This paper examines how
popular film represents not only the feelings and beliefs of the writers and directors, but also
of the socio-historical state of the times and conditions of society. It shows how religion is an inherent part of
popular film, whether implicit or explicit. It uses the films "My Beautiful Laundrette", "American History X" and "Do The Right Thing" to illustrate the social anxieties of their political surroundings. It also looks at how although the three films are based in different periods of time, they share many similarities, through characters relation to Biblical figures and the storylines use of religious rituals.