Program

Research Programs: Fellowships for College Teachers and Independent Scholars

Period of Performance

2/1/2010 - 7/31/2010

Funding Totals

$25,200.00 (approved)
$25,200.00 (awarded)


Reforming Hollywood: Protestants and the American Film Industry

FAIN: FB-54222-09

William D. Romanowski
Calvin College (Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4301)

Although Protestantism was close to America's cultural center well into the twentieth century, there is no single book-length treatment of the interaction between Protestants and the film industry. The correction of this oversight makes the university press book proposed here groundbreaking: It presents an original historical analysis of the roles played by film and religion in a democratic society. Drawing on personal interviews and previously unexamined primary sources, this interdisciplinary investigation explores the struggle of two dynamic American institutions over the possession of cultural power and the function of entertainment. By uncovering forgotten but formative events and shedding new light on familiar accounts, this seminal study will expand the horizon of and reframe the discourse about film history. My book will have permanent value across a number of disciplines in the humanities and will find an audience among scholars and generally educated readers.





Associated Products

Reforming Hollywood: How American Protestants Fought for Freedom at the Movies (Book)
Title: Reforming Hollywood: How American Protestants Fought for Freedom at the Movies
Author: William D. Romanowski
Abstract: na
Year: 2012
Publisher: New York: Oxford University Press
Type: Single author monograph
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

“This Year, Biblical Films Are Fruitful And Multiplying” (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: “This Year, Biblical Films Are Fruitful And Multiplying”
Writer: Neda Ulaby
Producer: NPR Morning Edition
Abstract: na
Date: 3/28/2014
Primary URL: http://http://www.npr.org/2014/03/28/295254039/this-year-biblical-films-are-fruitful-and-multiplying
Format: Radio