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Religion and film scholars have long used the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) as a source for material on audience responses, but not much thought has been given to what the material found on the site constitutes. This article highlights possibilities and problems with researching sites such as the IMDb, discussing how studies of Internet communication, community, and fan culture can help contextualize the material and provide a better comprehension of the discussions of religion on the site. The potential of the IMDb to offer noteworthy voices on religion is exemplified with an analysis of reviews of three religiously themed Nordic films. The views on religion expressed are theorized as a form of ‘playable religion’ reflecting contemporary attitudes to religion.
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Zep-11, “World Class Acting and Plot,” review of Adam’s Apples (2005), 10 October 2006. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0418455/reviews?filter=best;filter=best;start=20 (accessed 21 November 2012).
Christopher Deacy, Faith in Film Religious Themes in Contemporary Cinema (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005).
Kelly Denton-Borhaug, “A Bloodthirsty Salvation: Behind the Popular Polarized Reaction to Gibson’s The Passion,” Journal of Religion and Film 9/1 (2005), http://www.unomaha.edu/jrf/Vol9No1/DentonBorhaugBloodthirsty.htm (accessed 8 November 2012).
Klaus Dodds, “Popular Geopolitics and Audience Dispositions: James Bond and the Internet Movie Database (IMDb),” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers NS 31 (2006), 116–130.
Isabel Molina-Gusmán, Dangerous Curves Latina Bodies in the Media (New York: New York University Press, 2010).
Kate Egan, The Evil Dead (New York: Columbia University Press, 2011).
Stig Hjarvard, “The Mediatization of Religion: Theorising Religion, Media and Social Change,” Culture and Religion 12/2 (2011), 119–135.
Henry Jenkins, Textual Poachers Television Fans and Participatory Culture (London: Routledge, 1992).
See for example Matt Hills, Fan Cultures (London: Routledge, 2002).
Henry Jenkins, Convergence Culture Where Old And New Media Collide (New York: New York University Press, 2006).
Tomas Axelson, Film och mening En receptionsstudie om spelfilm, filmpublik och existentiella frågor (Uppsala: Uppsala University Press, 2007); Charlotte Haines Lyon & Clive Marsh, “Film’s Role in Contemporary Meaning-Making A Theological Challenge to Cultural Studies,” in: Stefanie Knauss & Alexander D. Ornella (eds.), Reconfigurations: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Religion in a Post-Secular Society (Graz: Lit, 2007), 113–126.
Manuel Castells, The Internet Galaxy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001).
Mark Poster, The Second Media Age (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1995). For a discussion of Poster’s theory see for example Allison Cavanagh, Sociology in the Age of the Internet (Berkshire: Open University Press, 2007), 74–80.
David Holmes, Communication Theory Media, Technology, Society (London: Sage Publications, 2005), 150.
Felicia Wu Song, Virtual Communities Bowling Alone, Online Together (New York: Peter Lang, 2009).
Quentin Jones, “Virtual-communities, Virtual Settlements & Cyber-Archeology: A Theoretical Outline,” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 3/3 (1997). http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol3/issue3/jones.html (accessed 20 November 2012).
Henry Jenkins, Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers Exploring Participatory Culture (New York: New York University Press, 2006); Jenkins, Convergence Culture; Jenkins, Textual Poacher.
Mia Lövheim, “Mediatization of Religion: A Critical Appraisal,” Culture and Religion 12/2 (2011), 153–166.
IMDb, “Storyline,” As It Is In Heaven. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382330/ (accessed 20 November 2012).
See, for example, Bijan Tehrani, “Adam’s Apples, Taboos Are There, All the Time and Everywhere,” Cinema Without Borders, 3 August 2007. http://cinemawithoutborders.com/conversations/1215-adam-s-apples-taboos-are-there-all-the-time-and-everywhere.html (accessed 7 June 2013).
All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
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Abstract Views | 209 | 31 | 1 |
Full Text Views | 81 | 7 | 0 |
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Religion and film scholars have long used the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) as a source for material on audience responses, but not much thought has been given to what the material found on the site constitutes. This article highlights possibilities and problems with researching sites such as the IMDb, discussing how studies of Internet communication, community, and fan culture can help contextualize the material and provide a better comprehension of the discussions of religion on the site. The potential of the IMDb to offer noteworthy voices on religion is exemplified with an analysis of reviews of three religiously themed Nordic films. The views on religion expressed are theorized as a form of ‘playable religion’ reflecting contemporary attitudes to religion.
All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 209 | 31 | 1 |
Full Text Views | 81 | 7 | 0 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 32 | 16 | 1 |