Orientalism in Outer-space: The Ascendancy of Sanskrit Mantras in Hollywood Science Fiction Films and Soundtracks

The dawn of the twenty-first century saw the growing appearance of Sanskrit mantras in popular Hollywood science fiction films suggesting a resurgent interest in Indian spirituality. This paper will argue that Hollywood's recent use of "SF Sanskrit" tends to evoke a sense of militancy...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dunbar, Scott Daniel (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: AASR [2008]
In: Australian religion studies review
Year: 2008, Volume: 21, Issue: 3, Pages: 366-385
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Volltext (doi)
Parallel Edition:Electronic

MARC

LEADER 00000naa a22000002 4500
001 1693856972
003 DE-627
005 20200402170544.0
007 cr uuu---uuuuu
008 200402s2008 xx |||||o 00| ||eng c
024 7 |a 10.1558/jasr.v21i3.366  |2 doi 
035 |a (DE-627)1693856972 
035 |a (DE-599)KXP1693856972 
040 |a DE-627  |b ger  |c DE-627  |e rda 
041 |a eng 
084 |a 0  |2 ssgn 
100 1 |e VerfasserIn  |0 (DE-588)1051354617  |0 (DE-627)786056142  |0 (DE-576)406391211  |4 aut  |a Dunbar, Scott Daniel 
109 |a Dunbar, Scott Daniel  |a Dunbar, Scott D. 
245 1 0 |a Orientalism in Outer-space  |b The Ascendancy of Sanskrit Mantras in Hollywood Science Fiction Films and Soundtracks 
264 1 |c [2008] 
336 |a Text  |b txt  |2 rdacontent 
337 |a Computermedien  |b c  |2 rdamedia 
338 |a Online-Ressource  |b cr  |2 rdacarrier 
520 |a The dawn of the twenty-first century saw the growing appearance of Sanskrit mantras in popular Hollywood science fiction films suggesting a resurgent interest in Indian spirituality. This paper will argue that Hollywood's recent use of "SF Sanskrit" tends to evoke a sense of militancy and war rather than tranquillity and peace, which has resounding Orientalist connotations. Nevertheless, it will be shown that the correlation between mantras and warfare actually has historical precursors within the Hindu tradition. To advance this thesis, two case studies will be examined: (1) The Matrix Revolutions and (2) Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace. It will be shown that each of these films presents mantras in the context of epic battles. Such positioning of Sanskrit in belligerent contexts, however, raises interesting questions about evolving Orientalist stereotypes in popular culture: Why is Sanskrit associated with war in the science fiction industry? Is Hollywood's appropriation of Hindu mantras a new "fad" to market SF in "exotic" Indian packaging or an effort to "spiritualise" the SF genre? What does Hollywood's use of Sanskrit tell us about current views of religion in modern film, and about shifting views of the ‘Orient' in popular culture? 
601 |a Sanskrit 
773 0 8 |i Enthalten in  |t Australian religion studies review  |d St. Lucia, Qld : AASR, 2005  |g 21(2008), 3, Seite 366-385  |w (DE-627)513219749  |w (DE-600)2238779-1  |w (DE-576)255268017  |x 1744-9014  |7 nnns 
773 1 8 |g volume:21  |g year:2008  |g number:3  |g pages:366-385 
776 |i Erscheint auch als  |n elektronische Ausgabe  |w (DE-627)1846010179  |k Electronic 
856 4 0 |u http://www.equinoxpub.com/journals/index.php/JASR/article/view/4797  |x Resolving-System 
856 |u https://doi.org/10.1558/jasr.v21i3.366  |x doi  |3 Volltext 
951 |a AR 
ELC |a 1 
ITA |a 1  |t 1 
LOK |0 000 xxxxxcx a22 zn 4500 
LOK |0 001 3617754317 
LOK |0 003 DE-627 
LOK |0 004 1693856972 
LOK |0 005 20200402170544 
LOK |0 008 200402||||||||||||||||ger||||||| 
LOK |0 040   |a DE-Tue135  |c DE-627  |d DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 092   |o n 
LOK |0 852   |a DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 852 1  |9 00 
LOK |0 935   |a ixzs  |a ixzo  |a rwrk 
ORI |a SA-MARC-ixtheoa001.raw 
REL |a 1 
SUB |a REL