A composite body, amalgamated from dozens of corpses and wrapped in gauze lays on a cold, metal table. It slowly angles higher and higher until it is nearly vertical, and as it does so, the body’s arms are brought out to its sides until the surgical bed resembles a crucifix. Nodes around the head spark…
How Wake Up Dead Man uses Catholic Sacrament and Ritual to Reimagine the Church
An Introduction Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is the third installment in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out series, and it is by far the most personal and thought provoking of the three films. Unlike the first two films which used their settings to poke fun at wealth and social class, Wake Up Dead…
“Where are we going?”: The Relationship Between Humans and Purgatory as Depicted by The Sopranos
The show The Sopranos is about the life of a mafia boss named Tony Soprano. The show follows his real family and his mafia family and the relationships he creates with members of each. Also, Tony has to go to a psychiatrist because he is having panic attacks. Tony is portrayed in the show as someone who…
The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)
What causes someone to be vulnerable to the effects of demonic possession? Is there truly a relationship between the belief system of a person that reflects the vulnerability one puts themselves in when dealing with such entities? Catholic horror films tend to build around the ideals of believing and facing the unknown within Catholicism. What…
Between the Altar and the Gun: Religion and Moral Conflict in The Godfather
The Godfather is considered to be one of the greatest movies of all time. It dives into family values, religion, and revenge. This rollercoaster of a movie represents the true nature of a mob family like the Corleones. Francis Ford Coppola does not simply use religion as a symbol of hypocrisy. Instead, he constructs a…
Cultural Memory and the Catholic Roots of Coco (2017)
Coco presents death as a central part of family, memory, and cultural identity, rather than something that is frightening or taboo. While the film is celebrated for its colorful depiction of Día de los Muertos, it also reflects the deep influence of Catholicism in Mexican culture. The Rivera family’s ofrenda, the use of candles, prayers, photographs, and…
Religious Coexistence in Eve’s Bayou (1997)
The alluring landscape of rural 1960s Creole Louisiana acts as the backdrop of Kasi Lemmons’s Eve’s Bayou. Through the eyes of ten-year-old Eve, one fateful summer plagued with secrets and betrayals, spells the tragic collapse of a prominent Batiste family. Within this world, the boundary between the physical and supernatural worlds is easily crossed, and the…
Harlot Whores and Faithful Servants
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery visualizes how gendered expectations, communal belonging, and authority intersect within the Catholic church. These differing dynamics are intertwined by the parish conflicts and interactions portrayed in the film. Father Jud, A young Catholic priest is relocated as assistant pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude, under the…
Immaculate: Religion, Power, and Women’s Dignity
By: Jordan Rivas “What was great about it, though, was with her being a nun… what that allowed me to do was wallow in the religious iconography on a deeper level.” — Michael Mohan, director of Immaculate, in an interview with Rue Morgue Film Summary Michael Mohan’s Immaculate follows Sister Cecilia, a young American nun…
Religious Tension and Teen Angst: Catholicism as a Political Identity in Derry Girls
Throughout history, many of the world’s largest and most infamous conflicts have been caused by religion, most often religious differences. It is a common misconception that these religious conflicts were restricted to a bygone, more backwards age – certainly, pre-WW1. But one religious based conflict, the Troubles, a civil war between Catholics and Protestants in…
Catholics in the Americas 