Reading the Apocalypse with Christopher Nolan: Story and Narrative, Time and Space

Abstract

This essay examines the Book of Revelation in dialogue with the films of Christopher Nolan, with particular attention to the use of nonlinear narrative. The approach taken to Nolan’s work is that of auteur theory, a pattern theory which traces the distinctive technical and artistic voice of the director across a wide range of films (e.g. Memento, The Prestige, Inception, Dunkirk). Insights from this analysis are brought into conversation with Revelation which also, it is argued, employs a temporally-disrupted nonlinear narrative structure. Particular attention is then given to the themes of time and space in Nolan’s Interstellar and the motif of heavenly ascent in Revelation and other apocalyptic literature.

Keywords

• revelation
• christopher nolan
• film
• time
• space
• nonlinear narratives