With the increased political and economic crises plaguing our country, how will filmmakers respond? Will we have an over-indulgence of diversions or will we have films that speak truth to power, challenging the structures that cause or contribute to the crises that plague our communities? The recent release, State of Play has characters who speak truth to power, and as a film itself, does so as well. (more…) Read more
Actually, Rainn Wilson has started up an interesting website called Soul Pancake that wants to “make discussions about Spirituality, Creativity, and Philosophy cool again.” The site encourages users to “Chew on Life’s Big Questions,” the ones that “gnaw at our innards.” My seminary professors referred to those as 3 a.m. questions…those that either kept you up until or woke you up at 3 in the morning. I’m especially interested in Soul Pancake because it explores the intersection of religion/faith/theology and... Read more
Earlier last week, Rotten Tomatoes had X-Men Origins: Wolverine rated 100%. It has since plummeted to a 38% rating (15% on the top critics meter). Such a critical plummet can signal one of two things, a really bad film or misguided expectations on the part of too many critics. Having watched the film over the weekend, it has to be the latter. Nothing about Wolverine deserves such horrible ratings. (more…) Read more
For those of you lucky enough to have HBO, tune in tonight to watch Trouble the Water, one of Pop Theology’s Top 10 Spiritually Significant Films of 2008 and one of the Oscar nominees for best documentary. If you can’t record it, check out the other airtimes after the jump. (more…) Read more
At its basic level, Michael G. Bausch’s Silver Screen Sacred Story: Using Multimedia in Worship is about change in the church. The questions that he poses regarding the potential shift to multimedia in worship services apply to any change that the church confronts be it doctrinal, denominational or otherwise. Though the multimedia about which Bausch writes will continue to evolve, and has evolved leaps and bounds since its original publication, the processes that he discusses for appropriating it are timeless.... Read more
Pop Theology contributor Richard Lindsay gives us a brief review of the biopic about one of my favorite actors, silent film star Lon Chaney. I’m still thinking about the whole suffering servant bit…there’s a book, or at least an article, in there somewhere. (more…) Read more
In their song, “Live Free,” Son Volt sings, “The season has changed; I want to see you in it; The lights that shine are caustic without you.” As a deeply religious and spiritual person, seasons are important to me. Because I’ve lived in various places where seasons come and go in different ways, I often look to other seasonal markers that are familiar to most of us, the crack of the bat, the first tailgate (be it in warm or... Read more
Pop Theology contributor Richard Lindsay gets funky with a capsule review of Wattstax. (more…) Read more
Religious Dispatches just posted a Q & A with religion and film expert S. Brent Plate around his new book, Film and Religion: Cinema and the Re-Creation of the World. I am a huge fan of Plate’s work as he represents a wealthy future of religion and film scholarship. Follow the link after the jump. (more…) Read more
It’s not unusual for even secular apocalyptic films to have religious under/overtones. As a meteor hurdles to earth or aliens poise for attack, invariably characters utter or scream, “Oh my God!” or the president informs everyone to pray. There might even be implications that God is angry and thus causing the potential destruction, usually from the mouth of a crazy, homeless street preacher. However, in Hollywood’s latest apocalyptic blockbuster, Knowing, the religious implications play a more prominent, if still uncertain,... Read more
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