“And all were amazed at his understanding” (Luke 2.47): Filmmakers’ Appropriation of the Lukan Wunderkind as Ideological Spokesperson

 

Presented May 31, 2015 at the University of Ottawa

Abstract:

The Lukan story of Jesus at the age of twelve is framed by references to the boy’s wisdom (2:40, 52), which astounds teachers assembled at the temple in Jerusalem (2:47). What it is that amazed the boy Jesus’ audience, however, is left open to the reader’s imagination... and, since the advent of the cinema, the filmmaker’s imagination. Film, being the dominant medium of storytelling in our contemporary context, one that both mirrors and shapes cultural idea(l)s, begs critical inquiry into its adaptations of biblical stories. In this paper I will explore Luke’s temple pericope as dramatized in several films ranging from the now classic made-for-TV mini-series Jesus of Nazareth (1977) to a recent representative of world cinema Io sono con te (2010), looking specifically at the content of the boy Jesus’ imagined words in their filmic contexts. With clips from these various films, I will show how, in the hands of scriptwriters and directors, Luke’s Wunderkind often becomes a spokesperson for particular religious, political and social ideologies. Viewer discretion is advised.