JOSH LARSEN – Enjoying Movies At A Deeper Level

Seeing Movies as Prayers (and even enjoying Horror Movies!

We love to talk movies on the Re-integrate Podcast. Why? Because we want to reintegrate our enjoyment of pop culture with our Christian faith.

Our guest on this episode is film critic Josh Larsen. He is co-host of the WBEZ (Chicago’s NPR station) radio show Filmspotting, which is also one of the top movie podcasts. Josh is also the editor and producer for Think Christian, a website and podcast exploring faith and pop culture. He has been writing and speaking about movies professionally since 1994.

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We discuss with Josh Larsen his two books:

Movies Are Prayers: How Films Voice Our Deepest Longings (InterVarsity Press, 2017), and

Fear Not!: A Christian Appreciation of Horror Movies (Cascade Books, 2023, a part of Fuller Seminary’s Reel Spirituality Monograph series).

Movies we discuss (with time stamps):

From Movies are Prayers:

The Tree of Life (7:41)
Avatar (10:31)
12 Years a Slave (12:39)
Toy Story (16:57)
My Neighbor Totoro (20:31)

From Fear Not:

Night of the Living Dead (29:20)
The Wolf Man (33:26)
Frankenstein (36:49)
The Creature from the Black Lagoon (37:46)
Haloween, Friday the 13th, & Nightmare on Elm Street (39:03)
The Conjuring (41:00)
The Sixth Sense (46:19)
The Shining (49:09)

Connect with Josh Larsen:

You can purchase Josh Larsen’s books from independent booksellers Byron and Beth Borger at Hearts & Minds Bookstore. Order online through their secure server or call 717-246-333. Mention that you heard about this book on the Reintegrate Podcast and get 20% off.

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Your hosts are Dr. Bob Robinson and David Loughney.

Go to re-integrate.org for the latest articles on reintegrating your callings with God’s mission and online resources for further learning. You can also find out about a Bible study book that you can use in your small group or individual devotions: Reintegrate Your Vocation with God’s Mission.

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