Close Read Essay: Spiritual Matters on Film

Below are the scenes you may choose from for next week's in-class close read essay. You will be responsible for just one scene. They represent various perspectives on spirituality or a lack of. The goal is to closely analyze the scene in order to reveal new levels of understanding. We will discuss how this is done in class this week.

"Because Might Makes Right" from Crimes and Misdemeanors (Dir. Woody Allen, 1989)


"In the Name of God the Merciful" from Paradise Now (Dir. Hany Abu-Assad, 2005)

"I Read Your Book" from Contact (Dir. Robert Zemeckis, 1997)


"I Will Do What Needs to be Done" from Doubt (Dir. John Patrick Shanley, 2008)


"Every Sperm is Sacred" from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (Dir. Tery Jones, 1983)


"It is a Small, Quiet Maryland Town" from The Blair Witch Project (Dirs. Eduardo Sánchez & Daniel Myrick, 1999)