spiritual cinema

like i say, i'm new at the online world of social networking. 
as you can see, my primary form of writing is ... books.  (inksmeared deadtrees)


... i thought i'd start a blog around the next book i'm writing:  spiritual cinema

better to interact with my "audience" (you) before, rather than after; unlike the web, once a book's done, it's set in stone.

an interesting aspect of zaadz (imho) is inclusion of movies in our profile.  for many folks of my generation (class of '64)  movies schooled us in how to see the world and how deport ourselves therein: a sense of both how to look and what we look like.

movies about spirituality have primarily been about religion, a genre present in motion picture history since the beginning (e.g., QUO VADIS).   until now.  with WHAT DREAMS MAY COME (based on swedenborg's visions of heaven and hell?) and even more so WHAT THE !@_#$ DO WE KNOW?, " spiritual cinema " is now a viable commercial cinematic genre.

but, as with movies in general, there are three essential aspects which define it, only know one really knows what they are (!).  it's still all up for grabs.

in our new (western) millennium, what if we stop and look back, ahead, and where we are, in terms of our spiritual evolution in terms of cinema. 

cinema, one of the greatest new forms of human communications since gutenberg's invention of movable type (for the bible; or, 400 years earlier, korea's invention of movable type, to promulgate dharma), and yet how often is it used to elevate or educate ——— and how (too) often, instead, to appeal to baser instincts? the lowest common dominators ( "if it bleeds, it leads" / "sex sells" etc)

what are the spiritual aspects of cinema (films, how they're made, and how they're viewed), in and of itself?
for instance, is it mystical to watch a movie, and feel as if one's both spectator and actor?  is watching life like a movie (from a distance, removing self from the equation) a good psychological or spiritual meditation to practice?  what does the nature of cinema itself tell us about the nature of reality (E.G., continual present moment, impermanent, succession of frames appearing in motion, etc).

what are some key spiritual moments in cinema?
such as woody allen in the balcony of a movie theater, during HANNAH & HER SISTERS. 

what are some key spiritual films (why? and what category would you place them under?)
for example IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE is a chestnut this time of year.  it's a film about prayer, about the importance of each life, and about the interconnectedness of life.

a related example might be AFTER LIFE, from japan, which takes an almost documentary approach, even 'tho it's a fiction film.

here's the deal. for my part, i'll post work-in-progress, and how it's going, plus (if you like) texts i've previously published (like, the section from my complete idiot's guide to understanding buddhism on film as buddhist and buddhist films), and you're invited to contribute suggestions, comments, questions, criticism, and whatever else the blog inspires. 

& naturally, this all will produce some fruitful topical drift ...

... we shall see what we shall see ...