Two Handed Warriors

Like Tevye, the stories of Scripture provide not only fertile soil for nurturing reinterpretations of our philosophy and culture for a new generation, but also irresistible bedrock for grounding the story of our own life in the mind of God.

Part 2 of Dead Poets Society Series: Bungee-Jumping to Eternity! “No matter what anyone tells you, words and ideas can change the world.” —Mr. Keating (Robin Williams) in Dead Poets Society by Gary David Stratton, PhD A worldview is a lot like an iceberg in at least two important ways: First, only their uppermost levels are [...]

Carpe Diem and the Escape from Physicalism! What if the world has meaning we can’t reach through the physical senses alone? “Carpe Diem!  Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.” —Mr. Keating (Robin Williams) in Dead Poets Society by Gary David Stratton, PhD Dead Poets Society, 1989 Oscar winner for best original screenplay (Tom Schulman), [...]

. Here’s Looking At You, Kid Casablanca — MOVIECLIPS.com .. . Casablanca, 1942 Academy Award-winner for Best Picture (originally entitled, Everyone Meets at Rick’s), provides a clear example of how character (both cinematic and moral) is “constructed” from the ground up. Our unexamined presuppositions about reality form a worldview that guides our life in ways [...]

Tonight, Hollywood will crown this year’s greatest film. But will anyone remember it in 20 years? Part IV in the series: Deep Culture Impact: Is an Oscar a Reliable Indicator of a Truly Great Film? by Gary David Stratton, PhD All-Time ‘Deep Culture’ Impact Films and 2011 Deep Culture Best Picture Nearly two decades of using film [...]

Part III in series: Deep Culture Impact: Is an Oscar a Reliable Indicator of a Truly Great Film? by Gary David Stratton, PhD A century of motion picture production has generated a remarkably small cannon of films that have achieved true “deep culture” impact. (See, Films with ‘Deep Culture’ Impact.) Even if you know that [...]

Part II in series: Deep Culture Impact: Is an Oscar a Reliable Indicator of a Truly Great Film? The criteria used by Academy voters to decide their choice for “Best Picture” remains a complete mystery to the viewing public. Is it Story? Acting? Directing? Artistic merit? Political perspective? Personal taste? Who knows? No two years are the same, and [...]

by Gary David Stratton, PhD This Sunday night, tens of millions of viewers from nearly every nation on the earth will tune in for the coronation of Hollywood’s Best Picture of 2011.  Studios have spent millions of dollars in countless screeners, screenings, billboards, interviews, Variety Ads, Twitter campaigns, blog attacks, and countless party conversations, seeking [...]

If imitation is the highest form of flattery, then we are constantly flattering the individuals and communities who have transmitted their “scripts” to us. Our worldview is so deeply rooted within us that we glide through thousands of “preconditioned” decisions each hour, following the cultural and philosophical scripts provided for us by the stories that have shaped us.

Few of us will ever get an invitation to an early screening of our life’s work like George did. Yet we will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. To be a two handed warrior is to live for that heavenly red carpet affair, not its pale imitation at the Kodak theatre.