Unpop Culture

The only thing that shocked most people in the film industry about the Harvey Weinstein story was that suddenly, for some reason, people seemed to care. That knowledge alone allowed a lot of us to breathe for the first time in ages. These are the heartbreaking words of writer/actor/director Sarah Polley in her New York Times piece The Men You Meet Making Movies . Polley continues: I’ve grown up in this industry, surrounded by predatory behavior, and the idea of making people care about it seemed as distant an ambition as pulling the sun out of the sky. Polley’s testimony, among countless others, has saddened and sickened me, though it also gives me hope. It appears that we as a society may be growing more serious about dealing with sexual violence. Open secrets are becoming more open and less secret, and that is good. I applaud the bravery of women (and men) who have shared their #MeToo stories in an effort to affect change. At the same time, we must focus on more ...

Game of Thrones seems to have it all: impressive storytelling, strong production values, gripping drama, enthralling intrigue, and shocking twists. This is no run-of-the-mill TV show. A ton of people, including many Christians, profess a love for the series. So, as a lover of speculative fiction myself, why haven’t I jumped on this bandwagon/love boat? The reason starts with one word: “Awkward”—actors often use this word when they refer to the filming of nude and sex scenes, and we can’t deny Game of Thrones has plenty of these. Yet many Christians find enough redemptive material in the show to watch it anyway. I’m among those who have reservations about the show’s graphic sexuality. But my problem isn’t ultimately that the sex and nudity are a potential stumbling block for those serious about moral purity. That issue is secondary . After all, we can shut our eyes or fast forward or use products like VidAngel to skip scenes that we find awkward. However, most ...

I recently had the privilege of teaching a class on the topic of enjoying God through the pursuit of entertainment. We looked at six considerations, three of which addressed the pitfalls of legalism and three that addressed the pitfalls of licentiousness. I got a little carried away with a 32-page PowerPoint presentation. (The image included here is from the first slide.) Preparing the material for the class proved to be a rich and rewarding experience. One particular benefit included the realization that much of my focus on this blog as of late has been on the licentious side of things. It helped me see that there are some legalistic pitfalls I would do well to address. I will likely use the material I prepared for some future blog posts. In the meantime, you can check out an audio recording of the class by visiting my SoundCloud account . I hope you find it both encouraging and challenging.

From a concerned reader (with a few slight edits): Your argument robs adult women of agency because it says outright that they are not consenting and implies they cannot consent . It infantilizes adult women and asserts that they can only be protected by men with a white knight impulse. We’re getting into an area where women are regarded as little more than sheep, being led by whatever crook is nearest. As regular visitors know, over the past few years I have focused much of my blog’s attention on how the entertainment industry places pressure on actors to perform nude and/or sex scenes for audiences. It’s a problem that is at once both tacitly acknowledged and blithely ignored. I have argued further that those who suffer most under this burden are actresses. With my emphasis on women, some readers have responded with major concerns. I am both thankful for and alarmed by this feedback, because the quoted critique above is not what I have meant to communicate. Not at al...

Rarely has a director of Martin Scorsese’s caliber tackled such weighty religious themes head-on with such heartfelt passion. As such, Silence is not an insignificant film. The controversial story has, unsurprisingly, met with a wide variety of responses; it has been called “one of the finest religious movies ever made,” as well as an egregious “subversion of the Christian faith.” Since the movie came out last year, most everyone has had his or her say. I’m not sure if anything new can be added to the voices that have already spoken. Still, I didn’t get a chance to see Silence until recently, and, for what it’s worth, still wanted to write down my thoughts. [Insert joke about me not wanting to remain silent about Silence .] WARNING: There is no way to deal with the thematic elements of this film without revealing major spoilers. In fact, I’m going to enter Spoiler Land and set up camp there. I might even start a fire and cook some S’mores. Yes, this could get sticky. ...

It is near impossible to adequately address a controversial topic in one blog post. Take one (fairly) recent entry: A Tale of Two Sexual Assaults on Jennifer Lawrence . There is much I could have said but didn’t. And by leaving many things unsaid, I inevitably left the door open for people to hear things I did not say. Based on feedback I’ve received, I want to clarify and strengthen my argument by examining three items: 1) the underlying message of the movie Passengers , 2) the controversial language I chose, and 3) human agency—in particular, female agency. Please be forewarned that the following material contains spoilers for the movie Passengers. THE MESSAGE OF PASSENGERS In a work of art, the message and/or worldview of the artist(s) is shown not just in the story that is being told, but in the way the story is being told. The storyteller’s method is part of the message . And the general consensus among critics is that sexual exploitation is the inescapable...

Over the past few years, I’ve posted numerous articles about sex and nudity in films and television. I am grateful for the opportunity to compile material from several of these posts into a new article for Reformed Perspective Magazine. The post went live last week, and it is entitled Here’s the problem with just closing your eyes during the sex scenes . This article is a good summary of some of my main points. UPDATE: a PDF of the print edition is now available here . photo credit: ATENCION: via flickr , CC