Hector Avalos on “Film and the Apologetics of Biblical Violence”

Hector Avalos of Iowa State University has published an excellent article in the online journal JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND FILM. The published abstract:

Most films that depict biblical violence are part of a broader apologetic effort to justify violence by biblical protagonists. In order to understand the variety and complexity of these apologetic efforts, the author introduces a typology that consists of five logical techniques that can be applied to biblical stories depicted on film: 1) deletion of violence; 2) addition of violence; 3) minimization of existing violence; 4) maximization of existing violence; 5) reconfiguration of violence. The author focuses on specific episodes in Jesus films and in films dealing with the life of Moses to illustrate his thesis.

A not particularly happy Hebrew in C. B. De Mille’s The Ten Commandments

From Avalos’ conclusion:

[32] The Code of 1934 also forbade graphic depictions of killing. Thus, we cannot expect a lot of graphic violence by protagonists or antagonists during the Code period. Deletion and minimization reigned under the Code. Yet, the Code explicitly directed that religious characters be depicted positively. We can see that there was a difference in how violence by biblical protagonists could be reconfigured to justify them. Reconfiguration was always applied to Moses’ killing of the Egyptian, whereas no justification is ever offered for the Egyptian beating the Hebrew slave (e.g., could that have been reconfigured into self-defense?).

[33] On the other hand, addition and maximization of the violence is the standard for pagan acts of violence against biblical champions. That is certainly the case with The Passion of the Christ , which has extremely graphic violence perpetrated by Romans and Jews against Christ. Hammering of the nails into Jesus’ hands, albeit shown at a distance, is already there in the Life and Passion of Christ (1903), which certainly would be a Pre-Code movie. But it is clear that addition and maximization became prominent after the 1960s, after the Code ceased to exist. Yet, with few exceptions, enhanced violence is still mainly on the part of the antagonists against biblical protagonists.

Yeah, the pagans are made out to be total depraved buggers and the Israelites are good guys, up until Jesus comes along and then the Jews are bastards along with the Romans.

Anyway, it is a good little article that merits reading. And now for the moment some of you have been waiting for, the dreaded

THEMATICALLY APPROPRIATE BUT STILL GRATUITOUSLY SEXIST BABE PIC.

Padma Lakshmi, from the TV miniseries, The Ten Commandments.

“Thou shalt not covet…” Damn, blew that one. Again.