Archive for August, 2007

The Ultimate What If…

Aug 29, 2007 No Comments by admin

Films are the great hypothetical (forgive the Shaquille O’Neal analogy). We can easily ask of any character in a film, “What if I was in that situation?” Thus, one of the many benefits of a more inquisitive filmwatching is a greater sense of empathy for “the Other.”  Such filmwatching also leads us to [...]

Film Read more

Better Late Than Never…

Aug 27, 2007 1 Comment by admin

I am speaking here of both my review of God’s Warriors and the program itself.  I did not finish the series until tonight, having been out of town over the weekend and the DVR failing to record the Muslim episode until Saturday night.  Despite Christiane Amanpour’s assertions to the contrary, this series seems to be [...]

Television Read more

The Religions Will Be Televised…

Aug 20, 2007 1 Comment by admin

This week, CNN is devoting 6 hours of its prime-time programming to a discussion of three major world religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights from 9-11 pm ET, CNN corespondent Christiane Amanpour will host a series of documentaries called God’s Warriors which focuses on God, politics, and the global [...]

Television Read more

$40 Million: Take Two

Aug 19, 2007 No Comments

WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS POST UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THE PREVIOUS ARTICLE, $40 MILLION AND TWO MOVIES.
It seems like the NFL knows no end to controversy with the Michael Vick dogfighting case being the latest in a long first year for commissioner Roger Goodell. As we wait for Vick’s decision of whether [...]

Read more

$40 Million and Two Movies

Aug 19, 2007 No Comments

Lately, I have been putting together a syllabus for a course I want to teach on sports and theology, religion, spirituality, ethics…. I have not figured out an appropriate title just yet, but the essence of it will speak to the reality of sports as a field ripe for the discussion of justice, race, [...]

Read more

Life on Pause…

Aug 16, 2007 1 Comment

Last fall I eagerly awaited the release of Michel Gondry’s The Science of Sleep. I was intrigued by the artistic creations shown in the film’s trailer. However, upon seeing the film, I felt as if all these cardboard cutouts ran their course rather quickly in the film. In the end, they seemed [...]

Read more

The Threat of Nonbeing

Aug 11, 2007 No Comments

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 [...]

Read more

All About the Music?

Aug 03, 2007 No Comments

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 [...]

Read more