Seite - 133 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Band 05/01

applied to restore an already damaged image. These techniques can further be characterized as either strategies, meaning institutionalized actions aimed at the production of long-term impressions, or tactics, which designates sponta- neous actions and gestures. In any case, a prototypical figure of representa- tion like the pope bundles the impressions we have of a complex institution like the Roman Catholic Church, fostering recognition, but also supports the temptation to simplify reality and ignore divergent information. Nevertheless, despite all efforts at impression management, our concrete opinions are shaped by many other conditions as well, such as individual personality or even our cur- rent mood. Such analysis confirms Szyszka’s thesis that “the pope” does not exist, echoing the statement from the introduction of the book that “only the pope knows the pope” (9). This might also be the reason for the wide range of images of different popes, above all of the three most recent popes (John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis), which the contributions in this anthology provide. One might not immediately recognize that Hans Küng and Stanisław Dziwisz are both writing about Pope John Paul II. While Dziwisz presents him as a man deeply devoted to prayer, with a high esteem for women and especially well able to attract youth, Hans Küng draws parallels between John Paul II and his contemporary President Ronald Reagan and points out the conservative and politically problematic sides to the religious leader. While we will do well to bear these thoughts on perspectivity in writing in mind, we can still enjoy the other contributions, such as those concerning the popes’ contrasting styles of relating to mass media. Hubert Knoblauch, for in- stance, analyzes how the broadcasting of religious mass events has changed by comparing the video record of the visit of John Paul II to Vienna in 1998 with that of the visit of Benedict XVI to Berlin in 2011. His thesis that the religious performances of these two events diverge significantly does not concern only their liturgical styles, with the integration or exclusion of popular elements such as clapping or popular chants, for he also notes a fundamental transformation of religious acting itself through the phenomenon of mediatization. With medi- atization he means not simply “the substitution of corporeal action through a process of [digital] media” but rather the “transformation of the structure of actions through the integration of technical media” (190) – more an intensifi- cation of communication than its dissolution. He illustrates this thesis with an analysis of the roles of the audiences who appear in the broadcasts. In 1998, the camera focuses on the liturgical celebration in order to deliver it a TV audience and there is very little space for shots of the audience. By contrast, in 2011, the audience and individuals receive much more attention, and members of the audience also record themselves and the event. These phenomena change be- havior and, as Knoblauch states, lead to new forms of spirituality. One can rec- ognize behaviors similar to those observed at non-religious mass entertainment Book Review: Popestar | 133www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/1