On Media
A chaplain’s place
The documentary Chaplains raises a fundamental issue for Christian chaplaincy: what is its relationship to the church?
We’re all geeks now
It could have been any academic conference—except that Catwoman was on my left and a fully dressed hobbit was on my right.
Retelling the old, old stories
I just got back from Disney World with my kids. The trip set me thinking about how stories get told and passed on.
Promo for Mars
NASA is, to say the least, enthusiastic about The Martian. The film is a really, really good commercial for a future budgetary request.
Reality rap
It's hard to watch Straight Outta Compton and not think of #BlackLivesMatter. But this is not explicitly a movie about politics or race.
Hope in a jar
Theology and advertising share the same root.
Screen time
A screen in a sanctuary used to be a signal that a congregation had taken a side in the worship wars. Now it's just a sign that a church is open and functioning.
Religious satire on Broadway
Religious satire was once an edgy form of humor celebrated by rebellious teens. Now it’s attracting adults who buy theater tickets.
Rom-com in the flesh
Do Trainwreck and Catastrophe herald a resurrection of the rom-com genre? Or merely a grotesque reanimation?
Return of Han
Augustine said the lesson's content is not as important as the teacher's desire. Passion is what instructs—and I'm teaching my children Star Wars.
Feelings and faith
As I watched Inside Out, I found myself thinking about Augustine's assertion that we are what we love and what we hate.
Breaking the codes
Of all the violence on Game of Thrones, one scene from the fifth season stands out in public opinion as particularly horrific.
Public intimacy
U2's subway prank created a strange sort of intimacy and spontaneous community. I felt a similar dynamic at play at a recent funeral.
Funny girls
Watching Inside Amy Schumer or Broad City, you might conclude that sex is all young women think about. There is something refreshing about this.
Policing and race
Scandal and New Girl are not ordinarily “about” race. But as national conversations on police violence intensify, they’ve stepped into the discussion.
Blind vigilante
Typical superheroes have no religion; they are quasi-religious saviors. This makes the hero of the new Netflix series Daredevil unusual.
Kids these days
The generational gap between 25 and 42 might seem not that great. But Noah Baumbach has explored the subtle differences in many films.
Unlikely sage
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a strange combination: a relentlessly upbeat comedy about surviving abuse.
Breaking better
In Better Call Saul, Vince Gilligan takes characters he created for Breaking Bad and deepens and humanizes them
Transparent need
A TV show can present a minority group as "respectable" or as people who are as screwed up as anyone else. Transparent goes with option two.