The Transcendental Frame: Sketches on the Theodramatic Possibilities of Cinema

ABSTRACT: All drama is religious in origin, and the theological qualities inherent in theatre and cinema are baked in from the ground up. Film is an art not only because it requires a vast array of skills and techniques, but also because of its inherently theodramatic nature. In this sense, the dramatic arts are a record of sustained explorations of ontological, existential, and transcendental themes that have, since time immemorial, captured the imagination of artists, philosophers, theologians—and, of course, dramatists, playwrights, and filmmakers. This presentation will examine the specifically theological and liturgical qualities (and possibilities) of cinematic art, chiefly through the prism of cinematic mise-en-scène—that is, via the construction and rendering of key frames and scenes in select films. In this way, the objective is not only to distill and behold iconic cinematic moments (“theatrically,” which means “to see”); but also to behold and encounter the theodramatic dynamics the attend to these moments “cinematically” (a word tied to “movement”). The presentation will draw on aspects of Hans Urs von Balthasar’s theodramatic theory and integrate compositional insights from Paul Schrader’s magisterial text, Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer (1972/2018). Some films that will be considered are: The Diary of a Country Priest (1951), The Searchers (1956), Rushmore (1998), Ida (2011), and First Reformed (2018).

Michael Murphy is a member of the Power of the Word Project Advisory Board and Director of Loyola’s Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage. He earned his doctorate in Theology, Literature, and Philosophy from the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, an MA in English from San Francisco State University, and undergraduate degrees in English and Great Books from the University of San Francisco. His research interests are in Theology and Literature, Sacramental Theology, Systematic Theology, and the socio-political cultures of Catholicism-- but he also writes about issues in eco-theology, media ecologies, and social ethics. Dr. Murphy, a Senior Lecturer in the Theology Department, is a National Endowment for the Humanities fellow. His first book, A Theology of Criticism (Oxford), was named a "Distinguished Publication" in 2008 by the American Academy of Religion. His current scholarly project is a monograph, The Humane Realists: Catholic Fiction, Poetry, and Film 1965 - 2025.

https://www.luc.edu/theology/facultystaff/murphymichaelpatrick.shtml