The “liberalism” of Hollywood has long been a point of discussion for cultural critics, film historians, and “conscientious objectors.” All of this has to do with the films’ depiction of violence, drug/alcohol use, religion, and, of course, sex. At the same time, the behavior of the “Hollywood elite” has also been a point of contention [...]
Few arenas are as fruitful for the study of the history of American Christianity than its relationship to American cinema throughout their histories. In two books, The Silents of God: Selected Issues & Documents in Silent American Film and Religion, 1908-1925 and Sanctuary Cinema: Origins of the Christian Film Industry, Terry Lindvall has captured both [...]
Before the new year gets any older, Richard and I offer up some of our “favorites” from 2011. If you’re not familiar with our cinematic looks back, we’re picking out what we thought were some of the most spiritually/theologically/religiously compelling films (that we had the chance to see) of 2011. We’re not saying these are [...]
Richard Lindsay here: On New Years Eve, Cee-Lo Green made the mistake of crossing the aging hippy followers of John Lennon. The worst instincts of the Internet trolls were unleashed.
There’s something to be said about a theology and pop culture scholar who takes The National Enquirer and Hello! as serious theological conversation partners. This is exactly what Pete Ward does in his book Gods Behaving Badly: Media, Religion, and Celebrity Culture. While I don’t think Ward is as “daring” as he could be, his [...]
