ארכיון evil - Prof. Marianna Ruah-Midbar Shapiro (PhD)

Lecture: How the Deluge Myth became a Symbol of the Ecological Crisis – A Comparative Cinematic Study

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.

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May 26, 2024

Art (music\film\literature etc.) / Critical theory / Disputation or conflict / Feminism gender and sex / History / Judaism and Kabbalah / Myth / Popular culture and mass media / Science/medicine and technology / Typology and comparative study

Article: “Not Your Grandmother’s Bible”—A Comparative Study of the Biblical Deluge Myth in Film

Do you know the story of Noah and the deluge? Well, every generation had its interpretations and versions of the story. And when the deluge is retold - they actually talk of a humanity worthy of annihilation. Why? Every commentator has its own explanation, where lies criticism of the society they live in or encounter. The deluge as presented in current cinema isn't the flood as depicted in old traditions, since the story continues to evolve and get renewed. In this comparative study, we've surveyed Hollywood films that present the deluge iver the last century - in each of them the humanity is presented as facing annihilation, while offering an a current critic. Recently, for instance, the deluge myth is linked to the ecological discourse.

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November 30, 2022

Art (music\film\literature etc.) / Feminism gender and sex / Identity / Judaism and Kabbalah / Magic and paganism / Mind and psychology / Myth / Popular culture and mass media

Lecture: Lilith’s Comeback in Contemporary Feminist Spiritualities

What a glorious career did Lilith had in thousands of years! Alas, always as a negative and dark image… However, in the last decades, in the feminist spirituality she's actually admired. So, what does she represent for the contemporary feminist spirituality? Not one thing, but rather different things. The lecture presents a research, that was also published in an Article. See below links to relevant items. The lecture took place at a panel on "New Religious Movements" at the 2nd Annual Conference of the Israeli Association for the Study of Religion, dedicated to the Scriptures (their nature and place in religions). The conference was conducted at Bar Ilan University on March 11th-12th, 2018. This conference's session took place in English. For the conference's program in English.

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January 16, 2022

Art (music\film\literature etc.) / Feminism gender and sex / Identity / Judaism and Kabbalah / Magic and paganism / Mind and psychology / Myth / Popular culture and mass media

A lecture: Lilith’s Image in Contemporary Feminist Spirituality and its Meanings

"Lilith sets inspiration fo women and men in the contemporary femenist spirituality, a sourse of theological/thealogical imagination, and an image for mimicry." This lecture, on Lilith's Image in Contemporary Feminist Spirituality, took part inSchocken Institute for Jewish Research's workshop on Feminine Spiritual Leadership. The research was awarded a scholarship from the Institute. The research project on Lilith includes more articles and lectures.

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January 16, 2022

Read more about the article Research Article: “The Temptation of Legitimacy – Lilith’s Adoption and Adaption in Contemporary Feminist Spirituality”

Art (music\film\literature etc.) / Feminism gender and sex / Judaism and Kabbalah / Magic and paganism / Mind and psychology / Myth / Popular culture and mass media / Typology and comparative study

Research Article: “The Temptation of Legitimacy – Lilith’s Adoption and Adaption in Contemporary Feminist Spirituality”

This article surveys the many and various manifestations of Lilith's image in the femenist spirituality in the last decades, in the Jewish world and beyond. The article examines the values and messages embodies in the adoption and adaptation of this figure, and reveals their contradictory character - in many fields. Finally, the conclusion is that Lilith's figure constitutes an instrument to establish legitimation. The article is about 7,600 words, in English. In addition to this article, there are more items - an article and lectures that present the research project on Lilith. See links below. "I cannot remember now how I had even heard of Lilith, but I borrowed her tale because it fit my contemporary need." from: Judith Plaskow (ed. Donna Berman), The Coming of Lilith: Essays on Feminism, Judaism, and Sexual Ethics, 1972-2003, p. 86.

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November 30, 2021