Pop Theology
The new Netflix series, Sense8 (by the Wachowski siblings) isn’t a great series, but, set in the context of the ever-expanding television market, it is a must-watch series if you care about what type of content gets made. (more…) Read more
The new Netflix series, Sense8 (by the Wachowski siblings) isn’t a great series, but, set in the context of the ever-expanding television market, it is a must-watch series if you care about what type of content gets made. (more…) Read more
Tony and I are back with the second installment of Killer Serials and a look at episodes four, five, and six of the third season of Orange is the New Black. (more…) Read more
Given the ever-improving nature of television dramas, it’s difficult to write confidently about a series after the pilot episode or to write off a series after a bad episode or two. How many people absolutely loved the first episode of The Wire? Writers and producers are playing a long game and people who reflect on the medium must adapt as well. Yet as a massive fan of the first season of True Detective, I wanted to weigh in on last night’s second season premier,... Read more
I’ve noticed recently that when you post an article on Facebook, the all-knowing Newsfeed will post three articles below your post – two that agree with the article you posted and one that disagrees. This is an interesting idea, and may help break down the “echo chamber” that so much of our online dialogue has become. But then, sometimes, the articles Big Brother Facebook suggests are just downright offensive. Looking over some postings on the remarkable coming out of Caitlyn... Read more
Good friend, theologian, and author Tony Jones and I are kicking off a new blog series today, which will eventually evolve into a full-on podcast. It’s called Killer Serials, and in it we will take a closer look at some of the most talked-about television series from new broadcast and cable series to new Netflix content to old favorites available on other streaming services like Amazon and Hulu. In terms of streamed content, we will write about them three episodes at... Read more
Louder Than Bombs (directed by Joachim Trier) is an American-Norwegian film about a family still coming to grips with the untimely loss of the wife and mother. It stars Gabriel Byrne, Jesse Eisenberg, Isabelle Huppert, David Strathairn, and Devin Druid. (more…) Read more
A few weeks ago, the Pew Research Center released their latest study on America’s changing religious landscape, which finds that young folks are not attending–or leaving–the church in droves. The “Nones” (or as George Clooney’s character, Ulysses Everett McGill, referred to himself in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the “unaffiliated”) are on the rise. Christians of all stripes continue to speculate and worry about what this means for our future…another case of what Richard Lindsay likes to call BWAK (“but what about the... Read more
With so much good original Netflix content, you’d be forgiven for bailing on Bloodline after the first episode or two, especially when Daredevil released only a couple of weeks later. Bloodline‘s narrative starts slow, even if it is bolstered by stellar performances. If you’re patient enough, however, you’ll be rewarded with a story that rises to the level of its actors’ considerable talent. WARNING: A SPOILER-FILLED REFLECTION AHEAD. (more…) Read more
Benjamin Griffin is back. Now a resident of that hipster paradise of Austin, TX, he reviews Sufjan Stevens’ latest album, Carrie and Lowell. The Art of Forgetting Fossils: A Review of Sufjan Stevens’ Carrie and Lowell By Benjamin Drew Griffin We don’t know who Sufjan Stevens is. Some have claimed him as this generation’s greatest folk artist, a master of Americana orchestration and literary construction – but they were foiled by the glittery psychedelia and opaque personal deconstruction of Age... Read more
The old adage about desperate times calling for desperate measures is at the center of Aloft (written and directed by Academy Award nominated Claudia Llosa), a film about the relationship between faith and fear and the consequences of that desperation. (more…) Read more
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