Discuss how these films use existing religious traditions to conceive of knowledge:Which religious texts, teachings, or ideas receive explicit or implicit recognition in these films? How are the references to these texts/teachings/ideas worked into the dialogue, plot, or imagery of these films?

The first several films in this course (The Matrix, A Serious Man, The Seventh Seal) revolve around the question of knowledge — what can be known, what cannot, and how people attempt to reconcile one with the other. Each film uses religious traditions of different types (and in different ways) to examine the relationship between what is knowable and what is not.

In this essay, discuss how these films use existing religious traditions to conceive of knowledge. Which religious texts, teachings, or ideas receive explicit or implicit recognition in these films? How are the references to these texts/teachings/ideas worked into the dialogue, plot, or imagery of these films? How do these techniques enable the filmmakers to propose their own ideas about what can, or cannot, be known? Do the views or positions of these filmmakers align with the religious texts/teachings/ideas that their films address or invoke? What does this suggest about the relationship between film as a forum for serious ideas and religious communities/ideologies?

Be sure to cite at least one example from each film and identify the specific text/teaching/idea that the example appears to reference; in identifying the text/teaching/idea, cite a source. This can be a direct verse or verses from religious Scripture (the Bible, the Qur’an, the Bhagavad Gita), or the authoritative work of a religious authority (the writings of Martin Luther, or the Dalai Lama, or Avicenna, etc.). If you choose the latter, be sure to note the title of the work in question — a book, a recorded speech, an article, etc.

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