ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book introduces the academic study of Bible and Film. It engages the most common type of Bible and Film analysis: overtly “biblical” films that present or retell biblical narratives. The book then examines five Hebrew Bible epics. It also discusses 12 Jesus films. The book analyzes six films that feature biblical characters or cite or allude to biblical texts. It then explores six films that reimagine Jesus; three films offer traditional Jesus figures, and three films depict unusual or atypical Jesus figures. The book also examines films that function or operate like the biblical genres of lament, prophecy, parable, and apocalypse. It examines two areas of inquiry that will become more significant in the future of the Bible and the Film studies: the “non-biblical” films and the television.
