Journal for Religion, Film and Media (JRFM)

2025-05-15

Front Matter

JRFM — 2025-05-15

The Meaningful Meaninglessness of Multiverse Movies

Robert Johnston — 2025-05-15

Until recently in Western culture, the “multiverse” has most typically been limited to the abstractions of theoretical physics or to the imagination of comic-book writers. However, in EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (Daniel Kwan/Daniel Scheinert, US 2022), the multiverse functions differently, becoming a deeply affecting metaphor particularly suited to the Asian-American immigrant experience, but also more generally to the absurdity and chaos of contemporary life. The multiverse functions in the movie as a symbol of life’s vanity, its absurdity, which paradoxically throws both characters and viewers back on the need for kindness and love. After unpacking the film narrative, the essay moves to an inter-textual dialogue with two philosophers who also note the need to recognize life’s meaninglessness in order to live meaningfully: Albert Camus and the unknown writer of Ecclesiastes.

Not for Free at All

Christian Wessely — 2025-05-15

The political demand that all results of university research be available through Open Access was a strategic decision that stakeholders have been required to embrace. However, Open Access is cost-free only for consumers, not for producers. Authors now need to not only produce excellent content but also secure financial support. Specific interest groups, in the interest of fair access to quality-assured publication, are establishing their own Open Access publication opportunities. This article sketches the emergence of the Open Access concept, its impact on the pressure to publish and career planning for young scholars, and the effort required to operate an Open Access journal (using the Journal of Religion, Film and Media as an example), focusing in particular on the workload associated with publishing one year’s output and the input/output relationship under current academic conditions.

To Study Religion and Media, We Need to Teach Religion and Media

Alexander Darius Ornella — 2025-05-15

Universities in the United Kingdom, and also in the United States, Austria, and Germany, are facing increased financial pressures. This has already led to the closure of religious studies departments and courses. Course closures impact not only the study choices of students but also the opportunities for the faculty to study religion and media. In this essay, written from a UK perspective, I argue that healthy recruitment into religious studies and related degrees is a necessary foundation for consideration of future directions in the study of religion and media. Given precarious funding, it is essential to consider the value that the study of religion offers the tax-paying public and how scholars in the study of religion can demonstrate how religion shapes socio-cultural and political transformations. I argue that scholars of religion and media can do much to renew public interest in the study of religion.

A Variety of Reading Modes

Marie-Therese Mäder — 2025-05-15

This article identifies three different perspectives on the study of media consumption/reception practices in the field of religion and media in order to develop a typology of methodological approaches. The different approaches are systematized in three types. The first focuses on the aspect of representation in its relationship with reception, with the researcher as the primary recipient. The second type proceeds in reverse, centering on reception/consumption and attending to representation in so far as it is at the basis of reception. In this type, informants are the primary recipients. The third type of methods focuses exclusively on consumption and reception processes, with the media being consumed not playing a significant role in the study. The conclusion addresses the limitations of the discussed types of methods in the field of media and religion, and advocates for combined approaches. It emphasizes the researcher’s role and responsibility in the analysis and argues that future research should focus on integrating cultural contexts to better understand the dynamics of media and religion.

Exploring the History of Cultural Interactions through Visual Material

Philippe Bornet — 2025-05-15

Since the end of the 20th century, images have been a crucial entry point for cultural studies, and sophisticated tools for their analysis have been developed. Given that images easily travel across all kinds of borders, they can be helpful guides in the study of transcultural processes. This is particularly important for the study of religion, as images – which often play a central role in rituals and are constantly recreated for each new context – reveal the influence that outside cultures exert on a tradition. In addition, digital tools have opened up new possibilities whose impact on the study of images is not yet fully recognised. Based on these observations, this article addresses the following questions: How can the study of images contribute to the study of intercultural exchange in history, and what are the current trends? What dimensions should be considered when studying images in a cross-cultural or comparative context? How did the advent of digital tools change this research framework, with what advantages and what caveats? Finally, what is the impact of the dissemination of research results through open-access journals on cultural exchanges, especially when visual material is involved? To illustrate these different questions, we follow the history of an image published in a previous issue of the Journal for Religion, Film and Media (JRFM), an image that was itself the product of complex cultural exchanges and has taken on a new role since its publication in the journal.

A Flor de Piel

Yara González-Justiniano — 2025-05-15

A current opening for research in the field of religion, film, and media is the interpretation of cultural production through the sensing and knowing that stems from decolonial approaches. In this article, I argue for the use of a Latin American decolonial aesthetics in this field of study, specifically in exploring examples from Puerto Rican art and media that incite community-making practices in association with a religious/theological imagination. I provide a list of eight key characteristics of decolonial aesthetics and introduce the expression a flor de piel (brought to, or sensed on, the surface) to describe the type of sensing that these works of art produce in an embodied dialectics between the medium and its audience.

Young Adults, Digital Media, and Religion

Sofia Sjö — 2025-05-15

Looking at youth and young adults when researching religion and media is an approach that can lead to important results. Young people are often on the forefront of media developments and are likely to impact how religious groups utilize and incorporate media in their practices. Building on the findings of an international project and earlier research, this paper highlights three interconnected areas worthy of more attention in the study of religion and media: the limitation of most studies to specific settings and university students and the need to expand the demographic of explored subjects; the importance of studying online and offline religion as interconnected and related; the need to study not only religion and media but also how media might contribute to individuals leaving their religious identity behind and providing spaces for atheist identities and communities.

Trends, Challenges and Developments in Jewish Latin American Film

Mirna Vohnsen — 2025-05-15

This article surveys the specialized field of Jewish Latin American Jewish film, detailing its foundational years, current challenges and future developments. Beginning with the field’s origins and early pioneering work, the study tracks how scholars have addressed Jewish representation in Latin American cinema, underscoring key milestones, such as the emergence of interdisciplinary approaches and comparative studies. The essay presents the challenges that the field faces, including difficulties in accessing films, the impact of global streaming platforms on academic research and the role of women in film. By highlighting future research directions, the paper offers insights into how Latin American Jewish film can deepen our understanding of cultural, religious and social dynamics, both within the region and in a global context. It concludes that despite being a focused research area, Jewish Latin American film has the potential to significantly contribute to the broader field of religion, film and media by expanding the scholarly focus to a region that has often been marginalized in global academic discourse.

10 Years of the Journal for Religion, Film and Media

Giulia Evolvi — 2025-05-15

Responding to the articles in the 10-year-anniversary issue of the Journal for Religion, Film and Media, this article provides some methodological and theoretical considerations for the field of religion and media. First, it addresses qualitative and quantitative approaches, evaluating the impact of digital tools and artificial intelligence on the analysis of data. Second, it discusses issues connected to power, focusing on decoloniality
and secularization in the study of religion. Lastly, it traces trends in the field of religion and media, discussing the theory of (hyper)mediation and the role of religion within social movements and in connection with other cultural issues.

Animated Film Review. THE BOY AND THE HERON (Hayao Miyazaki, JP 2023)

Edgar Edel — 2025-05-15

Review of the Japanese Animation Film THE BOY AND THE HERON (2023) by Hayao Miyazaki and its religious implications.

Song Review. The Beatles, “Now and Then”

Anna-Katharina Höpflinger — 2025-05-15

Review of the AI-compilated new song of the Beatles, "Now and Then" and its religious implications.

Book Review. Jesse Russell, The Political Christopher Nolan

Jochen Muendlein — 2025-05-15

Review of Jesse Russell's monograph The Political Christopher Nolan. Liberalism and the Anglo-American Vision (2023) on the political aspects of Christopher Nolan's films.

Series Review. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER, Season 2

Maximilian Rosin — 2025-05-15

Review of the second season of the Amazon Studios series THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER (US 2024) and its religious implications.

The Study of Religion, Film and Media