The deluge myth was used by generations of commentators as a tool for social criticism – it provided them with an opportunity to explain what kind of humanity deserved total annihilation. In recent films, connections are made between the current ecological crisis and the deluge… Are we (yes, we!) this generation that deserves to be destroyed, and why?
This lecture presents a comparative study of Hollywood films throughout the last century, all of which have allusions to the biblical flood myth. The focus will be on how the flood becomes a symbol of the worsening ecological crisis nowadays.
The lecture (in Hebrew) is part of a session on “Ecology and Nature in Contemporary Spiritualities” presented in the 7th annual conference of the Israeli Association for the Study of Religions (IASR), held at the Open University in Ra’anana, on June 10, 2024. The annual conference was dedicated to the topic of “Religion and the Environment”. See below Link to the session’s webpage (and a webpage of another session in the same conference).
The lecture is based on a joint study by Prof. Marianna Ruah-Midbar Shapiro and Dr. Lila Moore, which was published as an article in the journal Religions in 2019 – see below a link to the article’s webpage.
In two other articles, Ruah-Midbar Shapiro and Moore analyzed the film Noah (2014). See link to the article’s webpage below.
Abstract
The biblical story of the deluge, which describes a humanity worthy of destruction, is the fundamental myth used by generations of commentators when they come to make a radical criticism of the society and culture in which they live. Accordingly, the different versions of the deluge myth and the interpretations over the years are a reflection of dilemmas and cultural values that change frequently.
Our research examines how changing ideologies of Western culture in the last century are reflected through the design of the deluge myth in cinema. Through an analysis of selected films from the 20th and 21st centuries, we will present the changing representations of the flood in popular Western culture. In the latter, the deluge symbolizes the impending apocalyptic threat to humanity, in the form of an ecological disaster caused by its sins. The relationship between nature, technology, politics, society, and morality in the films gives a renewed and relevant interpretation to the ancient myth.
This way, the redesign of the deluge myth is a window into cultural criticism towards groups and values in contemporary Western society (such as hedonism), and an opportunity to observe growing cultural alternatives (such as ecofeminism), and spiritual trends that challenge the mainstream (neo-shamanism and influences from Oriental teachings). This is expressed both in the film Noah (2014) which re-presents the biblical story, and in feature films and TV shows that describe a disaster in the form of the flood as a contemporary threat.
Along with the ecological issue, the filmographic analysis raises a variety of theological and ethical issues, such as the problem of evil, the attitude to animals, the Other, politics, family values, feminism, the attitude to science and technology. Also, the analysis demonstrates how the feature films of the ecological type that deal with the deluge myth give expression to anxieties of environmental disasters and climate trauma, combining references to religious, spiritual and ethical issues.
Our lecture is based on a comparative study project, part of which is the article:
Ruah-Midbar Shapiro, Marianna, and Lila Moore, “‘Not Your Grandmother’s Bible’ – A Comparative Study of the Biblical Deluge Myth in Film”, Religions 10.10 (2019), 542 [17 pages].
Following is the video recording of the lecture:
To watch the (Hebrew) presentation in a video format:
Language
Hebrew
Academic/Non-academic
Academic item
Bibliographical citation
It is recommended to refer to the article mentioned in the abstract above.
