Kingdom of Heaven and its ideological message

Authors

  • Yiou Liu Nanjing University Jinling College

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2017.158

Keywords:

Kingdom of Heaven, Crusades, religion, orientalism, ideology

Abstract

As a Crusades epic, the film Kingdom of Heaven revives the 12th century history in the critical city of Jerusalem. The story surrounds a French blacksmith Balian who defends Jerusalem and contends with the Islamic leader Saladin who attempts to seize back the holy city from the Christians. Through the special themes in region, religion and war, Kingdom of Heaven seems to indicate the conflicts between the East and the West. Furthermore, the outbreaks of 9/11 and the Iraq War definitely make this film’s release more controversial. Kingdom of Heaven, being a film, an essential medium of mass communication, the style in which it expresses its story and ideology is worth considering in depth. By exploring this Hollywood film which lacks of the typical Hollywood style, this paper discusses the significance in making Kingdom of Heaven in the wake of 9/11 and how the critical debate surrounding the film is a reflection of contemporary ideologies.

References

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Tremblay, R. (2009) America’s New Crusade: Imperial U.S. vs Political Islam. Global Research.ca: Centre for Research on Globalization. Last accessed: 16 May, 2010

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=16645

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Hilborn, D. (2005) Review of Kingdom of Heaven. Evangelical Alliance. Last accessed: 16 May, 2010

http://www.eauk.org/theology/filmreviews/

Brosnan, B. (2005) Kingdom of Heaven. The Wire. Last accessed: 16 May, 2010

http://www.wirenh.com/Film/Film_reviews/Kingdom_of_Heaven_20050511456.html

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Published

2017-09-14

How to Cite

Liu, Y. (2017). Kingdom of Heaven and its ideological message. CINEJ Cinema Journal, 6(1), 84–93. https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2017.158

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2017): Spring 2017

Section

Articles

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