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A Critical Companion to Mel Gibson

Edited by Adam Barkman and Antonio Sanna - Contributions by Yaakov Ariel; Sarah Baker; Adam Barkman; Katherine Cottle; Eileen M. Harney; Brett A. Houk; Graham Lee; Douglas C. Macleod Jr.; Andrea Mancini; Heather McKillop; Josh Morrison; Todd G. Morrison; Anneke Murley-Evenden; Kandice M. Parker; Peter Piatkowski; Amanda Rutherford and Antonio Sanna

The twelve essays in A Critical Companion to Mel Gibson offer various interpretations of Mel Gibson’s work, treating this prolific but controversial figure not only as a filmmaker but as a historian, religious thinker, and social philosopher. From The Man Without a Face and Braveheart to The Passion of the Christ, Apocalypto, and Hacksaw Ridge, this interdisciplinary collection mines Gibson’s life and oeuvre for insight into existential problems, Aristotelian virtues, the politics of film, interreligious dialogue, adaptation issues, and much more.

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Lexington Books
Pages: 266 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜
978-1-66693-773-2 • Hardback • February 2024 • $110.00 • (£85.00)
Series: Critical Companions to Contemporary Directors
Subjects: Performing Arts / Film / General, Social Science / Popular Culture

Adam Barkman is professor of philosophy at Redeemer University.

Antonio Sanna is teaching assistant at the University of Sassari.

Part I: The Religious Thinker

Chapter 1. Faith, Female Sacrifice, and the Medieval Martyr in Mel Gibson’s Braveheart

Chapter 2. A Challenge to Jewish-Christian Relations: Mel Gibson and The Passion of the Christ

Chapter 3. What Apocalypto Reveals: Migratory Premonition and Religiosity in Gibson’s NA Film

Chapter 4. The Power of Passion: Lessons on the Messiah from the Sacred and Secular

Part II: The Social Philosopher

Chapter 5. Mel Gibson’s Visceral Vision: Exploring Recovery from the Human Condition

Chapter 6. The Aretē of War: Aristotelian Virtue in Braveheart

Chapter 7. It’s a Real, Real, Real Man’s World: Sexy Martyrdom and Heroic Fortitude in Mel Gibson’s Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ, and Hacksaw Ridge

Part III: The Filmmaker and Historian

Chapter 8. A Falling Comedy Star: The Ascent, Descent and Shift in the Comedy Film Career of Mel Gibson

Chapter 9. Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto: ‘Not the Maya We Know’

Chapter 10. Film Adaptation, Depoliticization and The Man Without a Face

Chapter 11. Apocalypto and the Ancient Maya: To Entertain or to Educate?

Chapter 12. Mel Gibson’s Unarmed War: Hacksaw Ridge

A Critical Companion to Mel Gibson

Cover Image
Hardback
Summary
Summary
  • The twelve essays in A Critical Companion to Mel Gibson offer various interpretations of Mel Gibson’s work, treating this prolific but controversial figure not only as a filmmaker but as a historian, religious thinker, and social philosopher. From The Man Without a Face and Braveheart to The Passion of the Christ, Apocalypto, and Hacksaw Ridge, this interdisciplinary collection mines Gibson’s life and oeuvre for insight into existential problems, Aristotelian virtues, the politics of film, interreligious dialogue, adaptation issues, and much more.

Details
Details
  • Lexington Books
    Pages: 266 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜
    978-1-66693-773-2 • Hardback • February 2024 • $110.00 • (£85.00)
    Series: Critical Companions to Contemporary Directors
    Subjects: Performing Arts / Film / General, Social Science / Popular Culture
Author
Author
  • Adam Barkman is professor of philosophy at Redeemer University.

    Antonio Sanna is teaching assistant at the University of Sassari.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents
  • Part I: The Religious Thinker

    Chapter 1. Faith, Female Sacrifice, and the Medieval Martyr in Mel Gibson’s Braveheart

    Chapter 2. A Challenge to Jewish-Christian Relations: Mel Gibson and The Passion of the Christ

    Chapter 3. What Apocalypto Reveals: Migratory Premonition and Religiosity in Gibson’s NA Film

    Chapter 4. The Power of Passion: Lessons on the Messiah from the Sacred and Secular

    Part II: The Social Philosopher

    Chapter 5. Mel Gibson’s Visceral Vision: Exploring Recovery from the Human Condition

    Chapter 6. The Aretē of War: Aristotelian Virtue in Braveheart

    Chapter 7. It’s a Real, Real, Real Man’s World: Sexy Martyrdom and Heroic Fortitude in Mel Gibson’s Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ, and Hacksaw Ridge

    Part III: The Filmmaker and Historian

    Chapter 8. A Falling Comedy Star: The Ascent, Descent and Shift in the Comedy Film Career of Mel Gibson

    Chapter 9. Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto: ‘Not the Maya We Know’

    Chapter 10. Film Adaptation, Depoliticization and The Man Without a Face

    Chapter 11. Apocalypto and the Ancient Maya: To Entertain or to Educate?

    Chapter 12. Mel Gibson’s Unarmed War: Hacksaw Ridge

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