

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Grace Chiou

Book Review Anthony Hatcher: Religion and Media in AmericaLanham,MD:LexingtonBooks,2018,296pp., ISBN978-1498514446

Byconsideringculturalphenomenaincludingprotest,politics,production,pil-grimage,publishing,andparody,AnthonyHatcherestablisheshowthemedi-atization of religion furthers a religious thread in public life and what he calls the“Christianeffect”(xiv)intheUnitedStates.Heexamineshow“Christianitybothadaptstoandisaffectedbynewmediaforms”(ix)byinvestigatingthein-dividualsandorganizationsthatsubsidize,create,anddistributecontentrelat-edtoreligionandspirituality,particularlytoProtestantChristianity.Actorsandaudiences reinforce certain ideologies and resist and confront church practices. Hatcher’sthreegenresofinquiryarecivilreligion,religionandentertainment,and sacred and profane media. The book covers how both liberal and conserv-ativepoliticalmovementspursueandreceivemainstreamnewscoverage;howreligiousactorsentertheentertainmentfieldandauthorcontent;andwhenthetopicofreligionisasubjectofinquiryandsurveillance.

Hatcher constructs why some might call the United States a Christian nation bytracingthecultural,political,andfaith-basedmotivationsofvariousactorsinpoliticsandpopularculture.CitingLynnSchofieldClark’s“Protestantization”argument regarding the culturally dominant set of values derived from the Prot-estantReformationandWilliamD.Romanowski’sdiscussionthatsomeChris-tiansviewthemselvesasGod’sco-creatorsofculture,Hatcherdemonstrateshow Christianity has a prominent presence in the public sphere. Hatcher articu-lates that evangelicalism in particular has a desire to publicly demonstrate faith andculturaltransformation,to“Christianize”publicsecularculturedespiteplu-ralism(ix),andhasproactivelyutilizedmediatechnologies.Throughout the text, Hatcher reinforces the myriad interconnections be-

tweenpolitics,rituals,andnewsandentertainmentrhetoric.Aspoliticsisnews-worthy,theChristianRighthasstrategicallyemployedpresscoverageandusedmediatogainpoliticalandculturalpower.Fromtheleft,ReverendWilliamBar-berII’sengagementofsocialmediaandsubsequentmediacoverageamplified

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hisprofileandtheNorthCarolinaMoralMondayprotests.Politicsisnottheonlystagedarenainwhichtoinfluencethepublic.Christianorganizationsnotetheentertainmentindustry’ssignificanceasasourceofrolemodelsandpurposelyfunnelpeopleintothesectortoinfluencesecularculture(69).Aformer journalistandcurrentProfessorofJournalismatElonUniversity,

HatcherappearstoengageStuartHall’sencoding/decodingandcontentanaly-sis.1 Most chapters of the book focus on the active agents behind the encoding process:activistReverendBarber’svoiceandtheimpetusbehindMoralMon-days(chap.1);theChristianSocialistclergymanwhowrotethePledgeofAlle-giance and those who employed it for marketing and political purposes (chap. 2);thefemalefounderandcontestantsofActors,Models,andTalentforChrist(chap.3);EmilioEstevezandMartinSheen’sworkontheindependentfilmTheWay(EmilioEstevez,US2010;chap.4);religioussocietiesandBibletranslation(chap.5);andauthorsbehindreligioussatire(chap.6).WhileHatchermainlyfocuses on religious actors, religion engages non-believers through its mor-al tenetsor its national and cultural relevance, providing an animating forcefor civil religion. The encoding/decoding model considers the frameworks of knowledge,relationsofproduction,andmediatedtechnicalinfrastructure.Sim-ilarly,Hatcher’sworkexamines the religiousperspectivesof theparticipantsas well as the economic and political systems related to production and recep-tion.Thus, readersgain insights into religiousmotivationsbutalso learn, forinstance,howcapitalismandmarketingprovidedtheimpetusinthedissemina-tionofthepledgeandAmericanflagforpromotingachildren’spublicationin1892.In1951,asanti-communistsentimentspreadinthecountry,theKnightsofColumbus,theworld’slargestCatholicfraternalsociety,proposedtheinclu-sionof thewords“underGod” in thepledge.Of all the religious symbolismofficiallyaddedtopubliclifeinthe1950s,thismove,Hatcherclaims,causedthemostcontroversyandlitigation(51).Hatcherproposes,“Onecouldarguethenation moved from seeing itself united by a common humanity to a fearful one seekingtheprotectionofGod”(50).Chapterthree,onActors,Models,andTalentforChrist(AMTC),andchapter

five,ontheBible-publicationindustry,demonstratehowmeaningmakingisaprofitablegrowthindustry.ThechapteronAMTCpresentstheviewpointofen-tertainmentasevangelisticoutreach(80)andhowreligiousimpulsesareneverdivorced from economic systems. Although some religious groups oppose pop-ularculture,thischapterdemonstratesanactiveChristianpursuitofsuccessintheentertainment industry.AMTC,a“talentdevelopmentministry”(68),hasfosteredfiguressuchasThe Voice contestant country singer Brendon Chase and American IdolsingerTimUrban.AMTCbelievesthat“throughthemovementof

1 Hall1973.

194 | Grace Chiou www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 193–197

actors,modelsandtalentforChrist,millionsuponmillionsoflostandprodigalchildrenwillentertheKingdomofGod”(81). Individualspayupto$5,245toparticipate in an entertainment training bootcamp and receive coaching and competition opportunities. AMTC has been criticized online for its high fees and suggestedoutcomes.Interestingly,Hatchersuggests,“IfAMTCsucceedsinitsstatedgoals,faith-basedentertainmentandentertainerswillbecomethemain-stream”(81).ItshouldbenotedthattheorganizationclosedinJanuary2018,priortothebook’spublication.Inchapter fourtheauthoroffershisdecodingof thefilmTheWay (2010).

Hatcherpresentshispersonalappreciationforthefilm,statingthatits“subtlespiritualandreligiousmessagesmoregenuinelyreflectthelivedhumanexpe-rience than thoseofovertly Christianmovies, or tangentiallyBiblically-basedHollywoodblockbusters”(85).WithitsnarrativefeaturingtheancientreligiousroutetheCaminodeSantiagoinEurope,thisfilmappearstoHatcherasabridgebetweentheritualsof institutional religionandaspiritual journeyassociatedwithbeing“spiritualbutnot religious”.By selectingafilm involving the reli-gious themeofpilgrimagebutnota religiousprotagonist,Hatchercontendsthatinstitutionalreligionofferstheframeworkuponwhichspiritualityresides.HecitesLeonardNormanPrimiano,whostates,“Thisspiritualityofseekingischaracterized by a deeply personal but transient religiosity with roots in tradi-tionalreligiousbeliefsandpractices;aninterestinnoninstitutionalizedreligiouscontexts andaneclectic, idiosyncratic andat times isolated spirituality fasci-natedwiththesupernatural”(xxvii).Indeed,thefilmfeaturesvisionsofadeadcharacterandthecrewknowsofmiraclesthatenabledthefilm’sproductionprocess.WhilethefilmisnotaHollywoodblockbuster,Hatcherappreciatesitsslowunfolding, itsmystery andmessageof forgiveness and redemption.HeinvokesMartinSheen’sownreactiontoaculminatingscenewhenaDutchmanfalls on his knees before a statue of St James. Hatcher quotes Sheen saying in thefilm, “Boom I’mgone…Thatmoment, you fall to your knees in thanks-givingandpraise.Youfalltoyourkneesforhelp,formercy.[…]It’sourownpersonalhymn.Andthisfilmjustringswithit.It’sjustsodeeplypersonal”(110).ChapterfiveexpandsonthematerialproductionoftheBible,includingde-

tailsof thecrowd-fundedKickstarterBibliothecaproject.This reader-friendlyredesignoftheBiblewasprintedinGermanyonfineopaquepaperwithsewnratherthangluedbinding(163).Atthetimeof its launchin2014,theprojectbecametheninthmostpopularKickstarterprojectintheworldandinjustadayreacheditsgoalof$37,000.ThiscasestudyconsiderstheBibleasacommodity,onethatcanbeownedandcopyrighted,islikelymanufacturedinChinaandishighinsalesandprofitability.Chaptersix illuminatessatire’s role incritiquingreligion, includingtelevan-

gelists and the prosperity gospel. It features the work of niche publications The


Wittenburg Door and Ship of Fools as well as comedians Stephen Colbert and JohnOliver,whohavemocked“‘whatpeopledointhenameofreligion’ratherthan religion itself” (203).Humor facilitates the recognitionof shortcomingsand speaks to a desire to reform. Hatcherhighlightshowreligiousandnon-religiousownershipof“old”media

(radio,newspapers,magazines,andTV) supported thecirculationof religioninpublicdiscourse.HeciteshowtheKnightsofColumbus’snewslettersandHearst’snewspapereditorialssupportedadding“underGod”tothePledgeofAllegiance and urged the public to write letters to their local politicians. These lettersplayedarole intheapprovalofthe legislation,emblematicofhowin-dividualshavecontributed to socialhistory.Furthermore, theChristianRightdisseminateditsmessagesviarallies,roundtables,andJamesDobson’sFocus on the Family broadcasting and publishing vehicles which reached millions well intotheGeorgeW.Bushadministration(7).Thebookalsodiscussestheroleofsocialmediaasapartoftoday’stechnical

infrastructure. Both positive and negative commentary on social media spread the message of Moral Monday and garnered attention in mainstream publica-tions.StephenColbert’stestimonyinsupportofundocumentedfieldworkerswentviral.Hatcheraddsthat“socialmediaisoftenthefriendofsatire,andtheenemyofsatiricaltargets”(205).

I especially appreciated the areas where Hatchers reminds readers that reli-gious messages have socializing and uniting capacities whether in person on the Raleighcapitalstepsorinfilmaction.Heconnectsthepriorfusionmovementswith the unifying Moral Monday movement. He also highlights instances where religionhasbeenunafraidtoconfrontitselforstandupagainstinjustice.Rev-erendBarber,TheWay, The Wittenburg Door, Ship of Fools,andColbertofferanalternate testimony regarding faith instead of crafting a self-protective or trium-phant message regarding Christianity. In mentioning TheWay’smulti-faithcastandthefilm’smorespiritualthanreligiousnarrative,Hatcheremphasizesafocusonjourney,notdestination.Thebooksuggeststhatanactivereligiouslifedoesnot only mean being a Christian witness at work or participating actively in civic life,itshouldalsomeanengagingininstitutionalandindividualself-reflection.

Some issues with the text begin early on. The title of the book on the cover and its references to itself are inconsistent. The book title is Religion and Media in Americawhereasattimesitiscalled“ReligionandMediaintheDigitalAge”.This issue and its rather broad title highlight that no book can comprehensively cover all aspects of religion and media in America. Inaddition,Ifoundsomeofthewritingstiltedandmoreofarecitationof

facts and prior scholarship. While Hatcher does cite the consolidation and con-glomerationofChristianpublishingownership,Iwassurprisedthattherelation-ship between Fox News and Donald Trump was neglected.

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Overall,Hatchereffectivelyreinforceshowreligiousnarrativestouchuponour social experience as Christian voices engage media industries in a world of technological innovationand commodification.One is also remindedofhowsubstantially religion is embedded in American politics. This book could be used to introducestudents tospecificcasesof thevariousChristianactorswhosevoices shape America and its social history. I would especially recommend the firstchapteronBarberandthelastchapteronreligioussatire.

BIBLIOGRAPHYHall,Stuart,1973,“EncodingandDecodingintheTelevisionDiscourse”,https://core.ac.uk/down-

load/pdf/81670115.pdf[accessed10July2019].

FILMOGRAPHYTheWay(EmilioEstevez,US2010).


Michael Funk Deckard and Cassie Overcash

Book Review Christopher B. Barnett / Clark J. Elliston (eds.): Theology and the Films of Terrence MalickLondon/NewYork:Routledge,2017,xxvii+289pp.,ISBN978-1-138-82169-9

Thepilgrim’sprogressfromthisworldtothatwhichistocome,deliveredunderthesimilitudeofadream,whereinisdiscoveredthemannerofhissettingout,hisdangerousjourneyandsafearrivalatthedesiredcountry.

After this voice-over at the opening of KnightofCups(TerrenceMalick,US2015),acamerapansonalandscapewithaseaanddesertbelowmountains,withasolemalemovingdownwards.Threecutsshowhisbackandhands,hisfrontwithasmallpoolinthebackground,andhimwalkingbeforeablackcarpassesalongaroad.RalphVaughanWilliams’smusicalprologuesetsthetone.Theviewerisledintoanallegoricalworld,anunknowndestination,whileTerrenceMalick’sprevi-ousfilms,particularlyTreeofLife (US2011)andTotheWonder(US2014),wereexplorationsinthelifeofthefilmmaker(theformerofhischildhoodandthelat-terofhismarriageanddivorce,inthesenseofProust’sBildungsroman onfilm).The voice-over continues to describe this pilgrimage in the words of John Bunyan:

AsIwalkedthroughthewildernessofthisworld,Ilightedonacertainplacewherewas a den and I laid me down in that place to sleep. And as I slept I dreamed a dream. I saw a man clothed with rags standing in a certain place with his face from his own house,bookinhishandandagreatburdenonhisback.

TosaythatMalick’sownjourneyhasbeenanallegoryofthiskindistooverinter-pretthefilm.Thatbeingsaid,thereleaseofthreefilmsinfiveyears,allseeming-lyautobiographic,isarecord.Andwith SongtoSong (US2017)aswellastheCriterion Collection release of TreeofLife in2018with50additionalminutesaddedtothefilm,andAHiddenLife(US/DE2019) to be shown at Cannes Film Festival,Malickfansarewellsatiatedifproductivityrepresentsquality.Thelonecharacter at the beginning of KnightofCups speaks:“Allthoseyears[…]livingthelifeofsomeoneIdidn’tevenknow.”

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Inhercontributiontothisvolume,M.GailHamnerwrites,

The camera cuts sharply to a brightly lit highway tunnel and tracks down the tunnel inrapidmotion,asifthecameraisboltedtothehoodofthecar.Thefloodinglightwearebarrelingtowardattheendofthetunnelcutstothebackofatoddler’sheadwiththebeachstretchingoutbeforehimorher,andthisimageofasmallheadandbodythensequencetoanumberofquicklyshiftingimagesofsky,trees,andchil-dren.(262)

Heranalysisofthisfilmputsintowordswhatisdifficulttoexpressaboutthesefilms,andwhat ismostentrancing:nature, identity,spiritual journey.Eachoftheseaspectsof theBunyanpassageaswell asHamner’sdescriptionof thecameraaresimultaneouslythemacrocosmicjourneyoftheuniverse,theper-sonalstruggle,andareligiousortheologicalsearchformeaning.

Theology and the Films of Terrence Malick is a welcome edited volume intro-ducingvariousthemesinMalick’sfilmography,whichatthetimethisworkwaspublishedincludedeightfeature-lengthfilmsandoneIMAXdocumentaryfilm,Voyageof Time (US 2016). Besides the documentary film andMalick’smostrecent SongtoSongand AHiddenLife,allofthefilmsaregiventheologicaltreatmentfromavarietyofperspectivesthatcannotbeeasilyunified.Withthir-teencontributors, includingthreechaptersfromtheeditorsthemselves,thismakes for adizzying arrayof theologies and readingsofMalick’sownquitebroad-ranging oeuvre from early 17th-century Virginia (The NewWorld, US2005) to the1920sTexaspanhandle (DaysofHeaven,US1978)orEastAsiaduring the Second World War (TheThinRedLine,US1998).Forthosefamiliarwithhisfilms,thisbookwilldeepentheirknowledgeofvarioustheologicalin-terpretations.Forthoseunfamiliar, itmightbeworthwhiletowatchthefilmbeforereadingthechapterdevotedtothatfilm.ButsincewatchingaMalickfilmisratherlikeenteringathicketofphilosophical,religious,moral,andfilmicthemes, thisbook is nodifferent: “Infamousdifficulty”, touse thewordsofoneauthorfromthevolume,JonathanBrant(146),whotakesupanearlierin-terpretation by Marc Furstenau and Leslie MacAvoy.1Thisbook,then,doesforMalick’sfilmswhatRowanWilliamssaysaboutscriptureandtradition:“Theyneed to be made more difficult before we can accurately grasp their simplici-ties”(147).Inordertogiveasenseofthestructureandargumentsofthisbook,wewill

choosefourcontributionsonwhichtofocus,whichisnottosaythattheseareanymoreprofoundorimportantthantheothers.In“TheDivineReticenceof

1 Compare, however,with Leithart 2013 (Peter Leithart also contributes to this volume), foramonograph interpretationofoneofMalick’sfilmswith themessuchas“water”,“flame”,“music”,“hands”,and“memory”,inwhichasingleMalickfilmisanalyzedandmadeeasiertounderstand.

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TerrenceMalick”,PeterLeithartdescribesMalick’spaletteaspolyphonic,fol-lowing Dostoyevsky and Bakhtin (as well as in conversation with Alter and Au-erbach)–thatis,natureprovidesitsownsymbolicsystem,thetreesandgrass,birds,animals,waterandlight,HomerandGenesis.InTheThinRedLine most explicitly,grassbecomesakindofcharacter:“Allfleshisgrass,butfleshatwaristhegrassiestofgrass,mowndownatamoment’snoticebyastrafingofma-chinegunfire.Grassisnotonlyasignofthevulnerabilityandbrevityofhumanlifebutofitsglory”(53).LeithartuncoversthispaletteineachofMalick’sfilms,displaying a visual equivalent to dialogism where the nihilist anthropology (i.e. the state of nature) is put on par with a theist one (i.e. the way of grace) with-outproving,butratherbeingreticenttoprove,eitheroneovertheother.Morethan in TheThinRedLine,theseoptionsarestarkerthroughAnna’svoiceandFr.Quintana’sinTotheWonder,wherethelatterisexemplifiedinSt.Patrick’sLorica.If“Malick’sworldistheworldofJob,wheresufferingtakesplacebeforeabeautifulbutimplacableheaven”(57),isthisreallyreticence,then?In“WhoHasEyestoSee,LetHimSee:TerrenceMalickasNaturalTheologi-

an”,DavidCalhouncomparesfilmmakerswhoareanti-theology(suchasStan-leyKubrick,BrianDePalma,Ridley Scott, Lars vonTrier, orWoodyAllen) toMalick’snaturaltheology.“Wherenaturaltheologyusesobservationofnatureandrationalinferencetomakeacasefortherealityofthesupernatural,con-temporarynaturalistfilmsemployimaginativelyconstructednaturalistexplana-toryaccountsofthenaturalworldtoquestion,discount,orevenrejecttheism”(67–68).AsLeithartdidwithDostoyevsky’sdialogism,CalhoundoeswithTolk-ien’sfairystoriesandtheirpowertoenchant.Malick’swayoftelling ismoreof a fairy story thana traditional religiousor “providential”film suchas TheTenCommandments(Cecil B. DeMille,US1956),It’saWonderfulLife(Frank Capra,US1946),orHeaven IsForReal (Randall Wallace,US2013). Calhoun contrasts the polysemic character2ofMalick’sfilmswithwhatLeithartwouldcall dialogism. Both David Davies and Calhoun are interested in the problem of interpretationandwhileDaviessupportsaMerleau-PontianreadingofMalick,3 CalhounappearstobeholdingaKierkegaardianview(90).Thisbookasawholeis thuschallenging theanti-theology interpretationsofMalick’sfilmssuchasthe Heideggerian or Nietzschean interpretation.4 This Kierkegaardian interpre-tationisalsoseeninChristopherBarnett’s,PaulMartens’s,andPaulCamacho’scontributionstothisvolume.AsinTolkien’sfairystoriesorStanleyCavell’swrit-ingsonfilm,“Malickreplicatesthefundamentalhumanrepresentationoftheworldasinvolvingawonderforbeing”(91).

2 Davies2009a.3 Davies2009b.4 SeeBatcho2018foraDeleuzianinterpretation,whichwouldalsobeanti-theology.


WhereasthesetwochapterscomefrompartIIofthebook(“TerrenceMalickas Theological Auteur”),thenexttwocomefromPartIII(“TheFilmsofTerrenceMalick:TheologicalReadings”).In“TheUniqueDifficultyofDaysofHeaven”,JonathanBrantcombinesanempiricalmethodology,inwhich500non-profes-sionalreviewsweretakenintoaccount,withprofessionalreaders’criticism.Theviewers’ frustrationwithwatchingaMalickfilm isexpressedbestbythison-linereviewquotedbyBrant:“It’sablahstorybutit’sfuckingbeautiful”(146).One of the terms that comes up for many of the non-professional viewers was the recognitionof the“difficulty”ofwatchingaMalickfilm, since it expectstheviewertoperformtheactofinterpretation.ThekeytoBrant’sreadingofMalickisRowanWilliams’sbookonDostoyevsky,arguingthat“open,complexnarrativesaremoreChristianthanclosed,tidyfables”(147).BrantfocusesonhowthedifficultyinMalick’smethodprovidesuswithaGod’seyeviewintothelives and experiences of the characters in DaysofHeaven. Brant’susingWil-liamsremindsviewerswhoarecriticalofthefilmthat,“TheSpiritisatworkinanyconstructivepuzzlement”(150).Furthermore,hisuseofempiricaldatatoevaluate DaysofHeaven callstomindhowunsettlingfindinganeasysuperficialsolutioncanbeforusandthateventhoughthefilmoffers“noneattheologicalexplanationoftheeventsitportrays”,itmay“initsverydifficulty[…]hintatitsobjectmoreinthemomentoffrustration,alienation,anddistancethaninsatisfaction,resolution,andclarity”(154).In Clark J. Elliston’s contribution, “Reaching Toward the Light: Loving the

(New)World”,heexploresworldscolliding.EllistonsaysthatMalick isdoingneithermetaphysicsnorhistory,sowhatgenreisTheNewWorld? While Ellis-tondoesnotusethistermandmayevendisagreewithit,hisexplorationseemstorevolvearoundRousseau’sconceptofthe“noblesavage”.TheEnglishcol-onistscometothenewworldofVirginia,andPocahontascomestothenewworldofEngland.Elliston’sclaim,however,isthatthespiritualworldisratherthenewworldandthatPocahontasrepresentsachristologicalfigure,withre-demptionthetheologicalstrandthatrunsthroughthefilm.Utilizingtheterm“worldliness”,hesuggeststherearetwooptions:escapefromtheworldoranAugustinianattitudeinwhich“friendshipwiththeworld,despiteitshostility,shouldbeattempted”(192).DrawingonBonhoefferandWeil,Ellistonaddstothisthefactthat“kenoticgiving”requiresaloveoftheworldandthatPoca-hontas fullyexistsbetween theseworlds, “far frommakingheramystic setapartfromworldlyrealities,”(193)andthather“distinctiveness”and“other-ness[…]doesnotearnherrespectoracclaim”(194–195).Mostinterestingly,heropennesstotheworldisexploredbyEllistonintermsofwhatWeilcalls“at-tention”.Everyimageofthefilmrevealsthisvulnerabilityorreceptiveness:“asaNativeAmericanprincessweddedtoanEnglishtobaccofarmer,sheisuntoherselfanewworld”,especiallyif“shewasrapedduringhercapture”(196)and


thus is an emblem of the treatment of Native Americans by a colonizing power. Elliston sees Malick as more of a theologian than a philosopher and argues that the femaleprotagonistof this filmembodies thatperspective: “Human lovestands at the center of TheNewWorld,but thefigureofPocahontas is thenarrative lens which refracts that love. She loves the world (and the people in it) andeveninrejectionreachestowardthelightpresentwithinit.Consequently,sheemergesasaChristologicalfigure–afigurewhoinsufferinginvitesothersintothelight”(199).Whileeachessayinthisbookdeservestreatment,twopointsofcriticismare

inorder.First,thereiscertainlydescriptionofboththeaestheticsandthebeautyoffilminthisbook,butthebookasawholeneglectstofocusontheparticularlyfilmic ways in which theology can be done.5 The editors point in their preface to howtheyareframingthisbookintermsof“Malickasatheologicalauteur”(thetitleofpartII),butinsofarasthebookdoesnotdeepenthatmeaninginvisualor technical terms (like cameramovement),Bazin’s critiqueofauteur theory still stands. Much more could be done in deepening this point of what makes Malick a theological auteur and to convince a viewer of this. Film is not the same astextorevenmusic.Therearecertainlyhints,suchasBarnett’sexaminationofwind(104–105)orCandler’sdiscussionofSmetana’ssymphonicpoemsMá vlast andZbigniewPreisner’s“Lacrimosa”(211),butmorecouldbesaid.Thesecondcriticismfurthersthepointofthefirstone.InPaulMartenscon-

tribution,hementionsinafootnotethe“contest”betweenSimonCritchley’sthesisof“filmasphilosophy”andRobertSinnerbrink’sHeideggerianCinema6 (170).ThiscontestpointstoanunderlyingclaimaboutwhetherMalickis theo-logicalornot,withoutratherpointingoutthatthefilmsaretheological.Thisisacrucialdistinction,undervaluedthroughoutthebook.ReadingthebiographicalMalickintothefilms,asPartIofthisbookdoes(“AnIntroductiontoTerrenceMalick–Scholar,Filmmaker”),doesnotmakehimatheologian(oraphiloso-pher).Thisrelationtothefilmasphilosophythesis,whetherHeideggerianorDeleuzianorKierkegaardian,or toanewfilm as theology thesis as this book seems to support should have been a claim all of the authors of this volume struggle with instead of taking it for granted.Strangelyenough,whilewritingthisreview,oneoftheauthorswentonapil-

grimagetotheBlackForestinGermanytoseeHeidegger’shutinTodtnauberg,where he wrote Being and Time. The frames of the landscape mirrored in some ways that of the beginning of KnightofCups. I stepped into unknown territo-ry,whereanauthorhadlivedandcomposedawork.Afterdaysofcloudyandfoggytravails,thesunshoneatthemomentwewereontherightpath.Atthe

5 Asdo,forexample,Hamner2014andRothman2016.6 Critchley2009;Sinnerbrink2006;seealsoFurstenau/MacAvoy2007.


beginning of KnightofCups,however,MalickhassilentlychangedBunyan’sactualwordsfrom“theirdangerousjourney”to“hisdangerousjourney”.Thisbookisanexplorationofeachauthor’sowndangerousjourney,inallofitspoly-vocality,throughthemireofMalick’stheologyifitistobeinterpretedassuch.As in Pilgrim’s Progress,heretoowefindpitfallsandover-allegorizing,justasIexperiencedwrong turnsandmisinterpretation in theBlackForest,whetherofmaps,theGermanlanguage,ortheawfulweather,whilefindingmywaytoHeidegger’shut.Butonethingisforcertain:itisnotalonejourney.

BIBLIOGRAPHYBatcho,James,2018,TerrenceMalick’sUnseeingCinema:Memory,TimeandAudibility,Cham:Pal-

grave Macmillan.Critchley,Simon,2009,Calm:OnTerrenceMalick’sTheThinRedLine, in:Davies,David(ed.),The

ThinRedLine, NewYork:Routledge,11–27.Davies,David,2009a,TerrenceMalick,in:Livingstone,Paisley/Plantinga,Carl(eds.),TheRoutledge

CompaniontoPhilosophyandFilm,NewYork:Routledge,569–580.Davies,David,2009b,Vision,Touch,andEmbodimentinTheThinRedLine,in:Davies,David(ed.),

The Thin Red Line, NewYork:Routledge,45–64.Furstenau,Luc/MacAvoy,Leslie,2007,TerrenceMalick’sHeideggerianCinema:WarandtheQues-

tion of Being in TheThinRedLine,in:Patterson,Hannah(ed.),TheCinemaofTerrenceMalick:PoeticVisionsofAmerica,London:WallflowerPress,2nded.,179–191.

Hamner,M.Gail,2014,FilmingReconciliation:AffectandNostalgiainTheTreeofLife,JournalofReligion&Film18,1,article43,http://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol18/iss1/43[accessed6May2019].

Leithart,PeterJ.,2013,ShiningGlory:TheologicalReflectionsonTerrenceMalick’sTheTreeofLife,Eugene: Wipf and Stock.

Rothman,William,2016,SeeingtheLightinTheTreeofLife,in:Beever,Jonathan/Cisney,VernonW.(eds.),TheWayofNatureandtheWayofGrace:PhilosophicalFootholdsonTerrenceMal-ick’sTheTreeofLife,EvanstonNorthwesternUniversityPress,35–87.

Sinnerbrink,Robert,2006,AHeideggerianCinema?:OnTerrenceMalick’sTheThinRedLine,Film-Phi-losophy10,3,26–37.

FILMOGRAPHYAHiddenLife(TerrenceMalick,US/DE2019).DaysofHeaven(TerrenceMalick,US1978).HeavenIsforReal(RandallWallace,US2013).It’saWonderfulLife(FrankCapra,US1946).KnightofCups(TerrenceMalick,IT/US2015).SongtoSong(TerrenceMalick,US2017).TheNewWorld(TerrenceMalick,US2005).TheTenCommandments(CecilB.DeMille,US1956).TheThinRedLine(TerrenceMalick,US1998).TheTreeofLife(TerrenceMalick,US2011;CriterionCollection,US2018).TotheWonder(TerrenceMalick,US2012).VoyageinTime(TerrenceMalick,US2016).


Joel Mayward

Festival Review 72nd Festival de CannesFinding Faith in Film

Whilestandinginthelengthyqueuesatthe2019FestivaldeCannes,Iwouldstrikeupconversationswithfellowfilmcriticsfromaroundtheworldtodiscussthefilmswehadexperienced.Duringthedialogue,Iwouldexpressmyinterestsandbackground:Iambothafilmcriticandatheologian,andthusintriguedbythe rich connections between theology and cinema. To which my interlocutor wouldinevitablyraiseaneyebrowandreply,“Howarethosetwosubjectsevenrelated?”YeteveryfilmIsawatCannessomehowaddressedthequestionofGod,religionorspirituality.Indeed,IwasstruckbyhowthemostfamousandmostglamorousfilmfestivalintheWesternworldwasaGod-hauntedenviron-mentwherereligionwaspresentbothon-andoff-screen.AsIviewedfilmsincompetitionforthePalmed’Or,aswellasfromtheUnCertainRegard,Direc-tors’FortnightandCritics’Weekselections,IofferbriefreviewsandreflectionsonthereligiousdimensionofCannes2019.1

SUBTLE AND SUPERFLUOUS SPIRITUALITY

Sometimesthepresenceofreligionwassubtleorsuperfluous.Forexample,intheperfectlybonkersPalmed’Orwinner,Gisaengchung (Parasite,BongJoon-Ho,KR2019),charactersjokeaboutdeliveringpizzastoamegachurchinSeoul.Orthere’sBillMurray’sworld-wearypoliceofficercrossinghimselfandexclaim-ing(praying?),“Holyfuck,Godhelpus”aszombiehordesbeardownonhimand Adam Driver in TheDeadDon’tDie(JimJarmusch,US2019).Incontrasttothesemoregratuitousexamples,inthebrilliantlyfunnyandtenderTheClimb (MichaelAngeloCovino,US2019),thefriendshipbetweentwomen,KyleandMike, istoldthroughaseriesofsevenvignettesexploringadultrelationshipsand romances for the millennial generation. The film displays a remarkable

1 MyfullfilmcoveragefromCannes2019canbefoundatmywebsite,Cinemayward,www.cinemayward.com,andatFullerStudio,https://fullerstudio.fuller.edu/contributor/joel-mayward/. Some film descriptions have been adapted and re-published in the present review. Specialthanks to Stefanie Knauss at JRFMforherencouragementandadvocacy,andtoElijahDavidsonat Fuller Studio for helping me gain press accreditation for Cannes.

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awarenessof,ifnotrespectfor,biblicaltextsandChristiantraditions.Inabrieftangentialscene,thecemeteryworkersatafuneralsingafourth-wall-breakinghymn,“IShallNotBeMoved”,astheyuseabackhoetodigagrave.Inanothersceneduringtheirbikeconversationinthefirstvignette,asMikeconfessesthathehadsexwithKyle’sfiancée,Kyledeclares,“You’reareal-lifeJudas.”“Well,IguessthatmakesyoulikeJesus”,repliesMikewithdeadpansincerity.Inalatevignette atKyle’swedding to anewbeau,Kyle’s sisters choose to read cer-tainversesfromthebooksofEphesiansandRevelation,suchas“Wives,submityourselvestoyourownhusbandsasyoudototheLord”anddescriptionsofthewhore of Babylon. All of this is comical even as it demonstrates awareness of biblicalcontent,atleastenoughtomakeaneffectivejoke.TheLighthouse(RobertEggers,US2019)isEggers’smasterfulfollow-upto

his remarkable religioushorrorfilmTheWitch (RobertEggers,US2016)andwontheFIPRESCI(filmcritics)prize.Itisapoeticandnightmarishsupernatu-ralthrillerimbuedwithpsychologicalhorror.Setinalate-19thcenturycoastallighthouse inthenorthernAtlantic,TheLighthousecentersontwomen,thegrizzledandgrufflightkeeperThomasWake(WillemDafoe)andhisaloofsec-ond-in-command Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson). As the isolated and storm-sweptenvironmenttakes itstollontheirpsyches,visionsofmermaidsandmythologicalgodsplagueWinslow’smind.Indeed,Wake’sformerhelper

Fig. 1: The Climb (Michael Angelo Covino, US 2019).

Press Still: Cannes Film Festival.

Fig. 2: The Lighthouse (Robert Eggers, US 2019). Press Still:

Cannes Film Festival.

Festival Review: 72nd Festival de Cannes | 205www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 204–213

wentmadandkilledhimself,believingtherewas“salvationinthelight”.Bythecoda,weknowexactlywhathemeans–bothcharacters(andpossiblysomeaudiences) tip over the brink from sanity to madness. The question of God (or gods),mythsandthespiritualrealmisofsignificancehereviathepresenceofsirensandghosts,mermaidsandmanifestations.BothWinslowandWakewor-shipthelightwithfundamentalistdevotionastheisland’sfoghornblareswithaliturgicalrhythm.“I’mGodfearin’,ifthat’swhatyeraskin”,quipsEphraimwhenquestioned as to whether he is a praying man. A lone seagull acts as a sort of demonicspirit–theBlackPhilipofTheLighthouse–initsincessantpesteringofWinslow.Gullscontainthesoulsofdeadsailors,saysWake;it’sbadlucktokill a seabird. Could the gull in fact be the deceased former caretaker? Or is it the soul of the man Winslow allowed to perish in his previous employment in theCanadiannorth?Whenthebloodyconfrontationbetweenmanandbirdfi-nallyarrives,itleadstoachangingofthewindsandthecomingofarelentlessapocalypticstorm.Akin to thealluringconch-likestaircaseof the lighthouse,themen’smindsandsoulsbegintospiralduringthestormuntiltheyaresuckedinto oblivion by the maelstrom of mental anguish and metaphysical dread. In-deed,TheLighthousewouldpairwellwithanyBergman,TarkovskyorKubrickfilmasafellowhallucinatorymasterpiece.

CINEMATIC ISLAM AND THE CONFLICT OF INTERPRETATIONS

TheMuslimfaithwasprominentinthreeofthefilmsIviewedatCannes,witheachfilmspecificallyexploringthetensionbetweenconservative/literalandlib-eral/metaphoricalinterpretationsoftheQur’an.BasedonanAlgeriannovel,theanimatedfilmLeshirondellesdeKaboul (TheSwallowsofKabul,ZabouBre-itmanandEléaGobbé-Mévellec,FR2019)competedintheUnCertainRegardsection.Thestoryfeaturesayoungcouple,MohsenandZunaira,attemptingtokeep hope and love alive in the midst of the Taliban-controlled ruins of Kabul. Zunairaisavivaciousartistandformerteacher,andhermarriagetoMohsenis

Fig. 3: The Swallows of Kabul (Zabou Breitman and Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec, FR 2019). Press Still: Cannes Film Festival.


remarkablyprogressive.YetdespitehisresistancetoTalibanrule,Mohsenfindshimself caught up in a mob mentality as a crowd publicly executes a woman bystoninghertodeathinthemarket.Inaparallelstory,Atiqisaprisonwar-denforawomen’sprison;hiswife,Musarrat,isslowlydyingofcancer,causingAtiqmuchanguish.Whenafatalaccidentoccurs,thelivesandfatesofthetwocouplesbecomeintertwined,inevitablyleadingtoaconfrontationofinterpre-tationsregardingthetrueMuslimfaith–willAtiqremainfaithfultotheTalibanor his conscience?ThisconflictbetweendivergentQur’anicinterpretationsisalsoclearlypres-

ent in the Dardenne brothers’ in-competition film, Le Jeune Ahmed (YoungAhmed,LucandJean-PierreDardenne,BE2019),forwhichtheywonBestDi-rector.Whiletheirpreviousfilmshaveelicitedreligiousandtheological inter-pretations,2 this is the Dardennes’most direct portrayal and analysis of reli-gionthroughtheircinematicpost-secularparables.Infact,LeJeuneAhmed is likelytobethebrothers’mostdivisiveandcontroversialfilmin itsempathet-ic-yet-opaqueexplorationofIslamicextremismviatheradicalizationof13-year-oldAhmed(IdirBenAddi),whoplotstokillhisteacherbasedonhisinterpre-tationofhis local imam’s fundamentalist teachings.MyriemAkheddiougivesawonderfulperformanceasAhmed’s teacher-turned-victim, Inès.Ahmedat-tendsInès’safter-schoolclasses,buthehasrecentlybecomequietlyantagonis-tictowardsherduetotheinfluenceoftheimam(OthmaneMoumen),whoseextremistviewscoincidewithAhmed’sidolizedcousin,ajihadistterrorist.TheimamdeclaresInèsanapostate“bitch”whoistryingtodestroytheirreligioustraditions. Yet Inès is also a faithful Muslim and embodies the Islamic pillar of charityviahergenerousactionstowardseducatingyoungpeople.Inthis,the

2 See,forinstance,Journal of Religion, Film, Media 2,2(2016)ontheDardennes’cinema,https://jrfm.eu/index.php/ojs_jrfm/issue/view/3[accessed3June2019].

Fig 4. Le Jeune Ahmed (Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, BE 2019). Press Still: Cannes Film Festival.


DardennesofferarichmosaicofMuslimfaithasvariousskintonesandnationalbackgrounds come together for a parent meeting about a new Arabic class Inès wants to teach theyouth.For theDardennes, the21st-century faceof IslamcannotbereducedtostereotypesofMiddleEasternterrorists,butrathermustbe viewed via the Levinasian transcendent face of the Other.IntheCannespressconference,IwasabletoasktheDardennesabouttheir

motivationforfinallyaddressingreligioninoneoftheirfilms.3 Luc responded thatitfelttimelyinapost-9/11world,andthatsuchfanaticismisnotrestrictedtoEuropeorreligion–weseeevidenceinSriLanka,America,Israel,etc.,aswellas throughout religious history. The brothers were interested in how and why religion–whatLuccalledaworkof“imagination”–couldleadtosuchviolence,and how the imagination might be reformed and redeemed. The Dardennes donotpresumetobeexpertsaboutIslam,sotheydidextensiveresearchandsoughtlotsofinputfortheirportrayalofreligion,offeringvariousviewpointswithinthefilmitself.Inthis,LeJeuneAhmedboldlyandeffectivelyraisescom-plexethical,religiousandpoliticalquestionswithoutgivingsimpleanswers,in-spiring hope for fruitful conversations about religion in the public sphere.Atlantique (Atlantics,MatiDiop,FR/SN2019)alsosharesinthisconflictof

interpretations,albeitwithoutthestrictextremistperspective.DiopwasthefirstblackwomantohaveafilmincompetitionatCannes,andAtlantique (winner of theGrandPrix)isafeverdreamofaghoststory,combiningmagicalrealismwithconventionalromance.ThefilmissetintheSenegalesecityofDakar,andtheenvironmentisabricolageoftraditionsandmodernity,urbandecayandnaturalbeauty. A group of young construction workers decide to depart for a better life inSpain,quietlyslippingawayinthenighttonavigatetheoceancurrents.Oneof

3 The Cannes press conference with the Dardennes is available online: https://youtu.be/VWUzrfnm1lI[accessed3June2019].MyquestionfortheDardennesbeginsat20:30.

Fig. 5: Cannes Press Conference Le Jeune Ahmed. Personal photo: Joel Mayward, 21 May 2019.


theseworkers,Souleiman(IbrahimaTraoré),isreluctanttoleavehislover,Ada(MamaSané).Yetthe17-year-oldAdaisbetrothedtoanotherman,Omar(Ba-bacarSylla),apersonofwealthandlocalprestige;theirMuslimfaithmightbetheonlythingtheyhaveincommon.Ada’straditionallymindedreligiousfriendsviewAda’spromiscuitywithSouleimandisparagingly,whileher liberal friendsaresimplyexcitedaboutOmar’sbighouseandAda’snewchicbedroom.AtlantiquetakesaturntowardsthefantasticalduringAdaandOmar’swed-

dingnight,whenamysteriousfirespontaneouslyappearsonthenewcouple’smattress,promptingapolice investigationandplentyofunease.HasSoulei-mansomehowreturnedfromhisoceanvoyage,enactingrevengeuponhislostlove? It appears the souls of the boys lost at sea have returned in a spiritual somnambulist form as djinn,possessingthebodiesoftheirformerloverswhennightfalls.TherearesomeparallelstotheSenegalesefilmToukiBouki(DjibrilDiopMambéty,SN1973),whichfollowstwoyoungloversontheirjourneyoutofDakartoanewlifeinFrance,onlytohavetheloveofhomelandcauseariftbetweenthem.Indeed,Atlantique’sMatiDiopisthenieceofMambéty;itasifsheispossessedbythespiritsofherrelativeswithinherownexquisitefilm.Whilespacedoesnotpermitmetoofferadeeperanalysis,Ishouldmention

thattheIslamicfaithisalsosignificantinthefollowingcriticallyacclaimedfilmsfrom Cannes: TheUnknown Saint (Alaa EddineAljem,MA 2019), For Sama (Waadal-KateabandEdwardWatts,UK/US2019)andItMustBeHeaven (Elia Suleiman,FR/CA2019).

UNLIKELY CATHOLIC MARTYRS AND SAINTS

Films like the painterly masterpiece Portraitdelajeunefilleenfeu (PortraitofaLadyonFire,CélineSciamma,FR2019),thewistfulyetinertFrankie (Ira Sachs,US2019)andthegenre-defyingmindfuckBacurau (Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles, BR 2019) eachmade subtle nods to Roman Ca-

Fig. 6: Atlantique (Mati Diop, France/Senegal 2019). Press

Still: Cannes Film Festival.


tholicism’s influence in their respectivenations.Yet twofilmswerequiteex-plicit in their biographical depiction of Christian faith. Debuting in competition atCannes,visionaryfilmmakerTerrenceMalickhascraftedhismostexplicitlyChristianfilmwithAHiddenLife(TerrenceMalick,US2019),along-awaitedpro-jectfocusingonthelifeofSecondWorldWarAustrianconscientiousobjectorFranz Jägerstätter (AugustDiehl). Thefilmwasoriginally titled“Radegund”,thenameoftheidyllicmountainhamletwhereFranzandhisbelovedwife,Fani(ValeriePachner),residewiththeirthreeyoungdaughters.WhentheNazisde-mandallegiancetoHitler,Franzquietlyrefuses,anactofdefiancemotivatedbyhis deep Catholic convictions and his troubled conscience.AHiddenLifepresents its Christian heritage unashamedly even as it exhorts

and critiques both the Second World War era and contemporary institutional church.Thefilmis infusedwithbiblicalreferencesthroughFranz’sandFani’sprayers,aswellasvisualsymbolsandnarrativethemes.Churchesandpriestsplayactiverolesinthenarrativeasmentorsandguides,andGodisoftendirect-lyaddressedintheMalickianvoice-overnarrations.Forinstance,FranzpraysaversionofPsalm23aloudwhilewaitingforhistrialinaGermanprison;asthecamerahoversthroughthehallwayslikeawanderingspirit,thebiblicalwordsofferhopeinthemidstofapparentdespair,theGoodShepherdrestoringtheprisoner’s soul.Yet criticalquestions remain.Will the spiritofAntichrist (theterm is mentioned multiple times) reign in Europe? Is God the author of such suffering? Can faithfulness to Godmake a genuine difference in this world?These questions of theodicy in the context of a historical narrative are striking intheircontemporaryrelevance,particularlyregardingthepoliticalallegiancesof Christian churches in present-day America. Even as he is memorializing the tragicexperiencesofWorldWarII,Malickisalsoraisingcrucialpropheticques-tions as to whether the church will wed itself to bigoted political powers who commitinjusticesandperpetuatelies,orrather,actinresistanceandsolidaritywiththeoppressed.Inthis,AHiddenLifewonthePrizeoftheEcumenicalJury,awardedbyajuryofChristianfilmmakersandcritics.

Fig. 7: A Hidden Life (Terrence Malick, US 2019). Press Still: Cannes Film Festival.


Similar to AHiddenLifeinitsexplorationofaChristianmartyr’sbiographybutstrikinglydifferentinaestheticandtoneisBrunoDumont’sJeanne (JoanofArc,FR2019),hisfollow-uptoJeannette,l’enfancedeJeanned’Arc (Jean-nette:TheChildhoodofJoanofArc,BrunoDumont,FR2017).Wheretheearlierfilmwasamashupofmystical theologyandheavymetalmusicas itfocusedontheearlyyearsofJoan’slifeandhervisionsofsaintsandangels,JeanneiscenteredonthebattlesandtrialsoftheteenageJoan,culminatinginhermartyrdom.BasedonthewritingsofCharlesPéguy,Dumont’spost-sec-ular approach appropriates religiouswritings andhagiography, transposingChristiantraditionandhistoryforapostmoderncontext.Wherethefirstfilmfeaturedhead-bangingpunkandmetalmusic to accompany Joan’s visions,Jeanne instead features French pop singer/composer Christophe (Daniel Bev-ilacqua),whomakesanappearance late in thefilmasoneof the robe-cov-ered clergy at Joan’s trial. Christophe’s songs support the visuals as a kindofnarration.YoungactressLiseLeplatPrudhommenever sings in thisfilm;instead,thecinematography isoftenstrikinglybeautifulstill framesorslowzoomson Prudhomme’s defiant face, her visage both captivating and con-frontational.Theeffectofthesynthmusic,therepeatedlyricsandtheframeofPrudhommecreatesahypnoticeffect,perhapsakintomeditatingbeforea Christian icon. Jeanne won a Special Jury Mention in the Un Certain Regard competition.

WORSHIPING THE STARS

Beyondthefilmsthemselves,IwasstruckbythereligiousdynamicofCannesbystanders’andtourists’worshipfultreatmentofthefilms’stars.Itseemsnotmuchhaschangedsince1955,whenfilmcriticAndréBazindescribedCannesasa“religiousorder”markedbyitsowndailyoffices(matineesandpremieres)

Fig. 8: Jeanne (Bruno Dumont, France 2019). Press Still:

Cannes Film Festival.


and religious habits (tuxedos and gowns).4Eagermobsofonlookers–manywhowould likelynever seea singlefilmduring the festival –wouldwait forhoursoutsidethePalaisortheHotelMartinezontheCroisette,craningtheirnecks (and their phones) for a possible glimpse of a celebrity. The red carpet servedasasortofsacredsite;onlythemostfaithfulandpenitent(andprop-erly attired) were allowed to make the brief pilgrimage up the red steps into themassiveGrandThéâtreLumière(andnoselfiesallowed!).Indeed,therewasa liturgyforthe in-competitionfilmpremieresandgalas:onlyformaleveningwearallowed,withthefilmmakingteamarrivingviablackvehiclesatthebot-tom of the steps in order to be photographed and adored by the teeming wor-shipers.Thestarswouldwaitpatientlyfortherightmomentintheliturgy,thenthey would ascend the steps to be greeted by festival director Thierry Frémaux beforeentering theGrandThéâtre Lumière to a standingovation. I confess,seeingTildaSwinton,IsabelleHuppertandWillemDafoeinthefleshdoesbringwithitafrissonofreverence,asifonehassuddenlyencounteredasacredorangelic figure.RichardDyer’sdescriptionof celebrities as “heavenlybodies”comestomind,asdoeshisparadoxofthestar:thesecelebrityidolsarebothordinaryandextraordinary,presentyetabsent,atri-foldmanifestationofideol-ogy,socialconstructionandmarketedcommodity.5 Such is also the paradox of theFestivaldeCannes,agatheringwhichisat-onceinclusiveandexclusive,highartandconsumerentertainment,secularandreligious–itisthetemplewherethepilgrimshaveputtheirfaithinfilmitself.

BIBLIOGRAPHYBazin,André,2009[1955],TheFestivalViewedasaReligiousOrder,inPorton,Richard(ed.),OnFilm

Festivals (Dekalog3),London:WallflowerPress,11–19.Dyer,Richard,2004,HeavenlyBodies.FilmStarsandSociety,2ndedition,London:Routledge.Dyer,Richard,1998,Stars,London:BFIPub.

FILMOGRAPHYAHiddenLife(TerrenceMalick,US2019).Atlantique (Atlantics,MatiDiop,FR/SN2019).Bacurau(KleberMendonçaFilho/JulianoDornelles,BR2019).ForSama(Waadal-KateabandEdwardWatts,UK/US2019).Frankie(IraSachs,US2019).Gisaengchung (Parasite,BongJoon-Ho,KR2019).LeshirondellesdeKaboul (TheSwallowsofKabul,ZabouBreitman/EléaGobbé-Mévellec,FR

2019).ItMustBeHeaven(EliaSuleiman,FR/CA2019).

4 Bazin2009.ThankstoStefanieKnaussfordirectingmetothisessay.5 SeeDyer1998;Dyer2004.


Jeanne (JoanofArc,BrunoDumont,FR2019).Jeannette,l’enfancedeJeanned’Arc (Jeannette:TheChildhoodofJoanofArc,BrunoDumont,

FR2017).LeJeuneAhmed (YoungAhmed,LucandJean-PierreDardenne,BE2019).Portraitdelajeunefilleenfeu (PortraitofaLadyonFire,CélineSciamma,FR2019).TheClimb(MichaelAngeloCovino,US2019).TheDeadDon’tDie(JimJarmusch,US2019).TheLighthouse(RobertEggers,US2019).TheUnknownSaint(AlaaEddineAljem,MA2019).TheWitch(RobertEggers,US2016).ToukiBouki(DjibrilDiopMambéty,SN1973).


JRFM 2020, 7/1CALL FOR PAPERS

The Materiality of WritingBooks in Religious Traditions

Sinceitsinvention,writingisaprominenttechniquethathasshapedreligioustraditionsprofoundly.Booksarepreciousrepositories,theypreservereligiousmessages and enable their transmission through time and space. Written texts areatthecoreofreligiousworldviews,orientations,practicesandrituals.Theirletters keep revelations alive and materialise transcendent messages. Books havebeencultivated,illuminated,printed,bound,restored,reproduced,stored,filed,transformed,andnowadaysdigitised.Theyhavebeenread,sung,played,danced, represented, and sometimes eaten, sometimesburned, bannedanddestroyed.Asmaterialandvisualobjects,booksperformanactiveroleincommunities

andfor individuals inacademicstudies, liturgies,privatespaces,ortherapies.Religious books are autonomous agents in religious transmission processes thatchallengeandarechallengedbysociety.While,ontheonehand,theycaninspireinnovationsandcreativeprocesses,ontheotherhand,theycanhamperprogress.Adaptingtonewtechnologies,booksexperienceprofoundtransfor-mation,and,respectively,transformtheirrecipients.

In this issue of JRFM,thereligiousroleandsignificanceofwriting,booksandscripture are discussed by focusing on their materiality and visuality. We wel-come contributions dealing with writing as a material activity and books as objects.Thearticlespublishedinthisissuewillcontributetothereflectiononquestions like:• How can the materiality of religious books be interpreted? • How does the materiality of writing and books shape religious traditions and practices,communitiesandindividuals?

• Howdoesthematerialityofbooksandscripturesaffecttheactofwriting?• Whatpracticesarelinkedtotheproduction,transmissionandpreservation

of books?• Howdoesthematerialityofscriptureinfluencereceptionandconservation

processes?

214 | Call for Papers www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 214–215

• Whatisthesymbolicsignificanceofbooksasmaterialthings?• How does the invention of new technologies transform the materiality of the

books? How do they transform the passage of messages from the materiality of letters into the performance of speech?

• The symbolism of the destruction of books: How and in what circumstances havetheybeendestroyed,andtowhatend?

The issue also has an open section for articles on other topics linked to the pro-fileofJRFM. Thedeadline for submissions is 31August2020.Contributionsof25,000–30,000characters(includingspaces)shouldbesubmittedonlineforpeer review through the journal homepagewww.jrfm.eu. We kindly ask au-thors to register and consider the instructions for posting contributions. Pub-licationisscheduledforMay2021.Forquestionsregardingthiscallforpapersorthesubmissionandpublicationprocess,pleasecontacttheeditorsoftheis-sue,ChristianWessely([email protected]) and Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati ([email protected]).

Call for Papers | 215www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 214–215

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