Page - 13 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 02/02

In Search of the Human | 13www.jrfm.eu 2016, 2/2, 9–14 viewers, sensations of pain, bewilderment, or joy, instead of motivating specific actions. Similar to the work of the Dardennes, this mode of realist filmmaking does not necessarily allow to know the world, other human beings, animals, or objects, but rather it challenges viewers to acknowledge the other (animal, hu- man, natural) in its otherness. The following two articles, by Alexander D. Ornella and Sofia Sjö, discuss dif- ferent filmic visions of “doing gender”. Ornella’s analysis of the BBC sitcom Rev. (BBC2, UK 2010–2014) shows how masculinity is always a matter of negotiat- ing between external expectations and self-image as well as between different forms of masculinity. Rather than the natural way of being a man, masculin- ity is an unstable construct that permanently shifts under various pressures, in particular the ones exerted by the ideal of a clerical masculinity envisioned by the Church of England, which provides the institutional context of the series. While Rev. (2010–2014) does not represent an unproblematic image of mascu- line roles, it does underline that they are just that – roles that change and shift under the influence of social institutions as well as individual visions of life. Sjö’s analysis of the ways in which gender and religion interact in two Scan- dinavian films continues these reflections on how films are involved in con- structions of gender and religion, and on how cinema imagines the influence of religious traditions on gender roles. Sjö shows that different forms of religion are gendered quite differently, and explores how religious themes can open up alternative visions of masculinity and femininity. In addition, Sjö calls attention to the fact that today films often provide the main source of information about religion and religious ideals of masculinity and femininity, especially in a context such as that of the Nordic countries, which are relatively secularized. Each in its own way, the articles in this issue share a common interest in the search for the human as they explore various filmic visions of the conditions of human existence in material reality and in relationship with the world, the inter- actions between delimiting social structures and individual freedom, the capac- ity of humans to transcend their situation, and the negotiation of external ex- pectations with individuals’ ideas about their own futures as men and women. In its early stages, I planned this issue with my friend and colleague Dr. Davide Zordan of the Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Italy, co-editor of this journal. Like me, he was fascinated by the theological potential of the cinema of the Dardennes, and we spent many a coffee break talking about their ability to trace the effects of social structures in the lives of individuals in a both critical and hopeful mode, the ways in which they draw their viewers into these ethical explorations, and their attention to the beauty and depth of everyday material reality. We were both looking forward to the opportunity to broaden our conversations and en-