When God created man, he made us as more than spirit and thought.  We, as well as the world around us, has material form.  There is design, there is order, and there is beauty.

This is also the way God speaks to us.  He not only speaks to us through story, but he also paints a picture.  From the beginning, the faithful were told to make memorials, build a temple, and take a physical action (such as marching around Jericho) to represent the war in the heavenlies that was in process.

Images have impact.  Regardless of their message, they communicate meaning.  In our culture full of positioned images, it is important to identify the message that is being communicated, whether that be through visual art or film.

This was the focus of one of my very first classes in my apologetics program and it was a very fun way to begin.  In addition to the required text, there was a list of required films to view ranging from The Birds by Hitchcock, to The Last Temptation of Christ by Scorsese, to The Decalogue by Kieślowski.  Two of my reflections from this class were published in the third edition of An Unexpected Journal, one on the deeper meaning in the Pixar short, Lava, and a second on the symbolism of hope found in the Fountain of Trevi.

Apologetic Books on Visual Arts

Beholding the Glory on Amazon Beholding the Glory: on Amazon On the Divine Images On Amazon On the Divine Images On Amazon Visual Faith on Amazon Visual Faith on Amazon
Saving Leonardo on Amazon Saving Leonardo on Amazon Philosophy of Film and Motion Pictures on Amazon Philosophy of Film and Motion Pictures on Amazon The Way Hollywood Tells It on Amazon The Way Hollywood Tells It on Amazon
Reel Spirituality on Amazon Reel Spirituality on Amazon The Philosophy of Horror on Amazon The Philosophy of Horror on Amazon Shows About Nothing on Amazon Shows About Nothing on Amazon

 

 

Movies

Part of apologetics is knowing the conversation that are going on in our culture.  In today’s culture, morals and values are not transmitted by religious institutions, but by the shows we watch and the movies we go see.  This class covered not only the technical details of how stories are told, but examined what the underlying message of the storyteller was.  Some of these movies, such as Obvious Child, have no value in and of themselves other than highlighting how our postmodern culture views a certain topic (actually, Obvious Child is the only one on this list that has absolutely no redeeming qualities), others, such as Christopher Nolan’s films that explore the problem of evil from a nihilist perspective, are really discussing the same issues that philosophers have pondered for centuries.

The Birds Movie by Alfred Hitcock The Birds:  On Amazon movie rear window Rear Window: On Amazon Sullivan's Travels on Amazon Sullivan’s Travels: On Amazon
dogma movie on Amazon Dogma On Amazon Moonrise Kingdom on Amazon Moonrise Kingdom: On Amazon Palm Beach on Amazon Palm Beach: On Amazon
Psycho on Amazon Psycho: On Amazon The Royal Tenenbaums The Royal Tenenbaums: On Amazon Rushmore on Amazon Rushmore: On Amazon
The Life Aquatic on Amazon The Life Aquatic: On Amazon The Fantastic Mr. Fox The Fantastic Mr. Fox: On Amazon Crimes & Misdemeanors on Amazon Crimes & Misdemeanors: On Amazon
dogma movie on Amazon Dogma: On Amazon Shadow & Fog on Amazon Shadow & Fog: On Amazon Lars the Real Girl Lars & the Real Girl: On Amazon
Obvious Child on Amazon Obvious Child: On Amazon The Prestige on Amazon The Prestige: On Amazon The Dark Knight on Amazon The Dark Knight: On Amazon
Close Encounters of the Third Kind on Amazon Close Encounters: On Amazon Fight Club on Amazon Fight Club: On Amazon Children of Men on Amazon Children of Men: On Amazon
the decalogue on Amazon The Decalogue: On Amazon Inception on Amazon Inception: On Amazon Stardust memories on Amazon Stardust Memories:          On Amazon
Tree of Life on Amazon Tree of Life: On Amazon