Now that we have discussed numerous approaches to the study of religion, you will use the knowledge that you have gained from the assigned readings along with class lectures and discussions to analyze one of the movies that is approved for this course. Approved movies are: 1) the movies that have links for streaming videos in the Course Documents section of Blackboard (The Village, Children of Men, Crimes and Misdemeanors, The Craft, The Mission, Smoke Signals, Thunderheart, Sacrifice, The Chosen, and Arrival); and 2) the DVDs (The Village and The Sacrifice) that are on reserve in the library for this course. These are the only movies that you can use for this assignment. You can watch one movie or you can watch all the movies before you determine the movie on which you want to write your reflection paper. You need to do several things before you start writing your paper:
1) Read the Sample Reflection Paper in this folder so that you will have a clear idea of the type of paper that you are to write.
2) Be sure that you not only have the different theories/theorists that we have discussed so far this semester clearly in mind, but also you need to make sure that you understand the concepts of sacred symbols, myths, and sacred rituals.
3) Reflect on the movie that you have chosen as the subject of your paper. What examples of myths, symbols and/or rituals did you notice while watching the movie? Sometimes religious symbols are quite subtle in films. So pay close attention to references to objects and/or colors that seem to have special significance to the characters in the movie. Note any repeated rituals or behaviors in which the characters participate. 4) Which of the theories of religion that we have studied this semester could you argue that the movie represented?
#RELI #Introduction #Religious #Studies
