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Batman: The Great Communicator...

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- September 13, 2008

...or maybe not.

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Salma Hayek and the Sexual Cost of Stardom

- October 28, 2020

After two decades in Hollywood, actress Salma Hayek did an interview with The Orange County Register . She was asked if she realized being a sex symbol was the only way to open doors in the entertainment industry, or if she “found out later and had to accept.” She answered, “I did not know that in advance, but I saw that it was the only way to sneak in.” [1] When she moved from Mexico to Los Angeles back in 1991, the only way for her to “sneak in” was through the use of her body as a bargaining chip. She discovered Latino actresses like her were “typecast as the mistress maid or local prostitute.” Being viewed primarily as a sexual object didn’t just last for a brief stint. It lasted for years. In 1995, Hayek got a big break as a lead actor in Desperado , but this career advancement came at a high cost: having a sex scene sprung on her. Says Hayek , “[The scene] was not in the original script, I have to say. I think it was one of the notes that came after they showed the screen test...

Hollywood Sex Scenes vs. Porn: So What if They’re (Kind of) Different?

- April 15, 2014

* CONTENT ADVISORY: This topic requires a certain level of frankness that may be inappropriate for some readers. While I have taken great pains to avoid titillation, reader discretion is still advised. * Last week, we looked at the four main ways in which motion picture sex scenes and pornography are different. Now I want to show how these factors actually prove to condemn Hollywood’s methods rather than excuse them. Argument #1: There is often a difference in production values. Motion pictures are a form of art, whereas porn is unabashed titillation. Hollywood’s mash-up of blatant sexuality (nudity and sex scenes) and aesthetics only serves to make its displays of sex more alluring to the viewer. As works of art, Hollywood films are concerned with giving their audiences pleasure through beauty. That’s what aesthetics are all about. What is ultimately more alluring: a sex scene with bad lighting, poor audio quality, and shoddy production work, or a sex scene with goo...

A Tale of Two Sexual Assaults on Jennifer Lawrence

- December 20, 2016

The first assault against Jennifer Lawrence was heavily discussed in the news and on social media. It resulted in an FBI investigation, subsequent prosecution, and an upcoming sentencing . The second assault has received similar coverage, but more as a human interest piece than anything else. The legal ramifications of this second incident are practically nonexistent. The overall response to the first assault was outrage. The response to the second was indifference. What were these two incidents? The first, as you may have guessed, was the 2014 iCloud hack in which private/nude photos of several female celebrities, including Lawrence, were stolen and published online. The second incident involved the filming of Jennifer Lawrence’s first sex scene (for the sci-fi movie Passengers ). Let me set the stage by sharing three similarities between the photo hack and the sex scene. First, in the aftermath of the photo hack, Lawrence experienced anxiety. “I was just so af...

‘The Chosen’ and the de-Bastardization of Christian Filmmaking

- March 04, 2020

If I had to summarize the typical faith-based film in one word, it would be “shamefully, embarrassingly subpar.” Okay, so that’s technically three words. Here’s the deal. As a Christian who loves visual stories, I am, more often than not, ashamed and embarrassed by the lack of creativity displayed by those who claim adherence to (and often inspiration from) the original Creator. A few years ago, I wrote a piece entitled God’s Not Dead and the Bastardization of Christian Filmmaking . I meant every word of it, and I still believe what I wrote. Suffice it to say, it is a rare thing for me to fully enjoy a faith-based drama. It is rarer still for me to fully enjoy and fully admire a faith-based drama. Enter The Chosen , a faith-based TV show on the life of Christ, with multiple seasons planned. Technically, I have already reviewed this show , and it’s not typical to write two reviews of the same piece. However, I have more to say about this work of art (in both the lite...

Hollywood’s Secret Rape Culture

- May 20, 2014

Several years ago, Kate Beckinsale was conned into signing a movie contract that required nudity—something she didn’t want to do. With her acting career in jeopardy, she found herself browbeaten by the director. “I was really disturbed and I was sobbing and begging,” she said . At long last, she gave in to intimidation and performed the nude scene, which made her feel “violated and horrible.” Afterwards, she secretly urinated in the director’s thermos in revenge. In the realm of television, actress Ruta Gedmintas faced her first sex scene for the HBO show The Tudors . “I was absolutely terrified and had no idea what was going on,” she later said . “I cried afterwards because I was thinking, ‘This isn't acting, what am I doing? My mum's going to see this.’” Would you believe me if I told you that stories like these are numerous? Sadly, it’s true. The amount of pressure and intimidation Hollywood places on actors—especially women—to undress for the camera is commonplace...

‘God’s Not Dead’ and the Bastardization of Christian Filmmaking

- March 28, 2016

If you’re a fan of the 2014 film God’s Not Dead , and if you’re excited about its upcoming sequel, you and I probably have several things in common. We likely agree that historic Christianity is becoming less and acceptable in the public sphere. We likely agree that many of our nation’s college campuses are becoming more and more hostile to individuals who adhere to any form of absolutes. We also likely agree that there is an increasing need for believers of all types—students, teachers, pastors, filmmakers, etc.—to engage with our world in an effective and countercultural way. It’s actually because of these shared beliefs that I’m majorly concerned with the popularity of God’s Not Dead (and other movies like it). And it’s because of these shared beliefs that I want to explain my concerns to you. I’ll put aside most of the artistic issues I have with the film. (For that, I’ll direct you to my cyber friends Steven D. Greydanus and Peter T. Chattaway ). My main focus here wi...

How “A Million Dreams” Brilliantly Foreshadows the Entire Plot of ‘The Greatest Showman’

- May 22, 2018

Yes, I am still on a Greatest Showman kick. Cut me some slack, though. My wife and I only saw it for the first time just under three weeks ago. The soundtrack still plays almost daily in our home, providing near endless opportunities for our toddlers to daintily prance and spin as they sing along with “The Circus Man” (as they gleefully call him). Besides, for someone who’s as unhip as myself , it makes sense that I would be taken in by such an uncool ( according to critics ), and yet wildly popular ( according to general audiences ), movie. So, what is my point in writing another post about this particular film? To gush like a fanboy who has staked a personal claim to gold-encrusted, front-row seats on the Greatest Showman bandwagon? Not exactly. (That’s just a happy side effect.) The point of this blog post is to…well, point out a unique aspect of the song “A Million Dreams.” After listening to this song a bajillion times (give or take a few), I’ve noticed something extraor...

When Actors Enjoy Simulated Sex, What Does That Prove?

- August 21, 2018

A Hollywood set is a professional work environment. Whenever a sex scene is filmed, the atmosphere is far from erotic. It’s only as real as two actors pretending to argue, or two actors pretending to fight to the death. Because the sex is only simulated, it can’t really be counted as sexual—and certainly not as actual sex. So the argument goes. It’s an argument I’ve addressed before ( here and here ). Last week, we looked at the first of five problems with the “sex scenes aren’t real sex” logic. Now let’s look at problems two and three. 2. It’s Not True This second point comes into greater focus after taking into account what we learned from Mindy Kaling earlier: there are actors who find sexual enjoyment and/or arousal during scenes of simulated intimacy. ...

Tim Keller is Wrong about Abortion because he is Right about Third-Wayism

- May 11, 2022

Over the past few weeks, Tim Keller has received pushback for making some controversial political statements. One particularly troubling example came from a Twitter thread , in which Keller said the following: Here are two Biblical MORAL norms: 1) It is a sin to worship idols or any God other than the true God & 2) do not murder. If you ask evangelicals if we should be forbidden by law to worship any other God than the God of the Bible—they’d say ‘no.’ We allow that terrible sin to be legal. But if you ask them if Americans should be forbidden by law to abort a baby, they'd say ‘yes.’ Now why make the first sin legal and NEVER talk about it and the second sin illegal and a main moral/political talking point? The most astute criticism I’ve seen of this false equivalence is an op-ed by Andrew T. Walker for WORLD Magazine . Walker rightly calls Keller out for failing to adequately distinguish between sins and crimes, thus confusing the Christian position on abortion. Wa...

Should You Criticize Movies You Haven’t Watched?

- October 13, 2020

It is inherently problematic to condemn a specific film or television show from the sidelines, without personal experience of what that work of art communicates. When Christians dismissed Darren Aronofsky’s 2014 film Noah , for example, many of them did so on erroneous grounds, not knowing what was actually in the movie . Blind condemnation is dangerous and unhelpful. When it comes to pornographic content, however, we move away from the debatable and ambiguous elements of artistic merit, and toward more solid distinctions between right and wrong. Hypersexualized storytelling methods are an aspect worth criticizing. A Christian can—and should—condemn pornographic material without having to engage each instance on a case-by-case basis. Thus, I am comfortable and confident to condemn pornographic techniques used in any mainstream film, whether I’ve seen that film or not. Such condemnation is not unfair to the work as a whole. That is why I have spoken up about certain films I haven’t ...

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