Controversial Saints: A Study in How Popular Culture Can Radicalize Religious Icons

2022-09-16 (Creation date: 2022)

Alexandria Babineaux

An animated digital painting designed to serve as a commentary on the debate surrounding the identity of Joan of Arc and her role in modern society. This debate has focused on her controversial adoption as a queer icon for lesbians and gender nonconforming individuals within the LGBT community, and the resulting conflict with the dogma of the Roman Catholic church.  In particular, this work explores how the modern digital landscape contributes to the evolution of her identity while critiquing how Christian religions use the word of God and the Bible as an excuse for bigotry and persecution by subverting Joan of Arc’s actions into something more sinister.

Woodfin, Samuel; Texas A & M University. Department of Visualization

Texas A & M University. Libraries

Animated films; Digital art

Joan, of Arc, Saint, 1412-1431; Gender nonconformity--Religious aspects--Christianity; Gender identity--Religious aspects--Christianity; Queer studies; Animation

LAUNCH

LAUNCH

For more information see: https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/

1 video file (22 seconds)

Click here to view related thesis in the TAMU repository

This work was created in the Texas A & M Department of Visualization using the digital painting software Clip Studio paint, as well as the animation software Live2D, which is most often used to create Virtual Youtubers or VTubers for games and live streaming.
Submitted as part of the undergraduate thesis, "“Controversial” Saints: A Study in How Popular Culture Can Radicalize Religious Icons" in May 2022 for the Undergraduate Research Scholars program.
Creation/Production Credits
Faculty advisor, Samuel Woodfin.