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On the Other Hand, for Memorial Day

On the other hand, there is media kerfuffle on the Right about Chris Hayes of MSNBC saying he has a problem with using the word, “heroes” for the dead on Memorial Day because that word ennobles war and worst of all, ennobles the current war effort.   What could be worse?  I . . . . Continue Reading »

Sin, Redemption, and Spider-Man

God so loved the world that he gave his only son. God so loved me that he has given me three sons. And last month, they discovered superheroes. Not a moment too soon, it turns out, as apparently overnight what I used to think of as our respectable middle-class home has become an alarming hive of after-school crime (or as my boys call it, “trouble”). So they fearlessly answer the call every afternoon, bounding around the house and the yard with hand-towel capes safety-pinned around their necks… . Continue Reading »

Films About Something

Thomas Hibbs has updated his book Shows About Nothing: Nihilism in Popular Culture in light of films and TV shows of the last decade like Christopher Nolan’s movies and AMC’s Mad Men. He says Nihilism has been the reigning philosophy in Hollywood since the 1960’s.  By Nihilism, . . . . Continue Reading »

How do you like your story?

Last week Ross Douthat posted a comparison of The Sopranos and The Wire .  He sees the two shows in terms of psychology v. sociology, the former being the more insightful because it presents flesh and blood human beings while the latter reduces its characters to their surrounding culture in . . . . Continue Reading »

Breaking Bad on the Last (not First) Things

Universalism, the belief that everyone is going to heaven, is becoming widespread.  Check out the popularity of Rob Bell’s book Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person WhoEver Lived as an example.  A perennial question Universalists love to ask traditional . . . . Continue Reading »

TV’s America

Almost every entry in the index to this book is a prime-time show. Among the very many: “Amos ‘n Andy,” “Barnaby Jones,” “The Cosby Show,” “Dallas,” “Empire,” “Falcon Crest,” “Gunsmoke,” “Hill Street Blues,” “I Love Lucy,” “Kate and Allie,” “Marcus Welby, . . . . Continue Reading »

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