Pop Theology contributor Richard Lindsay and I were talking about reviews of mainstream films that feature gay and lesbian couples in lead roles and how reviewers often argue that these films aren’t about homosexuality or homsexuals but rather about human beings. These reviews clearly hope to allay potential viewers’ fears about these films being “too [...]
It might be slightly twisted of me I know, but I love it when a film disturbs me. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good inspirational story (maybe not as much as the next person), but there’s something about being physically, intellectually, or morally unsettled that, to me, is a potentially more rewarding experience. [...]
Heather Hendershot‘s Shaking the World for Jesus: Media and Conservative Evangelical Culture is one of several recent books that provides an insightful analysis of evangelical Christians’ relationship with popular culture. Like her contemporary, Daniel Radosh, Hendershot also takes a sympathetic approach to the topic, recognizing that evangelicals make significant meaning out of their interactions with [...]
There have been few recent films that I have anticipated as highly as Inception. Thankfully, it did not disappoint…except for one thing.
In her book, Brands of Faith, Mara Einstein argues that religion is a competing commodity in a larger marketplace. James B. Twitchell takes this notion closely to heart and runs with it in his book, Shopping for God: How Christianity Went From In Your Heart to In Your Face. He argues that denominational differences have [...]
What could we possibly learn from the LeBron-athon that took place over the last two weeks other than professional sports stars are narcissistic and our popular culture couldn’t care less because we can’t get enough of sports? If we scratch the surface, I think we can learn, or be reminded of, a little more.
At times, many of us have reacted to a professional sporting event as if it were a matter of life and death. For professional soccer players in Colombia during the ’80s and ’90s it was. The recent ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, The Two Escobars, focuses on Pablo Escobar and Andres Escobar (no relation) and [...]
As part of my dissertation research, I’ve been looking into the Prosperity Gospel, the Health and Wealth Gospel, or the Name It and Claim It Gospel…whatever you like to call it. For those of you who don’t know, it’s basically the notion that God wants us to be physically wealthy here and now. Ironically, those [...]
