How can a filmmaker visualize scent? How does a director convey odor? The senses of taste, touch, and smell escape the filmmaker when sight and sound are so powerfully effective. The director of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Tom Tykwer, faced this challenge in telling the story of a young frenchman with an extraordinary sense of smell. While the film falls flat in many respects, and quite frankly stinks, we can detect a faint theological aroma. (more…) Read more
A couple of months ago, Alan Ackridge, a friend and youth minister in North Carolina, shared a brief post on spirituality and contemporary popular music. He gave a list of his favorite spiritual songs, only a few of which were actually performed by specifically Christian artists. I have long been suspect of “Christian music” and the “Christian music industry,” often wanting to like them more than I do. For me, the tension lies in the idea of the separation between... Read more
On Sunday, two of baseball’s greatest, classiest players were inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn are the epitome of what professional athletes should be both on and off the field. Their induction ceremony and speeches are reminders of all that is good about baseball and professional sports, especially in the midst of so many controversies surrounding every professional sports league. Ripken’s comments are doubtless directed at professional athletes but are also... Read more
I doubt that any group of filmmakers have been under the amount of pressure to create a successful film like the writers and animators of The Simpsons Movie have been over the past two or three years. With an eighteen-year-strong fan base, that has weakened some over the past few seasons, Matt Groening et al not only had to provide something fresh to millions of dedicated fans but also something funny for the general public. I admit to some skepticism... Read more
So here they are, on the eve of The Simpsons Movie‘s release, my top three “Spiritual Simpsons” episodes. I’m off to catch the midnight show with all the other fanboys(girls), but if you are waiting until later in the weekend to see it, let these memories of the good old days tide you over. (more…) Read more
While Mark I. Pinsky’s religious dialogue with The Simpsons is certainly intriguing and Chris Turner’s Planet Simpson is an excellent example of how the series infiltrates nearly every aspect of the human experience, neither book, nor any of the others discussed here, offers the wealth of information on each episode like the “Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family” series. The best part of this series is that it is broken down into a collection of seasons (the first volume features... Read more
Thankfully, yesterday’s post did not run the gamut of Simpsons-critical texts. Here are two more, one worth adding to your library, and the other, well it’s nothing short of the worst…book…ever. (more…) Read more
D’oh! I mean, only four more days until The Simpsons Movie opens. PopTheology is dedicating every post this week to all things Simpsons. First, we will focus on several books based on pop-culture’s first family and, as the movie approaches, Daniel Skidmore and I will offer up our top five “spiritual Simpsons” episodes and hope that they will generate some discussion about your favorite “spiritual Simpsons” episode or your favorite episode in general. I’ll be making my way to the... Read more
The new Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (directed by David Yates) hit theaters last week, uncoincidentally close to the concluding book of the saga, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Unfortunately, I have not remained wrapped up in the books like most of the free world; however, I have enjoyed the films immensely, even the weaker ones. The latest one proves to be the best yet, thanks in no small part to a darker... Read more
In his latest contribution to PopTheology, Daniel Skidmore reflects on the MPAA’s rating system and its implications on the values that it promotes or withholds. The recent release of Live Free or Die Hard and the filmmakers controversial choice to edit it to garner a PG-13 rating has struck anew in my mind the debate about the Hollywood rating system. (more…) Read more
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