Heretical musings on religion and culture from a literary scholar
I was less than impressed with the 2014 remake of the biblical story of Noah and the Ark, featuring Russell Crowe. While some of the thematic and symbolistic changes they made were interesting (I'll discuss those below), the controversy itself offers much for discussion. People are angry because it "wasn't true to the Bible." But the truth is most Christians don't realize the version they learned in Sunday School isn't in the Bible either - ...
"I just need to know how he does it." This is the consuming passion of Psychologist Margaret Matheson (Sigourney Weaver) as she investigates a world-renowned blind psychic Simon Silver (Robert De Niro), who has resurfaced after decades for a final appearance. The movie builds and builds, with supernatural attacks leading up to the death of Margaret. Her partner Tom Buckley (Cillian Murphy) takes over the case, determined to solve the mystery. "Forget about Silver, there are certain things it's ...
An online review posted about Disney's 2012 John Carter of Earth movie runs thus: "John Carter evokes pretty much every sci-fi classic from the past 50 years without having any real personality of its own." The essential thing to keep in mind, however, is that Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars was first published almost a century ago in 1917! Science fiction and fantasy novels and stories since then are deeply indebted to John Carter. Others ...
I've been seeing hyped up advertisements for Soul Surfer on Beliefnet.com for months, yesterday I finally had the chance to watch it. It's based on the true story of Bethany Hamilton, a surfer whose arms was taken by a shark but who managed to persevere as a professional story. Is it inspiring? Moving? Touching? Yes, absolutely. It's also very Christian. Regardless of your religious persuasion, Soul Surfer touches on some of the eternal problems of existence: ...
As a theology student/ex-Christian I'm practically required to watch movies about exorcisms, God, Satan, and Christianity. And usually they suck. So it was refreshing to watch "The Rite" (2011) and be entertained. The Rite is a brilliantly complex movie, with stunning special effects, moments of panic and macabre, and of course, world-class acting (Anthony Hopkins , Colin O'Donoghue , Alice Braga). That said, there are certain pitfalls. The plot revolves around an American seminary student, who joined priest-training ...
In Michel Foucault’s 1975 Discipline and Punish, he tried to trace the processes and effects of power as they relate to discourse; that is, the systems of power that extend not merely from above (as in an authoritarian regime) but also from below (power that is internalized, and thus less obviously perceived as an influence at all). The aim of power, in Foucault’s terms, is to exercise power “at the lowest possible cost (economically, by ...
I think it's possible to accuse me of sometimes seeing too much religious/biblical symbolism in contemporary movies: but in the case of the new Tron Legacy movie (2010), any Sunday-schooler can see that religious themes have been blatantly incorporated: a programmer creates an artificial world that gets away from him, his creations rebel against him, his son will need to come and save everybody - obviously there are some Christian parallels here. The fun part ...
I've been excited to see 2010's Clash of the Titans since the previews came out last year. War on the Gods despite great odds? Defiance as a principle and free right? Greek mythology? These are some of my favorite themes. Unfortunately, if it weren't for Gemma Arterton - who, even while standing pretty still and delivering poorly written, flatly acted lines was still captivating - I might have walked out of the theater. Interestingly, the main ...
If you're interested in religious mythology, astrological symbolism, or supernatural folklore, grab my book Gods of Myth and Man. You can go buy it on Amazon.
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