Religion in film: Why?

Throughout our discussions and readings this week, we continually returned to the subtle religious symbolism that films often allude to, and so I ask; How are films and religion interconnected and what motivation do movies have to include religious symbolism? 

Movies are known to incorporate religion within their storyline.  For example, according to Professor Plate, The Matrix has many similarities to Buddhism, and Star Wars shares similarities with several different religions.  Movies can also include actual symbolism as well such as Charlotte’s Web, where the lights in the barn formed a cross. 

The reason I believe that films look to connect with religion is because it makes viewers more attached to the plotlines because they feel more personally connected with the stories being told.  Religion can be very personal for people, so seeing films mirror religious storyline can cause people to associate movie characters with religious figures.   Also, its very convenient for filmmakers to lean on religion to develop stories, as Professor Plate said in his writings, “thousands of years and thousands of cultural locations have provided contemporary filmmakers with a storehouse of grand stories that are endlessly adaptable into the audio-visual medium of film. Because myths are inevitably mashups, directors and screenwriters can cull from stories told through the ages, and often told again in ever new forms.”  Due to many religious stories being so well known and developed, it’s easy for filmmakers to draw upon these stories to redevelop as movies.

So to answer my purposed question, I feel that filmmakers interweave religious symbolism both in the plot line and in the set design and they do so both out of convenience and to allow audience members to feel more personally connected with the story they’re watching.