Transcendent figures in Disney's animated films. Religious studies analysis of media representations of family
This research contributes to the study of the transformation of religion in contemporary culture in and through audiovisual media. Focusing on the portrayal of family in Disney's animated films, the study examines the role of religious references in this depiction. Cinematic representations of religion are analysed in terms of their role in the formation and transformation of the families depicted, which are presented in these cinematic worlds as fundamental social units. These fictional families undergo fundamental change and stabilisation through special experiences of transcendence.
The working hypothesis is that films distributed through various channels, such as cinemas, home cinemas and streaming services, are important cultural spaces of negotiation in which family images and ideas about religion are presented, changed and adapted. The project takes a cultural studies approach to religion. Religion is understood as a symbolic system that interacts with different areas of culture and provides comprehensive orientation. This doctoral project explores film as an audiovisual production through which existential questions are negotiated. Particular attention is paid to transcendental experiences and their significance for the characters in the films. With a focus on Disney's current, internationally successful animated films, this study examines a specific genre of film production that has had a significant impact due to its widespread distribution and transmedia nature. The doctoral project is part of the interdisciplinary research association ForFamily, which focuses on the changing dynamics of the family. It is included in the sub-project 'Family in Film', which focuses specifically on analysing media images of families.
Families between Save Heaven and Destruction. The Importance of Religious Symbol Systems in Contemporary Horror Film
The dissertation project examines transformation processes and negotiations of religion and family in film. It focusses on the appearance, use, inversion, and alienation of normative ideals of family in horror films. It explores how the horror film refers to religion to negotiate images of the family and which norms and values are represented and communicated through it. It is assumed that religion and film are cultural symbol systems that create orientation and design world views. They interact with each other and unfold a symbiotic interplay that will be explored in more detail with a focus on concepts of family. Methodologically, the work is oriented towards the various dimensions of the Circuit of Culture according to Stuart Hall, with special attention being paid to representation. The study of representation is based on neoformalist film analysis. The project explores films that are set in a family environment and that address religion in different ways. The selected films were produced for a broad audience and were made within the last 15 years. By analyzing the cinematic representation of dysfunctional and alienated family images and their interactions with religious symbol systems, the research project contributes to the field of film and religion. This demonstrates how the horror film stimulates normative negotiations and identity processes and forms recurrent ideas of family and religion within the society.
Spaces of the Real. Science fiction Films as a Place of Interpretation for Existential-Anthropological Questions of the Present
This dissertation project examines the extent to which science fiction films can be understood as independent forms of representation of religion. Religious themes, motifs and symbols in science fiction films can be traced back to a historically developed connection: this is evident, for example, in the diverse use of depictions of creation or apocalyptic motifs in this genre and in the adaptation of religious narratives.
This thesis examines selected cinematic science fiction works with regard to the representation of recurring religious references in connection with the motif of scientific and technological progress. The study focuses not only on the worldviews depicted, but also on their normative potential. A central question is how and as what human beings are represented. Are existential questions of human existence answered normatively through technological progress? Do science fiction films offer alternative representations to religious anthropologies? How do they represent ideas of the transcendent based on these representations of human beings?
The selected science fiction films are examined using a cultural studies approach. The aim of the work is to demonstrate the relevance of cinematic representations for identity formation and the interpretation of reality by the audience. This study thus contributes to the investigation of contemporary debates on anthropological questions of meaning that take place beyond religious institutions.