Screening the Afterlife: Theology, Eschatology and Film

In Screening the Afterlife, Christopher Deacy critically and insightfully pushes the discussion on theology and film forward. Deacy, being no stranger to this discussion, has constructively engaged with a variety of topics including Christology, faith and theology in general. Here he is concerned with a particular doctrinal locus within Christian thought traditionally referred to as eschatology, or the study of the afterlife. Having said this, his approach is distinct from others that have preceded it. He is not much interested in criticizing the culture through the lens of film, nor is he interested in developing a systematic theology by drawing from film (20-21). Instead, Deacy’s focus is on the correlations and distinctions found between theology (especially academic and historical theology) and film as a reflection of cultural phenomena and their emerging social consciousness (33). Thus, his view is that theology and film have equal “voice” and ought to be in dialogue with each other, mutually developing and extending knowledge (x).

Deacy begins his constructive dialogue on the afterlife in film in conjunction with the influences of scientific naturalism on cultural views of the afterlife, God and angels (chapter one). In chapter two, Deacy concerns himself with Christian views of resurrection, specifically touching on the nature of the body, the soul and the immortality of the soul. Chapter three is on near-death experiences and mind-dependent worlds, considering notable figures on these topics (Immanuel Kant, Jerry L. Walls, CD. Broad, Henry H. Price, and John Hick) in dialogue with What Dreams May Come, Flatliners, Vanilla Sky, and A Christmas Carol. Strikingly, in the next chapter, Deacy argues that with regard to perspectives on heaven a shift has taken place from otherworldly to this-worldly in both theology and film, as in films like Working Girl and The Shawshank Redemption. Deacy discusses the shift from seeing hell as a place of punishment to seeing it as a place of purification in chapter five. While the book has numerous strengths that could be mentioned, I will limit myself to three.

First, Deacy’s breadth of knowledge is remarkable, lending itself to fruitful insight, which Deacy facilitates with skilful appropriation. Deacy demonstrates adeptness in film, theology, philosophy, literature, comparative religions and eschatology. He also dabbles a bit in sociocultural studies, psychology, science and parapsychology. When drawing from these disciplines, Deacy is able to bring some synthesis to his research, resulting in a fine interdisciplinary work.

Second, the reader will find Deacy’s work to be an excellent and useful resource for clarity in worldview studies using concrete examples in film. He offers insight into scientific naturalism, Eastern thought, Christianity and New Age thinking. By considering film as a medium for insight into the culture, Deacy looks at film as representing belief-desire structures in the broader culture, but he also considers how film shapes the culture through conditioning already latent therein. Furthermore, he is able to isolate enduring ideas that not only have cash value in the culture but seem to be objectively true (19). In relation to this, he is able to pinpoint cultural values (4, 10-14).

Finally, there is something to be said for Deacy’s correlational method with specific interest in differences (161, 162–64). There is a real sense in which film can provide fertile ground for extending and clarifying knowledge, serving as a medium for concrete experiential knowledge. While this is clearly true of Deacy’s research, it could have been helpfully grounded in an overarching substantive philosophy. There are times when the reader will feel as though the book is simply a hodgepodge of interesting information without an answer to the so what? question. It would have been nice to see a robust epistemology of knowledge and justification, so that Deacy’s conclusions would be sufficiently grounded. For example, he could have improved his method through establishing knowledge and justification by acquaintance and second-person knowledge. If theology and film are equal authorities on the...