Theology and Film

Theology & Film - Podcast Lecture 12

This week Dr Shane Clifton discusses the complexities of conscience in dialogue with the films Dead Man Walking and The Mission.

For your podcast assignment this week please give an example of when your conscience, and what was expected of you, were in conflict. How did you respond? How did you wish you responded?

Download film_lecture_twelve.mp3

Film Review - "Wag the Dog"

This week Dreu Harrison looks at the issues raised in Barry Levinson's film, Wag the Dog, and discusses these in relation to Jean Baudrillard's work on Simulacra.
Enjoy!
Also, Dreu has provided a short article on Simulacra in Wag the Dog to assist understanding.

Download wag_the_dog.mp3

Download simulacra_in_wag_the_dog.pdf

Theology & Film - Podcast Lecture 11

Shane is delighted to be interviewing Professor Neil Ormerod this week on the topic of forgiveness, looking at this issue in relation to the films Dead Man Walking and The Crossing Guard. For your podcast assignment this week, we would like you to write a more devotional-style entry on your experience of either forgiving another person or being forgiven yourself. (Feel free to omit names).

Download film_lecture_eleven.mp3

Oscar® Nominations

Hey peoples! Here are your Oscar® Nominations. You can vote any time between now and the end of semester... No need to rush!

Film Review - "Dead Man Walking"

by Dave Porter.

One of the best things a film can do is make us reflect on the various convictions and beliefs which we hold through the course of our daily lives. In this light it must be said that the film, Dead Man Walking, is rich in both theological and philosophical material for this very examination. This is important since in our contemporary entertainment culture - our world of iPods and Xboxes - there is precious little of this examination taking place. With that in mind I want to review this film, at least from a Christian perspective, in order to outline what I feel are the main themes of the picture, and perhaps to get us to think about what they mean, and how these themes speak to us in the narrative of our daily lives.

Download Dead Man Walking Film review, by Dave Porter

Questions:
1. Can love ever really allow us to forgive those who have meted out unspeakable harm?
2. Is capital punishment really a form of playing God, or are we forced to play God
either way?
3. Are we redeemed through the Gospel individually, or is salvation something that is
worked out in the context of community?

Download podcast_script_dead_man_walking.pdf