Honors College to Show Poignant Film About the Papacy

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Media contact: Terry Goodrich, (254) 710-3321
WACO, Texas (March 11, 2015) – Baylor’s Honors College will show the Italian film “We Have a Pope” (2011) from 7-9 p.m. Monday, March 16, in the Alexander Reading Room in Alexander Residence Hall.
“The film is a wonderful opportunity to engage in a cross-disciplinary conversation about faith, life and the role art plays in shaping culture as well as to hear later that week from a top scholar in the arena of Italian film criticism,” said Sarah Murray, Ph.D., associate professor of Great Texts and creative writing in Baylor’s Honors College.
Millicent Marcus, Ph.D., professor of Italian and film studies at Yale University, will present a lecture in tandem with the film topic on March 18.
“We Have a Pope” follows the fictitious story of a newly elected pope, Cardinal Melville. Taken by surprise by his election, Melville is overwhelmed by a deep sense of inadequacy. The film follows his journey of introspection and actualization as he adamantly rejects taking the supreme papal position.
“It is a classic Italian film in its emphasis on character study and its fair and inconclusive representation of difficult personal or societal situations,” said Junius Johnson, Ph.D., assistant professor of historical theology in Baylor’s Honors College. “It has a broader appeal in the presentation of the College of Cardinals, asking tough questions about their humanity in the midst of their divine callings, but doing so without undo anti-religious bias.”
“We Have a Pope” is the most recent film of Italian actor and director Nanni Moretti. Moretti plays the role of the psychologist in the movie who works with Melville to unravel his internal dilemma.
The screening is free and open to the public.
Alexander Residence Hall at 1413 S. Seventh St. in Waco.
For more information, please contact Junius Johnson
by Sarah Czerwinski, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
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