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 examine our [...]
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 [...]
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 fight [...]
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 to [...]
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, gender, [...]
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 to serve as [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
