Ryan Parker is back in the Land of the Free Gift with Purchase, but a family situation has kept him from posting his thoughts on Life of Pi. I also have some thoughts, so here is a first ever, two-part, side-by-side review from your PopTheology co-editors. Ryan’s Review Life of Pi is the most recent film (and one of the best to do so in a long time) that gets at my love of film, religion, and the relationship between... Read more
In another case of better-late-than-never, I finally got to see Argo last weekend during our stay in Paris. I was aware of all the hype but still enjoyed the film immensely. It also fits right into some of my on-going work on film, (non)violence, forgiveness and reconciliation. (more…) Read more
It’s nearly impossible to make a good movie about Abraham Lincoln for the same reason it’s nearly impossible to make a good movie about Jesus Christ. Both of these savior figures have been divinized beyond the point of human portrayal. As personages of near-universal approval, how can you create them as three-dimensional characters? Everything Jesus or Lincoln says or does in a movie must be right, because they’re Jesus and Lincoln. Spielberg’s Lincoln comes about as close to humanizing Lincoln... Read more
I tried to go see The Master yesterday afternoon. As it’s been out here in London for a couple of weeks, I was the only person in the theater. Unfortunately, just before the film started, an employee came and told me that the projector was broken. I had the option to see any film that was about to start and get a comp ticket as well. This is how I chose to see the new cop film, End of Watch.... Read more
There are movies that, intentionally or not, slip by you. There’s just too many. You’re too busy. Others demand repeated viewings. You don’t particularly love the lead actor. Parts of all of these explain my tardiness in seeing The Others (2001), a “horror” film that should go down as a contemporary classic in the vein of The Innocents or The Haunting. (more…) Read more
Mumford and Sons are ready when you want to get serious. You can bop along to your bubble gum pop like “Call Me Maybe” and your international dance fads like “Gangnam Style.” You can listen ironically to your hipster bands like Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, and Fun. You can shake it to your dance divas like Katy and Pink and Gaga. But when you’re ready to explore the innermost longings of the human heart, Mumford and Sons will be waiting.... Read more
Peacemaker Dan Terry followed the way of Jesus into hostile, neglected territory of back country Afghanistan. In the process, he fashioned friendships and networks that have the potential to re-shape a nation…unless war-mongerers and religious fanatics (on both sides of the divide) have their way. Jonathan Larson’s Making Friends Among the Taliban: A Peacemaker’s Journey in Afghanistan is a deeply harrowing and moving account of this champion for peace. (more…) Read more
Sometimes it takes absurdity to point out an absurdity. Especially when that absurdity is unexamined prejudice. Mine came four years ago with the until-then absurd proposition of electing a black man president. I was an Obama supporter since the primaries and was buzzing along on the “Yes we did!” high for a couple of days after the election. My admiration for the man was limitless as it seemed we’d elected a person of superior intelligence, keen judgment, and emotional maturity... Read more
If you’re looking to celebrate Halloween with a good book, then look no further than the new release, The Undead and Theology, a collection of essays edited by Kim Paffenroth and John Morehead. Again, this is a bit of a shameless plug, in a way, because I have a chapter in it on The Walking Dead comic books. On the other hand, I’m not seeing a dime from this, so I can still say without reservation that this is a... Read more
We’re having a little fun here at Pop Theology as Halloween rolls around. This time of year, we celebrate all things monstrous and horrific, and while evil comes in all shapes and sizes, many of us also know that it often comes dressed in religious garb. Below are a few of our favorite religious baddies, evil characters who are either explicitly religious or feature as the villains in explicitly religious films. These films range from the 1950s to the present... Read more
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