The Divine Exhaustion of Myth and Parable in Cronenberg’s A History of Violence

Cronenberg’s A History of Violence is a film about dichotomies which are not really dichotomies. Wholesome Americana seemingly opposes seedy, urban America, religion seemingly opposes violence, and myth seemingly opposes parable. These oppositions are revealed to be two sides of the same coin. Using...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Cooper, Rich (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2010
In: The journal of religion and film
Year: 2010, Volume: 14, Issue: 2
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:Cronenberg’s A History of Violence is a film about dichotomies which are not really dichotomies. Wholesome Americana seemingly opposes seedy, urban America, religion seemingly opposes violence, and myth seemingly opposes parable. These oppositions are revealed to be two sides of the same coin. Using the Moebius strip to re-conceptualize the relation between myth and parable, both types of religious stories, this essay reveals the ways in which myth and parable exhaust each other in a cycle of powermaking violence. This exhaustion reveals myth and parable to be inadequate, necessitating divine intervention.
ISSN:1092-1311
Contains:Enthalten in: The journal of religion and film
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.32873/uno.dc.jrf.14.02.04