Learning from the Diaspora Community of In the Heights
The streets are music and the stars are made of fireworks; the coffee isn’t coffee but it’s love con leche, and sueñitos of the peoples in these ordinary places come alive in Washington Heights. You just have to see the…
A Tale of Two Heroines: Revisiting the Past with Gone with the Wind (1939) and The Wizard of Oz (1939)
In the year 1939, two blockbuster movies burst onto the big screen in brilliant technicolor, forever changing the face of American film: Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz. On the surface, the heroines of both films have…
Hamilton: Racial Reconciliation or Revolutionary Revisionism?
Three years ago, I was mortified when my teenage daughter became obsessed with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s award-winning Broadway musical Hamilton, with its suggestive lyrics and revisionist history. Hamilton’s brilliant hip-hop soundtrack and talented, racially-diverse cast eventually won me over, especially as…
The Beloved Bombs of Paul Williams: Phantom of the Paradise (1974) Meets Bugsy Malone (1976)
Paul Williams was on quite a roll in the early 1970s. He’d written monster hits for groups like The Carpenters (“We’ve Only Just Begun”) and Three Dog Night (“An Old Fashioned Love Song”) and become a near-regular on The Tonight…
#190 – Bohemian Rhapsody and Shuffling the Facts
On this episode of the Reel World Theology Podcast: While wildly popular with audiences, Bohemian Rhapsody, the latest Queen/Freddie Mercury biopic, is also gathering its detractors. There are a number of reasons, from historical inaccuracies, conveniences, and in the way…
Review| A Star Is Born
I have a confession to make. I haven’t seen any of the previous A Star Is Born iterations. I watched the 2018 version in a vacuum and without the context of the previous versions (five to be exact). Whether that…
#185 – A Star Is Born and Assigning Blame
On this episode of the Reel World Theology Podcast: After a trailer that brought cheers (and even possibly tears), it felt like the excitement level for A Star Is Born could not be any higher. We talk about our expectations…
#139 – Baby Driver and Subversive Cultural Privilege
On this episode of the Reel World Theology Podcast: It’s that wonderful time of the year when we get to enjoy a new Edgar Wright film! We take some time talking about what it is Wright brings to his films…
Review| Baby Driver
If you expect your films to have narrative complexity, don’t go see this film. If you expect your films to break apart common cinematic tropes and characterizations, don’t go see this film. If you want your musicals to contain characters…
#130 – Beauty and the Beast and Remakes, Redemption, and Realizations
On this episode of the Reel World Theology Podcast: Disney has been on a hot streak with their live-action imaginings and remakes. Next up is Beauty and the Beast, one of the most beloved animated fairytales of all time. By…