2024 the best films of 21st century review
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In this book, Craig Detweiler examines forty-five films from the twenty-first century that resonate theologically--from the Lord of the Rings trilogy to Little Miss Sunshine--offering groundbreaking insight into their scriptural connections and theological applications.
Detweiler writes with the eye of a filmmaker, leads Hollywood and religion initiatives at Fuller Seminary, and even came to faith through cinema. In this book, he unpacks the "theology of everyday life," exploring the Spirit of God in creation, redemption, and "general revelation" through sometimes unlikely filmmakers. It's the first authoritative book that dissects up-to-date movies selected by the popular Internet Movie Database.
This book is recommended for teachers, students, pastors, film fans, and those interested in the intersection of Christianity and culture.
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Publisher : Baker Academic; Illustrated edition (August 1, 2008)
Language : English
Paperback : 320 pages
ISBN-10 : 0801035929
ISBN-13 : 978-0801035920
Item Weight : 1 pounds
Dimensions : 6 x 0.73 x 9 inches
Reviewer: stlhobbit
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Careful reflection on the power of film
Review: Into the Dark is a careful reflection on the power of film and its relation to the things that really matter in life. Great for casual reading but would also make a great discussion tool in a classroom setting.
Reviewer: John W. Morehead
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Helpful Considerations for Christian Engagement with Film
Review: Craig Detweiler is involved with the Reel Spiritualy Institute and the Brehm Center, both affiliated with Fuller Theological Seminary in southern California. In these efforts Craig has established a solid track record in interacting with contemporary cinema from an evangelical Christian perspective. In his previous book, A Matrix of Meanings (Baker Academic, 2003), which he co-authored with Barry Taylor, Craig helped lay a theological foundation for a Christian engagement with popular culture. With Into the Dark Craig builds upon this foundation to consider contemporary cinema.Evangelicals will likely find Craig's interaction with various genres of film most interesting as he seeks to see and hear God speak through what many evangelicals might consider the most unlikely sources for hearing God's voice. While Craig's insights on the theological aspects of film are indeed interesting, for me the most helpful aspect of this volume is his discussion of a methodology and foundation for Christian engagement with film.As Craig develops his methodology he moves beyond the all too frequent evangelical tendencies toward wholesale dismissal or unqualified embrace. This book represents an accessible yet well thought out engagement with film that is faithful to both cinema in its own right, as well as evangelical theological considerations, thus providing a balanced consideration of one of the more popular forms of pop culture in the 21st century.Three additional facets of Craig's methodology are worthy of reflection. First, Craig is not only interested in a rational consideration of cinema, but begins with a theological aesthetic that is aimed at reuniting beauty, goodness and truth, and he seeks to do so in this order. While Craig appreciates the rational emphasis of evangelicalism as it connects with modernity, he also recognizes that this has at times been unbalanced to the neglect of aesthetic considerations that are especially important in late modernity/post-modernity. Second, Craig emphasizes a neglected aspect of Protestant theology, that of general revelation, God's revelation in culture in all of its facets. Without due consideration of general revelation, Craig wonders whether many have missed "the transcendent, revelatory possibilities of film" as a result. Third, Craig brings theology into dialogue with culture, two spheres often kept in unfortunate isolation from one another, and this facet of his methodology results in "an audience-driven, receptor-oriented methodology." One of the ways in which this methodology manifests itself is Craig's choice of interacting with the top films chosen by the Internet Movie Database, rather than those selected by the American Film Institute. In Craig's thinking the IMDB likely represents a "new canon" of the most popular films that more accurately reflects a democratized and global source of critical film opinion of rank and file viewers, something not found in the opinions of professional film critics represented by institutions like AFI and its membership.Evangelicals are often behind the times in responding to cultural trends, but with this volume Craig Detweiler has demonstrated that evangelicals are actively involved in the theological engagement with film as one of the more popular expression of pop culture. Evangelicals will benefit from this book in a variety of uses, whether individual reflection, a source of pastoral preaching, or small group study.
Reviewer: Trish Nelson
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Five Stars
Review: Super helpful for our church's upcoming Film Festival. Great read.
Reviewer: youthsslc
Rating: 1.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Not a teaching tool
Review: This book was not at all what I thought it would be. I expected a resource that would be useful in breaking down movies and sharing them with youth at weekly meetings and events. This is not a good resource for that, and is more of a library book than an easy-to-follow guide.
Reviewer: Robert Davidson
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Read This! The Way You See Film will Shift!
Review: In many ways, the four star rating system of film critics have killed the film goer's experience. We have slowly dismantled the relationship between the viewer and the film on the basis of "entertainment" value. What can this film do for me?Craig Detweiler's Into the Dark offers a welcomed alternative to the pervasive mentality. As Detweiler unleashes his wealth of knowledge on film history, production, and the culture it permeates, we are confronted with deeper questions surrounding film, their meaning, and their place amongst theological study. By taking his cues from the top 21st century films on the IMDB (Internet Movie Database), Detweiler asks two prominent questions: Is there a particular film narrative that has emerged in the postmodern era (or within what he calls the "new film canon")? And, does God reveal himself through film?Detweiler tackles the first of these questions by diving head first "into the dark" of the film noir of our day. By taking a bird's eye view of films such as Memento, The Departed, and Batman Begins, Detweiler sheds light on the emerging patterns of identity, self deception, and depravity. In a similar vein, Detweiler analyzes the imperfections of humanity midst films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Walk the Line. The complexities of community emerge front and center in Hotel Rwanda and Crash. And ethics take the focus in the conversational films Million Dollar Baby and Talk to Her. And so on...But if this journey in film exegesis stopped at topical discussion, we would find ourselves with a mere collection of movie reviews. Here is where the genius of Detweiler's culture analysis comes to life. As our second question (Does God reveal himself through film?) gets addressed, we discover two prominent realities at play: 1) general revelation transcends our (often presumed) constructs and is deeply immersed in culture, art, and the profane and 2) the role of the viewer matters.The understanding (and expectation) of general revelation is central to Detweiler's thesis as depending on how one approaches such a topic, everything shifts. Taking his cues from theological greats such as Bart, Schleiermacher, Moltmann and Balthasar (to name a few), Detweiler confronts the actual reality of God "having made himself known" not only through the person of Christ but through the work of the Holy Spirit today. In order to understand its relevancy for film, Detweiler champions Balthasar's (alongside others) reversal of the hermeneutical flow. Rather than approach theology (as most evangelicals do) from TRUTH to GOODNESS to BEAUTY, Detweiler asks what more might we "know" and "encounter" by starting with BEAUTY and subsequently arriving at TRUTH. For Detweiler, it is a marriage of "film and theology" on the notion that God does in fact reveal today. And this revelation often occurs in the most peculiar of places - say Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull.A prominent offer of Detweiler that should not go ignored is his challenge to the viewer and the way we approach and/or "see" film. As we discover in Christopher Nolan's Memento, where one sits determines what one sees. The question Detweiler weaves throughout his discourse remains: where do you sit? It is here that we truly discover that our approach and posture to film matters. Rooted in Christ's own prophetic warning in Matthew 13, we are tasked with asking whether our eyes and ears are open. The understanding of general revelation becomes mere academia without its grounding in our everyday real experiences and encounters - no matter if we are face to face with beauty or have stepped into the dark.