Well, I guess that depends on whether you are carrying the Olympic torch through San Francisco this week, or if you are a Warriors fan anxiously awaiting Thursday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets. It has been a busy couple of weeks out here on the left coast. Deadlines breathing down my neck and a film project on the horizon are vying for my time and attention. I have, however, managed to get in a couple of good movies over... Read more
Charlton Heston died last night at the age of 83. While he was not the first pop culture religious icon, he certainly was the most famous. Just as Jim Caviezle has become etched in the collective religious psyche as the figure of Jesus, few people can think of Moses without conjuring up images of Heston. Revisit Soylent Green in remembrance of Heston…you’ll be glad you did. Read more
Here is some more footage of the GTU panel discussion on sports, religion, and social justice. In this video, you will hear Mike Beckman talk about the Green Bay Packers, Tai-Amri Spann Wilson reflect on his personal experiences with sports, and Emily Joy McGaughy finally adds some female flavor to the panel as she discusses women and sports. Read more
Below is the footage from a talk that I gave as part of a panel discussion on sports, religion, and social justice. Hope you enjoy it. Read more
Our nearest grocery store has RedBox, a $1 per night DVD rental vending machine. Surprisingly, the box is stocked with adequate amounts of new releases each Tuesday. If you already belong to a home-delivery service like Netflix or Blockbuster and don’t feel like spending that extra dollar, you can sign up on their website and receive a text message with a code for a free rental every Monday. I have begun using this free rental for what I like to... Read more
World War II has inspired at least 600 films; the Vietnam War around 100. As the American occupation of Iraq continues, I am curious to see how many films will emerge from this experience and what kinds of stories they will tell. On the heels of the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, Paramount Pictures released Kimberly Peirce’s (Boys Don’t Cry) latest film, Stop-Loss. It will be easy for most people to pigeonhole this film as an anti-Iraq War... Read more
I loved Deadwood. I think I watched all three seasons in a matter of two weeks, or maybe less. Last summer, I was excited to see a David Milch follow up with John From Cincinnati. I’m not even going to pretend that it was as good as Deadwood. Few shows could be. Most critics were less than enthused by the spirituality and surfing combination and found the mystical Buddha, Jesus flavored surfer a bit too much. Despite a plodding narrative,... Read more
Here is a list of Jesus movies (forgive the whiteness) for your Easter viewing pleasure. Most of these should be available at your local video store or through Netflix. From the Manger to the Cross (1912) Intolerance (1916) The King of Kings (1927) Ben-Hur (1959) King of Kings (1961) The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1966) Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) Godspell (1973) Jesus of Nazareth (1977) The Life of Brian (1979) Jesus (1979) The... Read more
Last weekend, TCM aired the cult classic, Night of the Lepus, a B-horror movie about a failed science experiment to curb rabbit overpopulation. I decided to celebrate Easter weekend, in part by seeing just how terrifying the Easter Bunny could be. Unlike the birds in Hitchcock’s The Birds, the rabbits in Night of the Lepus remain cute and cuddly despite the filmmakers’ (who must have been highly intoxicated) “best” efforts. (more…) Read more
As an active participant in popular culture, I am constantly barraged by violent images. From “humorous” cartoon fights to domestic abuse, violence pervades popular culture and sparks heated religious debates about spectatorship and the effects of pop culture on our physical, spiritual, and emotional well being. Far from avoiding popular culture or justifying it on the other hand, what takes place is, perhaps, a process of negotiation by which I place my religious or theological beliefs in conversation (critical) with... Read more
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