Thank you for buying this ebook, published by NYU Press.

Sign up for our e-newsletters to receive information about forthcoming books, special discounts, and more!

Sign Up!

About NYU Press

A publisher of original scholarship since its founding in 1916, New York University Press Produces more than 100 new books each year, with a backlist of 3,000 titles in print. Working across the humanities and social sciences, NYU Press has award-winning lists in sociology, law, cultural and American studies, religion, American history, anthropology, politics, criminology, media and communication, literary studies, and psychology.

Sanctuary Cinema

Sanctuary Cinema

Origins of the Christian
Film Industry

Terry Lindvall

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
www.nyupress.org

© 2007 by New York University
All rights reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lindvall, Terry.
Sanctuary cinema : origins of the Christian film industry / by Terry Lindvall.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8147-5210-4 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8147-5210-1 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Motion pictures—Religious aspects—Christianity. 2. Christian films—United States—History and criticism. 3. Motion pictures in Christian education. 4. Silent films—United States—History and criticism.
I. Title.
PN1995.9.R4L56    2007
791.43’6823—dc22    2006033344

New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability.

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is dedicated to the vision of Barbara Newington, Babsy Newington,
and Adelia “Dolly” Rasines, wonderful
friends whose lives shine with grace, joy, and beauty.

And to my parents, John and Mae Lindvall,
incarnate images of God’s faithfulness and loving kindness,
and who wisely made me go to church a lot—where,
sometimes, they showed movies.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 The Brazen Serpent

2 Sanctuary Cinema

3 Divine Shows

4 Better Films

Conclusion: Film as Religion

Notes

Bibliography

Index

About the Author

A photo insert follows p. 116.

Acknowledgments

One cannot even begin such a work without the support of an editor who not only believes in the project but also has the wisdom, skill, and grace to discipline its author. Jennifer Hammer has been such an astute critic and generous sponsor, one who adroitly cleared a path for me to follow, but also allowed me to wander off into the forest at times. With a rapier skill for editing, Jennifer proved to be an expert trainer of thought and word. A distant friend and informal editor, Cynthia Read, gave hope and initial pruning to the project. I am also indebted to John Lyden and those anonymous, insightful reviewers who astutely critiqued earlier drafts. So, too, I thank a friend who has a talent for hearing nonsense as well as detecting errata, Pam Robles. I consider Vinnie Rossini, a former doctoral student, more as an archeological ...

Content not shown in limited preview…
SC:OCFI

About Sanctuary Cinema: Origins of the Christian Film Industry

Winner of the Religious Communication Association Book of the Year Award for 2008
Sanctuary Cinema provides the first history of the origins of the Christian film industry. Focusing on the early days of film during the silent era, it traces the ways in which the Church came to adopt film making as a way of conveying the Christian message to adherents. Surprisingly, rather than separating themselves from Hollywood or the American entertainment culture, early Christian film makers embraced Hollywood cinematic techniques and often populated their films with attractive actors and actresses. But they communicated their sectarian message effectively to believers, and helped to shape subsequent understandings of the Gospel message, which had historically been almost exclusively verbal, not communicated through visual media.
Despite early successes in attracting new adherents with the lure of the film, the early Christian film industry ultimately failed, in large part due to growing fears that film would corrupt the church by substituting an American "civil religion" in place of solid Christian values and amidst continuing Christian unease about the potential for the glorification of images to revert to idolatry. While radio eclipsed the motion picture as the Christian communication media of choice by the 1920, the early film makers had laid the foundations for the current re-emergence of Christian film and entertainment, from Veggie Tales to The Passion of the Christ.

Support Info

9780814765098

Table of Contents