Documentary as exorcism : resisting the bewitchment of colonial Christianity / Robert Beckford.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Beckford, Robert.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Beckford, Robert.

Documentary films--Philosophy.

Documentary films.

Pentecostal churches--Great Britain.

Pentecostal churches.

Religion in motion pictures.

Imperialism in motion pictures.

Theology.

Philosophy.

Great Britain.

Physical Description:

256 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Bloomsbury, 2014.

Summary:

Robert Beckford is at the forefront of challenging documentary film making. For the first time he reflects on his art, and how he navigates between theology and visual culture as an academic, activist and practitioner. Starting from a clarification of his cultural viewpoint, as someone living in-between various camps, he moves on to review recent developments in documentary theory, in particular the need to engage and challenge audiences rather than simply transmit actuality. Beckford frames colonial theology in the Caribbean as a form of witchcraft practice that bewitched Africans and later black colonial subjects, and discusses the continued impact of this bewitchment, namely in politics and anti-intellectualism in contemporary African Caribbean Church life, especially in the UK. He explores the concept of exorcism, particularly as a transforming group social practice, demonstrating ways that visual culture (film, art, etc.) has been part of social exorcism in diaspora cultures and analysing his own high-profile documentaries, Black Messiah, God is Black, Empire Pays Back and Undersize Me, in this context, both in terms of religions and social exorcism.>

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781847063915

1847063918

9781847063922

1847063926

OCLC:

802295481