ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses largely upon the wide variety of symbols used to dramatize this religious imagination, from bright white light (Fearless) and chiropractors (Jacob’s Ladder) to beautiful women (Always, All That Jazz) and little old men (Oh, God!). This screening of symbols of grace, from angels to heaven to God seems easy enough. But the process is more complicated, for not every kind of movie is comfortable with hints of God’s presence. To explore this issue the chapter discusses two general kinds of movies, what the author calls the micro realist and the macro science fiction movie. Some movies, manage a naturalism of setting and human response. Lawrence of Arabia is both the spectacle of the Arab revolt during World War I and a personal tragedy. The Godfather is both an historical drama and the personal story of the tragic price a son pays to follow in his father’s footsteps in the family business.
