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

Session: Ecology and Nature in Contemporary Spiritualities

The relation to nature and the environment in religions is a fascinating subject, and it takes a new and surprising form these days - with the rise of the ecological discourse, and in light of the apocalyptic fears of an imminent ecological disaster. Some of the new religions place a special emphasis on the sanctification of nature (such as neo-shamanism). In the popular spiritual discourse the concept of nature adoration and caring for the environment feature, in the context of spiritual values. In this session, four studies dealing with ecology and nature in contemporary spiritualities are presented.

0 Comments

May 26, 2024

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

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.

0 Comments

May 26, 2024

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

Lecture: The Film “Noah” (2014) as an Intersection Between Alternative Spiritualities and Popular Culture

The film Noah (2014) is analyzed in this lecture as a cinematic Midrash, that presents three different contemporary worldviews, and promotes eco-feminist values while criticizing materialism and fundamentalism. The lecture presents central theses formulated in a couple of articles published by Prof. Marianna Ruah-Midbar Shapiro and Dr. Lila Moore as part of this research project.

0 Comments

December 26, 2023

Israel / Popular culture and mass media

“The Academy of Human Spirit” Podcasts hosted by Prof. Marianna Ruah-Midbar Shapiro

This page includes links to podcasts (all of them in Hebrew) prepared and hosted by Marianna Ruah-Midbar Shapiro in her program on "Mahut HaChayim" (The Essence of Life) Radio. The program was called "The Academy of Human Spirit". (In Hebrew "Ruah" means "spirit" and the Humanities are called "sciences of spirit", so the program was titled "The Academy of Ruah"). Each episode of the program, there was a central theme and one main interviewee (and another in addition).

0 Comments

December 19, 2023

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

Article: The film “Noah” (2014) as an Environmental Cinematic Midrash

The film Noah (2014) is a cinematic Midrash. What does this mean? That it creatively interprates the biblical story of Noah anew, fills in existing gaps in the story, and striving at delivering an ideological message. This article surveys the sources of inspiration integrated in the film - from the sages' midrash to Zen Buddhism stories, and explains the film creators' interpretative choises and their message.

0 Comments

December 1, 2022

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.

0 Comments

November 30, 2022

Art (music\film\literature etc.) / Disputation or conflict / Feminism gender and sex / Judaism and Kabbalah / Myth / Popular culture and mass media

Article: Worldviews in the Film “Noah” – Hedonism, Fundamentalism, and Ecofeminism

"We broke the world — we did this. Man did this. Everything that was beautiful, everything that was good, we shattered. Now, it begins again." (Noah's words, from the film) In this article we interprate the film Noah (2014), and identify various cultural/ spiritual/ religious worldviews that clash in the contemporary western society: a hedonistic-materialistic approach, religious and enviromental fundamentalism, and eco-feminism. We show how the film maker, Daren Aronofsli, express through the protagonist, Noah, the problematicalness in the various cultural stances, when the plot leads its hero thorugh a transformational process.

Comments Off

November 30, 2022

Read more about the article Article: “Lilith’s Comeback from a Feministic Jungian Outlook: Contemporary Feminist Spirituality Gets into Bed with Lilith”

Feminism gender and sex / Judaism and Kabbalah / Methodology and models / Mind and psychology / Myth / Popular culture and mass media

Article: “Lilith’s Comeback from a Feministic Jungian Outlook: Contemporary Feminist Spirituality Gets into Bed with Lilith”

This prizewinner article is a feminist hermeneutical research of Lilith's myth, from a Jungian viewpoint. It was announced (January 2021) “the 2020 Honorable Mention Award Winner” by The Jewish Women's Caucus of the Association for Women in Psychology. In addition to this article, there are more items - an article and lectures that present the research project on Lilith.

0 Comments

December 1, 2021

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.

0 Comments

November 30, 2021