Seite - 13 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Band 04/01

Editorial | 13www.jrfm.eu 2018, 4/1, 9–14 the world (02:03:11–02:05:12). In Das radikal Böse religion is rather more in the background, but it is not completely absent. Although religion is not addressed directly, the unease and guilt the soldiers feel have religious connotations. Lu- theranism, for example, is about guilt and about wrestling to be released from this guilt. Although religion is not always and everywhere present, these films and their analysis in the contributions to this volume certainly articulate reli- gious trajectories. INTRODUCTION TO THE ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE In the first article Lucien van Liere analyses The Act of Killing. In his examina- tion he shows director Joshua Oppenheimer’s individualistic approach to mov- ie-making. Filmmaking is for Oppenheimer a therapeutic process, for he search- es for answers to questions about humanness, responsibility and authenticity. Through this quest he hopes to encounter a deeper layer within human beings, a humanity that all humans have in common. But this approach has roots in a Western view of life and in what making a good movie requires. In the end van Liere considers whether Oppenheimer was in fact successful with this ap- proach. The second article, by Hessel Zondag, interrogates the approach used in The Act of Killing and Das radikal Böse. The former film is about trauma, the latter about conformity. These perspectives are applied to the actions of the perpe- trators and reveal what occurs before the killing and what the consequences of that killing are. They claim to elucidate what changes men into mass murderers and what their participation in mass killing can mean for the rest of their lives. Yet these perspectives also conceal certain crucial issues. Gerwin van der Pol is the author of the third contribution, the article about The White Ribbon. He seeks to show that Haneke tried to put his finger on the motives of people who committed atrocities in the Second World War by go- ing back to the situation and society of their youth. In this earlier context, too, atrocities happened. How did the adults, in particular, deal with such barba- rism? And what role did religion play in these circumstances? In the fourth article, Freek L. Bakker compares The Act of Killing and Das radikal Böse by means of close reading and analysis of what is shown in these two movies, in particular when women and children are involved. The region- al, religious, political and military contexts of the two films differ widely, yet in both instances the perpetrators buckle when women and children are victims of their actions. How can we explain what is happening here? Through analysis that draws on the thought of Zygmunt Bauman and Emmanuel Levinas, Bakker seeks deeper insight into what takes place in these films, and perhaps also in the real world.