Recently On TCM…

Last updated on: March 5, 2008 at 10:10 pm By J. Ryan Parker

Turner Classic Movies recently debuted a documentary entitled Thou Shalt Not Sin. The documentary examines pre-Code films and representations of bodies, sex, and sexuality and the changes in this representation in light of the Production Code. TCM offers this description: Over seventy years later, they’ve lost none of their power to shock, entertain, and titillate. So-called “pre-Code” movies remain among the most vital films America has ever produced. But why were these films so much more sexually free and socially... Read more

A Real Game…

Last updated on: March 5, 2008 at 9:52 pm By J. Ryan Parker

I realize that I have written about some fairly obscure films in Pop Theology’s short history. However, I doubt any have been as quirky as the recently-released (on DVD) documentary, Darkon. Directed by Luke Meyer and Andrew Neel, Darkon focuses on a group of young to middle-aged adults in Baltimore who participate in a live-action, role-playing game called Darkon. The participants take Dungeons and Dragons gameplay to another level, and in so doing, offer many implications for religious consciousness and... Read more

80 Oscar 08

Last updated on: February 24, 2008 at 11:58 pm By J. Ryan Parker

I thought about live blogging the 2008 Oscars, but of course, got too caught up in our Oscar Party. The highlight of the evening simply had to be Jon Stewart bringing Marketa Irglova back out to give her acceptance speech. In an awards ceremony full of surprises, most notably the best and supporting actress categories (Marion Cotillard and Tilda Swinton respectively), Irglova and her co-writer, Glen Hansard, won the award for best original song for “Falling Slowly” from Once. Director... Read more

Long Live Convergence…

Last updated on: February 20, 2008 at 1:45 pm By J. Ryan Parker

At its most basic level, the convergence culture about which Henry Jenkins writes depends on marketing and the market interaction between producers and consumers. Of course, his intention is to explore this relationship to much deeper, more significant ends; however, his study has to begin with marketing, and it does, in a way, with his discussions of Survivor and American Idol. Yet Jenkins would be the first to argue that this branch of convergence culture did not begin with the... Read more

Convergence

Last updated on: February 13, 2008 at 7:43 am By J. Ryan Parker

Traditionally speaking, most serious scholars would scoff at the idea of turning to popular culture for lessons in political discourse, religious consciousness, or educational formation. Yet this is just what Henry Jenkins, a professor of humanities and the founder and director of the Comparative Media Studies Program at MIT, has done in his recent book, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. The result is a wildly entertaining and eye-opening read that will forever change the way you view... Read more

A Bright Commentary…

Last updated on: February 8, 2008 at 7:08 am By J. Ryan Parker

Depending on the film or those involved in its creation, commentaries can either be truncated courses in filmmaking or shallow stories about what the actors did in their downtime on the shoot. Guillermo del Toro and Pedro Almodovar both give great, really educational commentaries, and Roger Ebert‘s infectious love for cinema makes his commentaries on classic films like Casablanca or Citizen Kane irresistable. However, commentaries involving “outsiders,” folks other than directors, editors, or actors, offer an interesting perspective as well.... Read more

A Fistful of Quarters

Last updated on: February 6, 2008 at 10:03 am By J. Ryan Parker

For those of you who think that competitive video gaming began with Halo tournaments…. Wait, did any of you actually know about the world of competitive video gaming? Well if you did, then you most likely know that it began long before Madden tournaments back to the prehistoric days of the earliest arcade games like Missile Command, Centipede, and perhaps the most popular arcade/video game of all time, Donkey Kong. The documentary, King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters captures... Read more

More Nominations…

Last updated on: February 5, 2008 at 6:54 am By J. Ryan Parker

Rumor has it the writers’ strike will end later this week. Apparently, the big issues have all been settled and small details will be ironed out before week’s end. This bodes well not only for fans of shows like Lost and The Office, but for Oscar fans as well, seeing as the Academy Awards show relies on writers to actually pen those lame introductions that the presenters monotonously recite from the teleprompter. Of course this is not the writers’ best... Read more

Film and Religion: A Review

Last updated on: February 4, 2008 at 9:42 am By J. Ryan Parker

A new book has made an exciting contribution to the on-going study of the relationship between film and religion. Film and Religion: An Introduction by Paul V. M. Flesher and Robert Torry is an example of the kind of serious “religious critique” of films that must take precedence in this field if it is to thrive. Flesher and Torry are keenly aware of the socio-political influences on films and how the use of religion in film can be a way... Read more

Super Sunday

Last updated on: February 3, 2008 at 11:50 am By J. Ryan Parker

Happy Super Sunday! Super Bowl Sunday is the high holy day of American Civil Religion, bordering on holiday status. I often joke that if I were elected president, I would make the Monday following the Super Bowl a national holiday. Want to write me in? Theologians and scholars of religion have paid increasing attention to the connection between sports and religion and spirituality over the past few decades. Mercer University Press has a running series of books that explore the... Read more