Psychoanalytic approach in the study of religious themes in cinema

Annotation

The article discusses some of the provisions and conclusions of Steve Nolan's book “Film, Lacan and the Subject of Religion: a psychoanalytic approach to the analysis of religious film”, which reviews the concepts of a number of North American authors who conducted their research in the field of religion and cinema. In the main part of the book, the author presents his view on the problem of the relationship between cinema and religion. He does this by referring to the terminology and theoretical system of the French psychoanalyst and structuralist philosopher Jacques Lacan. According to Nolan, the works of scientists who have studied the issue of religion and cinema are not without certain drawbacks. Most of the authors were representatives of various Christian denominations, so they considered it their duty to develop their analytics within the theological approach framework. In such works, research is limited to a dogmatic worldview. At the same time, Nolan emphasizes the novelty and boldness of some ideas. He advocates an interdisciplinary approach, in which a scientist should be theoretically prepared not only in theology and the sciences of religion, but also in film studies. He also believes that the main object of such research should be the viewer and his perception of images on the screen. Nolan applies the Lacanian terms “Other”, “narrative” and “ideological reality” to both cinema and worship, pointing out the general patterns in these phenomena. Thus, he gives an example of an interdisciplinary non-dogmatic approach. By following the principle of methodological agnosticism and turning to the phenomenology, sociology and psychology of religion, this approach can be classified as religious studies.

Keywords

cinematography, religion, anthropology of religion, psychology of religion, sociology of religion, phenomenology of religion, Christian theology.

Literature

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