Ancient Egyptian Religion on the Silver Screen: Modern Anxieties about Race, Ethnicity, and Religion

Authors

Caroline T. Schroeder, Cornell UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Religion and Film

Department

Religious Studies

ISSN

1092-1311

Volume

7

Issue

2

First Page

1

Last Page

22

Publication Date

10-1-2003

Abstract

This essay examines the depiction of religion, race, and ethnicity in four films: The Mummy, Stargate, The Ten Commandments, and Prince of Egypt. Each film - explicitly or implicitly, deliberately or not - uses ancient Egyptian religion as a foil to dramatize American concerns about race and ethnicity. The foil is the mysterious, and often false, religiosity of an often Orientalized religious and ethnic "other."

Recommended Citation

Schroeder, Caroline T. (2016) "Ancient Egyptian Religion on the Silver Screen: Modern Anxieties about Race, Ethnicity, and Religion," Journal of Religion & Film: Vol. 7 : Iss. 2 , Article 1. Available at: http://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol7/iss2/1