Introduction: Judaism and cinema in an Israeli context -- Lifting the veil: the spiritual style and Judaic-themed Israeli cinema -- "Who can find a virtuous woman?": female (im)modesty and mystical-messianic time -- Ritual in film, film as ritual: the vicissitudes of prayer -- Hasidic tales on film and the question of credulity -- Afterword: Toward a global mystical society.
Summary:
"The social meaningfulness of Judaic-themed Israeli cinema provides an important example of how mystical thought may serve to enrich our theoretical understanding of film. Author Dan Chyutin reveals a parallel shift toward acceptance of Judaism in Israeli society and exploring Judaic identity and lifestyle in modern Israeli cinema. Hidden Light addresses the ambivalence of films that incorporate Judaism into Israel's secular ethos and how this ambivalence is negotiated through emphasis on experiences of transcendence and unity, made popular by New Age-inflected understandings of Jewish mystical thought. Through this analysis, Judaic-themed Israeli cinema emerges as a crucial example of how film's particular form of 'magic' may be exploited for the purpose of affecting mystical states in the audience"--Page 4 of cover.
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