On Watching Theology, Joe, Duke, and Melissa take a single film and examine it closely, looking at the assumptions and ideas in the story. Every episode considers the theological, philosophical and thematic elements of a film, listening closely to what the author has to say, and interacting with those ideas. (It's more fun than it sounds).

Joe watches too many movies. He grew up in central Washington, earned his B.A. in Education and Fine Art, an M.A. in Theology and is currently completing an M.A. in English Literature. He's smuggled film classes into each degree. He is interested in writing, theology and hopes to one day compose the ultimate Joe Versus the Volcano commentary track.

Melissa has a B.A. in History and an M.A. in English with an emphasis on Film Studies. She has taken classes on everything from silent to romance to post-colonial films and much in between. Her research and interests lie mainly in feminist film theory, women in film, Hitchcock and the studio era. At the end of the day, however, she just loves films; from Notorious to Die Hard!
Duke enjoys the way movies can tell stories like no other medium. He is an amatuer critic that loves the atmosphere of the theater and the taste of overpriced popcorn. He loves a good story and appreciates the effort and skill of good story tellers. He is a nerd at heart and a sucker for heist movies. He hopes to see every good movie and lampoon every bad movie ever made before he dies.

Contact the hosts at mail@watchingtheology.com for more information.

Show DescriptionWatching Theology

Die Hard (1988)

Watching Theology July 3rd, 2007

diehard_web.jpg[NOTE: Explicit Content] With the release of Die Hard 4, theologians all over the world are asking, "What is it about John McClane that causes bad things to happen?" In this edition, we focus on the film that started it all, with John McTiernan's new-classic action film, Die Hard. Along the way we ask questions about fate and the reluctant hero. Is McClane a savior of biblical proportions - or at least biblical tradition? How does that overweight, twinkie-eating cop fit into the divine plan? Plus, we listen to our favorite sound bites and attempt to talk philosophy without destroying a perfectly good movie.
Watching The Directors next edition: July 24 - Stanley Kubrick
Next WT edition: July 17 - Francis Lawrence's Constantine (2005)

Print This Post | Email This Post | Digg This! | Download MP3 | Play in Popup

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007 at 10:47 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 Responses to “Die Hard (1988)”

Edry July 9th, 2007

hello my name is edry from Costa Rica and i just wanted to comment and let you know i reallly like your show and also i think Black Snake Moan would make for good program.
take care, G-d bless

Christov March 8th, 2008

Hackers, terror, doom -
Wisecracking hero bald guy
Unbreakable man

I just watched Live Free or Die Hard, and I'm going to listen to this podcast again.

Christov March 9th, 2008

Sorry guys, if that haiku sent up some red flags. It was just a haiku review.

Jim Aldridge March 4th, 2009

Y'all missed a very profound use of symbolism in your discussion of this film. Holly Gennero's (John's wife) in the film has abandoned her commitment to her husband in favor of her career. This commitment to career is symbolized by the watch that she was given by the Nakatomi corporation. At the end of the film, John had to release the clasp on her watch to save her life and their marriage. Thereafter in the film, she referred to herself and Mrs. McClain rather than Ms. Generro.

Just an observation.

Leave a Reply