Michelle Fletcher
Research Fellow, Visual Commentary on Scripture, King's College London (2017-present)
Associate Lecturer, University of Kent (2015-2017).
PhD, King's College London (2012-2015).
Title: Reading Revelation as Pastiche
Research Topics: The use of the HB in the book of Revelation, Imitation, Pastiche.
Abstract: This thesis explores the effect of reading Revelation’s highly allusive textual fabric as pastiche. It will demonstrate the new insights that can be gained if we do not read Revelation in order to find out which OT texts it most resembles, but rather if we read it as a combined and imitative text which actively engages the audience through signalling to multiple texts and multiple textual experiences. The thesis consists of two parts. We begin Part One by examining previous methods used to approach Revelation’s relationship with OT texts. This will show that although previous studies have recognised Revelation’s imitative and multi-vocal nature, these facets have not been explored in any great depth. We then present a brief examination of Greco-Roman imitation and combination, before introducing the approach this thesis adopts in order to re-view Revelation as an imitative and combined text: pastiche. Part Two consists of four comparative case studies which actively combine the reading of pastiche with the reading of Revelation. Each study begins by examining a key “Revelation and OT” issue (Rev 1’s son of man, Rev 17’s whore of Babylon, Rev 18’s artifice, and the genre apocalypse). A pastiche “test case” which presents similar interpretative/textual issues is then read in order to ascertain how reading as pastiche affects interpretation. We then use these insights to re-read Revelation. Finally, the results of these case studies are brought together in order to demonstrate how reading Revelation as imitative and combined pastiche can transform the way we approach the text, and challenge previous scholarly assumptions.
MA Biblical Studies, King's College London (2011-2012)
Dissertation: Time and temporality in 2 Peter
BA English, University of Cambridge (2001-2004)
Supervisors: Prof. Edward Adams and Prof. Ben Quash
Address: London, London, City of, United Kingdom
Associate Lecturer, University of Kent (2015-2017).
PhD, King's College London (2012-2015).
Title: Reading Revelation as Pastiche
Research Topics: The use of the HB in the book of Revelation, Imitation, Pastiche.
Abstract: This thesis explores the effect of reading Revelation’s highly allusive textual fabric as pastiche. It will demonstrate the new insights that can be gained if we do not read Revelation in order to find out which OT texts it most resembles, but rather if we read it as a combined and imitative text which actively engages the audience through signalling to multiple texts and multiple textual experiences. The thesis consists of two parts. We begin Part One by examining previous methods used to approach Revelation’s relationship with OT texts. This will show that although previous studies have recognised Revelation’s imitative and multi-vocal nature, these facets have not been explored in any great depth. We then present a brief examination of Greco-Roman imitation and combination, before introducing the approach this thesis adopts in order to re-view Revelation as an imitative and combined text: pastiche. Part Two consists of four comparative case studies which actively combine the reading of pastiche with the reading of Revelation. Each study begins by examining a key “Revelation and OT” issue (Rev 1’s son of man, Rev 17’s whore of Babylon, Rev 18’s artifice, and the genre apocalypse). A pastiche “test case” which presents similar interpretative/textual issues is then read in order to ascertain how reading as pastiche affects interpretation. We then use these insights to re-read Revelation. Finally, the results of these case studies are brought together in order to demonstrate how reading Revelation as imitative and combined pastiche can transform the way we approach the text, and challenge previous scholarly assumptions.
MA Biblical Studies, King's College London (2011-2012)
Dissertation: Time and temporality in 2 Peter
BA English, University of Cambridge (2001-2004)
Supervisors: Prof. Edward Adams and Prof. Ben Quash
Address: London, London, City of, United Kingdom
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Fletcher analyses the methods used to approach Revelation's relationship with Old Testament texts and shows that, although there is literature on Revelation's imitative and multi-vocal nature, these aspects of the text have not yet been explored in sufficient depth. Fletcher's analysis also incorporates an examination of Greco-Roman imitation and combination before providing a better way to understand the nature of the book of Revelation, as pastiche. Fletcher builds her case on four comparative case studies and uses a test case to ascertain how completely they fit with this assessment. These insights are then used to clarify how reading Revelation as imitative and combined pastiche can challenge previous scholarly assumptions, transforming the way we approach the text - See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/reading-revelation-as-pastiche-9780567672704/#sthash.vQNttenw.dpuf
Chapters and Articles
disaster films. It will begin by examining film posters, a key
indicator of filmic resemblance. This will show that whilst the posters presented audiences with clear reminders of Scott’s gladiatorial past, they also echoed apocalyptic films such as The Day after Tomorrow and 2012. An examination of the history of disaster movies will then be carried out, revealing distinct cycles of films, each speaking to their audience’s contemporary concerns, such as technological hubris, millennial anticipation and post-9/11 fears. This analysis will then be used to explore Exodus: Gods and Kings’
own dialogue with disaster, asking how it builds on past manifestations, and how it also offers its own distinct presentations. Finally, we
will return to its posters in order to question what current concerns might be evoked by the threats and fears portrayed in Scott’s film.
Publication: Copier and Vander Stichele (eds) Close Encounters between by Bible and Film (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2016)
It asks the questions (and mediates on the answers) How have people approached Revelation's supposed future images? What longings do these approaches represent? How might the notion of now be more enticing than forever?
Full article and other articles used for the exhibition available through the open access link below
How did the Apocalypse end up not being classed as an apocalypse? This paper re-approaches this genre paradox from a previously unexplored perspective; reading Revelation as a genre pastiche. In essence, it examines how Revelation taps into sensibilities and features found in past texts bringing them to the fore through exaggeration, distortion and combination. It then argues that this pastiching of past texts creates a new text which allows the reader to recognise these characteristics in other texts, leading to “genre awareness.” To do this it reads the development of scholarly awareness/classification of the genre apocalypse and Revelation alongside the development and understanding of Film-Noir and Neo-Noir. It explores the history of the terms “apocalyptic” and “Noir,” and examines the methods used to group texts which led to the “discovery” of the genres Film-Noir and apocalypse. It then shows that only when Neo-Noir was born did scholars become aware of Film-Noir and the sensibility “Noir.” Finally, it proposes that only when Revelation came into being did an awareness of what we now call apocalypse and the sensibility we call “apocalyptic” come about. Ultimately, it argues that Revelation’s reconstruction of past texts creates a manifestation of past textual features and sensibilities which both defines and defies the genre apocalypse.
Presentations
Fletcher analyses the methods used to approach Revelation's relationship with Old Testament texts and shows that, although there is literature on Revelation's imitative and multi-vocal nature, these aspects of the text have not yet been explored in sufficient depth. Fletcher's analysis also incorporates an examination of Greco-Roman imitation and combination before providing a better way to understand the nature of the book of Revelation, as pastiche. Fletcher builds her case on four comparative case studies and uses a test case to ascertain how completely they fit with this assessment. These insights are then used to clarify how reading Revelation as imitative and combined pastiche can challenge previous scholarly assumptions, transforming the way we approach the text - See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/reading-revelation-as-pastiche-9780567672704/#sthash.vQNttenw.dpuf
disaster films. It will begin by examining film posters, a key
indicator of filmic resemblance. This will show that whilst the posters presented audiences with clear reminders of Scott’s gladiatorial past, they also echoed apocalyptic films such as The Day after Tomorrow and 2012. An examination of the history of disaster movies will then be carried out, revealing distinct cycles of films, each speaking to their audience’s contemporary concerns, such as technological hubris, millennial anticipation and post-9/11 fears. This analysis will then be used to explore Exodus: Gods and Kings’
own dialogue with disaster, asking how it builds on past manifestations, and how it also offers its own distinct presentations. Finally, we
will return to its posters in order to question what current concerns might be evoked by the threats and fears portrayed in Scott’s film.
Publication: Copier and Vander Stichele (eds) Close Encounters between by Bible and Film (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2016)
It asks the questions (and mediates on the answers) How have people approached Revelation's supposed future images? What longings do these approaches represent? How might the notion of now be more enticing than forever?
Full article and other articles used for the exhibition available through the open access link below
How did the Apocalypse end up not being classed as an apocalypse? This paper re-approaches this genre paradox from a previously unexplored perspective; reading Revelation as a genre pastiche. In essence, it examines how Revelation taps into sensibilities and features found in past texts bringing them to the fore through exaggeration, distortion and combination. It then argues that this pastiching of past texts creates a new text which allows the reader to recognise these characteristics in other texts, leading to “genre awareness.” To do this it reads the development of scholarly awareness/classification of the genre apocalypse and Revelation alongside the development and understanding of Film-Noir and Neo-Noir. It explores the history of the terms “apocalyptic” and “Noir,” and examines the methods used to group texts which led to the “discovery” of the genres Film-Noir and apocalypse. It then shows that only when Neo-Noir was born did scholars become aware of Film-Noir and the sensibility “Noir.” Finally, it proposes that only when Revelation came into being did an awareness of what we now call apocalypse and the sensibility we call “apocalyptic” come about. Ultimately, it argues that Revelation’s reconstruction of past texts creates a manifestation of past textual features and sensibilities which both defines and defies the genre apocalypse.
Cities bring people together, and London unites everyone who studies and works at King's College London. Over centuries our remarkable city has been inscribed with layers of human meaning, housed in palaces and tube stations, cathedrals and coffee shops. In London's buildings we can connect in multi-dimensional ways with the richness and challenges of human life and culture. This AKC series will explore the meaning of London, and our place within it: through historical "tours" of nine very different buildings, we will reflect afresh on how religion, art, politics, trade and scholarship have evolved, helping to build one of the world’s most important and vibrant cities.
For all the academic contributions in the guide follow the following open access link: http://www.takeo.org/nspace/2014-decoding-the-apocalypse/takeo_decoding-the-apocalypse_guide.pdf
The exhibition is an interdisciplinary collaboration supported by the Cultural Institute that blends arts practice and academic research and follows a one-year artist residency by Michael Takeo Magruder in the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at King’s College London in partnership with contemporary art centre, MOSTYN.
Full article available here: https://historicalchaos.wordpress.com/2014/12/11/reading-with-fresh-eyes-heforshe-nt-scholarship-and-sexism/
Featuring Ben Quash, Jennifer Sliwka, and Michelle Fletcher
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p7XEtvs0gI&t=2s