The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Watching Theology July 21st, 2010

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Loved by millions, generation after generation, The Wizard of Oz remains a symbol of the wonder film can inspire. It is the magical tale of a poor farm girl brought to a Technicolor land of munchkins, witches, and flying monkeys. The story has the power to likewise transport the viewer "over the rainbow" into a land of possibility. And now, all that's over. In this episode Joe and Duke conclude their "Cave" series by looking at how The Wizard of … (Read More)

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Gattaca (1997)

Watching Theology May 6th, 2010

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Remember Y2K? In the 1990s, movies were obsessed with the future and what it was like to live at the end of time. Gattaca is no exception. Andrew Niccol's film imagines a near-future in which people's worth is determined by their genetic code and Ethan Hawke doesn't have the right DNA. But he has a dream, a little money, and a lot of determination. On this episode we look at the genetically-enhanced future as a new "cave" - just another way of f … (Read More)

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The Truman Show (1998)

Watching Theology March 8th, 2010

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Call it satire, call it an allegory, but The Truman Show is about something. In this production-delayed episode Duke and Joe look over Peter Weir's oddly prophetic take on television. Join us as we examine how Jim Carey represents a helpless philosophical captive striving for enlightenment, a brave seeker battling demonic forces, or an innocent thinker tormented by a cruel deity. How does a satire on reality television turn into an adaptation of Plato's Republ … (Read More)

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The Village (2004)

Watching Theology January 19th, 2010

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People respond to trauma in different ways. Some find religion. Others re-evaluate their priorities. Some people, like those in M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, put themselves into an isolated 19th century town hiding away from the world. In this edition, Duke and Joe look at Shyamalan's parable of fear through the Watching Theology lens and ask, "What's the difference between a mythology of monsters and the Amish?" This episode is the second i … (Read More)

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Fight Club (1999)

Watching Theology January 1st, 2010

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[NOTE: Explicit Content] New season. New series. New co-host. Same Watching Theology wisdom (sorry). Season 4 begins with an all-male look at twentieth century masculinity according to Pitt, Norton, Fincher, and Palahniuk. Joe is joined by Duke Senter to listen to Fight Club and ask what it means to be male and survive existential vacuums. This extended-length show is the first of a series on "The Cave: Utopias, Delusions, and Deceptions." [04.01]

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