Divine Film Comedies ─ Biblical Narratives, Film Sub-Genres, and the Comic Spirit

Divine Film Comedies juxtaposes the sacred texts of Christianity with an international array of comic films to cross-fertilize each, showing that the comic resides in the Bible, and the gospel lurks in the movies. From the story of Abram and Sarai giving birth to "Laughter" to the story of the man born blind, comedy erupts to challenge solemn readings of the texts; so too, from silent slapstick films of Charlie Chaplin through screwball comedies and satires, biblical truth rises with wisdom and grace inhabiting unlikely, and unseemly, places.

Terry Lindvall occupies the C. S. Lewis Chair of Communication and Christian Thought at Virginia Wesleyan College. He has authored ten books includingGod Mocks: A History of Religion and Satire (2015), Surprised by Laughter: The Comic World of C S Lewis(2012), and Sanctuary Cinema: The Origins of the Christian Film Industry (2011).

J. Dennis Bounds teaches courses in cinema and video at Virginia Wesleyan College and Christopher Newport University. He has presented workshops both nationally and internationally on screenwriting. Bounds has authored various articles and book chapters, and is the author of Perry Mason: The Authorship and Reproduction of a Popular Hero(1996).

Chris Lindvall is a graduate of the University of Virginia and received his MFA in Comedy Screenwriting from the Savannah College of Art and Design. He is presently a freelance comedy writer in Los Angeles.