Dave Padrazo
Equinox Staff
As far as influences from writing go, there are few books that have been read, analyzed, interpreted, and displayed in other forms more than the Christian Bible. There have been countless adaptations of the stories and writings recorded in different medias, one of the most prominent being film. From “The Prince Of Egypt” cartoon movie to Mel Gibson’s “The Passion Of The Christ”, the variety of film adaptations of Bible stories is estimated by the A.V. Club, an online publication, to be over 160. With so many different versions, it may seem daunting to try and tackle a study of these films.
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As of this semester, however, Keene State College students are attempting to tackle these adaptations with a new course, titled “The Bible In Film.” According to the syllabus, the class is meant to “examine the literary and cinematic texts of the biblical stories.” The course is focused on both the film and literary adaptations of the Bible and attempts to figure out what the stories are about, as well as examining what changes or shifts when the stories are put into the words and cinematography of directors. There are many different kinds of performance used to display the stories in the Bible, ranging from “A musical with song and dance numbers carrying the entire plot,” to “Very realistic and faithful renderings of moving stories,” as said in the syllabus.
Originally, this class was called “The Bible In Literature,” and was not focused as much “if at all” on film adaptations of the Bible. Eventually, the course shifted over to including the film adaptations of the Bible’s stories as well, which likely expanded the base of interest to people interested in film as well as literature. The course has not completely forsaken its roots as a literature course, but instead has just expanded its area of influence.
With its new status, there is only one section of the course, with a class size of approximately sixteen students, most of whom are upperclassman, as well as a few older students returning to continue to pursue a continuing education. The varied adaptations of the Bible likely draw in a varied crowd of people who are interested in learning about the adaptations for different reasons. Those people now have a chance to do so thanks to the addition of this course to Keene’s catalogue of studies. Freshman Matt Perani, one of the students in the class, was asked a few questions about the course.
On what the work for the class mainly consisted of, Perani said, “The work in class is mostly a standard, English class-esque type of work, with a focus on responses of about two to three pages in length.” He went on to say, “As of next week we will likely be moving into watching the actual Bible films, and responding to them in different ways.” The over-arching theme of the class is “To analyze the Bible in a different way, almost more as a piece of literature than as a strictly religious tome.” He went on to say, “Also to gain insight into how people view religion, and how they portray their religious beliefs.”
The course also has quite a bit of personal use to Perani, who is pursuing a degree in English. “The class is going to help me get a basis in the Bible, which is a huge part of English. It has a large influence in many work of literature, and having a good basis in the Bible will help me greatly.”
“This is my first time opening a Bible,” Perani continued. “So I am getting to look at it completely at a non-objective view, and look at it as the piece of literature that is desired for the class.” He continued to say, “It also is useful for my major, as I said before, so taking this class is a great opportunity for me.” There seems to be quite the enthusiasm for the new class, from the way Perani answered the questions about it, and it will serve to be quite useful to people of many majors and areas of interest.
By analyzing the Bible as a literary work, as is the goal of the class is stated to be, people can gain an insight into the Bible as more than just the Christian holy book.
As with any religious tome, there is a lot to the Bible regarding the values, opinions, and lifestyles of people in the time period they were written. By looking at the film adaptations, it also allows students to see how modern people view the stories of the Bible. “The Bible In Film” is off to a good start for a new class, and is going to continue to grow and expand as the years pass.
Dave Padrazo can be contacted at dpadrazo@ksc.mailcruiser.com