Seite - 161 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Band 07/01

Reading The Book of Joseph | 161www.jrfm.eu 2021, 7/1, 145–171 Eventually they are joined by Faith, a young and attractive woman with a drug addiction, from which she is freed by the three Seeds, only to then lead the cult’s drug production: “The Bliss” helps the Seeds to pacify any poten- tial resistance within the cult. Finally, Joseph describes their community in Hope County as secluded and self-sufficient, ready to survive the impending apocalypse, from the ashes of which Joseph and his cultists will rise to be the guardians of a new, improved and purified humankind. Joseph’s religious inspiration comes from an entity he calls “The Voice of the Creator”, or simply “The Voice”. This entity speaks to Joseph on two oc- casions of extreme pain and humiliation: the first time when young Joseph was beaten by his father for the forbidden possession of a Spiderman comic; the second time when the adult Joseph is ambushed and kicked by a group of three nameless and faceless thugs outside the psychiatric hospital he is work- ing for. Joseph renders the words of The Voice either as a textual unidentified quote or as a paraphrase: But let me tell you what The Voice told me: The Creator has never turned a blind eye to the distress of the righteous. He has been watching mankind and has seen those who desecrate His word, who desecrate themselves in a race toward material wealth and vainglory. Such sinners have angered Him and it won’t be long until He unleashes His righteous punishment. (The Book of Joseph, physical version, p. 21) This situation communicatively means that The Voice is only accessible to Joseph. All other characters and the text-immanent reader can only know The Voice through Joseph. This exclusivity underlines the unique function of Joseph in the sect. Discussion about The Voice is out of the question because only Joseph has access to it. The Seeds as Monks The drawings in The Book of Joseph are principally apocalyptic, but there are two exceptions: one drawing is of the face of Joseph himself, printed before the prologue (p. 3), and the other is of the Seed family, printed before the epilogue (p. 124, fig. 14). From a communicative point of view, this second picture is very important. In the drawing we see the four Seeds, from left to right John, Joseph, Faith, and Jacob. All male characters are dressed in (probably) white clothes with