Discovering World Religions at 24 Frames Per Second

561 Pages·2008·2.62 MB·English

by  Julien R. Fielding

RELIGION (cid:129) EDUCATION
ATLA PUBLICATIONS SERIES, NO. 4
Traditionally, university students study world religions by reading primary texts. Fielding D I S C O V E R I N G
Discovering World Religions at 24 Frames per Second goes beyond the written
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including Hinduism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism,
and Shinto are examined. Biographical sketches of directors whose fi lms tend to
focus on a particular religious tradition are also included, such as Zhang Yimou, A T 2 4 F R A M E S
Hayao Miyazaki, Deepa Mehta, and Akira Kurosawa.
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Discovering World Religions at 24 Frames per Second is unique in the area of
religion and fi lm studies because it isn’t just a collection of essays—instead, it acts T IS P E R S E C O N D
as a primer, providing the introductory student with the necessary background 2 C
information on the various religions before looking at concepts, not through texts 4 O
but through the cinematic medium. To keep the conversation fresh, most of the V
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fi lms used in the book were made within the last decade; several, most notably The E
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Brave One, The Lookout, and Water, were made within the last few years. Further- R
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more, examples range from popular, mainstream fare, such as Star Wars and the I
M
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Lord of the Rings trilogy, to lesser-known foreign fi lms, such as The Wooden Man’s
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Bride and The Great Yokai War. Several fi lms with a “cult-like” following are also
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discussed, such as Fight Club, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and Jacob’s W

Ladder. This book is unique in that instead of drawing upon the Judeo-Christian P
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tradition, it draws from Eastern traditions. E
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Julien R. Fielding is a part-time lecturer at the University of Nebraska at Omaha,
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where she teaches Introduction to World Religions in the Department of Philosophy
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and Religions. She has a bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of R
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Nebraska at Omaha and a master’s degree in religious studies from the University E
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of Kansas at Lawrence. L
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For orders and information please contact the publisher
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Scarecrow Press, Inc.

A wholly owned subsidiary of
The Rowman & Littlefi eld Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200
Lanham, Maryland 20706
1-800-462-6420 (cid:129) fax [phone]
www.scarecrowpress.com
ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-5996-8
Cover image: Ian McKellan as “Gandalf” in ISBN-10: 0-8108-5996-3 Julien R. Fielding
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2003. 90000
© Pictorial Press/Alamy images
9 780810 859968
Cover design by Neil D. Cotterill
DDiissccoovveerriinnggWWoorrllddPPOODDLLIITTHH..iinndddd 11 88//2222//0088 1100::0044::0099 AAMM
ATLA PUBLICATIONS SERIES
Edited by Justin Harkins
1. The Literature ofIslam: A Guide to Primary Sources in English Translation,
by Paula Youngman Skreslet and Rebecca Skreslet,2006.
2. A Broadening Conversation: Classic Readings in Theological Librarianship,
edited by Melody Layton McMahon and David R.Stewart,2006.
3. Donald G.Bloesch: A Research Bibliography,by Paul E.Maher,2008.
4. Discovering World Religions at 24 Frames Per Second,by Julien R.Fielding,
2009.

Discovering World
Religions at 24
Frames Per Second
JULIEN R. FIELDING
ATLA Publications Series, No. 4
THE SCARECROW PRESS,INC.
Lanham,Maryland • Toronto • Plymouth,UK
2008
SCARECROW PRESS,INC.
Published in the United States ofAmerica
by Scarecrow Press,Inc.
A wholly owned subsidiary of
The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group,Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard,Suite 200,Lanham,Maryland 20706
www.scarecrowpress.com
Estover Road
Plymouth PL6 7PY
United Kingdom
Copyright © 2008 by Julien R.Fielding
All rights reserved.No part ofthis publication may be reproduced,stored in a
retrieval system,or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic,mechanical,
photocopying,recording,or otherwise,without the prior permission ofthe publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fielding,Julien R.,1969-
Discovering world religions at 24 frames per second / Julien R.Fielding.
p.cm.— (Atla publications series ;no.4)
ISBN-13:978-0-8108-5996-8 (hardcover :alk.paper)
ISBN-10:0-8108-5996-3 (hardcover :alk.paper)
eISBN-13:978-0-8108-6266-1
eISBN-10:0-8108-6266-2
1. Religion in motion pictures.2. Asia—In motion pictures. I.Title.II.Title:
Discovering world religions at twenty-four frames per second.
PN1995.9.R4F54 2008
791.43'682—dc22
2008018837
(cid:2)™
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements ofAmerican
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence ofPaper for Printed Library
Materials,ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Contents
List ofFilms vii
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
1 What Is Religion? 1
2 Religions in India 43
3 Buddhism 107
4 Religions ofChina 207
5 Religions ofJapan 303
6 Multiple Interpretations 385
7 Hybrid Films 427
Bibliography 509
Index 533
About the Author 543
v

List of Films
A Little Princess 78
ABCD 71
American Desi 57
Being Cyrus 86
Bend It Like Beckham 87
Bollywood/Hollywood 88
Brave One,The 160
Bride and Prejudice 88
Cave ofthe Yellow Dog 189
Crouching Tiger,Hidden Dragon 262
Cup,The 185
Curse ofthe Golden Flower 237
Daredevil 33
Dreaming Lhasa 142
Dreams 349
Earth 94
Enlightenment Guaranteed 145
Eye,The 274
Fall,The 90
Fearless 267
Fight Club 473
vii
viii LIST OF FILMS
Fire 93
Forbidden Kingdom,The 271
Great Yokai War,The 356
Groundhog Day 180
Guru,The 75
Happy Times 260
Heirloom,The 277
House ofFlying Daggers 266
Jacob’s Ladder 171
Ju Dou 231
Kamichu! 321
Khadak 192
King ofMasks,The 249
Kundun 33
Kung Fu Panda 487
Legend ofBagger Vance,The 70
Little Buddha 129
Locker 369
Lookout,The 156
Lord ofthe Rings,The 388
Love Guru,The 76
Maid,The 282
Mongolian Ping Pong 191
Mountain Patrol: Kekexili 141–142
Mr.and Mrs.Iyer 73
My Neighbor Totoro 315
Mystic Masseur,The 77
Outsourced 83
Pom Poko 361
Princess Mononoke 328
Raise the Red Lantern 232
Red Sorghum 231
Rinne 175
Road Home,The 259
Seven Years in Tibet 141
Shadow Kill 80
LIST OF FILMS ix
Shower 260
Silent Waters 88
Spirited Away 339
Spring,Summer,Fall,Winter ...and Spring 147
Star Wars 428
Stay 165
Story ofthe Weeping Camel 188
Such a Long Journey 84
Temptation ofa Monk 147
Travelers and Magicians 186
Water 62
What Dreams May Come 457
White Rainbow 69
Why Has Bodhi Dharma Left for the East? 146
Wooden Man’s Bride,The 234
Zen Noir 146