Seite - 21 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Band 04/02

20 | Anna-Katharina Höpflinger and Marie-Therese Mäder www.jrfm.eu 2018, 4/2, 7–21 a lesbian ceremony. These depictions reflect the challenges of navigating ex- pectations and personal objectives associated with performing as a woman in contemporary culture. Next, a historical approach to wedding practices analy- ses the charivari, a noisy and, for the couple who are to marry, offensive proces- sion in the period from the mid-18th to mid-19th century in the region of Bern in Switzerland. In “Charivari or the Historicising of a Question. The Irrelevance of Romantic Love for the Audio-Visual Performance of Marriage in Bern in the 18th and 19th Centuries”, Arno Haldemann interprets this parade as in effect an audio-visual and violent expression against nonconformist marriages in line with collective attitudes and local custom. Weddings are performed as ritual, but they can also be used as strong reli- gious metaphors. In his article “Bridal Mysticism, Virtual Marriage and Masculin- ity in the Moravian Hymnbook Kleines Brüdergesangbuch”, Benedikt Bauer ex- plores marriage as a metaphor for mystical piety in the Moravian Church. With a gender-focused analysis of the Moravian hymnbook, he discusses lyrical-level constructions of masculinity in relation to bridal mysticism, heteronormative structures, and a specific religious worldview. In the open section Vuk Uskokovic’s essay shows how ways of representa- tion that break with convention allow for new ways of thinking, using as his model the films of New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard. In a second step his deliberations in Revisiting the Relevance of Conceptualism of Godard’s Film are transferred to academic language and publication conventions in general. The author postulates that Godard’s intuitive practices and his deconstruction of reigning standards could be applied to science as well. Godard’s artistic work challenged the canon; according to Uskokovic such a strategy could be enrich- ing in science too. The contribution to the open section has parallels with the discussion of wed- ding practices. Conventions are prevalent in the ritual of the wedding, often deeply rooted in religious tradition as it affects gender, clothing, music, or the ritual itself. These conventions can be repeated, contested, transgressed, and transformed, which opens up a broad, challenging, and multi-faceted field of study. BIOGRAPHY Caloy, Henriette, 1989, Die Braut. Das fesselnde Ritual des Eros, Stuttgart: Kreuz Verlag. Cohen Grossman, Grace, 2001, Romance & Ritual. Celebrating the Jewish Wedding, Los Angeles: Skirball Cultural Center / University of Washington Press. Fritz, Natalie, 2018, Von Rabenvätern und Übermüttern. Das religionshistorische Motiv der Heiligen Familie im Spannungsfeld zwischen Religion, Kunst und Film, Marburg: Schüren. Grimes, Ronald, 1995, Beginnings in Ritual Studies. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press.