SACRED SYMBOLS IN THE FILM “THE GREEN KNIGHT”

Abstract

This article explores religious symbolism in contemporary mass culture, focusing on cinema as the primary object of analysis. A selected film “The Green Knight” is examined for the presence of sacred symbols. The study highlights that the wide range of sacred symbolism in modern cinematic art necessitates the development of new approaches and further scholarly inquiry. Methods. The specific features of the process of establishing sacred symbolism in cinema have prompted the search for appropriate research methods and methodologies. The article employs an analytical approach based on the examination of sacred symbols embedded in a work of art-specifically, in a film. Results. In view of this, the aim of the present study is to identify sacred symbols in the film “The Green Knight”. It has been established that, despite the film’s secular character, it contains distinctly expressed religious symbolism. Thus, we may identify the following symbols. Gawain’s journey exhibits features of an initiation rite. The story of the protagonist begins in a brothel – a location which, in religious traditions, often symbolizes corporeality, moral decay, and spiritual downfall. His encounter with bandits, culminating in the hero’s ritualistic death, recalls biblical trials endured by the righteous, who lose everything in order to test their faith, resilience, and humility. Gawain’s temptation at the Castle may be interpreted as an allusion to the temptations of Jesus Christ. The sacrifice and resurrection of Christ are echoed in the film through two key parallels: first, in Gawain’s own act of self-sacrifice, and second, in the self-sacrifice of the Green Knight. Conclusions. As a result of the study, it was concluded that the sacred symbolism in “The Green Knight” is presented primarily in a concealed or implicit form.