Modern Transcendence in Movies: The Spirit Descends on Mother Mary

This essay is the first in a series exploring the contemporary desire for transcendence through film. Or, to quote a recently released one: virgin mary“Where do ghosts go when they are no longer needed?”

in secular eraPhilosopher Charles Taylor traces the development that “leads us from a society in which it was virtually impossible not to believe in God to a society in which faith is one of the human possibilities for even the most ardent believers.” ¹Taylor was not simply lamenting the decline in religious identity and participation, nor was he arguing for or against the separation of church and governing authority. Contrary to this common understanding of secularization, Taylor analyzes how the “conditions of faith” have changed over the past few centuries.²

The main trend of these changes is the gradual disenchantment of the world, and we no longer perceive our world as full of mystery and unexplained forces. And it involves the fact that belief in God or some form of divinity is now one of many available options. Our modern society offers us many possibilities to search for meaning. But, as Taylor astutely points out, this does not mean that our drive for transcendence has evaporated. It still exists, but we don’t always know to which source of meaning we should associate it. We are now asked to “look within or without for something that can replace the meaning lost by transcendence.”³

So what does this search for transcendence look like in modern society? Journalist Tara Isabella Barton addresses this question in her book. strange ritualTherefore, she defines our society as a “remix culture.” Burton observes that for many people, the aspirations once fulfilled by institutionalized religion are now found piecemeal in a variety of sources. Those longings include “a sense of meaning in the world and a personal purpose within that meaning, a community to share that experience, and rituals that bring the power of that experience into achievable daily life.” We are free to discover different potential sources of meaning. This raises two related questions. Do those sources fulfill our desires or not? And even if they can satisfy us, how do they shape us in the process?

More specifically, this series asks the question: how does film reveal this aspect of aspiration? As Burton points out, humans today are likely to look to health culture, online fan fiction communities, social justice, far-right extremism, and more in search of meaning. Welcome to modern times. Therefore, we should not expect our films to show direct examples of religion. Rather, our films will reflect our longing for transcendence and our frustration with a seemingly empty world through a myriad of unexpected forms.

What kind of transcendence can we find in the cinema? This series begins with one of the latest cinematic examples of contemporary transcendence. virgin marycurrently in theaters, depicts how the spiritual realm is a thorn in modern life.

Virgin Mary waiting for Pentecost

David Lowery’s virgin mary It occurs at the point of collision between different worlds. First, there’s the world of pop icon Mary (Anne Hathaway). Her world is an aristocratic atmosphere of stadium lights and ecstatic fans, and its geography loses clear signifiers as Mary moves from one anonymous arena to the next. By giving Hathaway’s character a stage name reminiscent of Madonna and a stage presence that inevitably evokes Taylor Swift, Lowry is clearly constructing this world within a familiar pop universe. However, this world contrasts with that of Mary’s former dress designer, Sam Anselm (Michaela Coel). The two had a close relationship and were almost one in the same in their creative projects, but after many years of partnership, Mary moved on to become a different fashion designer. Sam takes this as a betrayal, cuts off his world, and flees to a dusty, anachronistic English mansion. As she puts it, she has entered the “Miss Havisham era.” The high hopes he once felt are now dashed, and Sam does his best to ignore that Mary will forever be a star. She refuses to listen to the Virgin Mary’s songs and avoids watching news clips about old friends. But when Mary shows up at the studio requesting Anselm’s dress for her next show, these worlds can no longer remain separate.

Mary’s next concert is an attempt at a comeback after a tragic accident (which probably wasn’t an accident) during a show nearly killed her. The truth is that Mary didn’t feel herself for a long time even before the accident and begged Sam to make her a dress. I feel like her. Sam reluctantly complies, but has no intention of making it easy on Mary in any part of this process. When the wound Sam inflicted reopens, a sharp, bitter emotion flows out, tormenting Mary with his lack of remorse. As Sam sketches the design and cuts out the fabric, he also cuts out the relationship ghosts that haunt the two women.

Ghosts lurk within the unspoken emotions, hinted at by the juxtaposition of settings. This is a world of ghosts. At first glance, it seems modern and mundane, but what could be more mundane to modern life than another pop star selling out a tour? But such a world cannot escape the moody, uninspired world that Sam has called home. The possibility of ghosts is not as remote as Mary (or we) would like to believe. Sam, on the other hand, was almost aware of this possibility. At one point she declared that she would “wait for the day of Pentecost.” The word Pentecostal is a special and unexpected word to appear in a film like this, but when it comes to bringing designs to life, Sam is as skilled at sewing together delicate words as he is at sewing silk or velvet. Coel has a lot of fun with Lowery’s script, making the most of every little reaction and every long monologue. The script is richly symbolic and complex, and it’s there both here and in the visuals. virgin maryreligious subtext of Makes your presence felt.

On stage, Mary is always crowned with a halo via a custom-made headpiece, sometimes glowing in the light, sometimes evoking martyrdom with rusty nails. Sam’s favorite dress features Mary dressed as Joan of Arc, decorated with armor. Meanwhile, the designer refers to the memory of First Communion and speaks of the power of awe that the Virgin Mary showers on her devoted attendants. With all this layered religious energy, it’s no surprise that the script shifts to seances and exorcisms. Sam and Mary welcome Pentecost with a fiery feel as they confront their pasts. But what kind of spirit can we expect to see in the modern world?

The true meaning of prescription

like green knight Before that (more on this in the next article), virgin mary It depicts the modern world’s struggle to remain rational. Taylor describes our modern experience with the term “buffered self,” contrasting our experience of life as “porous” (or vulnerable) to spiritual forces beyond our control or understanding. A “buffered” self lives within an “immanent order” “without reference to external intervention” (e.g., without reference to God, angels, demons, ghosts, etc.).⁴ Mary’s world is our world, familiar and explainable and knowledgeable, and her life is doubly buffered by both modernity and the blockade of fame. But, as Taylor points out, “something replaces the previous mental world, even for the buffered self that keeps it out. So there’s still something in us that needs protection.”⁵ Something still slips through, something eerie that refuses to be ignored. Mary isn’t just looking for a dress from Sam. It’s protection, but it requires her to confront her porous nature beneath the shining armor.

Imagining how people in a secular age might find transcendent meaning, Taylor observes that they would be more likely to be moved by “mysticism” than to identify with the institutionalized traditions of organized religion.⁶ Meaning arises from the feeling of something that cannot be explained. Lowery’s films often center on characters whose well-ordered worlds are destabilized by such mystique. It sends them on a quest through unfamiliar paths to unknown destinations. virgin mary will continue this project. What haunts this film is a mysticism, a mysticism that persists in vague ambiguity. Is this shade really a ghost, or just another shade of fabric? Is it a spirit brought to life by a séance, or simply pain caused by irreconcilable enmity? Laurie’s vision of modernity asserts the unanswerable nature of this story. This is true of the modern yearning for transcendence, although there is no final clarity (to the frustration of some viewers). Taylor points out that modern people have to face the fact that they are “not at all sure, or only rarely sure” that the path they have chosen is the right one, “without the slightest doubt and unencumbered by any opposition.”⁷

virgin mary I declare that the modern world is not as immune to spiritual things as we think. Sam wonders how Mary’s betrayal bothers her and marvels at “how much space you take up in my wholeness,” and this line also reveals that these two worlds are not isolated at all. Spiritual mystery is not isolated or distant, but pervades our entire world, even if its presence remains unrecognized. At the same time, Lowery’s film insists that the nature of this mysticism cannot be defined. It must remain a mystery.

There are few scenes virgin mary It is as poignantly written about the modern situation as it is about the moment of exorcism itself. Sam collects various items from around the studio, including scissors, pins, and fabric cuts. Mary, surprised and perhaps alarmed by the sharpness of many of these objects, asked what they were for. Unfazed, Sam cheerfully replies, “There’s no real meaning to anything beyond our regulations.” So the scissors will be your key to unlocking a door in your way, the pin will be your sword to wield against your enemies, and your cloth will be your shield in future battles. However, this prescription is at the same time a role play; meaningful. Sam is not frivolous. She believes these objects are necessary for them to encounter the Transcendent and to live and survive. This is the modern impulse to transcendence. The buffered individualistic self’s newfound freedom means they can seek cosmic meaning outside of religious institutions, but this also places an existential burden on their shoulders. The result is a flexible play of meanings (think of Burton’s “remix” analogy) in which meanings are ascribed to objects by individuals. So scissors could be the key. Online conspiracy theories can provide a sense of community. Health and self-care may offer rituals that promise to transcend one’s body. Or the person may encounter a spirit that casts doubt on others and evokes a sense of transcendence beyond our prescriptions.

And yes, the last one is a little confusing. Perhaps some viewers will not be satisfied. But perhaps that’s part of the point. Lowery’s films express modern existential experience with an insight and breadth that few other films can. In this film’s world, dance embodies the choreography of possession, exorcism becomes a means of reconciliation, and pop stardom offers fans a platform for discipleship. The modern world is more porous than we think, but even moments of spiritual existence are vague, indirect, and refracted through a mystical prism. That mystery is virgin mary Very interesting. There are spiritual forces in the world, and while they may be scary, they are also an opportunity to rethink our understanding of the world.

meanwhile virgin mary Some films express how the spiritual haunts the buffered self, while others highlight different aspects of Taylor and Burton’s search for transcendent meaning. David Lowery’s early films green knight This will be the focus of the next article in this series. Refracting the classic Arthurian legend through the prism of modern interpretation. green knight It crystallizes the collision between the enchanted world and the mundane world.

1. charles taylor secular era (Harvard University Press, 2007), 3. ↩︎
2. Ibid., 3. ↩︎
3. Ibid., 302. ↩︎
4. Ibid., 543. ↩︎
5. Ibid., 684. ↩︎
6. Ibid., 748. ↩︎
7. Ibid., 11. ↩︎