The dissertation is an exercise in the application of the philosophical hermeneutics of Paul Ricoeur and the biblical hermeneutics of John Dominic Crossan to the aesthetics of religious cinema. / The thesis defines religious cinema as virtual religious experience; therefrom a theory of religious cinema is derived. This derivation depends on a discussion of the essential elements of the cinematic experience and permits the expansion of the category of religious cinema beyond its traditional frontier. Throughout the dissertation, a dialogue is maintained with general cinema theory on the one hand and religious cinema criticism on the other. The purpose of this dialogue is to increase credibility (in the former case) and to demonstrate originality (in the latter case). / Finally, extrapolating from a specific dialogue between Crossan and Ricoeur, a critical method is developed, then applied to Werner Herzog's Herz aus Glas, a transcription of which is included as an appendix.

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Apocalypse is one of the major motifs of Jewish-Christian civilization. The Book of Daniel represents a vital status in understanding the Jewish apocalypse. After summarizing the scholarship on The Book of Daniel and Jewish Apocalypse, I adopt a "intertextual hypothesis" approach to connect the Book of Daniel, Jewish Apocalypse and modern films in order to expand the horizons of discussion and interpretation. / In the thesis I will introduce the current biblical scholarship on Bible and Film, and by using "intertextual hypothesis", I will interpret from different aspects the apocalyptic thoughts in the film entitled <the Second Renaissance>. I will arrive at several points of new understanding of both the theme of "dualism" in Dan.7 and the much discussed area of the origin of Jewish Apocalypse. / This thesis aims at discussing the effect modern films has on our understanding of Daniel 7 and Jewish apocalypse. The main argument of this thesis is that the ancient Jewish apocalyptic thoughts (especially those in Dan. 7) can obtain a richer interpretation by the participation of modern film arts. / 叶洛夫. / Adviser: Archie C. C. Lee. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-03, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-112). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Ye Luofu.

Ho Wing Ki. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-135). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter CHAPTER 1 --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter CHAPTER 2 --- LITERATURE REVIEW / Convergence of Religion and Media --- p.4 / Three Conventional Approaches to the Media of Popular Piety / Current Trend of Religion --- p.7 / Characteristics of Film --- p.9 / Rich Resources --- p.10 / Liminoid Consciousness --- p.11 / Transcendence --- p.12 / Engaging the World Through Images --- p.13 / An Interdisciplinary Endeavor --- p.15 / Understanding Audiences --- p.20 / Applying Generic Film Analysis --- p.22 / Chapter CHAPTER 3 --- OBJECTIVE OF STUDY / Objective of Study --- p.23 / Background / Local Christian Visual Media Before / Evangelistic Films --- p.24 / Evangelistic Feature Films --- p.25 / Research Methods --- p.32 / Outline of The Miracle Box --- p.36 / Chapter CHAPTER 4 --- "THE G.P.A. OF EVANGELSITIC FILMS: THE GOAL, THE PERCEPTIONS, AND THE ADVANCE" / Establishing the Goal of Evangelistic Films --- p.44 / Conventional Perception about Evangelistic Films --- p.47 / Advance: Narrowing the Gap --- p.48 / Watching for Leisure --- p.53 / Chapter CHAPTER 5 --- THREE DEVICES FOR RELIGIOUS MEANING GENERATION / Device 1: Genre --- p.55 / Chapter (1) --- Genre Label and Sensitization --- p.58 / Chapter (2) --- Docudrama and Testification --- p.62 / Chapter (3) --- Melodrama and Toning --- p.65 / Summary --- p.69 / Device 2: Symbols --- p.70 / The Box and Hand Over --- p.71 / Suggested Meaning --- p.73 / Compatible Meaning --- p.75 / Ignorance or Opposite Meaning --- p.79 / Nature and God With Us --- p.81 / Summary --- p.84 / Device 3: Critical Moments --- p.86 / Christian Viewers --- p.90 / Non-Christian Viewers --- p.94 / Projection from a Distance --- p.98 / Summary --- p.99 / Chapter CHAPTER 6 --- CONCLUSION / Conclusion --- p.106 / Limitations and Further Research --- p.112 / APPENDIX I Informants Profile --- p.115 / "APPENDIX II Excerpts Where ""The Box"" is Featured in The Miracle Box" --- p.116 / "APPENDIX III Excerpts Where ""Nature"" is Featured in The Miracle Box" --- p.125 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.128

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This thesis attempts to take seriously the claims made by many postapocalyptic zombie narratives to represent the world as it truly is, analyzing and then assessing the theological value of their depictions of the human predicament. The approach is both formal and what Gary Wolfe calls transmedial, examining the recurring narrative structures and themes of texts across several media and eras as part of 'a popular aesthetic movement and not just a body of works of fiction on similar themes', with special attention given to the films and television of the new millennium. The aim is twofold: to extend the relevance of postapocalyptic zombie fictions beyond the relatively narrow vogue of a cultural moment, and to prompt a richer appreciation of the significance of the Christian faith within contemporary society. To this end, Chapter One contextualizes the complexity of these texts' relationship to Christianity by examining first the most prominent obstacles and then the implicit promise of these texts for theological reflection. It places special emphasis on the interior tension in many of these fictions between, on the one hand, aggressively emphasizing the apparent absence of the supernatural, while on the other, frequently claiming to disclose a dimension of human experience in excess of what can be ordinarily perceived by the senses. Chapters Two and Three extend this analysis to the complex content of what these stories depict. Chapter Two considers the multilayered symbolism of decline in their conspicuous spectacles of disaster, disintegration, and death. Chapter Three examines the countervailing symbolic motifs of residual integrity and regeneration that are exhibited most prominently by characters who attempt to live genuinely human lives in spite of these circumstances. The first half of the thesis concludes by proposing a composite postapocalyptic view of the human predicament, which represents the world as ambiguous, dramatic and quite possibly, although not certainly, absurd. Chapter Four begins the theological reflection upon this kind of postapocalyptic perspective, proposing how such depictions might be illuminated by Christian theological descriptions, particularly the absurd existential circumstances brought about by the original sin. Chapter Five, reciprocally, suggests some of the ways the dramatic images of these texts might enrich theological reflection by eliciting fresh insights into the significance of the central mysteries of Christianity, especially the paradoxical already-and-not-yet of eschatological expectation. The thesis concludes by offering a final evaluation of whether, all told, the world can be truly considered postapocalyptic from a Christian perspective, arguing that although there are significant differences, postapocalyptic fictions and Christianity put forward strikingly similar pictures of the deeply self-conflicted circumstances of the common human predicament.