Beatitudes Blog

Timeless

Submitted by Ryan Parker on April 14, 2008 - 7:19pm.

In the conclusion to John Ford, Peter Bogdanovich reflects on the director’s career and death. He recalls Jane Fonda picketing the American Film Institute’s presentation of their first Life Achievement Award to Ford because President Nixon was present. Bogdanovich sees a shortsightedness to Fonda’s protest and a timelessness to the director’s work. Though Ford may have held disagreeable political views (whose aren’t?), Bogdanovich writes, “His best movies–and there are many of them–are for all our days” (109). A film’s resonance with its audiences dpends on both the effectiveness of the filmmaking team and the socio-political, cultural millieu into which it is released and in which it is subsequently viewed. Most recently, we can easily imagine that Iraq war films that tank now might find a second wind in a few years as we continually judge our involvement in Iraq. Truly great films resonate throughout the decades regardless of what climate surrounds their release or viewing. At their heart, these films often address “ultimate questions,” shared experiences that characterize what it means to be human. John Ford made these kinds of films. One in particular, however, The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936), has a special relevance for out time as it addresses the loss of civil liberties in the name of American patriotism.

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Backdraft

Submitted by Ryan Parker on March 31, 2008 - 5:46am.

World War II has inspired at least 600 films; the Vietnam War around 100. As the American occupation of Iraq continues, I am curious to see how many films will emerge from this experience and what kinds of stories they will tell. On the heels of the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, Paramount Pictures released Kimberly Peirce’s (Boys Don’t Cry) latest film, Stop-Loss. It will be easy for most people to pigeonhole this film as an anti-Iraq War film, especially those who do not actually see it. In reality, however, we have something much more complex. Unlike In the Valley of Elah’s Paul Haggis, Peirce has experienced the reality of having a loved one actually fight in the war. This personal experience makes her soldiers seem like real people, rather than just instruments for anti-Iraq war sentiments. It is impossible not to feel Pierce’s sympathy and respect for American soldiers. Stop-Loss only evolves into an anti-Iraq war film when the American government fails to show this same respect for its soldiers.

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Religion and Media

Submitted by Ryan Parker on March 16, 2008 - 5:40pm.

I consistently try to stay away from overtly political discussions here on Pop Theology. I find myself too tied up in the “fantasy worlds” of movies, television shows, books, and video games to cast my lot in “real world politics.” However, when religion, politics, and the news converge like they did on Friday, it is hard to stay away. The following post is not an endorsement of any candidate, but rather a brief examination of the explosion of religion and media surrounding Barack Obama’s campaign. Coincidentally, I have also been reading Stewart Hoover’s "Religion in the Media Age" which will, hopefully, help shed some light on this topic. I am sure Mr. Hoover has quite enough information to fuel a second edition of his book after the media frenzy around Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s comments.

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The Meaning of Life. . .

Submitted by Ryan Parker on October 25, 2007 - 12:59am.

Having been a fan of Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man, I have always wanted to read John Krakauer’s Into the Wild, and I want to do so even more now that I have seen Sean Penn’s cinematic adaptation of it. Chris McCandless’ enigmatic existence makes for an epic film full of important questions concerning society, life, love, and relationships. Never in my film-watching have I wanted so badly to connect with a character and never has it been quite so difficult. Here is a music video for “Hard Sun,” one of Eddie Vedder’s many songs composed for the film.

Read on for my review of what is truly a captivating film.

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While the Film is Great...

Submitted by Ryan Parker on October 23, 2007 - 1:17am.

...the soundtrack is just as captivating. While I have already given my review for Into the Wild, I will not give a review for the soundtrack by Eddie Vedder. However, I will provide the lyrics to two of the songs on the soundtrack. They should be encouragement enough to listen to the rest!

"No More War"

I speak for a man who gave for this land
Took a bullet in the back for his pay
Spilled his blood in the dirt and the dust
He's back to say:
What he has seen is hard to believe
And it does no good to just pray
He asks of us to stand And we must end this war today

With his mind, he's saying, "No more!"
With his heart, he's saying, "No more!"
With his life he's saying, "No more war!"
With his eyes, he's saying, "No more!"
With his body, he's saying, "No more!"
With his voice, he's saying, "No more war!"

Yeah, nothing's too good for a veteran
Yeah, this is what they say
So nothing is what they will get
And there's no American way
The lies we were told to get us to go
Were criminal (?)... let us be straight
Let's get to the point where our voices get heard
And I know what I'll say

With his mind, he's saying, "No more!"
With his heart, he's saying, "No more!"
With his life he's saying, "No more war!"
With his eyes, he's saying, "No more!"
With his voice, he's saying, "No more!"
With his body, he's saying, "No more war!"

No more innocents dying
No more terror rising
No more eulogizing
No more evangelizing
No more presidents lying
No more war

With our minds, we're saying, "No more!"
With our hearts, we're saying, "No more!"
With our lives, we're saying, "No more war!"

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A Dark Valley

Submitted by Ryan Parker on September 26, 2007 - 4:40pm.

This year, two major films will examine the effects of the Iraq War on American soil. While we do not physically experience the daily bombings and violence of the war that takes place thousands of miles away, we are dealing with and will increasingly deal with the mental, emotional, and physical after effects of this war on our family, friends, and neighbors. Recently, HBO aired a documentary by James Gandolfini called Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq in which he interviewed wounded Iraq veterans, most of whom have had multiple amputations and nearly all of whom suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. John Cusack stars in Grace is Gone, which tells the story of a father and two children who lose their wife/mother in Iraq. Paul Haggis (of Crash infamy) directs a new film entitled In the Valley of Elah starring Tommy Lee Jones, Susan Sarandon, and Charlize Theron. The central character here, however, makes very few appearances on-screen, but his story dominates the film. As a result, In the Valley of Elah is a powerful study of how post-traumatic stress affects not only our young veterans but their loved ones as well.

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Battlescars

Submitted by Ryan Parker on September 11, 2007 - 5:08pm.

The death toll of suicide bombers and the weekly body count/injury report of the war in Iraq has become the soundtrack to the majority of news reports over the past five years. While we are almost daily informed of death or injury, we do not hear the details of these tragedies. The church I have recently been attending mentions the wounded and dead from the war during the prayers of the people, but only as a collective group and not individually. James Gandolfini (Tony Soprano of The Sopranos), upon returning from a visit to Iraq, was frustrated over the silence surrounding the injured Iraq war veterans and decided to make a documentary in which he would interview a variety of veterans who faced certain death yet lived. The result is Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq, a deeply unsettling film that implicitly questions our continued presence in Iraq without being overtly political.

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The Religions Will Be Televised...

Submitted by Ryan Parker on August 21, 2007 - 5:46am.

Piggybacking on Alex's last post, here is a review of Larry King's conversation with Christiane Amanpour tonight.

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$40 Million and Two Movies

Submitted by Ryan Parker on August 20, 2007 - 4:58pm.

Lately, I have been putting together a syllabus for a course I want to teach on sports and theology, religion, spirituality, ethics…. I have not figured out an appropriate title just yet, but the essence of it will speak to the reality of sports as a field ripe for the discussion of justice, race, gender, etc. Recent scandals in all levels of sport will provide interesting case studies, and the sports sections of both cable television and newspapers will provide primary source material. Furthermore, several books and films deal with these issues as well. One book that will be required reading is William C. Rhoden’s $40 Million Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete. Two films, Hoop Dreams and Blue Chips, serve as illustrations of this controversial text.

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Living Historians and the Bush Administration

Submitted by Ryan Parker on August 16, 2007 - 8:33pm.

One of my favorite authors is Willie Morris, a fellow Mississippian who served as editor at Harper’s Magazine from around 1963-1971. Many consider this time the most influential and successful in the magazine’s storied history. During his tenure as editor, he gave pages to the likes of Norman Mailer and David Halberstam when other publications would not print their more radical articles. While he is often regarded as Harper’s greatest editor, he is best known for his autobiographical works, North Toward Home, New York Days, and My Dog Skip. A Rhodes scholar, Morris often recounted his time in Oxford, England, especially a story surrounding one of his first history research papers. Morris recounts this story in his autobiography, North Toward Home, and lifetime friend and colleague Larry King retells it in his recent book, Remembering Willie:

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