Cecil B. DeMille and Roy's Rock

Last updated on: August 30, 2012 at 3:14 pm By Richard Lindsay

In 1958, Malcolm Boyd, an Episcopal priest and former Hollywood writer, soon to be known as author of the bestselling prayer book Are You Running with Me, Jesus? offered a contemporary assessment of 1950’s biblical epics. In Christ and Celebrity Gods: the Church in Mass Culture, he called the films “orgiastic, lengthy, overwhelming spectacles that have as little relation to ‘religion’ as orange juice stands have to a cocktail bar.” He went on to lament the genre’s “wildly imaginative excursions... Read more

An Ode to Pain

Last updated on: August 22, 2012 at 7:37 pm By J. Ryan Parker

When I saw the previews for Warrior, I figured it wasn’t for me, and so I really didn’t pay close attention to the reviews. I heard it was not just a good fight movie but a good movie in itself. But I’m not an MMA fan so I resisted. Well, I finally gave in and watched it, and am so glad I did because it’s one of the better films I’ve seen in a long time and a surprising fit... Read more

More on 'Beasts'

Last updated on: August 22, 2012 at 2:30 pm By Richard Lindsay

A friend sent me a “making-of” featurette for Beasts of the Southern Wild, the incredible first feature by Benh Zeitlin and the New Orleans film collective Court 13. (Correction to my review of the film: Cinereach is an independent-film granting organization that presumably helped fund Beasts, not the name of the collective.) The featurette shows director Zeitlin on location in the abandoned gas station that was the production office for Beasts. Some points of interest you learn in the clip:... Read more

Playing Musical Catch Up

Last updated on: August 19, 2012 at 6:41 pm By J. Ryan Parker

New Pop Theology contributor Steve Sudeth brings us up to speed on some of his favorite music releases thus far this year. Let him know what you think he “missed” or should seek out. (more…) Read more

Prophecy and Imagination

Last updated on: August 10, 2012 at 2:53 am By J. Ryan Parker

Originally written in 1978 and revised in 2000, Walter Brueggemann’s The Prophetic Imagination is perhaps more relevant now than it has ever been. Here, he accurately describes the environment in which we languish and the prophetic idiom that provides a critical and energizing alternative. (more…) Read more

Apocalypse Underground

Last updated on: August 6, 2012 at 4:16 am By J. Ryan Parker

Out of the blue last week a friend loaned me a book on Kindle. I’ve read loads of books on my Kindle but have never been loaned one. I’ve fallen further in love with the device. It also helped that the book, Wool Omnibus, is one of the best science fiction books I’ve read in a long time. That it is self-published by indie author Hugh Howey makes its success even more fantastic. Science fiction fan or not, you’re guaranteed... Read more

Classic Documentary: Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt

Last updated on: August 4, 2012 at 10:43 pm By Richard Lindsay

In 1993 as a freshman at the University of Louisville, the gay community I took my first, tentative steps toward coming out into was sick, angry, and exhausted, after twelve years of fighting on the front lines of the battle against AIDS. ACT-UP protests were a regular feature of the evening news, as armies of gay men, wearing their militant-chic black boots, blue jeans, and pink triangle “Silence=Death” t-shirts shut down the Golden Gate Bridge, pharmaceutical company Burroughs Wellcome, the... Read more

A New Voice and a Pop Music Canon

Last updated on: August 3, 2012 at 5:06 pm By J. Ryan Parker

This latest post is from Steve Sudeth, the newest Pop Theology contributor and a lecturer in religion, philosophy, and culture. Here, he talks about his Pop Music Canon and the importance of such music for our theological and spiritual development. Please feel free to share the pop music hymns that make up your own, and if you live in the Redondo Beach area, you’ll likely run into Steve at 2 Guns Espresso if you want to chat. . (more…) Read more

Either Really [Bleepin'] Smart or Really [Bleepin'] Dumb

Last updated on: July 30, 2012 at 6:19 am By J. Ryan Parker

I’ve long been interested in teaching a class on humor and the “isms” (race, class, sex, elite) and phobias that plague our existence. If I can ever teach that class, I’ll show The Guard, John Michael McDonagh‘s take on the police buddy comedy that approaches race/ism with some intelligence, humor, and complexity and features two fine performances by Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle. (more…) Read more

Even Vampires Debate Biblical Inerrancy

Last updated on: July 25, 2012 at 9:20 am By J. Ryan Parker

I’ve been an unapologetic fan of True Blood from the start. Hell, I even flew transatlantic to deliver a paper on the series at an academic conference on vampires and the undead. I’ve mixed my share of True Blood drinks. For me, season 5 is shaping up to be one of the most interesting ones yet. Who knew even vampires debate Biblical inerrancy? (more…) Read more