How is religion represented in Holy Orders

How is religion represented in Holy Orders?

In this short prelim, religion is shown in a dark and twisted way, suggesting that it is not as pure and innocent as it is sometimes perceived. A semantic field around death intertwined with religion is created throughout the clips in a number of ways.

The opening shot is an extreme long shot of the church, telling us that this will be the setting of the film. Obviously, churches are link to religion and Christianity. The church is an old fashioned traditional church surrounded by a graveyard; this makes the setting quite sinister, as graves are where the dead rest.

The titles fade in, prior to the music. They are strategically placed where they don’t obstruct the view of the graves or the church, showing that they are still an important focus of the clip. It also maintains the establishment shot.

The following shot shows a crow perched on top of one of two cross-shaped gravestones, again heavily relating to death. Crows are said to represent evil, and the cross-shaped graves show death and religion, the crucifix. The background of this shot is blurred, focusing in on the crow and the graves.

The camera then fades to the next shot; a change in lighting suggests that this shot is inside as it is much darker than the other two. This could also be a demonstration of evil and darkness, which are often associated with places that have less light. The close up shot shows textual cohesion as it shows a cross on top of the bible. The cross, representing death, lies over the bible, representing religion, as this link appears once again. The crosses that have been shown, alongside the crow, could be the build up to a death, linked with religion, as this is also ever present in the form of the church and the crucifix. A ring, lies with these two props, it is picked up by a hand and placed on the smallest finger. Highly religious people, such as the pope or priests, wear rings, so the implication is that it is a religious person wearing the ring. There is a slightly red glow to this shot; the colour is associated with energy as it is an intense colour. It can raise blood pressure, as it is often the sign of danger. Also blood is the colour red, so it could be a cataphoric reference to blood that will soon be spilt, or an anaphoric reference to the blood that was spilt during the crucifixion.