Eat of My Flesh

Last updated on: May 20, 2013 at 9:46 am By J. Ryan Parker

Pieta conjures up many beautiful artistic images of Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus, the most familiar of which is undoubtedly Michelangelo’s sculpture, Pieta. In fact, the poster for Korean filmmaker Kim Ki-duk‘s latest film, Pieta, employs the face of Mary from that very sculpture with a dash of blood, which points to its violent narrative. The disturbing scenes in Ki-duk’s film (and there are many) are haunting images that comprise a larger cinematic whole that delves deeply into Christian themes... Read more

Iron Man 3 and Mud

Last updated on: May 14, 2013 at 2:29 pm By J. Ryan Parker

I recently saw a couple of films back-to-back that couldn’t have been more different (I’m already in love with being in the center of the movie universe here in L. A.). Unless you’re hiding under a rock, you know the latest installment of the Iron Man franchise is currently in theaters. You might be less familiar with an astronomically smaller independent film starring Matthew McCaughnahey called Mud. (more…) Read more

A Sacred Wonder

Last updated on: May 6, 2013 at 11:59 am By J. Ryan Parker

I’m currently working on an article on images of trauma in film for the independent film journal, Cinemascope. The call for papers included a quote from French philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy, who argues that film is “always sacred and never religious” because the sacred is “elusive and indefinable, faraway from reality.” This strikes me as a fair assessment of the art of film, and it begins to scratch at the surface of the greatness of Terrence Malick, one of the premier... Read more

Jesus and John Lennon: Misremembered Messiahs

Last updated on: June 14, 2013 at 8:21 pm By Richard Lindsay

I had the opportunity to give a talk at the PSR Sacred Snapshots event in Berkeley on April 20th about John Lennon as a rock-n-roll messiah. This is a variation on a lecture I’ve given as part of my “Pop Goes Religion” course. The conversation with those who attended reinforced for me the intense spiritual meaning the life, music, and death of John Lennon has in American popular culture, particularly among the Baby Boom generation. Just look at the song... Read more

Film Freedom

Last updated on: April 30, 2013 at 12:39 pm By J. Ryan Parker

In recent years, much has been written about the historical relationship between religion (as an institution, and not just a theme) in the development of cinema. While it might not be as ground-breaking as advertised, William D. Romanowski’s newest book, Reforming Hollywood: How American Protestants Fought for Freedom at the Movies, reveals that there is fertile ground yet to be farmed in this field. (more…) Read more

Psalms of "Black Velvet"

Last updated on: April 15, 2013 at 6:55 am By J. Ryan Parker

Steve Sudeth with a post on the little-known Charles Bradley, a one-time James Brown impersonator who has now released his own albums rich with spiritual overtones. More after the jump. (more…) Read more

Super Fun Pack – 3 Music Reviews!

Last updated on: June 14, 2013 at 8:27 pm By Richard Lindsay

Finally getting around to writing about some music I’ve been listening to for the last few months, here’s some brief reviews of three albums that have made the rotation on my iPhone. Has Matisyahu become “spiritual but not religious?” Matisyahu, the Chasidic reggae star, has evolved both in sound and spirituality. Just the picture should tell you a lot—no more beard or Pe’ot (hair curls). There are some touching interviews online that explain his transition, when he realized that God... Read more

Can I Get an Amen…Or At Least a Gun and a Wad of Cash?

Last updated on: April 3, 2013 at 10:52 am By J. Ryan Parker

Spring Breakers isn’t necessarily the year’s first must-see film, but it might be one of the first “you really might want to see it” films. But be warned, writer/director Harmony Korine‘s tale of spring-break gone terribly wrong is full of potentially offensive images and dialogue. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s certainly a unique viewing experience that has stuck with me in ways that few other recent viewing experiences have. (more…) Read more

Musical Indoctrination

Last updated on: March 29, 2013 at 8:25 am By J. Ryan Parker

Occasional Pop Theology contributor Steve Sudeth shares his thoughts on “raising up a child in the way he should go” with particular attention to musical indoctrination. Hopefully, this is just the first in an on-going series of theologically compelling music around which parents and children can engage. More after the jump. (more…) Read more

Wedded Bliss?? Hardly.

Last updated on: March 26, 2013 at 1:42 pm By J. Ryan Parker

I find it somewhat fitting that, as the Supreme Court of the United States considers marriage equality, I finished up film historian Jeanine Basinger‘s latest book, I Do and I Don’t: A History of Marriage in the Movies. In her incisive, encyclopedic work, she takes readers through the history of “marriage movies” from the silents to today and deftly reveals their cultural implications, the ways in which they serve as windows into what marriage meant, and has come to mean,... Read more