Archive for the ‘Film’ Category

Uh, What Do You Mean By “Great Responsibility” ?

Welcome back! We hope you enjoyed last week’s podcast. Danielle and I are thrilled to continue our discussion of heroes and saviors in our fourth podcast. The theme for class was “You Are Here for A Reason.” We watched: Batman Begins (2005) “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman”...
March 17th, 2010 | Art & Literature, Film, Picturing the Word | Read More

A Dream That Tells The Truth: Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland offers a fanciful study in dreaming that provokes the question of whether Wonderland is merely a dream from which we may at any time awaken. What makes the film great, though, is the follow-up question as to whether it being a dream even matters. At its core, Alice in Wonderland...
March 16th, 2010 | Culture, Film, Media | Read More

Is there really room for another Austen remake? You bet your Pride and Prejudice!

Like clockwork, the BBC has come out with a television serial of Jane Austen’s classic, Emma. Weirdly, film adaptations of this particular novel seem to come in pairs: both Kate Beckinsale and Gwyneth Paltrow portrayed the eponymous heroine in 1996 — on British television and American movie...
March 10th, 2010 | Art & Literature, Film | Read More

What’s In a Name? That By Which We Call A Hero By Any Other Name Wouldst Act As…Villainous? Courageous? Cunning?

Welcome to Week 3 of Picturing the Word! This week in class we watched movies and read books with the theme “You have great power.” We watched: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Chris Columbus, 2002) Spider-Man (Sam Raimi, 2002) Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977) Star Wars: Episode II — Attack...
March 10th, 2010 | Art & Literature, Film, Picturing the Word | Read More

You Are A Muggle

Welcome back! We hope you enjoyed the first podcast and are excited to continue to discuss what makes a hero and a myth. For the second class, we watched: Superman (Richard Donner, 1978) The Last Son of Krypton from “Superman: The Animated Series” Pilot from “Smallville” Superman on Earth from...
March 4th, 2010 | Art & Literature, Film, Other, Picturing the Word | Read More

Harry Potter and Superman – The Struggle Between Film and Imagination

Hello! And welcome to Picturing the Word! We’re your hosts, Danielle Howe and John Sirjord. So what’s this all about? Well… This podcast is both a continuation and a response to a class that John and I are taking through the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University.  The class, titled Heroes...
February 25th, 2010 | Art & Literature, Film, Picturing the Word | Read More

Deconstructing Darwin

Those who are surprised that a movie about Charles Darwin’s struggle to complete On the Origin of the Species raised controversy in the U.S. haven’t spent much time following the mundanity of the culture wars.  In this country, we’ve created entire industries based on the tit for tat public battles...
January 22nd, 2010 | Film, Intelligent Design | Read More

Hey Critics, Dig a Little Deeper!

[Warning: Mild Spoilers] If I read one more race-focused review of The Princess and the Frog I’m going to gag.  The Princess and the Frog is not about race, any more than the Little Mermaid is about flippers or Aladdin is about fezzes.  Yes, it’s true that Disney’s latest 2-D animated film features...
January 20th, 2010 | Film, Media | Read More

Grrrl Power on Roller Skates

Most chick flicks are disappointing. Sure, you get an occasional pleasant surprise like Little Black Book, or a film with a couple nice moments like Mona Lisa Smile, but overall, ‘chick flick’ is code for saccharine, contrived, and meaninglessly cathartic. At best, they’re a waste of a couple hours....
November 11th, 2009 | Film, Other | Read More

Imagine a New Body, for Everyone

At the tail end of a summer riddled with such high energy sci-fi films as Terminator 4 and Transformers 2 comes Surrogates, a Disney film with it’s own blend of sci-fi adventure sure to please any rabid fan. Surrogates shows us a futuristic world in which humans can experience life through robotic...
October 2nd, 2009 | Culture, Film | Read More