Sacrifice

This chapter analyzes the ways in which the religious concept of sacrifice has been utilized in film, explicitly or implicitly. Melodramas, horror, war films, and action movies all feature the concept in different forms and with diverse purposes, sometimes justifying the sacrifice and sometimes critiquing it. Sacrificial death may be valorized, notably in war films that justify violence, and this notion that sacrifice is inherently valuable and necessary may be traced to some Christian ideas about the death of Jesus. On the other hand, some films do not valorize sacrifice so much as the virtuous behavior that occasions it, especially stories of nonviolent resistance. The chapter ends with reflections on how some films shaped by non-Christian religious ideas may not valorize sacrifice but instead suggest that suffering provides opportunities for learning and sharing compassion.