VIRTUAL: Applying Education

Abstract

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The historic woman, or character, known by several names such as––Maria Magdalena, Mary Magdalene, Mary of Magdala, or Mary of Bethany––has developed in the global popular imagination as a fallen woman. The need for redemption and curing of the “bad woman” is also part and parcel of the “Jezebel” image, long constructed and repeated in popular media such as telenovelas and and other dramatic serial entertainment. Educators can apply readily available media programming as part of their repertoire of materials for lessons, workshops, modules about archetypes, constructs, reconstructing, common myths, and gendered motifs. For example, one of the few focused portraits of Mary Magdalene (2018) in film and television takes a stand at rehabilitating the long-standing mischaracterization attributed from Pope Gregory the Great. The pejorative naming was later corrected but has been forever emblazoned in the global mind. A 21st century feminist lens in the film, takes viewers through newly envisioned motifs and reconstructed possibilities of Mary as a religious leader within a larger social movement. Beyond this particular film, educators can apply other popular and literary materials to help name and define processes of thematic juxtaposition, gendered character foils, and heroines vs. antiheroines. The authors of this submission wish to contribute to teaching toolkits for analytical thinking, critical thinking, and knowledge on gender + social justice.