Suggestions on movies for discussions on religion?
I need some help. I am starting a course for my students about religion and I need some suggestions on movies we could watch to get the discussion going. Most of my students are Catholics and Muslims. So, any suggestions on movies that would be a good start and that would help the discussion going, would be much appreciated.
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The Life of Brian. I’m serious by the way. Way too much stuffiness when it comes to religion. Bring some much needed humour into it. It’s good for the soul!
Monsieur Ibrahim is excellent, if some mild sexual content is acceptable. It’s the story of an older Sufi man who befriends and adopts a Jewish boy and teaches him how he understands the spirit of the Qu’ran. Very entertaining as well. Great acting by Omar Sharif.
‘The passion of Christ’ if you want something controversial, might be good for prompting debate…
Becket
A Man For All Seasons
Perseopolis
The Day the Earth Stood Still (the original)
Gandhi
Dogma.
I would avoid Zeitgeist as most of what it quotes is incorrect.
Since I’ve recommended it on another thread recently, Being There.
How about Kingdom of Heaven? “To kill an infidel, the Pope has said, is not murder. It is the path to Heaven.” The crusades are a good place to start anyway. Maybe you could move from there to terrorism, and then on to the Irish conflict. The Life of Brian is also a good one.
Most of the movies made nowadays about religion are ones that pick it apart and degrade it. And yes.. that will surely spark a “conversation”. XD
How ‘bout the Boondock Saints. Witty, intelligent, good story line…a bit of religion thrown in for good measure….(And yes I know, improper use of ellipses!)
i would suggest…
last temptation of christ,
(good example of seperatng his humanity from his divinity)
religulous(by bill maher)
malcolm x
and possibly ghandi
My recommendation is not exactly a movie, but rather a two-part TV special with a run-time of about 2–½ hours.
The Second Coming is a rather different perspective, and definitely thought-provoking and discussion-starting.
(I tried to post a link to the wikipedia entry on it, but Fluther wouldn’t let me.)
Another vote for Life of Brian! whistling, always look on the bright side of life
A couple other possibilities:
Saved much better than it needed to be, given the teen audience it’s aimed at
Jonestown: The Life and Death of the People’s Temple
Jesus Christ Superstar
Elmer Gantry
Leap of Faith (Steve Martin as a phony faith healer)
Marjoe
And I haven’t seen this documentary about gay Muslims, but it looks interesting: A Jihad for Love
Jerome Bixby’s ‘The Man From Earth’. It’s a great morality play which discusses the possibility of human immortality and describes the events of a life that spans fourteen thousand years of human history. The lead character talks about many historical and religious figures and their various philosophies. Anything more would require a spoiler alert.
No recommendations from me, but I wish you well! That’s quite a powder keg that your class is sitting on.
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