Reading the Gospels in the Dark

From "The Greatest Story Ever Told" to "Jesus of Montreal" to "Shane", the figure of Jesus has made repeated - and varied - appearances in American cinema. In this book Richard Walsh brings "Jesus-films", the canonical gospels, and American culture into conversation. The discourse begins in the theatre with the lights down low and the Jesus-films on the big screen. Walsh's commentary starts with the films themselves and the American Jesus(es) portrayed therein. Ironically, while we do not expect Jesus-films to "get Jesus or the gospels right," they do cast light on interesting literary and mythical features of the gospels - and on American culture. For example, Arcand's "Jesus of Montreal" offers fresh understanding of the apocalyptic discourse in Mark 13, and "Shane" and "Pale Rider" demonstrate that Americans desperately want a conquering hero who is not a capitalist or an imperialist to deal with their frustrations.