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Joel Mayward
Parabolic Transcendence in Time and
Narrative
Shane Carruth’s PRIMER (US 2004) and UPSTREAM COLOR
(US 2013) as Post-Secular Sci-Fi Parables
Abstract
Subjectivity, memory, and the invisible connections between individuals’ identities are
all conspicuous themes within filmmaker Shane Carruth’s two award-winning indie sci-fi
films, Primer (US 2004) and Upstream Color (US 2013). In this article, I contend that both
Primer and Upstream Color are post-secular cinematic parables per philosopher Paul
Ricoeur’s description of parable: the conjunction of a narrative form and a metaphorical
process, addressing the religious via non-religious discourse. Interpreting these two films
through a Ricoeurian parabolic hermeneutic addresses their mutual transcendence in
and through time and narrative via their striking visual and auditory aesthetics, the use of
montage in their nonlinear narratives, and the depiction of invisible relational connections
between the films’ protagonists. I conclude that Carruth’s post-secular cinema resides in
an in-between space: between the secular and the religious, realism and expressionism,
immanence and transcendence.
Keywords
Shane Carruth, Paul Ricoeur, Parable, Post-Secular, Transcendence, Time Travel, Film-The-
ology
Biography
Joel Mayward is a pastor-theologian and film critic. An adjunct professor at Portland Semi-
nary of George Fox University in Oregon, USA, and the author of three books, Mayward is
currently a PhD candidate at the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts (ITIA) at
the University of St Andrews, Scotland, where he also serves as Associate Editor for ITIA’s
online journal, Transpositions. His research interests include the intersection of theology
and culture, film theory and film-philosophy, and Latino/a liberation theology and ethics.
A member of the Online Film Critics Society and INTERFILM, Mayward’s film reviews and
essays are at www.cinemayward.com.
DOI: 10.25364/05.06:2020.1.2 Parabolic Transcendence in Time and Narrative |
17www.jrfm.eu
2020, 6/1, 17–36
JRFM
Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 06/01
- Title
- JRFM
- Subtitle
- Journal Religion Film Media
- Volume
- 06/01
- Authors
- Christian Wessely
- Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati
- Editor
- Uni-Graz
- Publisher
- SchĂĽren Verlag GmbH
- Location
- Graz
- Date
- 2020
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY-NC 4.0
- Size
- 14.8 x 21.0 cm
- Pages
- 184
- Categories
- Zeitschriften JRFM