Roy M. Anker

Quentin James Schultze

Lambert Zuidervaart

James D. Bratt

Quentin Schultze

John Worst

Essays discuss youth culture, rock music, MTV, and the impact of television

Youth, Popular Culture, and the Electronic Media

Dancing in the Dark

Though "religious" films usually don't get much respect in Hollywood, religion still regularly finds its way into the movies. In Beautiful Light Roy Anker seeks out the often unnoticed connections between film and religion and shows how even films that aren't overtly religious or Christian in their content can be filled with deep religious insights and spiritual meaning. Closely examining nine critically acclaimed films, including Magnolia, The Apostle, American Gigolo, and M. Night Shyamalan's Wide Awake, Anker analyzes the ways in which these movies explore what it means to be human—and what it means, as human beings, to wrestle with a sometimes unwieldy divine presence. Addressing questions of doubt and belief, despair and elation, hatred and love, Anker's work sheds "beautiful light" on some of Hollywood's most profound and memorable films.

Religious Meaning in Film

Beautiful Light

Examines nineteen popular films, such as The Godfather trilogy, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, and American Beauty, and shows how they convey a range of striking perspectives on the human encounter with God. Original.

Looking for God in the Movies

Catching Light

Roy M. Anker

Books

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