Themes, Motifs & Symbolism: Religion
Religion as a Recurring Theme
My film's narrative is riddled with themes that both help to ignite the story as well as reflect on the deeper message that I'm trying to convey. Religion is one of the major themes present.
Religion has been a theme common across all types of fictional texts: from ancient dramas to modern television shows, it has been something people have come accustomed to seeing. Commonly, if religion is used in film it is often used to make a social comment about religion and its effects on society. While I do allude to the effect religion has on contemporary western society, it is not a fundamental theme in my moral message. I mainly intend to use religion to heighten my storytelling and add a layer of meaning and depth to my narrative.
Characters
In my film, the main characters often either represent religious figures or allude to religion in some way. As I don't have a religious body or structure in my film, I use subtexts for the audience to pick up on that allude to religion instead.
The characters each represent their own segment of religion:
The Preacher
The Preacher is the most obvious 'religious' figure to the audience. This is because the concept of
preachers and preaching is something associated with religious authorities, particularly that of Christianity. Preacher tropes are often always seen in films and The Preacher in my film mirrors this, too.
A Preacher trope is a stereotype often seen in films in which a prominent Christian figure i.e a Reverend, uses and manipulates religion to support their own narrative and gain control over people. They often instill fear into the public in order to maintain this control. In general, preachers show very conservative values and are often tyrannical and hateful, using their power to spread intolerance. A good example of a Preacher trope is in 'The Backwater Gospel', which perfectly represents how people manipulate religion and religious texts to suit their own narratives and to gain control and power over others.
The Preacher in my film embodies this well. He is hateful, tyrannical and instills fear into the public in order to spread his own hate and intolerance. I would say that The Preacher represents everything bad in a 'religious' leader (or just a leader in general), he contrasts greatly against the other leader figures, for example, the leader of the Riverfolk and Bleedingheart, because he is out of touch and hateful. The Preacher is a hypocrite and therefore represents what makes a bad leader.
*Something important to note about the Preacher is that he never actually commits violence - only incites it. This is key because it further represents him as a bad example of a leader, but also a realistic leader as this is something really common among tyrants.
Bleedingheart
Bleedingheart, on the other hand, contrasts greatly against The Preacher's character; she is gentle, compassionate, wise and rational. A lot of Bleedingheart's image reflects religious iconography, however, in a very different way to that of the Preacher.
Things that connect Bleedingheart with elements of Christianity include her white dress and bare feet - a symbol of humility and simple values. She also is represented through a white rose - which also has strong religious connotations and connections to the Virgin Mary. Because of this, Bleedingheart can be compared to the Preacher. This is because, Bleedingheart (as a reflection of religion) represents a good religious leader or leader in general. She is the embodiment of goodness.
The Riverfolk
The Riverfolk share a different culture to that of Bleedingheart, the Preacher and the White Cloaks in general. The Riverfolk share a link with Islam, this is represented through their connection with the colour green - the colour of Islam. Not only this, but the way they are persecuted is common today, particularly in the West, but throughout history as well. The reason for this is because this links to the message of the film. These symbols help apply the film to contemporary society and, therefore, cement the message.
The Riverfolk are peaceful, humble and open. They represent people practising their religion peacefully without harming or affecting others.
The Terrorist
While coming from the Riverfolk tribe, the terrorist in my film does not represent anything that the Riverfolk stand for and is merely a disturbed individual. Something important to note about the terrorist is that he is estranged from the Riverfolk tribe - he is never seen in any sequence featuring the Riverfolk. In fact, as a character, he dislikes his own culture too, believing them to be too passive and pathetic.
This represents how Islamic terrorists may claim that they are Muslim or were raised in a Muslim culture/community, they do not practise Islam in the general way that Muslims do. They are a minority, an anomaly.
Overall
Usually, religion in films is obvious. They place religion as an actual structure into the film. Whereas, I use allusions to make a comment about religion rather than clumsily placing real religions into the context of my story.
My film's narrative is riddled with themes that both help to ignite the story as well as reflect on the deeper message that I'm trying to convey. Religion is one of the major themes present.
Religion has been a theme common across all types of fictional texts: from ancient dramas to modern television shows, it has been something people have come accustomed to seeing. Commonly, if religion is used in film it is often used to make a social comment about religion and its effects on society. While I do allude to the effect religion has on contemporary western society, it is not a fundamental theme in my moral message. I mainly intend to use religion to heighten my storytelling and add a layer of meaning and depth to my narrative.
Characters
In my film, the main characters often either represent religious figures or allude to religion in some way. As I don't have a religious body or structure in my film, I use subtexts for the audience to pick up on that allude to religion instead.
The characters each represent their own segment of religion:
The Preacher
The Preacher is the most obvious 'religious' figure to the audience. This is because the concept of
preachers and preaching is something associated with religious authorities, particularly that of Christianity. Preacher tropes are often always seen in films and The Preacher in my film mirrors this, too.
A Preacher trope is a stereotype often seen in films in which a prominent Christian figure i.e a Reverend, uses and manipulates religion to support their own narrative and gain control over people. They often instill fear into the public in order to maintain this control. In general, preachers show very conservative values and are often tyrannical and hateful, using their power to spread intolerance. A good example of a Preacher trope is in 'The Backwater Gospel', which perfectly represents how people manipulate religion and religious texts to suit their own narratives and to gain control and power over others.The Preacher in my film embodies this well. He is hateful, tyrannical and instills fear into the public in order to spread his own hate and intolerance. I would say that The Preacher represents everything bad in a 'religious' leader (or just a leader in general), he contrasts greatly against the other leader figures, for example, the leader of the Riverfolk and Bleedingheart, because he is out of touch and hateful. The Preacher is a hypocrite and therefore represents what makes a bad leader.
*Something important to note about the Preacher is that he never actually commits violence - only incites it. This is key because it further represents him as a bad example of a leader, but also a realistic leader as this is something really common among tyrants.
Bleedingheart, on the other hand, contrasts greatly against The Preacher's character; she is gentle, compassionate, wise and rational. A lot of Bleedingheart's image reflects religious iconography, however, in a very different way to that of the Preacher.
Things that connect Bleedingheart with elements of Christianity include her white dress and bare feet - a symbol of humility and simple values. She also is represented through a white rose - which also has strong religious connotations and connections to the Virgin Mary. Because of this, Bleedingheart can be compared to the Preacher. This is because, Bleedingheart (as a reflection of religion) represents a good religious leader or leader in general. She is the embodiment of goodness.
The Riverfolk
The Riverfolk share a different culture to that of Bleedingheart, the Preacher and the White Cloaks in general. The Riverfolk share a link with Islam, this is represented through their connection with the colour green - the colour of Islam. Not only this, but the way they are persecuted is common today, particularly in the West, but throughout history as well. The reason for this is because this links to the message of the film. These symbols help apply the film to contemporary society and, therefore, cement the message.The Riverfolk are peaceful, humble and open. They represent people practising their religion peacefully without harming or affecting others.
The Terrorist
While coming from the Riverfolk tribe, the terrorist in my film does not represent anything that the Riverfolk stand for and is merely a disturbed individual. Something important to note about the terrorist is that he is estranged from the Riverfolk tribe - he is never seen in any sequence featuring the Riverfolk. In fact, as a character, he dislikes his own culture too, believing them to be too passive and pathetic.
This represents how Islamic terrorists may claim that they are Muslim or were raised in a Muslim culture/community, they do not practise Islam in the general way that Muslims do. They are a minority, an anomaly.
Overall
Usually, religion in films is obvious. They place religion as an actual structure into the film. Whereas, I use allusions to make a comment about religion rather than clumsily placing real religions into the context of my story.
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