John the Baptist in Cinema

Evolution and Development of an Inconography (1897-2013).

Abstract

John the Baptist is a character of certain symbolic ambiguity. The scarcity of biographical data makes it impossible to reconstruct his figure truthfully. It is, at the same time, the transition towards the New Alliance and an earthly man without regard for himself; a wild and mystical man. All these issues, which art has tried to reproduce through different media, have been treated by cinema, as a unifier of disciplines, in a particularly significant way. Although there are no specific hagiographies, the Baptist has been an essential character in the cinematographic narratives of the Passion. Through the medium's own resources – photographic, lighting, musical, literary – the treatment and construction of the character has changed over time, adapting to the historical and production context. The analysis of the audiovisual elements, in contrast with the primary sources and the base texts of the productions, and their subsequent relationship with contextual reality, give rise to an evolutionary narrative that speaks, not only of the character, but of our relationship with the Christianity and its role as a creator of an artistic and commercial product with a specific direction.