Change Your Image
amina_akhmetbekova
Reviews
Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World (2011)
Art as a Space for Cultural Exchange
The documentary Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World (2011) by Robert H. Garner in light of the contemporary rising political tensions with the Islamic world, was able to show the other side of the deep and rich culture of the Islamic world that is not limited to the Arabian Peninsula alone. Stretching from the Africa to Indonesia, the Islamic legacy can be found in different forms around the world. In the essence, this movie represents the major idea, that Islam should not be understood through a limited lens of perception, since the culture and religion itself is open and adaptive to different cultures. Even though Islam has been associated with violence, conquests till present days, people usually forget to look at the bigger picture of inter-cultural exchange that Islam brought to the world, and remains of physical culture, such as architecture and art are the ones to tell the story of Islam from another perspective.
The spread of Islam after the Abbasid Caliphate took almost an exponential growth, as the old order of Umayyad period was replaced. According to Richard Bulliet's (from lecture on spread of Islam) conversion curve, since the new caliphate was more open to accepting multiple cultures under the Islam. In the documentary we see that it was actually the case, if we take a look at the variety of the mosques alone that were built in different part of former Arabic lands. As we also see from this week's reading extracts, that different part of the world like China, India, Turkey, Spain had mentions of the Islamic traditions, similar pattern can be clearly seen in the spread of the art and architectural forms. The example that definitely is unique and will grab viewers' attention is from the West African mosque of Djenne (00:31:21). This mosque does not look as any other traditional type; however, it still carries out the same functions and incorporated the use of mudbrick architecture that is used in that region. Such variety shows that despite the place, the local traditions and culture, all of the buildings serve the same purpose and it will not affect the 'rightfulness' of the religious practice.
Another important idea that this film shows is that for Islam, the words were an important part of their art culture, but despite the fact that everything was written in the Arabic, the art of calligraphy was able to fascinate and speak to people of other cultures through the aesthetics. As it was put in the documentary, if for the Christians the gift from the God was his son Jesus, for Muslims the gift was his words. The importance of the revelations for example is emphasized in the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, and it highlight the account of the Muhammad's night journey to pray with other prophets, as we read in "The Life of Muhmmad" book. Even though the overall design of the architecture is not what is expected from Arabic building, according to the experts (0:06:55), the main part that shows their culture is the wall calligraphy. The art of calligraphy is versatile and adaptive enough, that it allows to be incorporated into different styles and cultures, however at the same time bringing the essence of the Islamic culture within itself.
The spread of technology and techniques that were used in Islamic art, was also a two-way process of integration of cultures. In that sense art shows that despite the differences and opposition that Islam faced in other lands, there was still the process of exchange and communication. For example, in the Indian account, it is often described that Indian, mostly Hindu tradition, were in conflict with the Islamic during the conquest (Abu'l- Fadl, trans. Schimmel, Islam in the Indian Subcontinent, 85). At the same time, Indian people were borrowing the technology of making a mosaic glass pieces to create magnificent geometrical patterns on the wall of their monuments. Their architectural ideas were also incorporating Persian, Islamic and Hindu styles of architecture. Some of which are still associated mostly with the Indian heritage, such as the famous Taj Mahal, while it was primarily Persian and Islamic based piece of art. Other technologies that were developed under the Islam, are the new forms of metal work, carving, ceramics, preparation of paper and wood for calligraphy. Through their art, Muslims also conveyed an important role of water and new irrigation/ water energy systems, such as water mills, within the life of their society. They usually incorporated those technologies and flow of water in palaces and other pieces of architecture.
From technical perspective on the film, it was successful in showing the beauty and complexity of the Islamic art around the world, through the division of the documentary into segments devoted to specific art details and themes. It is also important that we see both Western and Eastern scholars, experts talking about the Islam, as it breaks the wall between two points of view that are often perceived as different or incompatible by the general public/viewers. One of the great examples that they talked about to show the bridging of the gap between Westerners and Islam, is the story of calligraphy master Mohamed Zakariya.
Overall, the documentary is successful in bringing the other side of the openness and beauty of the Islamic culture, that is not usually considered by general viewers. It shows that Islam is not limited to the Middle East, but throughout the history was spread to different part of the world, and was able to integrate with other cultures. Islam is not limiting in its practice, as long as people believe, which could be considered as a part of the reasons behind the successful spread of this religion. It also highlighted the idea that religion does not only come with the believes, but with the new technologies, that stimulate inter-cultural exchanges. The film created a dialogue about Islam through art, as a language that can be understood by different people, which is a brilliant common ground to talk about religion without evoking strong prejudice and biases.
The Visual Bible: The Gospel of John (2003)
Following the visualization of the Word
The Gospel of John (2003) is an incredibly detailed adaptation (visual bible) of the early Christian writing, the gospel of John itself. Even though the movie has a strong religious base, it is still inclusive to people of different backgrounds, inviting you to follow and experience the story. The movie tells the story of the Jesus of Nazareth as he spreads his message and performs miracles in the name of God for people to believe, from his first appearance till the resurrection. Keeping the film close to the original source was a decision that brought the success of portray, but at the same time can hinder the presentation of the movie from cinematographic standpoint.
Despite the fact that the main plot of the movie is purely based and follows the text of the gospel, it engages the view to follow the story from start till finish through incredible attention to detail and at the same time overall simplicity. In other words, in this movie the text itself becomes the most important part, which is crucial for a religious type of film. It was not altered in a way of creating fictional fantasy out of the religious texts to appeal to bigger audience, but keeping it close to reality described there. However, the movie is not too exclusive as well, allowing viewers of different background to understand and go on the journey of understanding the purpose and messages of Jesus, as if they themselves are reading the original book. The style of storytelling that Philip Saville (director) chose makes the audience to also react and think about the teachings. During the moments of people misunderstanding or questioning Jesus, the contradictions between perceptions of his words by them engages the viewer to do the same. For instance, in the temple, when he tells that people should eat his body, that he is the bread (00:52:23); a lot of questions rise of what he meant by that. Where a Christian can relate and understand, is where others can learn and reflect on. Since the movie was closely based to the original text, it feels more believable.
The details of the film like the set design, costume design and work of actors are the key elements that help the visualization of the gospel to be more clearly represented and yet remain down to the original. It can be clearly seen that there was a lot of work done in term of the set and costume design, which was a success in creating the atmosphere of the past. From the variety of visual representation of people from different religions, ethnicities or class, such as the
The portraying of the Jesus of Nazareth by Henry Ian Cusick should be taken into account of why the movie is successful in illustrating the events of the texts, and most importantly the words of the Jesus as described there. Cusick was able to play the role with enough emotional engagement, where the character was not too overpowering and influencing the perception of what is said by them. Stating it in another way, the character of Jesus was explained not by pure actor skills and emotions, but through the text. For example, when Jesus spoke and gave his teachings in several instances (00:39:35,00:51:30, 1:12:06). During those moments of monologues, the words themselves spoke more than the actor, the attention was on them and on the ideas, which is interesting considering the original introduction of the gospel of John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." . Therefore, giving more attention to the words and monologues the production team and actors in a sense were able to reinforce the message.
As for the other side of the attention to details in this movie, it also can be noticed that the overall style of the cinematography is closer to the theatrical one. It is seen in a way that the narration and actions follow each other, where in some cases the narration has more role in explaining of what is happening on the screen. During the scenes when Jesus is finding his disciples, for example Philip (Andrew Pifko) (00:10:05), or in other instances of small dialogs between the characters, such as Pharisees and Pontius Pilate (Stephen Russel) (2:27:23) or later conversation of Simon Peter (Daniel Kash) and guards (2:24:01). Some of the narrations seem more overpowering at that time, and make the actors actions more weak or unnecessary. This also creates pauses between narration and acting, which sometimes felt stiff to watch. It is understandable that the scripture texts and ideas are difficult and that portraying them as they are may require more narration.
Tying up the movie to the general theme of early Christianity and its spread, it was successful in showing the conflict between people based on the perception of the teachings and what should be followed. The way people believed and understood the same message of Jesus Christ and his story itself is a source for multiple interpretations that we saw unraveling later in history (councils, schisms and different churches).
Overall, The Gospel of John can be considered as a precise illustration of the events described in the text of the gospel, covering the important moments and notions. Viewer intents to follow the storytelling the same way the production was paying attention to details and message. Despite the long span of the movie of three hours, it is still worth watching for the excellent visualization of the original text, keeping in mind that there is more of an educational side this movie rather than pure entertainment.