Before 2009 gets any older, I thought I’d better look back over the films that I saw in 2008 (or that were released in 2008) to construct my top 10 list of spiritually significant films.  You’ll notice some potential glaring absences:  I assume that Doubt and Revolutionary Road might have made the list, but at this point, I have been unable to make it to the theaters to see them.  This isn’t necessarily a list of my favorite films of... Read more

A couple of months ago, film scholar and critic David Thomson spoke on NPR during the height of the Presidential election.  He and the host could not ignore the troubling times in which we live, and Thomson speculated that filmmakers would not turn their cameras away either.  He cited the, ironically, positive effects that such difficult times can have on filmmaking, looking back at the wealth of lasting films created during the Great Depression or in the late 60s and... Read more

We just can’t let go of the holiday spirit here at Pop Theology.  Wendy Arce provides a belated review of two of the bigger holiday films and offers some interesting thoughts on the use of stereotypes in each. (more…) Read more

Yesterday morning, I heard a homily in which the priest talked about partaking of the Eucharist and how he (we) often do so daintily as he mimicked a timid partaking of the cup.  He countered this image by reflecting on the large stained glass window in the sanctuary which depicts Jesus’ baptism.  As John baptizes Jesus, rays of light beam down from a dove at the top of the window and flow over Jesus’ head, symbolizing the Holy Spirit.  The... Read more

I recently had the privilege of interviewing Marjorie Suchocki, a process theologian and Professor Emerita at the Claremont School of Theology, about her work in theology and film and the upcoming Whitehead International Film Festival, of which she is the chair.  Follow the link after the jump to listen (my interview is just below the two YouTube clips), and check out the featured video here in which Marjorie discusses her upcoming book on sin and cinema. (more…) Read more

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button provides us with a character who is able to reflect back on her life as she lies on her deathbed.  This is something of fictionalized Hollywood here for a variety of reasons.  In many cases, death comes for us quickly and without warning, robbing us of any opportunity for grand meaning-making.  In other cases, the dying individual so fearfully resists death and her immediate future that there is no time for healthy reflection.  In... Read more

Over the Christmas holidays, I saw two films that dealt with the meaning of life…or rather the meaning of life for two distinct individuals.  Both The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire involve two characters looking back over significant events in their lives.  Both films, to an extent, rely on gimmicks:  the former, an individual who ages in reverse and the latter, a child of the slums who strikes it unbelievably rich on the world famous game show,... Read more

John Huston concludes his film, The Bible:  In the Beginning (1966), with Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his son Isaac and God’s promise of countless future generations in return for his faithfulness.  In the film (not in scripture), God tells Abraham that he has been tried like metal in a fire.  Viewers of Huston’s sprawling biblical epic might feel the same way at the conclusion of this almost three hour long film, though with little formation or insight to show for it.... Read more