Hollywood dominates “the stories we live by,” while the church’s influence diminishes with each passing year.
Gary’s Theology in Film Introductory Video
Jonathan Edwards Goes to Movies: What Story Structure Can Teach Us About Religious Affections
The inciting event presents the hero with a decision: Shall I continue in the relative comfort of my business-as-usual life, or risk pursuing a new and more dangerous goal? A lot like Lent is designed to do…
What’s Your Cause, by Marc Erlbaum
It used to be that activism demanded significant energy and time. With the advent of the internet, however, we do not have to travel to the other end of the globe, or venture into dangerous situations closer to home, to witness the plight of those who need our help. It used to be that activism demanded significant energy and time. With the advent of the internet, however, we do not have to travel to the other end of the globe, or venture into dangerous situations closer to home, to witness the plight of those who need our help.
The Future of Faith in Film? Youth and Evangelicals Outstrip All Other Movie-going Audiences, by David Kinnaman
No one is surprised that 18-28 year-olds watch twice as many movies as any other age group. What is surprising is that the average number of movies self-identified ‘evangelicals’ saw in 2012 is larger than followers of any other religion. If Hollywood is listening then the future of movies could be greatly shaped by tastes of young Christ-followers.
Film Technology Fails: The New Wilhelm Scream, by Scott Hanselman
Hollywood seems determined to make the technology-aware jump up from their seats and scream NO!!! A technical error pulls me out of the story like a slap in the face. It almost physically hurts. I’m not just nitpicking here, either. These aren’t hard things to fix. One just needs to care.
It’s a Wonderful Life and the Courage to Live (and Create Art) Idealistically
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. Part 3 of our annual repost of one of the most read THW series.
Capra’s Tale of a Depressed Idealist: It’s a Wonderful Life, Part 2, by Gary David Stratton, PhD
Part 2 of annual repost of most read series in THW’s brief history:
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) provides a wonderful expression of the complicated interplay between modern Physicalism and Idealism as life-interpreting stories in the life of its main character, George Bailey.
It’s a Wonderful Life: Frank Capra’s Worldview Masterpiece
Like George Bailey and Ricky Gervais, we all eventually find ourselves wondering: Is there a reward for knowing and trying to do the right thing? (Either in heaven or on earth) Or, is it all a waste of time?
Shutter Island: Echoes of René Girard in the Films of Martin Scorsese, by Cari Myers
The themes of redemptive violence, scapegoating, mimesis, and feuding identities dominate both the films of Martin Scorsese and literary theory of Rene Girard. ‘Shutter Island’ (2010) starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo was Martin Scorsese’s second highest-grossing film ($128M), behind only Oscar-winner, ‘The Departed.’ What first appears to be a classic horror film (voted #7 on Business Insiders Highest Grossing Scary Movies of All Time), turns out to be so much more. A story of violent scapegoating of Girardian proportions.
It’s 1954, and up-and-coming U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston’s Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital. He’s been pushing for an assignment on the island for personal reasons, but before long he wonders whether he hasn’t been brought there as part of a twisted plot by hospital doctors whose radical treatments range from unethical to illegal to downright sinister. Teddy’s shrewd investigating skills soon provide a promising lead, but the hospital refuses him access to records he suspects would break the case wide open. As a hurricane cuts off communication with the mainland, more dangerous criminals “escape” in the confusion, and the puzzling, improbable clues multiply, Teddy begins to doubt everything – his memory, his partner, even his own sanity.
Sony Strips Most Christian References from ‘The Vow’: Artistic Decision, or Biased Filmmaking?
Real-life couple from ‘The Vow’ says it ‘would have been nice’ to see Christian references in film By Jo Piazza Based on the love story of two devout Christians, the movie version of “The Vow,” starring Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum, strips the tale of…
Acting School Aims to Make Hollywood More Like Holywood
Following the Actors Calling from God by Cathleen Falsani in The Huffington Post Years before he was known as Pope John Paul II, Karol Wojtyla hoped to become an actor. The late pontiff studied drama in his native Poland at…
Female Filmmakers Need Not Apply: USC Study Reveals Staggering Hollywood Gender Gap – Response by Screenwriter Cheryl McKay Price
Industry Lip Service to Equality Pales in Comparison to Actual Ratios “Nobody knows a woman like a woman. We should get to write, direct and produce for ourselves more than we apparently do. Where do I sign up to help…