A Millionaire Making Meaning

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button provides us with a character who is able to reflect back on her life as she lies on her deathbed.  This is something of fictionalized Hollywood here for a variety of reasons.  In many cases, death comes for us quickly and without warning, robbing us of any opportunity for grand meaning-making.  In other cases, the dying individual so fearfully resists death and her immediate future that there is no time for healthy reflection.  In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Daisy (Cate Blanchett) is not afraid of death, just simply curious about what awaits her.  She is, however, more concerned with re-living the events of her past through the reading of Benjamin’s diary.  Another film, Slumdog Millionaire, offers a more realistic, if still highly fictionalized, account of an opportunity for one young man to take stock of his life so far. [Read more]

A Curious Love Story

Over the Christmas holidays, I saw two films that dealt with the meaning of life…or rather the meaning of life for two distinct individuals.  Both The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire involve two characters looking back over significant events in their lives.  Both films, to an extent, rely on gimmicks:  the former, an individual who ages in reverse and the latter, a child of the slums who strikes it unbelievably rich on the world famous game show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. Here’s a review of The Curious Case…check back later for more on Slumdog. [Read more]

From the Top Please…

John Huston concludes his film, The Bible:  In the Beginning (1966), with Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his son Isaac and God’s promise of countless future generations in return for his faithfulness.  In the film (not in scripture), God tells Abraham that he has been tried like metal in a fire.  Viewers of Huston’s sprawling biblical epic might feel the same way at the conclusion of this almost three hour long film, though with little formation or insight to show for it. [Read more]

Another Good Interview…

No, I’m not talking about the latest Pop Theology review between Richard Lindsay and myself.  I’m talking about Ron Howard’s latest film, Frost/Nixon.  But back to one of our Pop Theology dialogues:  we felt that one of the true highlights of Oliver Stone’s latest film, W., is his effort to humanize a controversial political figure with whom he no doubt vehemently disagrees.  One of my frustrations with that film was when Stone drifted into the war room and out of the living room of Bush’s life.  In a sense, I felt like I was watching two films, the personal and the political.  Stone, however, did have great success in blending the two in the scene where Bush confronted his minister about his decision to run for the presidency.  Another more recent biopic, MILK, was a better example of personal and the political intricacies as Harvey could not separate the two in his own time.  While Frost/Nixon is not a biopic per se, it certainly focuses on a pivotal moment in the lives of two men, one that highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of their larger-than-life personalities that embodied political and personal elements. [Read more]

MILK: A Pop Theology Dialogue

Pop Theology contributor Richard Lindsay and I saw Gus Van Sant’s new film, MILK, last week.  It tells the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to political office in the United States.  We thought we would provide another dialogue review like we did with another interesting biopic this year, W..  Hope you enjoy. [Read more]

2008 Pop Theology Holiday Viewing Guide

Here, for the first time, is the 2008 Pop Theology Holiday Television Viewing Guide.  Now while there are certainly more extensive and complete lists out there (I have included two links after the jump), these are just a few of the programs I’ll be watching or recording throughout the holidays.  You’ll notice that National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is missing.  That’s because it’s playing on Cinemax, and I have it on DVD to watch whenever I please over the next several weeks, culminating with my traditional viewing after the midnight service on Christmas Eve.  Also missing is Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas which is also a part of my DVD collection.  If I’ve left out your favorite, let me know what it is and why, and I’ll add it to the list! [Read more]

Intergalactic Prolepsis

Perhaps one of the most significant ways to look at the life and ministry of Jesus is to view it as a proleptic vision of the coming kingdom of God.  In a sense, Jesus’ life is a theatrical trailer for a coming blockbuster.  The themes of this blockbuster are love, liberation, salvation, inclusion, forgiveness, and equality over against the oppressive power structures of the past and now.  Jesus’ life and teachings image another way, a better way, of living.  Of all places, I have found a parallel story in a new television cop series, Life on Mars. [Read more]