Too Much is not Enough: Paul Verhoeven, Rene Girard & the Femme (Fa)tale
The film director Paul Verhoeven has described his first box office success, RoboCop (1987) as a "Christian fairytale". This paper explores some possible Christian themes in his next three films Total Recall (1990), Basic Instinct (1992), and Showgirls (1995). I argue that rather than mere...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Carfax Publ.
[2000]
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In: |
Journal of contemporary religion
Year: 2000, Volume: 15, Issue: 2, Pages: 233-245 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
Summary: | The film director Paul Verhoeven has described his first box office success, RoboCop (1987) as a "Christian fairytale". This paper explores some possible Christian themes in his next three films Total Recall (1990), Basic Instinct (1992), and Showgirls (1995). I argue that rather than merely presenting examples of the femme fatale, these movies explore a number of social boundaries and narratives which have parallels in Christianity—particularly the concepts of the Second Adam, Redemption and the Eucharist. In this respect, I draw on the work of Rene ´ Girard and, to a lesser extent, Stephen D. Moore to illustrate how Verhoeven's films link in with these theological motifs. |
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ISSN: | 1469-9419 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of contemporary religion
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/13537900050005994 |