Buddhism and American cinema

by Storhoff, Gary Whalen-Bridge, John

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Title Statements

Full title :Buddhism and American cinema / edited by John Whalen-Bridge and Gary Storhoff ; foreword by Danny Rubin, screenwriter of Groundhog Day.

Summary

In 1989, the same year the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, a decade-long boom of films dedicated to Buddhist people, history, and culture began. Offering the first scholarly treatment of Buddhism and cinema, the editors advise that there are two kinds of Buddhist film: those that are about Buddhists and those that are not. Focusing on contemporary American offerings, the contributors extend a two-pronged approach, discussing how Buddhism has been captured by directors and presenting Buddhist-oriented critiques of the worlds represented in films that would seem to have no connection with Buddhism. Films discussed range from those set in Tibet, such as Kundun and Lost Horizon, to those set well outside of any Buddhist milieu, such as Groundhog Day and The Matrix. The contributors explain the Buddhist theoretical concepts that emerge in these works, including karma, the bardo, and reincarnation, and consider them in relation to interpretive strategies that include feminism, postcolonialism, and contemplative psychological approaches.

Edition Statements

Publication Date:2014

Publication Statements

Publisher(s):State University of New York Press
Place of Publication:Albany, NY
Language:eng
Publication Date:2014

Notes

Title from cover

The Physical Object

Description:xv, 257 pages ; : 24 cm

Edition Identifiers

ISBN:9781438453491, 1438453493, 9781438453507, 1438453507
oclc:ocn870248337
LC Classification:PN1995.9.B795
Dewey Decimal:791.43/682943

John Whalen-Bridge: Some (Hollywood) versions of enlightenment -- Representation and intention. Hanh Ngoc Nguyen and R.C. Lutz: Buddhism and authenticity in Oliver Stone's Heaven and earth -- Eve mullen: Buddhism, children, and the childlike in American Buddhist films -- Jiayan Mi and Jason C. Toncic: Consuming Tibet: Imperial romance and the wretched of holy plateau -- Felicia Chan: Politics into aesthetics: cultural translation in Kundun, Seven years in Tibet and The cup -- Allegories of shadow and light. Jennifer l. McMahon and B. Steve Csaki: Momentarily lost: finding the moment in Lost in translation -- Richard C. Anderson and David A. Harper: Dying to be free: the emergence of "American militant Buddhism" in popular culture -- Karsten J. Struhl: Buddhism, our desperation, and American cinema -- Devin Harner: Christian allegory, Buddhism and Bardo in Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko -- David l. Smith: "Beautiful necessities": American beauty and the idea of freedom -- Postscript -- Gary Gach: Afterword: on being luminous.

Subjects

Bouddhisme au cinéma Buddhism in motion pictures Buddhismus Cinéma -- Histoire et critique. -- État… Criticism, interpretation, etc Film Kultur Motion pictures Motion pictures -- History and criticis… Motion pictures -- Religious aspects United States USA