Faith, Sacrifice, and the Earth's Glory in Terrence Malick'sthe Tree of Life
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4960437 |
|---|---|
| Authors | George B Handley (Comparative Arts and Letters, 3002 JFSB, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 79-93 |
| Publication date | 2014-10-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Angelaki (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0969-725X • E-ISSN: 1469-2899 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0969725x.2014.984442 |
| OpenAlex | W1974851773 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 9 |
Terrence Malick's film The Tree of Life revisits many of the questions regarding a Christian theodicy. How, for example, can one reconcile the idea of providence or believe in the meaning of human suffering when life itself is subject to and even dependent on chance and violence? In order to sustain faith in providence in such a universe, Malick suggests that one must be willing to absorb the insults of accident and sacrifice the human drive to control and master one's own destiny. In his invocation of Job, his allusions to Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, and his debt to Kierkegaard, Malick suggests that the recompense for this sacrifice is an intensification of appreciation for existence itself and for the spiritual value of biological and geological processes. In this way, the film offers an insightful ecotheology that makes earth more central to a Christian ethos
Destiny (ISS module · Epistemology · Ethos · Faith · Free will · Glory · Meaning (existential · Sacrifice · Theodicy · Theology · Ethics, Aesthetics, and Art · Philosophy, Ethics, and Existentialism · Visual Culture and Art Theory · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,14 |
| Citation span | 2019 - 2019 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |