Terry Lindvall Knihy

Moments of prayer have been represented in Hollywood movies since the silent era. Lindvall examines how films have reflected, and sometimes sought to prescribe, ideas about how one ought to pray.

In God Mocks, Terry Lindvall ventures into the muddy and dangerous realm of religious satire, chronicling its evolution from the biblical wit and humor of the Hebrew prophets through the Roman Era and the Middle Ages all the way up to the present. He takes the reader on a journey through the work of Chaucer and his Canterbury Tales, Cervantes, Jonathan Swift, and Mark Twain, and ending with the mediated entertainment of modern wags like Stephen Colbert.Lindvall finds that there is a method to the madness of these mockers: true satire, he argues, is at its heart moral outrage expressed in laughter. But there are remarkable differences in how these religious satirists express their outrage. The changing costumes of religious satirists fit their times. The earthy coarse language of Martin Luther and Sir Thomas More during the carnival spirit of the late medieval period was refined with the enlightened wit of Alexander Pope. The sacrilege of Monty Python does not translate well to the ironic voices of Soren Kierkegaard. The religious satirist does not even need to be part of the community of faith. All he needs is an eye and ear for the folly and chicanery of religious poseurs.To follow the paths of the satirist, writes Lindvall, is to encounter the odd and peculiar treasures who are God's mouthpieces. In God Mocks, he offers an engaging look at their religious use of humor toward moral ends."

Exploring the intersection of animation and moral lessons, this book examines how short international animated films convey themes of vice and virtue. Terry Lindvall highlights the contributions of a diverse group of animators, analyzing how their works illustrate the seven deadly sins. Through this unique lens, the book reveals the power of cartoons to engage audiences in profound ethical discussions.

Set against the backdrop of early 20th-century America, the narrative follows a clergyman's daughter who ventures into the film industry, discovering a liberating moral landscape. Rubert Hughes, a notable figure of his time, uses satire to critique both the Bible belt and Hollywood's conservative values in his 1922 work. The novel captures the transition to the Jazz Age and reflects the tensions between traditional beliefs and the burgeoning cinematic culture, supported by notable Hollywood figures like Eric von Stroheim and Charlie Chaplin.